U.S. patent application number 10/511266 was filed with the patent office on 2005-10-13 for heat exchanger unit, in particular for a motor vehicle and method for producing said unit.
This patent application is currently assigned to BEHR GMBH &CO. KG. Invention is credited to Reier, Wolfgang, Spieth, Michael.
Application Number | 20050224219 10/511266 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32240415 |
Filed Date | 2005-10-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20050224219 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Reier, Wolfgang ; et
al. |
October 13, 2005 |
Heat exchanger unit, in particular for a motor vehicle and method
for producing said unit
Abstract
The invention relates to a heat exchanger unit comprising tubes,
ribs and a lateral section containing reinforcement ribs, in
addition to a method for producing said unit.
Inventors: |
Reier, Wolfgang;
(Schwaikheim, DE) ; Spieth, Michael; (Gomaringen,
DE) |
Correspondence
Address: |
FOLEY AND LARDNER
SUITE 500
3000 K STREET NW
WASHINGTON
DC
20007
US
|
Assignee: |
BEHR GMBH &CO. KG
Stuttgart
DE
|
Family ID: |
32240415 |
Appl. No.: |
10/511266 |
Filed: |
October 20, 2004 |
PCT Filed: |
November 24, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP03/13188 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/149 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28D 2021/0084 20130101;
F28D 1/0435 20130101; F28F 2009/004 20130101; F28D 2021/0089
20130101; F28D 2021/0094 20130101; F28F 2225/00 20130101; F28F
9/001 20130101; F28D 1/05366 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/149 |
International
Class: |
F28D 001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 25, 2002 |
DE |
102 55 010.7 |
Claims
1. A heat exchanger unit, in particular for a motor vehicle,
comprising at least one heat exchanger, having tubes and
heat-transfer fins, and having at least one side part, which
comprises a baseplate and at least one reinforcing fin,
characterized in that at least one reinforcing fin is formed by a
deformed center piece of the surface of the baseplate.
2. The heat exchanger unit as claimed in claim 1, characterized in
that at least one reinforcing fin runs in a longitudinal direction
of the side part.
3. The heat exchanger unit as claimed in claim 1, characterized in
that at least one reinforcing fin runs in a transverse direction of
the side part.
4. The heat exchanger unit as claimed in claim 1, characterized in
that at least one reinforcing fin runs at an angle .alpha., where
0.degree.<.alpha.<90.degree., with respect to a longitudinal
direction of the side part.
5. The heat exchanger unit as claimed in to claim 1, characterized
in that at least one reinforcing fin is provided with at least one
securing means.
6. The heat exchanger unit as claimed in claim 5, characterized in
that the at least one securing means is formed by an at least
partially deformed reinforcing fin.
7. The heat exchanger unit as claimed in claim 1, characterized in
that the side part has at least one expansion section, which is
formed by one or more apertures, in particular aligned with one
another, and a plurality of webs adjoining the apertures, at least
one aperture corresponding to a center piece of the surface of the
baseplate which has been deformed to form a reinforcing fin.
8. The heat exchanger unit as claimed in claim 7, characterized in
that the webs have fold-like beads.
9. A process for producing a side part for a heat exchanger unit
comprising at least one heat exchanger, characterized by the
process steps of a) providing an areal metal sheet having a width b
which is substantially equal to a width of the side part, b)
precutting sections of an edge of at least one piece of the surface
of the metal sheet, and c) deforming the at least one piece of the
surface out of a plane which is predetermined by the areal metal
sheet, to form at least one reinforcing fin.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to a heat exchanger unit, in
particular for a motor vehicle, having tubes and fins for the
transfer of heat, and having at least one side part. Furthermore,
the invention relates to a process for producing a side part.
[0002] A heat exchanger unit of this type is known, for example,
from DE 197 53 408 A1 in the name of the Applicant. The heat
exchanger described therein comprises a fin/tube block having a
multiplicity of corrugated fins and tubes which are connected to
one another in the style of a mesh structure. To stabilize the
fin/tube block in particular during a manufacturing process, it is
enclosed by two side parts on opposite sides. For strength reasons,
a side part of this type, when seen in cross section, has an
approximately U-shaped profile, resulting in a considerable saving
on material compared to a solid side part. The approximately
U-shaped profile is in this case formed by deforming edge regions
of a sheet-metal strip, the width of which results from the sum of
the lengths of the two limbs of the U profile and the width of the
side part. The two U-limbs then act, as it were, as reinforcing
fins by preventing undesired deformation of the side part. For
improved distribution of thermal stresses during operation of the
heat exchanger, these reinforcing fins may have expansion regions
which are formed as fold-like beads.
[0003] It is an object of the invention to provide a heat exchanger
unit having at least one side part and a production process
allowing additional savings on material to be made.
[0004] This object is achieved by a heat exchanger unit having the
features of claim 1. According to claim 1, a heat exchanger unit
comprises at least one heat exchanger. The heat exchanger unit may
also comprise two, three or more heat exchangers. The heat
exchanger unit has tubes through which at least one first medium
can flow and around which a second medium can flow, so that heat
transfer from the at least one first medium to the second medium or
vice versa is possible. To increase the heat-transfer surface area,
heat-transfer fins which are in thermal contact with the tubes are
arranged between the tubes.
[0005] On at least one side, the heat exchanger unit has a side
part which comprises a baseplate that bears against an outermost
tube or an outermost fin. In particular during a production
process, for example a soldering process, it is desirable for the
at least one side part to stabilize a tube/fin block formed by the
tubes and heat-transfer fins. For this reason, the side part has at
least one reinforcing fin. It is preferable for the side part to
have two or more reinforcing fins.
[0006] The object of the invention is advantageously achieved by
virtue of the fact that at least one reinforcing fin is formed by a
deformed center piece of the surface of the baseplate of the side
part. For this purpose, during production of the side part an edge
of the center piece of the surface is precut in sections, after
which the center piece of the surface is deformed out of the plane
of the baseplate. Unlike with a previously known side part, in
which reinforcing fins are formed from deformed edge regions of the
surface of a baseplate, to produce the side part according to the
invention it is possible to use a sheet-metal strip whose width
corresponds to the width of the baseplate.
[0007] This results in an advantageous saving on material, which
brings with it a reduction in the materials costs of the heat
exchanger unit.
[0008] Preferred embodiments of the invention form the subject
matter of the subclaims.
[0009] According to an advantageous refinement, at least one
reinforcing fin runs in a longitudinal direction of the side part.
This results in stiffening of the side part in said longitudinal
direction. In another embodiment, at least one reinforcing fin runs
in a transverse direction of the side part, so that the side part
is stiffened in the transverse direction.
[0010] According to a preferred embodiment, at least one of the
reinforcing fins is provided with at least one securing means. It
is particularly preferable for the securing means to be formed by a
deformed reinforcing fin or by a deformed part of a reinforcing
fin. This allows further devices, for example a drier, to be
secured to the heat exchanger unit without additional outlay on
material. It is also conceivable to use securing means which can be
used to mount the heat exchanger unit in an engine compartment of a
motor vehicle.
[0011] According to a preferred embodiment, the side part has at
least one expansion section. The expansion section is formed by one
or more apertures and a plurality of webs adjoining the apertures,
the apertures advantageously being flush with one another. At least
one aperture has in this case been formed by deformation of a
center piece of the surface out of the plane of the baseplate and
therefore corresponds to the center piece of the surface in
question. This means that a reinforcing fin and a corresponding
aperture in each case adjoin one another.
[0012] It is particularly preferable for the webs to have fold-like
beads. This results in particularly high expandability of the side
part in the region of the expansion section formed by the apertures
and webs.
[0013] The object of the invention is also achieved by a process
for producing a side part as described in claim 9. A basic idea of
the invention is to use an areal metal sheet whose dimensions do
not exceed a baseplate of the subsequent side part when producing
the side part, so that material can be saved compared to previously
known production processes. Reinforcing fins are formed from
existing pieces of the surface of the metal sheet. For this
purpose, in each case one edge of a piece of the surface is precut
in sections, after which the piece of the surface is deformed out
of a plane that is predetermined by the metal sheet.
[0014] In the text which follows, the invention is explained in
detail on the basis of exemplary embodiments and with reference to
the drawings, in which:
[0015] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a side part,
[0016] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional illustration of a side
part,
[0017] FIG. 3 shows a plan view of two metal sheets,
[0018] FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a heat exchanger,
[0019] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of a heat exchanger
unit,
[0020] FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a side part,
[0021] FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a side part,
[0022] FIG. 8 shows an excerpt from a side part, and
[0023] FIG. 9 shows an excerpt from a side part.
[0024] FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate a perspective view and a cross
section, respectively, of a side part 100; identical features are
provided with the same reference symbols in both figures. The side
part 100 comprises a baseplate 110 and two reinforcing fins 120 and
130. The reinforcing fins 120, 130 comprise center pieces of the
surface of the baseplate 110 which have been deformed out of the
plane of the baseplate 110. By way of example, the rectangular
center piece 120 of the surface has for this purpose been cut out
at three edges 140, 150 and 160 and bent along an edge 170, in such
a manner that the center piece 120 of the surface is approximately
perpendicular to the baseplate 110. This "raising up" of the center
piece 120 of the surface causes an aperture 180 to be left behind
in the baseplate 110. Furthermore, the reinforcing fins 120, 130
have apertures 190, 200 which are provided for the purpose of
receiving pins (not shown), the pins, together with clamping straps
(likewise not shown), serving as a clamping device for heat
exchanger manufacture.
[0025] In a further exemplary embodiment (not shown), the heat
exchanger, during its manufacture, in particular during a soldering
process, is held together not by clamping straps but rather with
the aid of what is known as a clamping cage. The pins for holding
the clamping straps are then no longer required, and there are also
no corresponding apertures.
[0026] FIG. 3 compares a sheet-metal strip 300 for producing a side
part for a heat exchanger in accordance with the prior art and a
sheet-metal strip 400 for producing a side part in accordance with
the present invention. The side parts which are to be produced from
the sheet-metal strips 300, 400 should in this case each have a
width b and reinforcing fins with a height H. The sheet-metal strip
for this purpose has a width b+2 h, with a baseplate of the
subsequent side part being formed by a central region 310 of width
b. Edge regions 320 and 330 are deformed out of the plane of the
drawing shown in FIG. 3 along the deformation edges 340 and 350,
respectively, illustrated by dashed lines, and serve to form
reinforcing fins for the subsequent side part. Furthermore, the
sheet-metal strip 300, which has already been pre-stamped, has an
extension 360 which is intended for connection to a water tank.
[0027] By contrast, the full width b of the sheet-metal strip 400
forms the baseplate 410 of a subsequent side part. To form
reinforcing fins, center pieces 420 and 430 of the surface of the
baseplate 410 are cut out along the edges 440, 450 and 460, 470,
respectively, and are deformed out of the plane of the drawing
shown in FIG. 3 along the deformation edges 480 and 490,
respectively. The width h of the center pieces 420 and 430 of the
surface in this case corresponds to the height of the subsequent
reinforcing fins. Like the sheet-metal strip 300, the pre-stamped
sheet-metal strip 400 also has an extension 495 for connecting the
subsequent side part to a water tank.
[0028] This comparison makes it clear that a heat exchanger having
a side part in accordance with the present invention can be
produced at lower materials costs than a heat exchanger having a
side part in accordance with the prior art. There is no need to do
without any significant functional features, such as for example
the width of the baseplate which is available for covering
heat-transfer fins or the stiffening provided by reinforcing
fins.
[0029] FIG. 4 shows, as an exemplary embodiment, a coolant radiator
500 for use in a motor vehicle. The coolant radiator 500 has a
tube/fin block 510 comprising tubes 520 and corrugated fins 530.
The ends of the tubes 520 open out into collection tanks 540 and
550 on two opposite sides of the tube/fin block 510. The collection
tanks 540 and 550 are closed off on their end sides 555 and 558,
respectively. The collection tanks 540 and 550 have an inlet
opening 560 and an outlet opening 570 for supplying and discharging
the coolant. In particular to protect the outermost corrugated fin
580, the tube/fin block 510 is surrounded by side parts 590 on both
sides. The coolant radiator functions in the following way. The
coolant coming from an internal combustion engine of the motor
vehicle flows through the inlet opening 560 into the water tank
540, where it is distributed between the tubes 520. After it has
flowed through the tube/fin block 510, the coolant is collected in
the water tank 550 and returned to the coolant circuit of the motor
vehicle through the outlet opening 570. To cool the coolant,
ambient air is passed through the tube/fin block 510 in such a
manner that the cooling air flows around the tubes 520 and the fins
530. The corrugated fins 530 serve to increase the heat-transfer
surface area and are soldered to the tubes 520 for improved heat
transfer.
[0030] To prevent the tube/fin block 510 from falling apart during
the soldering process, it is necessary for the tubes 520 and the
fins 530 to be clamped in place. This is realized using what are
known as clamping straps. The tubes, fins and side parts may also
equally well be clamped in place with the aid of a clamping frame
or clamping cage which bears against the side part. To protect
against undesired deformation, the outermost corrugated fin 580 is
covered with the aid of the side part 590 during the clamping
operation, i.e. including during the soldering process. For
reinforcement against undesired deformation, the side part 590 is
for its part provided with reinforcing fins 600 and 610. These
reinforcing fins 600, 610 are formed by deformed center pieces of
the surface of a baseplate 620 of the side part 590, resulting in
savings on material and therefore on costs.
[0031] As a refinement to the above exemplary embodiment, FIG. 5
shows a heat exchanger unit 700, comprising two heat exchangers,
namely a coolant radiator 710 and a condenser 720. The structure
and functioning of the coolant radiator 710 does not differ
significantly from the coolant radiator shown in FIG. 4, and
consequently will not be described in detail here. The condenser
720 likewise substantially comprises two collection tanks 730 and
740 and a tube/fin block which is located between them, cannot be
seen in this figure and connects the collection tanks 730 and 740,
which are designed as collection tubes, to one another. The
condenser 720 is arranged next to the coolant radiator 710, in such
a manner that cooling air first of all flows through the condenser
720 and then immediately afterward flows through the coolant
radiator 710. The condenser 720 serves to cool a refrigerant of an
air-conditioning circuit, with the refrigerant being condensed in
the condenser. The tubes 750 of the coolant radiator, as seen in
the main direction of flow of the cooling air, are arranged aligned
behind the tubes of the condenser, so that common, continuous
corrugated fins 760 can be used. Accordingly, the corrugated fins
760 extend from an inflow side of the condenser to an outflow side
of the coolant radiator.
[0032] To protect the outermost corrugated fin 770 there is a side
part 780 which likewise extends from the inflow side of the
condenser to the outflow side of the coolant radiator. The side
part 780 is stiffened by two reinforcing fins 790 and 800, the
reinforcing fins 790 and 800 being formed from center pieces of the
surface of a baseplate 810 of the side part 780. On an opposite
side of the heat exchanger unit 700 from the side part 780 there is
likewise arranged a side part, although only one side edge 820 of
that side part can be seen in FIG. 5. The common tube/fin block 830
of coolant radiator 710 and condenser 720 can therefore be
pre-clamped from both sides in a single working step using the
common side parts 780 and 820 and can then be soldered in a further
working step.
[0033] In further exemplary embodiments (not shown), the heat
exchanger unit comprises a high-temperature cooler and a
low-temperature cooler, or an oil cooler and a condenser, with the
oil cooler if appropriate being a transmission oil cooler. Other
combinations comprising any desired heat exchangers are equally
possible.
[0034] Furthermore, it is possible to provide heat exchanger units
comprising three or more individual heat exchangers with one or
more, preferably two, side parts according to the invention; once
again, any desired heat exchangers are suitable for use as the
individual heat exchangers.
[0035] FIG. 6 shows a further example of a side part 900 which
comprises a baseplate 910 and reinforcing fins 920, 930 and 940.
The reinforcing fins 920, 930 and 940 correspond to apertures 950,
960 and 970, respectively, which correspond precisely to the center
pieces of the surface of the baseplate 910 from which the
reinforcing fins 920, 930 and 940 have been formed by deliberate
deformation. The deformation may be carried out in parallel, as in
the case of the reinforcing fins 920 and 930, or in antiparallel,
as in the case of the reinforcing fins 930 and 940. Clamping pins
(not shown) can be guided through apertures 980, 990 and 1000, in a
similar manner to the exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 1, so that
a heat exchanger unit which includes the side part 900 can be
clamped by means of clamping straps (likewise not shown) during a
manufacturing process.
[0036] In a further exemplary embodiment (not shown), the heat
exchanger is held together during its production, in particular
during a soldering process, not by clamping straps but rather with
the aid of what is known as a clamping cage. The pins for holding
the clamping straps are then no longer required, and there are also
no corresponding apertures.
[0037] FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a side part 1100 for a
heat exchanger unit (not shown) with two different heat exchangers.
The side part 1100 has an expansion section 1125 between a region
1110 which is assigned to a first heat exchanger and a region 1120
which is assigned to a second heat exchanger. The expandability in
the expansion region 1125 is provided by means of apertures 1130,
so that the regions 1110 and 1120 are only connected to one another
by webs 1140, the webs 1140 being configured in bent form in order
to improve the expandability. The apertures 1130 correspond to
reinforcing fins 1150 which are formed by cutting out center pieces
1130 of the surface on in each case three sides and then deforming
these center pieces along a respective fourth side edge, out of the
plane of a baseplate 1155 of the side part 1100. In addition, the
side part 1100 is stiffened with the aid of further reinforcing
fins 1160 and 1170, the reinforcing fin 1170 furthermore having
holders 1190 with securing eyelets 1200. The reinforcing fins 1160
and 1170, unlike the reinforcing fins 1150 formed by deformed
center pieces of the surface of the baseplate 1155, are formed by
deformed edge pieces of the surface of the baseplate 1155 of the
side part 1100.
[0038] Furthermore, at its ends the side part 1100 has extensions
1210 and 1220, which serve to cap water tanks (not shown) of one of
the two heat exchangers of a heat exchanger unit (not shown) for
which the side part 1100 is provided. To reduce mechanical loads,
for example caused by thermal stresses, the side part 1100 has two
expansion regions 1230 and 1240, which are substantially formed by
apertures 1250 and 1260, respectively.
[0039] In a further exemplary embodiment (not shown), the apertures
1250 and 1260 correspond to reinforcing fins which directly adjoin
the apertures 1250 and 1260 and are formed by deforming center
pieces of the surface of the baseplate 1155 of the side part 1100,
with the cutouts 1250 and 1260 having been formed precisely by
deformation of these center pieces of the surface.
[0040] FIG. 8 shows an excerpt from a side part 1300 with various
reinforcing fins 1310 and 1320 and corresponding cut-out center
pieces 1330 and 1340 of the surface. The reinforcing fins 1310 run
in the longitudinal direction of the side part 1300 and have
apertures 1350 for a clamping pin, while the reinforcing fins 1320
run at an angle .alpha. with respect to the longitudinal direction
of the side part 1300 and do not have apertures. In principle, the
reinforcing fins 1320 can likewise be provided with apertures for
clamping pins.
[0041] The reinforcing fins 1320 run at an angle .alpha. of
approximately 10.degree. with respect to the longitudinal direction
of the side part, resulting in a favorable geometry of the
reinforcing fins, in which four reinforcing fins lie next to one
another in regions 1360, resulting in a particularly high stability
of the side part 1300 at least in these regions 1360. In other
exemplary embodiments, the angle .alpha. may be between 0.degree.
and 90.degree. as desired.
[0042] FIG. 9 illustrates an excerpt from a side part 1400 in which
a reinforcing fin 1410 is formed by incisions 1420, 1430 being
precut out of a planar metal sheet, which incisions, together with
an edge 1440 of the metal sheet, define a surface piece which is
bent out of the plane of the metal sheet through an angle of
approximately 90.degree. in the direction indicated by arrow
1450.
[0043] In particular in the region of the bending edge 1460, the
angle may also be less than 90.degree.. This applies to all side
parts and heat exchanger units according to the invention.
* * * * *