HEAT EXCHANGER, AIR CONDITIONER ARRANGEMENT AND SWITCH CABINET

Abstract

A heat exchanger of an air conditioner includes a housing having a cabinet side housing region and an external housing region, and a partition wall element arranged therebetween which fluidically separates the cabinet side housing region and the external housing region, with a pipe system having a first manifold and a second manifold and multiple pipe elements, the free ends of which open into the manifolds, at least one manifold having a coolant inlet and at least one manifold having a coolant outlet, fluidly connected by the pipe system, the pipe elements are connected with two mounting plates which surround the pipe elements in a gas-impermeable manner, so that the heat exchanger can be installed in the partition wall element so that in the assembled state the manifolds are in the external housing region and at least portions of the pipe elements are in the cabinet side housing region.

Claims

1. Heat exchanger, in particular a heat exchanger of an air conditioner arrangement that is configured for air conditioning in a switch cabinet, wherein the air conditioner arrangement comprises a housing that has a cabinet side housing region and an external housing region, as well as a partition wall element that is arranged between the cabinet side housing region and the external housing region and separates the cabinet side housing region and the external housing region from each other fluidically, with a pipe system configured to transport a coolant, wherein the pipe system has a first manifold and a second manifold and multiple pipe elements, the free ends of which open into the manifolds, wherein at least of the manifolds has a coolant inlet and at least one of the manifolds has a coolant outlet, which are connected to each other in a fluid-conducting manner by the pipe system, wherein the pipe elements are connected with two mounting plates which are arranged at a distance from one another and surround the pipe elements in gas-impermeable manner, so that the heat exchanger can be installed in the partition wall element in such a manner that in the assembled state the manifolds are arranged in the external housing region and at least portions of the pipe elements are arranged in the cabinet side housing region.

2. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the pipe elements and the manifolds are connected to each other by material bonding via connection points.

3. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein each of the pipe elements are embodied as a pipe insert or pipe string, wherein a pipe string includes a multiplicity of channels arranged parallel to each other.

4. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, with a heat transfer element, in particular a fin arrangement having a multiplicity of fins, which are connected to the pipe elements in a heat conducting manner, wherein preferably the fins are of wavelike construction and are arranged between each two pipe elements.

5. Heat exchanger according to claim 4, wherein one of the mounting plates in each case is arranged between the fins and the manifolds.

6. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet are arranged on the same manifold or on different manifolds.

7. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the manifolds each include a number of partition walls that separate the manifolds into a number of capsules, wherein the partition walls are arranged such that the coolant can be routed multiple times through at least one of the manifolds from the coolant inlet to the coolant outlet.

8. Heat exchanger according to claim 7, wherein the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet are arranged on the same manifold, wherein the number N of partition walls in the first manifold and the number M of partition walls in the second manifold is represented by: M=N1.

9. Heat exchanger according to claim 7, wherein the coolant inlet and the coolant outlet are arranged on different manifolds, wherein the number N of partition walls in the first manifold and the number M of partition walls in the second manifold is represented by: M=N.

10. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the pipe elements have a curvature relative to their respective longitudinal axis that is less than or equal to 90, in particular less than or equal to 45.

11. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the pipe elements have no curvature relative to their respective longitudinal axis.

12. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the manifolds, the pipe elements, the fins and the mounting plates are made of aluminium and are soldered to each other at the connection points.

13. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein one of the mounting plates is larger than the other of the mounting plates, so that the heat exchanger can be introduced into a housing opening in particular into an opening in the housing of the air conditioner arrangement.

14. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the coolant is combustible and/or potentially explosive, and/or that the coolant is or contains propane, butane, isobutane or propene.

15. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is embodied as an evaporator of a compression refrigeration machine.

16. Air conditioner arrangement for a switch cabinet, in particular for use with a switch cabinet, wherein the air conditioner arrangement includes a housing that has a cabinet side housing region and an external housing region, as well as a partition wall element arranged between the cabinet side housing region and the external housing region, which separates the cabinet side housing region and the external housing region from each other fluidically, wherein the air conditioner arrangement further comprises a heat exchanger according to claim 1.

17. Air conditioner arrangement according to claim 16, wherein the housing accommodates the heat exchanger in such a manner that the manifolds are arranged in the external housing region and at least portions of the pipe elements are arranged in the cabinet side housing region.

18. Air conditioner arrangement according to claim 16, wherein the partition wall element has at least two openings or cutouts, through which the heat exchanger passes in the assembled state.

19. Air conditioner arrangement according to claim 16, wherein a fan is arranged and configured inside the housing to provide forced ventilation of the heat exchanger.

20. Switch cabinet with a housing that accommodates a multiplicity of electronic components, wherein the switch cabinet contains a heat exchanger and/or an air conditioner arrangement according to claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0029] In the following text, a specific embodiment of the invention will be explained with reference to the figures. In the drawing:

[0030] FIG. 1a is a first cross-sectional view of a first heat exchanger;

[0031] FIG. 1b is a second cross-sectional view of the first heat exchanger along cross-sectional plane A-A;

[0032] FIG. 1c is a third cross-sectional view of the first heat exchangers along cross-sectional plane B-B;

[0033] FIG. 1d are two cross-sectional views of the first heat exchanger along cross-sectional plane C-C;

[0034] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a second heat exchanger;

[0035] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a third heat exchanger;

[0036] FIG. 4a is a cross-sectional view of a fourth heat exchanger;

[0037] FIG. 4b is a cross-sectional view of a fifth heat exchanger

[0038] FIG. 5a, b are cross-sectional views of a first air conditioner arrangement with a switch cabinet; and

[0039] FIG. 6a, b are cross-sectional views of a second air conditioner arrangement with a switch cabinet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0040] FIG. 1a shows a first embodiment of a heat exchanger 100 of an air conditioner arrangement 200, that is configured for air conditioning in a switch cabinet 300. FIG. 5a, b and 6a, b each show embodiments of an air conditioner arrangement 200, with a switch cabinet 300 (shown in part) in each case. The air conditioner arrangement 200 has a housing 16, which has a cabinet side housing region 161 and an external housing region 162, as well as a partition wall element 32 which is arranged between the cabinet side housing region 161 and the external housing region 162 and separates the cabinet side housing region 161 and the external housing region 162 from each other fluidically.

[0041] The heat exchanger 100 has a pipe system 10, which is configured to transport a coolant. For this purpose, the pipe system 10 has a first manifold 111 and a second manifold 112 and eight pipe element 12, the free ends of which open into the manifolds 111, 112. In the embodiment shown, the first manifold 111 shown on the left side has a coolant inlet 13, and the manifold 112 shown on the right side has a coolant outlet 14, which are connected to each other in fluid-conducting manner. The pipe elements 12 are connected with two mounting plates 151, 152 located at a distance from each other and surround the pipe elements 12 in gas-impermeable manner. This enables the heat exchanger 100 to be mounted on the partition wall element 32 of air conditioner arrangement 200 in such a way that the manifolds 111, 112 are arranged in the external housing region 162 and at least sections of the pipe elements 12 are arranged in the cabinet side housing region 161. The pipe elements 12 and the manifolds 111, 112 are connected to each other by material bonding via connection points 17. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the pipe elements 12 are each embodied as a pipe string 121, wherein each pipe string 121 includes a number of 8 channels 18 arranged parallel to each other (FIG. 1b, c).

[0042] In order to dissipate the heat, the heat exchanger 100 is equipped with a heat transfer element in the form of a fin arrangement having a multiplicity of fins 19, which are connected in thermally conductive manner to the pipe elements 12. During proper use, an air flow passes over the pipe elements 12 and the fins 19, so that heat is transferred from the air flow to the heat exchanger 100. In the embodiment shown, the fins 19 have a wavelike design and are arranged between each of two pipe elements 12. Such a wave profile has alternating wave peaks 20 and wave troughs 21, which are configured as contact surfaces on the pipe elements. A flow path 22 which is configured and designed to guide the air flow forms between each two adjacent wave peaks 20 and between each two adjacent wave troughs 21. This flow path 22 extends perpendicularly to the pipe elements 12. The mounting plates 151, 152 are arranged between the fins 19 and the manifolds 111, 112 on the left and right sides of the fins 19. The mounting plate 151 shown on the left (FIG. 1a, b) is larger than the mounting plate 152 shown on the right (FIG. 1a, c), and consequently the heat exchanger 100 can be pushed into an opening 231. FIG. 1d shows top views of two alternative embodiments of a heat exchanger 100 along cross-sectional plane C-C. According to this, the manifolds 111, 112 may have a round (alternative a) or rectangular (alternative b) form. The coolant inlet 13 and the coolant outlet 14 of the heat exchanger 100 are arranged on the same manifold 111, 112 or on different manifolds 111, 112 depending on its construction type. FIG. 1a shows an embodiment in which the coolant inlet 13 and the coolant outlet 14 are realised on different manifolds 111, 112. In this way, the coolant is directed from the coolant inlet 13 via the first manifold 111, the pipe elements 12 and the second manifold 112 to the coolant outlet 14. Accordingly, the coolant flows through the pipe elements 12 uniformly in one direction.

[0043] FIG. 2 shows a second exemplary embodiment of a heat exchanger 100, in which the manifold 111 shown on the left side has a partition wall 24 between the four top pipe elements 12 and the four bottom pipe elements 12, with the result that the manifold 111 has two capsules 25. Four pipe elements 12 open into each of the two capsules 25. The manifold 112 on the right side does not have a partition wall. Consequently, the coolant inlet 13 and the coolant outlet 14 are realised on the manifold 111 shown on the left side, and the coolant flows through the pipe elements 12 at least once in both directions.

[0044] FIG. 3 shows a third exemplary embodiment of a heat exchanges 100, in which the manifold 111 shown on the left side has two partition walls 24, so that the manifold 111 has three capsules 25. On the other hand, the manifold 112 shown on the right side only has one partition wall 24, with the result that the manifold 112 has two capsules 25, and the coolant inlet 13 and the coolant outlet 14 are arranged on the same manifold 111.

[0045] FIG. 4a shows a fourth exemplary embodiment of a heat exchanger 100, in which the manifold 111 shown on the left side has four partition walls 24, with the result that the manifold 111 has five capsules 25. On the other hand, the manifold 111 shown on the right side only has three partition walls 24, so that the coolant inlet 13 and the coolant outlet 14 are arranged on the same manifolds 111.

[0046] FIG. 4b shows a fifth exemplary embodiment of a heat exchanger 100 with 7 pipe elements 12, in which the manifold 111 shown on the left side has three partition walls 24, with the result that the manifold 111 has four capsules 25. The manifold 111 shown on the right side also has three partition walls 24, so the coolant inlet 13 and the coolant outlet 14 are arranged on different manifolds 111.

[0047] As noted previously, FIG. 5a, b and 6a, b each show embodiments of the air conditioner arrangement 200 with the switch cabinet 300 (shown in part). The air conditioner arrangement 200 includes the housing 16, which has the cabinet side housing region 161 and the external housing region 162, as well as the partition wall element 32, which is arranged between the cabinet side housing region 161 and the external housing region 162 and separates the cabinet side housing region 161 and the external housing region 162 from each other fluidically.

[0048] FIG. 5a shows a first combination of the air conditioner arrangement 200 and the switch cabinet 300 in an assembled state. The switch cabinet 200 has a switch cabinet housing 33, which accommodates a heat source in the form of a multiplicity of electronic components 26. The air conditioner arrangement 200 comprises a heat exchanger 100 that is configured to remove heat from the switch cabinet housing 33. For this purpose, openings not identified with reference numerals are provided between the switch cabinet 300 and the cabinet side housing region 161, through which a convection flow 34 passes, with which heat is transported. The heat exchanger 100 is force-ventilated inside the housing 16 of the air conditioner arrangement 200 by means of a fan 27, which strengthens the convection flow 34 and enhances the effectiveness of the heat exchanger 100. The heat exchanger 100 is embodied as an evaporator 101 of a compression refrigeration machine 28, which includes a compressor 29, a condenser 30 and a throttling device 31 inside the external housing region 162. The partition wall element 32 of the housing 16 has two openings 231, 232, the size and position of which are such that the heat exchanger 100, whose pipe elements 12 are without curvature relative to their respective longitudinal axis in the exemplary embodiment shown, passes through both openings 231, 232 in the assembled state. At the same time, the mounting plates 151, 152 are of different sizes, wherein in the assembled state the relatively smaller mounting plate 152 fits in the cabinet side region 161 of the housing 16 and the partition wall element 32, and the relatively larger mounting plate 151 fits in the external housing region 162 of the housing 16 and the partition wall element 32. The housing 16 accommodates the heat exchanger 100 in such a way that the manifolds 111, 112 are arranged in the external housing region 162 and portions of the pipe elements 12 are arranged in the cabinet side housing region 161 of the housing 16, which means that all leak-prone areas are arranged entirely in the external housing region 162 of the housing 16. In this way, coolant is prevented from getting into the switch cabinet 300 in the event of a leak.

[0049] FIG. 5b is a schematic representation of the installation of the of the heat exchanger 100, which for this purpose may be introduced into the housing 16 of the air conditioner arrangement 200 linearly in the direction of arrow P1 until the mounting plates 151, 152 bear on the housing 16 and the partition wall element 32 and are secured there.

[0050] FIG. 6a shows a second combination of the air conditioner arrangement 200 and the switch cabinet 300 in an assembled state. The construction and operating principle of the air conditioner arrangement 200 and the switch cabinet 300 is similar to that of the embodiment according to FIG. 5a. Unlike that version, the partition wall element 32 of the air conditioner arrangement 200 according to FIG. 6a has two openings 231, 232, which are aligned at an angle to one another due to the constraints of the installation space. To ensure that the heat exchanger 100 can be installed here, its pipe elements 12 have a curvature of 90 relative to their respective longitudinal axis, so that in the assembled state the heat exchanger 100 passes through both openings 231, 232. The mounting plates 151, 152 are also of different sizes, wherein in the assembled state the relatively smaller mounting plate 152 fits in the cabinet side region 161 of the housing 16 and the partition wall element 32, and the relatively larger mounting plate 151 fits in the external housing region 162 of the housing 16 and the partition wall element 32. The housing 16 accommodates the heat exchanger 100 in such a way that the manifolds 111, 112 are arranged in the external housing region 162 and portions of the pipe elements 12 are arranged in the cabinet side housing region 161 of the housing 16, which means that all leak-prone areas are arranged entirely in the external housing region 162 of the housing 16. In this way, coolant is prevented from getting into the switch cabinet 300 in the event of a leak.

[0051] FIG. 6b is a schematic representation of the installation of the of the heat exchanger 100, which for this purpose may be introduced into the housing 16 of the air conditioner arrangement 200 along the curved direction of arrow P2 until the mounting plates 151, 152 bear on the housing 16 and the partition wall element 32 and are secured there.