U.S. patent application number 11/136594 was filed with the patent office on 2006-11-30 for multi-flow condenser for air conditioning systems.
This patent application is currently assigned to SAMAN INC.. Invention is credited to Simon M. Khazani, Scott E. Stewart.
Application Number | 20060266502 11/136594 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37461949 |
Filed Date | 2006-11-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060266502 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Khazani; Simon M. ; et
al. |
November 30, 2006 |
Multi-flow condenser for air conditioning systems
Abstract
A multi-flow heat exchanger for an air conditioning system
includes two rows of fluid carrying tubes coupled between a pair of
manifolds. Each of the manifolds includes at least one partition to
divide an inner space thereof into at least a first chamber and a
second chamber. Each of the chambers in fluid communication with at
least one of the first row of tubes and at least one of second row
of tubes. The two rows of fluid carrying tubes are separated by
heat dissipative fins disposed between the tubes.
Inventors: |
Khazani; Simon M.; (Tarzana,
CA) ; Stewart; Scott E.; (Lakewood, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
WALTER T. KIM
SUITE 1300
2030 MAIN STREET
IRVINE
CA
92614
US
|
Assignee: |
SAMAN INC.
|
Family ID: |
37461949 |
Appl. No.: |
11/136594 |
Filed: |
May 24, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
165/146 ;
165/173; 165/174 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28F 9/0209 20130101;
F28D 1/05391 20130101; F28D 1/05341 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/146 ;
165/174; 165/173 |
International
Class: |
F28F 9/02 20060101
F28F009/02 |
Claims
1. A condenser for an air conditioning system, comprising: a first
manifold having at least one partition to divide an inner space
thereof into at least a first chamber and a second chamber; a
second manifold having at least one partition to divide an inner
space thereof into at least a first chamber and a second chamber; a
first set of fluid carrying tubes comprising at least two rows of
tubes coupled between the manifolds to carry fluid from the first
chamber of the first manifold to the first chamber of the second
manifold; a second set of fluid carrying tubes comprising at least
two rows of tubes coupled between the manifolds to carry fluid from
the first chamber of the second manifold to the second chamber of
the first manifold; and a third set of fluid carrying tubes
comprising at least two rows of tubes coupled between the manifolds
to carry fluid from the second chamber of the first manifold to the
second chamber of the second manifold.
2. The condenser of claim 1, wherein each of the fluid carrying
tubes has a round cross section from 3/16 to 7/16 inch in
diameter.
3. The condenser of claim 1, wherein each of the fluid carrying
tubes has a round cross section from 4/16 to 6/16 inch in
diameter.
4. The condenser of claim 1, wherein each of the fluid carrying
tubes is separated by at least 3/16 inch.
5. The condenser of claim 1, wherein the at least two rows of tubes
coupled between the first manifold and the second manifold are
separated by heat dissipative fins disposed therebetween.
6. The condenser of claim 1, wherein the air conditioning system is
adapted for use with R-134A type refrigerant.
7. The condenser of claim 1, wherein the first manifold comprises
at least two partitions to divide the inner space thereof into the
first chamber, the second chamber and a third chamber.
8. The condenser of claim 7, further comprising: a fourth set of
fluid carrying tubes comprising at least two rows of tubes coupled
between the manifolds to carry fluid from the second chamber of the
second manifold to the third chamber of the first manifold.
9. The condenser of claim 8, further comprising: an inlet provided
in the first manifold to enable fluid to enter the first chamber of
the first manifold; and an outlet provided in the first manifold to
enable fluid to leave the third chamber of the first manifold.
10. The condenser of claim 1, wherein the first chamber and the
second chamber of the first manifold are undivided in a
longitudinal axis; and the first chamber and the second chamber of
the second manifold are undivided in a longitudinal axis.
11. The condenser of claim 1, wherein the first row of tubes is
disposed in a plane parallel to the second row of tubes, and the
first row of tubes is positioned with respect to the second row of
tubes such that the tubes of the first row are staggered with
respect the tubes of the second row.
12. A manifold for a heat exchanger, comprising: an elongated
member having a longitudinal axis and a first end and a second end;
and at least one partition transverse to the longitudinal axis
provided in the elongated member to divide an inner space of the
elongated member into at least a first chamber and a second
chamber, wherein the first chamber is capable of establishing fluid
communication with at least two rows of heat exchange tubes and the
second chamber is capable of establishing fluid communication with
at least two rows of heat exchange tubes.
13. The manifold of claim 12, wherein the elongated member includes
rows of holes are sized and shaped to receive heat exchange tubes
having a round cross section from 3/16 to 7/16 inch in
diameter.
14. The manifold of claim 12, wherein the elongated member includes
rows of holes are sized and shaped to receive heat exchange tubes
having a round cross section from 4/16 to 6/16 inch in
diameter.
15. The manifold of claim 12, wherein each of the rows of holes is
at least 3/16 inch apart from adjacent holes.
16. The manifold of claim 12, wherein the first chamber and the
second chamber are undivided in a longitudinal axis.
17. The manifold of claim 12, wherein the elongated member
comprises: a half-cylindrical shaped section; a plane shaped
section fixed to the half-cylindrical shaped section to form the
elongated member, the plane shaped section having first and second
rows of holes configured to receive round heat exchange tubes; a
first end plate fixed to the first end of the elongated member; and
a second end plate fixed to the second end of the elongated
member.
18. The manifold of claim 17, wherein the second row of holes are
staggered with respect to the first row of holes.
19. The manifold of claim 12, further comprising: an inlet provided
in the elongated member and in fluid communication with one of the
chambers; and an outlet provided in the elongated member and in
fluid communication with another one of the chambers.
20. A heat exchanger comprising: a first row of heat exchange
tubes; a second row of heat exchange tubes; a plurality of heat
dissipative fins disposed between the tubes; a first manifold
including at least one partition to divide an inner space thereof
into at least a first chamber and a second chamber, the first
chamber of the first manifold in fluid communication with at least
one of the first row of tubes and at least one of second row of
tubes, the second chamber of the first manifold in fluid
communication with at least another one of the first row of and at
least another one of second row of tubes; a second manifold
including at least one partition to divide an inner space thereof
into at least a first chamber and a second chamber, the first
chamber of the second manifold in fluid communication with at least
one of the first row of tubes and at least one of second row of
tubes, the second chamber of the second manifold in fluid
communication with at least another one of the first row of and at
least another one of second row of tubes; an inlet provided in one
of the manifolds; and an outlet provided in one of the
manifolds.
21. The heat exchanger of claim 20, wherein the heat exchanger
adapted for use with an air conditioning system using R-134A type
refrigerant.
22. The heat exchanger of claim 20, wherein each of the tubes has a
round cross section from 3/16 to 7/16 inch in diameter.
23. The heat exchanger of claim 20, wherein each of the tubes has a
round cross section from 4/16 to 6/16 inch in diameter.
24. The heat exchanger of claim 20, wherein the first row of heat
exchange tubes and the second row of heat exchange tubes are
separated by the heat dissipative fins disposed between the
tubes.
25. The heat exchanger of claim 20, wherein the first chamber and
the second chamber of the first manifold are undivided in a
longitudinal axis; and the first chamber and the second chamber of
the second manifold are undivided in a longitudinal axis.
26. The heat exchanger of claim 20, wherein the first row of tubes
is disposed in a plane parallel to the second row of tubes, and the
first row of tubes is positioned with respect to the second row of
tubes such that the tubes of the first row are staggered with the
tubes of the second row.
27. The heat exchanger of claim 20, wherein at least one of the
manifolds comprises: an elongated half-cylindrical shaped section;
and a plane section fixed to the elongated half-cylindrical shaped
section to form a hollow member having semi-cylindrical
cross-section.
28. The heat exchanger of claim 27, wherein the plane section
includes a first row of holes and a second row of holes to receive
the first row of tubes and the second row of tubes,
respectively.
29. The heat exchanger of claim 20, wherein the heat exchange tubes
have round cross-section, and the first row of holes and the second
row of holes are configured to receive round heat exchange tubes.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention generally relates to heat exchangers,
and in particular, to heat exchangers for vehicle air conditioning
systems.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Vehicles may employ a heat exchanger to cool fluid, such as
refrigerant for air conditioning systems. The heat exchanger may
comprise a plurality of parallel tubes to carry refrigerant fluid
between manifolds and corrugated fins disposed between the tubes.
The manifolds may include an inlet to allow refrigerant fluid to
enter the heat exchanger and an outlet to allow the cooled fluid to
exit the heat exchanger and supplied to other components in the air
conditioning system. Air passing between the corrugated fins serves
to extract heat from the tubes and the refrigerant fluid flowing
within the tubes.
[0005] Some of the conventional heat exchangers for vehicle air
conditioning systems utilize a longitudinal partition to divide a
manifold chamber into at least two longitudinal compartments. These
types of conventional heat exchangers may suffer from various
disadvantages. For example, because the longitudinal partition
blocks the flow of fluid from two or more of rows of tubes from
entering the same chamber in the manifold, the refrigerant fluid is
forced to travel through each row of tubes in separate successive
passes. Consequentially, such heat exchangers may be subjected to
overly high internal refrigerant pressure and may exert overly high
back pressure on the remainder of the air conditioning system.
Another disadvantage is that the construction of the longitudinal
partitions in the manifolds may excessively increase difficulties
and cost associated with manufacturing such heat exchangers.
[0006] Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a heat
exchanger which is easy to manufacture and overcomes the
disadvantages associated with conventional heat exchangers that can
cause undesirable level of pressure to build up within air
conditioning systems.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF EMBODIMENTS THE INVENTION
[0007] Described herein are various embodiments of a heat exchanger
and manifolds incorporated in the heat exchanger. In one
embodiment, the heat exchanger is a multi-flow heat exchanger for
vehicle air conditioning systems. The heat exchanger includes two
rows of fluid carrying tubes coupled between a pair of manifolds.
Each of the manifolds includes at least one partition to divide an
inner space thereof into at least a first chamber and a second
chamber. In accordance with one embodiment, the flow pass through
the heat exchanger is multi-flow because each of the chambers is in
fluid communication with at least two rows of fluid carrying tubes
which are separated by heat dissipative fins.
[0008] According to an embodiment, the two rows of fluid carrying
tubes included in the core section of the heat exchanger are
disposed in a plane parallel to each other. In one embodiment, the
first row of tubes is positioned with respect to the second row of
tubes such that the tubes of the first row are staggered with
respect to the tubes of the second row. In operation, the fluid
enters the heat exchanger via the inlet into one of the manifolds
and flows through a series of fluid carrying tubes between the pair
of manifolds. In one embodiment, the heat exchanger includes a
first set of fluid carrying tubes comprising at least two rows of
tubes coupled between the manifolds to carry fluid from the first
chamber of the first manifold to the first chamber of the second
manifold, a second set of fluid carrying tubes comprising at least
two rows of tubes coupled between the manifolds to carry fluid from
the first chamber of the second manifold to the second chamber of
the first manifold, and a third set of fluid carrying tubes
comprising at least two rows of tubes coupled between the manifolds
to carry fluid from the second chamber of the first manifold to the
second chamber of the second manifold. The heat exchanger may
further include a fourth set of fluid carrying tubes comprising at
least two rows of tubes coupled between the manifolds to carry
fluid from the second chamber of the second manifold to the third
chamber of the first manifold.
[0009] According to an embodiment, a manifold for use with a heat
exchanger is provided. In one embodiment, the manifold may comprise
an elongated member having a half-cylindrical shaped section fixed
to a plane shaped section and at least one traverse partition to
divide an inner space thereof into at least two chambers. The plane
shaped section of the manifold may include two rows of holes which
are shaped and sized to receive the fluid carrying tubes. In
accordance with one embodiment, one row of holes is staggered with
respect to the other row of holes formed in the plane shaped
section of the manifold. In one embodiment, the manifold may
include two traverse partitions to divide an inner space thereof
into three chambers. In another embodiment, the manifold may
include only one traverse partition to divide an inner space
thereof into two chambers. In accordance with an embodiment, the
chambers of the manifold are undivided in a longitudinal axis so as
to enable fluid from multiple rows of tubes, which are separated by
heat dissipative fins, to flow into the each respective
chamber.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] Embodiments of the invention are illustrated by way of
example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the
accompanying drawings in which like references indicate similar
elements. It should be noted that the references to "an embodiment"
or "one embodiment" of this disclosure are not necessarily to the
same embodiment, and such references mean at least one.
[0011] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a heat
exchanger for an air conditioning system according to an embodiment
of the present invention.
[0012] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of an embodiment of a heat
exchanger with manifolds detached from a heat-exchange core
section.
[0013] FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a manifold for
a heat exchanger according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0014] FIG. 4A is a diagrammatic perspective view of the heat
exchanger, with parts broken away, illustrating the fluid carrying
tubes inserted and fixed to the holes formed in the manifold.
[0015] FIG. 4B is a diagrammatic perspective view of the portion of
the heat exchanger shown in FIG. 4A.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0016] In the following description, specific details are set forth
in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments
of the present invention. However, it will be apparent to one
skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be
practiced without these specific details. In other instances,
well-known structures and techniques have not been shown in detail
in order to avoid obscuring embodiments of the present invention.
It should be noted that, as used in the description herein and the
claims, the meaning of "in" includes "in" and "on".
[0017] FIG. 1 shows a heat exchanger 100 according to an embodiment
of the present invention. The heat exchanger 100 described herein
may be used in a condenser assembly for cooling refrigerant for a
vehicle air conditioning system. It should be appreciated that the
heat exchanger 100 and manifolds 110 descried herein may be adapted
for cooling other fluid. The heat exchanger 100 generally includes
a pair of manifolds 110-1, 110-2 and a core section, generally
indicated at 120, disposed between the manifolds. The core section
120 includes rows of fluid carrying tubes 130 to carry refrigerant
between the manifolds 110 and heat dissipative fins 140 disposed
between the tubes 130 to dissipate heat therefrom. In one
embodiment, the heat dissipative fins 140 are corrugated fins
formed by thin metal strips, such as aluminum or copper. The core
section 120 may further include support plates 150-1, 150-2 to
provide support for the tubes 130.
[0018] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the manifolds 110-1 and 110-2 may
be spaced in parallel relationship. FIG. 3 shows an example of a
manifold for use with a heat exchanger according to an embodiment
of the present invention. The manifold 110 is formed with an
elongated member 112 having closed ends 114, 116 by fixing end
plates to ends thereof. In the illustrated embodiment, the
elongated member 112 includes an elongated semi-cylindrical shaped
section and a plane section extending throughout the length of the
manifold. The elongated member 112 may be formed in a one-piece
construction from one continues piece of material, such as aluminum
or copper. Alternatively, the elongated member 112 may be formed of
two or more sections joined by any suitable attachment means, such
as brazing, welding or the like. Although the illustrated elongated
member 112 has a semi-cylindrical cross-section, it should be
appreciated that the elongated member may have any other suitable
cross-sectional shape, such as, for example, cylindrical shaped
elongated member having circular cross-section.
[0019] One of the manifolds 110 includes one or more inlets 170-1,
170-2 to allow refrigerant fluid to enter the heat exchanger 100
and one or more outlets 190-1, 190-2 to allow the refrigerant fluid
to exit the heat exchanger and supplied to other components in the
air conditioning system. The inlets 170 and the outlets 190 may be
provided in the same manifold, as shown in FIGS. 1-3.
Alternatively, the heat exchanger 100 may be configured such that
the inlets and the outlets are provided in different manifolds.
Each of the manifolds 110 also includes at least one partition 160
transverse to the longitudinal axis provided in the elongated
member to divide an inner space of the elongated member into
multiple chambers 162. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the
first manifold 110-1 has at least two partitions 160-1, 160-2 to
divide the member into at least three chambers 162-1 through 162-3
and the second manifold 110-2 has one partition 160-4 to divide the
member into two chambers 164-1, 164-2. The number and spacing of
the partitions 160 of the manifolds 110 depend on the configuration
of the heat exchangers and in some application, additional
partitions may be used to divide the elongated member into four or
more chambers.
[0020] As seen by referring to FIGS. 3, 4A and 4B, holes 180 are
formed in the plane section of the manifold 110 to receive free
ends of the fluid carrying tubes 130. The holes 180 are configured
to engage the fluid carrying tubes 130 by having the same shape and
size as the cross-section of the tubes 130. In the illustrated
embodiment, the holes 180 are of a round shape to accept the round
fluid carrying tubes 130. It should be appreciated that the holes
180 formed in the manifolds 110 can also be sized and shaped to
receive other heat-exchange tube shapes. Each of the holes 180
formed in the manifold 110 may have identical or differing
diameter. In one embodiment, each of the holes 180 has a round
cross section from 3/16 to 7/16 inch in diameter, preferably from
4/16 to 6/16 inch in diameter, and in the most preferred embodiment
about 5/16 inch in diameter. In one embodiment, each of the holes
180 is at least 3/16 inch apart from the adjacent holes, preferably
at least 4/16 inch apart, and in the most preferred embodiment
about 5/16 inch apart from the adjacent holes.
[0021] It should be noted that two rows of holes 180 are formed on
the manifolds 110 such that one row of holes is offset from the
other row of holes. This allows the two rows of fluid carrying
tubes 130 connected between the manifold 110 to be staggered or
offset with respect to each other. Heat from the refrigerant fluid
is extracted by air flowing between the fluid carrying tubes as
well as air flowing through spaces between the corrugated fins
between the tubes. Accordingly, the staggered arrangement of the
first and second rows of tubes 130 may facilitate better
distribution of air through the fluid carrying tubes 130 and the
corrugated fins 140 included in the core section 120 of the heat
exchanger 110. In an alternative embodiment, the two rows of fluid
carrying tubes 130 may be aligned with respect to each other
instead of the staggered arrangement.
[0022] The two rows of fluid carrying tubes 130 included in the
heat exchanger 100 are disposed in a plane parallel to each other.
As mentioned above, the first row of tubes is positioned with
respect to the second row of tubes such that the two rows of tubes
are staggered with respect each other. Each of the fluid carrying
tubes 130 may have identical or differing diameter. In one
embodiment, each of the tubes 130 has a round cross section from
3/16 to 7/16 inch in diameter, preferably from 4/16 to 6/16 inch in
diameter, and in the most preferred embodiment about 5/16 inch in
diameter. In accordance with one embodiment, the flow pass through
the heat exchanger 100 is multi-flow because each of the chambers
is in fluid communication with at least two rows of fluid carrying
tubes, in which the fluid carrying tubes are separated by heat
dissipative fins. Using multiple rows of fluid carrying tubes 130
having diameters as mentioned above may be useful in applications
where refrigerants, such as, for example, R-134A, are used since
R-134A operates at higher pressure than previously used R-12
refrigerant. The multiple tube flow configuration provided by the
embodiments of the heat exchanger 100 described herein may be
useful in preventing overly high pressure from building up within
the heat exchanger and exerting overly high back pressure on the
remainder of the air conditioning.
[0023] The fluid entering the heat exchanger 100 will flow through
a series of tube sets 210 through 240 between the pair of manifold
110. As seen by referring to FIG. 2, the core section 120 of the
heat exchanger 110 includes a first set of fluid carrying tubes 210
to carry fluid from the first chamber 162-3 of the first manifold
110-1 to the first chamber 164-1 of the second manifold 110-2. The
core section further includes a second set of fluid carrying tubes
220 to carry fluid from the first chamber 164-2 of the second
manifold 110-2 to the second chamber 162-2 of the first manifold
110-1, and a third set of fluid carrying tubes 230 to carry fluid
from the second chamber 162-2 of the first manifold 110-1 to the
second chamber 164-1 of the second manifold 110-2. The core section
120 may further include a fourth set of fluid carrying tubes 240 to
carry fluid from the second chamber 164-1 of the second manifold
110-2 to the third chamber 162-1 of the first manifold 110-1.
According to one embodiment, each set of tube sets 210 through 240
comprises two or more rows of tubes 130 to enable fluid flow in
multiple rows of tubes between respective chambers of the first and
second manifold 110. The elimination of the longitudinal partition
within the manifold 110 decreases the length of flow path within
the core section 120, which helps to reduce the relatively high
pressure of the refrigerant that can build up within the heat
exchanger 100.
[0024] In vehicle air conditioning system applications, the heat
exchanger 100 may be mounted in a region of a vehicle, such as, for
example, in front of the vehicle engine, so that it can receive
better air flow as the vehicle is traveling. In operation, a
compressor of the air conditioning system may be used to provide
high pressure gas refrigerant to the heat exchanger 100. The
refrigerant discharged from a compressor enters the heat exchanger
100 and flow through a series of tubes 130 provided therein. As the
fluid flows through the series of tubes between the pair of
manifolds 110, the refrigerant is cooled as a result of heat
extracted by air flowing between the heat dissipative fins 140 and
the fluid carrying tubes 130. As described above, the flow paths
within the illustrated heat exchanger 100 is as follows: the
refrigerant fluid from the first chamber 162-3 of the first
manifold 110-1 flows through the first set of tubes 210 to the
first chamber 164-2 of the second manifold 110-2; flows through the
second set of tubes 220 to the second chamber 162-2 of the first
manifold 110-1; flows through the third set of tubes 230 to the
second chamber 164-1 of the second manifold 110-2; flows through
the fourth set of tubes 240 to the third chamber 162-1 of first
manifold 110-1 and leaves the heat exchanger 110 through the outlet
190. The outlet 190 may be coupled to an evaporator to discharge
cooled refrigerant thereto. It should be appreciated that the size
and shape of illustrated heat exchanger 100 may be modified to fit
each particular make and model of automobile. Although not shown,
brackets for supporting the heat exchanger 100 and tubes which
carry the refrigerant to and from the heat exchanger may be
specifically built as required for each particular make and model
of automobile.
[0025] While the foregoing embodiments of the heat exchanger and
manifolds for use with the heat exchanger have been described and
shown, it is understood that variations and modifications, such as
those suggested and others within the spirit and scope of the
invention, may occur to those skilled in the art to which the
invention pertains. The scope of the present invention accordingly
is to be defined as set forth in the appended claims.
* * * * *