U.S. patent application number 13/230215 was filed with the patent office on 2012-03-15 for charge air intercooler for arrangement in a suction tube.
Invention is credited to Peter Geskes, Christian Saumweber.
Application Number | 20120061053 13/230215 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 42110088 |
Filed Date | 2012-03-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120061053 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Geskes; Peter ; et
al. |
March 15, 2012 |
CHARGE AIR INTERCOOLER FOR ARRANGEMENT IN A SUCTION TUBE
Abstract
A charge air intercooler for arrangement in a suction tube is
provided that includes a plurality of channels through which
coolant flows, forming a cooler block around which charge air can
flow, wherein the cooler block is connectable to a floor member and
wherein a collector has at least one coolant connection. The charge
air intercooler can be fastened in an opening of the suction tube
via a flange member, the flange member and the floor member being
separate components.
Inventors: |
Geskes; Peter; (Ostfildern,
DE) ; Saumweber; Christian; (Stuttgart, DE) |
Family ID: |
42110088 |
Appl. No.: |
13/230215 |
Filed: |
September 12, 2011 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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PCT/EP2010/052776 |
Mar 4, 2010 |
|
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13230215 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
165/67 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F28F 21/067 20130101;
F02B 29/0475 20130101; Y02T 10/146 20130101; F02M 35/10268
20130101; F28F 9/0226 20130101; F28F 9/0224 20130101; F28F 9/0219
20130101; Y02T 10/12 20130101; F28F 9/0214 20130101; F28D 7/1638
20130101; F02B 29/0462 20130101; F28D 7/1692 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
165/67 |
International
Class: |
F28F 9/013 20060101
F28F009/013 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 10, 2009 |
DE |
DE 102009012024.6 |
Claims
1. A charge air intercooler for arrangement in a suction tube, the
charge air intercooler comprising: a plurality of channels through
which coolant flows and which form a cooler block around which
charge air is flowable; a floor member, the floor member being
connectable to the cooler block; and a collector having at least
one coolant connection, wherein the charge air intercooler is
configured to be fastened in an opening of the suction tube via a
flange member, and wherein the flange member and the floor member
are separate components.
2. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the
floor member is made of aluminum, and wherein the channels are
configured as flat tubes soldered to the floor member.
3. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the
flange member is made of plastic.
4. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein a seal
is arranged between the floor member and the flange member.
5. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein a seal
is arranged between the floor member and the suction tube.
6. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the
flange member forms a portion of the collector.
7. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the
flange member comprises a partition wall of the collector.
8. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein a
coolant connection is formed on the flange member.
9. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the
floor member has a crimping, in particular a corrugated, slotted
crimping, for connecting to the flange member.
10. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the
flange member engages over the collector, and wherein the flange
member forms a partition wall between the charge air and an outside
space.
11. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the
collector and the floor member are completely formed as a soldered
unit made of aluminum components.
12. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the
flange member is connectable to the suction tube in a firmly
bonding manner by an adhesive bonding and/or welding and/or
friction welding.
13. The charge air intercooler according to claim 1, wherein the
flange member is connectable to the suction tube via a
substantially circular ring-shaped surface, or wherein the flange
member is connectable to the suction tube via friction welding.
14. The charge air intercooler according to claim 4, wherein the
seal is an O-ring seal.
Description
[0001] This nonprovisional application is a continuation of
International Application No. PCT/EP2010/052776, which was filed on
Mar. 4, 2010, and which claims priority to German Patent
Application No. DE 10 2009 012 024.6, which was filed in Germany on
Mar. 10, 2009, and which are both herein incorporated by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention relates to a charge air intercooler for
arrangement in a suction tube.
[0004] 2. Description of the Background Art
[0005] It is known to design charge air intercoolers as indirect
cooler so that the heat is dissipated by a liquid coolant. Such
charge air intercoolers can be designed as an integrated unit with
a suction tube of an internal combustion engine.
[0006] In this context it is known to design a floor of a charge
air intercooler as a tube bundle construction and at the same time
as a mounting plate for fastening at an edge of a suction tube
opening.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a
charge air intercooler for arrangement in a suction tube, which
charge air intercooler is connected in a simple and reliably sealed
manner to the suction tube.
[0008] Via a separate design of flange member and floor member, a
better tolerance with respect to vibrations can be achieved. In
addition, a higher flexibility with respect to shaping and material
pairings of a suction tube and/or flange member is achieved.
Depending on the details of the design, a further advantage of the
invention can be that the connection between the suction tube and
the flange member is not affected by potential flux residues or
similar contaminants from soldering the cooler block.
[0009] In an embodiment, the floor member is made of aluminum,
wherein the channels can be designed as flat tubes soldered to the
floor member. In case of such an embodiment, the solution according
to the invention especially relieves the connection of the flat
tubes on the floor member from vibrations and mechanical
stresses.
[0010] In a cost-effective and simple embodiment, the flange member
can be made of a plastic. In a preferred and simple construction, a
seal, such as an O-ring seal, can be provided between the floor
member and the flange member. However, alternatively or
additionally it is also possible that a seal is provided between
the floor member and the suction tube.
[0011] In an embodiment of the invention, the flange member forms a
portion of the collector, for example a collector compartment. In
particular, the flange member can form a partition wall between the
outside space and the charge air as well as between a coolant and
the charge air or outside air. The flange member can be designed,
for example, as a plastics molding, whereby it can be formed in a
simple and cost-effective manner for fulfilling these functions.
Preferably, it can also comprise a partition wall of the collector.
Likewise, the coolant connection can be formed in a simple and
cost-effective manner on the flange member, for example in the form
of one-piece plastic nozzles of the same material. In a detail
configuration, the floor member can have a crimping, in particular
a corrugated, slotted crimping, for connecting to the flange
member. Through these or other measures, a simple assembly, for
example by latching of the floor member and the flange member or
the collector compartment can be achieved.
[0012] In a further embodiment of the invention it is provided that
the flange member can engage over the collector, wherein the flange
member forms a partition wall between the charge air and an outside
space. In particular, a seal, for example, an O-ring seal, can be
provided between the collector and the flange member. In
particular, in case of such an arrangement, the cooler block can be
designed not only as tubular cooler but alternatively also as a
disk stack cooler. In this case, a collector can be a channel
formed by overlapping openings of the disks, wherein the upper disk
plate of the stack represents a floor member.
[0013] In an embodiment of the invention, the collector and the
floor member together can be completely formed as a soldered unit
from aluminum components. Such a solution is particularly safe and
can be manufactured in a coolant-tight and cost-effective
manner.
[0014] In a further embodiment of the invention, the flange member
can be connected to the suction tube in a firmly bonded manner,
preferably by means of adhesive bonding and/or welding,
particularly friction welding. Apart from the secure and durable
fastening, the number of required seals can be minimized in such a
configuration. Alternatively or additionally, depending on the
requirements, screwing, riveting or other fastening of the flange
member to the suction tube can also be carried out.
[0015] Further, the flange member can be connectable to the suction
tube via a substantially circular ring-shaped area, for example, by
friction welding. In case of a circular joint, friction welding can
be generated in a simple, cost-effective and secure manner via a
highly dynamic vibratory movement in circular direction.
[0016] Further scope of applicability of the present invention will
become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter.
However, it should be understood that the detailed description and
specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the
invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various
changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the
invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from
this detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0017] The present invention will become more fully understood from
the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying
drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus, are
not limitive of the present invention, and wherein:
[0018] FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a charge air
intercooler according to the prior art;
[0019] FIG. 2 shows a spatial illustration of a first example of a
charge air intercooler according to the invention;
[0020] FIG. 3 shows a sectional view of the charge air intercooler
from FIG. 2;
[0021] FIGS. 4a and 4b show two exploded drawings of the charge air
intercooler from FIG. 2 from different perspectives;
[0022] FIG. 5 shows a schematic sectional view of a second
exemplary embodiment of the charge air intercooler according to the
invention;
[0023] FIG. 6 shows a sectional view of a third exemplary
embodiment of a charge air intercooler according to the
invention;
[0024] FIG. 7 shows a spatial view of the charge air intercooler
from FIG. 6; and
[0025] FIG. 8 shows a schematic top view of a fourth exemplary
embodiment of a charge air intercooler according to the
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0026] The charge air intercooler shown in FIG. 1 shows a cooler
block formed from a bundle of flat tubes 1 with ribs 1a arranged
therebetween. The flat tubes 1 form channels for a liquid coolant
which is distributed via a collector 2 with coolant connections 3
to the channels 1. At the end of the channels 1, the coolant is
deflected in a second collector 4 so that the charge air
intercooler has a U-flow cooler-type design. The channels or flat
tubes 1 open out in a floor member 5 of the collector 2, which
floor member is plate-shaped here and extends on the edge side
beyond the cooler block and is equipped with mounting bores 5a for
fastening at an insertion opening in a suction tube (not
illustrated in FIG. 1). The floor member 2 of the known indirect
charge air intercooler thus forms at the same time a flange member
for fastening to a suction tube.
[0027] The charge air intercooler according to the invention shown
in FIG. 2 to FIG. 4b comprises a two-row stack of flat tubes 1
between which, ribs 1a are soldered on a flat surface. The charge
air L flows around the flat tubes or channels 1 and ribs, wherein
through the channels 1, in turn, a liquid coolant can flow, for
example of a low-temperature cooling circuit, for dissipating the
heat.
[0028] The flat tubes 1 as a whole form a cooler block and open out
with each of their ends into a floor member 5 which is formed as
aluminum sheet metal part. After a mechanical preassembly, the two
floor members 5 on the end sides, the flat tubes 1 and the ribs are
soldered together in a soldering furnace. In particular, for
further simplification and cost reduction, the floor members 5 can
be designed as identical parts.
[0029] The first of the floor members 5 is part of a first
collector 2 on the connection side of the charge air intercooler.
The collector 2 is formed from the floor member 5 and a plastic
injection molded part 6 which, at the same time, forms a collector
compartment as well as a flange member for fastening the charge air
intercooler in a gas-tight manner at an opening of a suction tube 7
(see sectional view FIG. 3).
[0030] The flange member 6 has a circumferentially extending collar
8 which interacts with a crimping 9 of the floor member 5, in the
present case a corrugated, slotted crimping. For this, an O-ring
seal is inserted between collar 8 and floor member 5, whereupon the
flange member 6 is attached with its collar 8 in a coolant-tight
manner onto the floor member 9. By deforming the corrugated,
slotted crimping 9, a firm connection of floor member 5 and flange
member or collector compartment 6 is created. Alternatively or
additionally, this can also be carried out by latching, adhesive
bonding or other fastening measures.
[0031] A circumferential flange face 10 having screw holes 10a
extends on the side of the collar 8 of the flange member 6, by
means of which flange face, a gas-tight fastening of the flange
member 6 at an edge of the suction tube opening is carried out. For
this, a further groove for inserting an O-ring seal in the flange
face 10 and/or at the suction tube opening can be provided.
[0032] Furthermore, two nozzle-like coolant connections 3 are
integrally formed on the flange member 6. For distributing the
coolant flows to feed channels and return channels 1, in addition,
a partition wall 12 is provided between the coolant connections 3,
which wall is likewise made of the same material and integrally
formed on the flange member 6.
[0033] On the opposite side of the flat tubes 1, the second floor
member 5 is connected in an analog manner to the second collector
compartment 13. The latter forms a hollow space above the tube ends
so that the coolant flow from the flat feed tubes 1 is deflected by
180.degree. into the flat return tubes 1.
[0034] Advantageously, the cooler block is also supported on the
side of the second collector 4 with respect to the suction tube,
for example by a holder of the second collector compartment 13,
which holder is made of an elastic material (not illustrated).
[0035] FIG. 5 shows a second exemplary embodiment of the invention,
wherein in contrast to the first exemplary embodiment, a different
kind of sealing is selected.
[0036] In this example too, a flange member 6 is designed at the
same time as collector compartment made of plastic and having a
partition wall 12. However, in the present case, between a
plate-shaped laterally protruding floor member 5 and the outer edge
of the opening in the suction tube 7, an O-ring seal 11 is provided
which provides for a sealing between coolant and charge air.
[0037] The flange member 6 is attached on the floor member 5 in a
supporting manner and the seal is attached on said floor element in
a pressing manner, wherein an edge 14 of the flange member is
continuously connected in a firmly bonding manner to a
corresponding edge 15 circumferentially extending around the
opening of the suction tube 7. In the present case, the connection
is carried out by welding the plastic material of suction tube 7 to
the flange member 6, for example by friction welding or ultrasonic
welding. Alternatively or additionally, an adhesive bonding can
also be carried out. For better positioning and fastening, the
corresponding edges have in addition interlocking steps.
[0038] FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show a third exemplary embodiment of the
invention. In contrast to the preceding examples, the flange member
6 is not designed to be at the same time a collector compartment.
Rather, the collector compartments and the floor members 5 are
uniformly formed from aluminum and are soldered together with the
flat tubes 1 and the coolant connection 3 in a soldering
furnace.
[0039] The structural aluminum unit created in this manner
consisting of cooler block 1 and collectors 2, 4 (see FIG. 7) is
held in the suction tube 7 by means of flange member 6 made of
plastic (see FIG. 6). In the present case, the flange member 6 is
screwed to the suction tube 7 using a seal 21; however, it can also
be glued or welded.
[0040] The flange member 6 engages over the collector 2 of the
charge air intercooler, wherein the coolant connections 3 of the
collector penetrate through recesses in the flange member 6. Said
O-ring seals 17 between collector 2 and flange member 6 provide for
a gas-tight separation of charge air and outside space. Thus, the
flange member 6 forms a gas-tight partition wall between charge air
and outside space.
[0041] At the opposite end of the charge air intercooler, the
latter is supported with respect to an inner wall of the suction
tube 7 with a second collector, in which the coolant is deflected,
wherein for a better damping of vibrations, an elastic insert 18 is
provided between collector 4 and suction tube wall.
[0042] It is to be understood that in the exemplary embodiment
according to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, principally any charge air
intercooler construction can be used without departing from the
inventive principle of sealed fastening in the suction tube. For
example, the charge air intercooler can also be formed as disk
stack cooler (not illustrated). In case of such a construction,
other structures of the charge air intercooler with collector and
floor member are to be identified. In this case, a collector can be
understood as a channel formed by overlapping openings of the
disks, wherein for example an upper base plate of the stack
represents a floor member.
[0043] FIG. 8 shows a fourth exemplary embodiment of the invention
which is substantially a modification of the third exemplary
embodiment. Here too, the flange member 6 is designed as plastic
molded part which engages over a collector 2 and has an opening 19
with a sealing ring 17, which opening is penetrated by coolant
connections 3.
[0044] As a further development, an edge of flange member 6 is
connected to the suction tube made of plastic and has a circular
ring shape so that initially, a circular ring-shaped contact
surface 20 is present. Subsequently, by friction welding, a firmly
bonded connection of flange member 6 and suction tube 7 is carried
out in a simple, secure and cost-effective manner. Due to the
circular ring-shaped configuration of the surface 2, the friction
welding can be carried in a particular advantageous manner by means
of dynamic oscillations or torsional vibrations about a circle
center (direction of the vibration arrow V). Circular friction
welding is in particular advantageous if the circular seal 17 is
not highly loaded. In case that the seal is rotated on the cooler
collector surface during friction welding, the seal is then
possibly better protected against damage. Here, in particular such
sealing rings are suitable which have certain sliding properties.
Due to a rotational movement during friction welding, the risk of
damage to the seal is reduced.
[0045] It is to be understood that depending on the requirements,
the specific features of the individual exemplary embodiments can
be combined with each other. Provided that said features do not
require special materials, the latter can be selected as desired.
Within this context, the suction tube can be made, for example, of
plastic but also of aluminum.
[0046] The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that
the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be
regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention,
and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in
the art are to be included within the scope of the following
claims.
* * * * *