U.S. patent application number 14/917591 was filed with the patent office on 2016-09-29 for device for coupling an evaporator to an expansion valve.
This patent application is currently assigned to Valeo Systemes Thermiques. The applicant listed for this patent is VALEO SYSTEMES THERMIQUES. Invention is credited to Francois Busson, Sylvain Moreau.
Application Number | 20160282025 14/917591 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49620128 |
Filed Date | 2016-09-29 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160282025 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Moreau; Sylvain ; et
al. |
September 29, 2016 |
DEVICE FOR COUPLING AN EVAPORATOR TO AN EXPANSION VALVE
Abstract
The invention relates to a device (28) for coupling a heat
exchanger, such as an evaporator (10), to an expansion valve (26),
in particular for a vehicle, said exchanger and said expansion
valve being provided with ports (18, 20, 22, 24) for the
inlet/outlet of fluid, at least one (24) of the ports of the
expansion valve not being aligned with one (18) of the ports of the
exchanger, said device including a first part (30), intended for
being assembled and seemed to the exchanger and/or the evaporator,
said first part (30) being capable of defining, with at least one
adjacent part, at least one first fluid passage intended for
connecting said non-aligned ports (18, 24), said adjacent part
being selected among a second part (32) of said device, said
exchanger and/or said expansion valve.
Inventors: |
Moreau; Sylvain; (Spay,
FR) ; Busson; Francois; (Saint Gervais En Belin,
FR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
VALEO SYSTEMES THERMIQUES |
Le Mesnil Saint Denis |
|
FR |
|
|
Assignee: |
Valeo Systemes Thermiques
Le Mesnil Saint Denis
FR
|
Family ID: |
49620128 |
Appl. No.: |
14/917591 |
Filed: |
September 9, 2014 |
PCT Filed: |
September 9, 2014 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/EP2014/069210 |
371 Date: |
May 12, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25B 41/062 20130101;
F25B 2500/01 20130101; F28F 9/0253 20130101; F25B 39/02 20130101;
F28D 2021/0085 20130101; F28F 9/26 20130101; F25B 39/00 20130101;
F25B 2500/18 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F25B 41/06 20060101
F25B041/06; F25B 39/00 20060101 F25B039/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 9, 2013 |
FR |
1358635 |
Claims
1. A device for coupling a heat exchanger to an expansion valve for
a vehicle, said exchanger and said expansion valve being provided
with fluid inlet/outlet ports, at least one of the ports of the
expansion valve not being aligned with one of the ports of the
exchanger, said device comprising: a first part configured to be
joined and fixed to the exchanger, said first part defining, with
at least one neighboring part, a first fluid passage intended to
couple said non-aligned ports, said neighboring part being chosen
from a second part of said device, said exchanger and/or said
expansion valve.
2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein: said first part is
intended to be pressed fiat onto the exchanger and comprises
through holes which cooperate respectively with the ports of the
exchanger, and said second part is intended to be pressed flat onto
the first part and comprises two through holes which cooperate
respectively with the ports of the expansion valve, the through
holes of the first and second parts being in fluidic communication
to define said first passage as well as a second passage intended
to couple the other ports of the exchanger.
3. The device as claimed in claim 2, in which the through holes of
the first part are formed respectively by an opening or slit of
elongate form, defining, with said exchanger and/or said second
part, said first passage, and by an orifice, defining said second
passage.
4. The device as claimed in claim 3, in which at least a part of
the slit has an incurved form about an axis of the orifice of the
first part.
5. The device as claimed in claim 4, in which the incurved part of
the slit has a radius of curvature, taken substantially at the
middle of the slit, which is substantially equal to a center
distance between the through holes of the second part.
6. The device as claimed in claim 4, in which the slit comprises a
rectilinear part of which one end is linked to the incurved part of
the slit and of which the opposite end is intended to cooperate
with a port of the exchanger.
7. The device as claimed in claim 4, in which one of the through
holes of the second part emerges in the incurved part of the slit
of the first part.
8. The device as claimed in claim 1, in which the first part is
formed by a plate or a sheet.
9. The device as claimed in claim 8, in which the sheet is stamped,
the sheet comprising at least two indented zones at the bottom of
which the holes are formed by drilling.
10. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the second part is
formed by a metal block, and the through holes are formed by
orifices.
11. The device as claimed in claim 1, comprising tubular bushings
into which some of the holes of the second part emerge.
12. The device as claimed in claim 11, in which some of said
tubular bushings protrude on a face of the second part, which is
situated on the side opposite the first part, and are intended to
be inserted into the ports of the expansion valve.
13. The device as claimed in claim 11, in which some of said
tubular bushings protrude on a face of the second part, which is
situated on the side of the first part, and are inserted into the
holes of this first part.
14. An assembly comprising: a heat exchanger; an expansion valve;
and a coupling device as claimed in claim 1.
15. A method for mounting a device as claimed in claim 1, in which
the part or parts are pressed flat and fixed onto one another
and/or between said exchanger and said expansion valve, depending
on the desired angular position of the expansion valve.
16. The device of claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger is an
evaporator.
17. The assembly of claim 14, wherein the heat exchanger is an
evaporator.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a device for coupling a
heat exchanger such as an evaporator to an expansion valve, in
particular for a vehicle.
STATE OF THE ART
[0002] An evaporator is known, intended for an air conditioning
device of the interior of a vehicle, that comprises a bundle formed
from a stack of plates allowing for a heat exchange between a flow
of air passing through the bundle and a refrigerant circulating in
the bundle. The bundle is arranged between two end plates. This
type of evaporator is described in the document FR-A1-2 026 437
from the applicant and is well known to those skilled in the
art.
[0003] One of the end plates of the evaporator comprises two ports
respectively for the refrigerant to enter into the evaporator and
for this fluid to exit.
[0004] It is also known practice to link the evaporator to an
expansion valve via a coupling device which is generally formed by
a metal block. The expansion valve comprises fluid inlet and outlet
ports intended to be linked by internal passages of the coupling
device respectively to outlet and inlet ports of the evaporator.
The axes of the inlet and outlet ports of the expansion valve are
parallel and extend in a plane passing substantially through a bulb
of the expansion valve.
[0005] In use the bundle of he evaporator is generally arranged
vertically and the inlet and outlet ports of the evaporator then
emerge horizontally.
[0006] In the case where the expansion valve is positioned
horizontally and the center distance of the ports of the evaporator
is substantially identical to that of the ports of the expansion
valve, that does not pose any design problems regarding the
coupling device because its internal fluid passages can be
rectilinear, which is relatively simple to produce. The document
EPA2-1 515 104 describes a coupling of this type.
[0007] However, to optimize the operation of the bulb of the
expansion valve, it is preferable for it to be in a high position,
which means positioning the expansion valve such that the
abovementioned plane of its ports is in a vertical position or
slightly inclined relative to the vertical. This nevertheless poses
a design problem regarding the coupling device. In effect, although
one of the passages of the device could be substantially
rectilinear to couple aligned ports of the evaporator and of the
expansion valve, the other passage is more complex to produce
because it has to include one orifice aligned with the port of the
evaporator, another orifice aligned with the port of the expansion
valve, and a duct linking these orifices. A first solution for
producing this duct would be to orient it in an inclined manner and
to produce it by drilling into the body inside the block of the
device during a machining operation. This would however be complex
to implement and would entail overdimensioning the block because or
the bends to be formed.
[0008] The aim of the present invention is notably to provide a
simple, effective and economical solution to this problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The invention proposes a device for coupling a heat
exchanger, such as an evaporator, to an expansion valve, in
particular for a vehicle, said exchanger and said expansion valve
being provided with fluid inlet/outlet ports, at least one of the
ports of the expansion valve not being aligned with one of the
ports of the exchanger, said device comprising a first part,
intended to be joined and fixed to the exchanger and/or the
evaporator, said first part being suitable for defining, with at
least one neighboring part, a first fluid passage intended to
couple said non-aligned ports, said neighboring part being chosen
from second part of said device, said exchanger and/or said
expansion valve.
[0010] The invention makes it possible to simplify the production
of the coupling device, in particular when the expansion valve is
not positioned horizontally, that is to say that at least one of
its ports is not aligned with a port of the exchanger. According to
the invention, the duct is in fact formed by making a number of
parts cooperate with one another, in particular an parts such as
the exchanger and/or the expansion valve. The formation of the duct
in the part or parts of the coupling device is thus simplified
compared to the production by drilling of a bent passage in the
body of a single block.
[0011] According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention,
said first part is intended to be pressed flat onto the exchanger
and comprises through holes intended to cooperate respectively with
the ports of the exchanger. Said second part is intended to be
pressed flat onto the first part and comprises two through holes
intended to cooperate respectively with the ports of the expansion
valve. The holes of the parts are further in fluidic communication
to define said first passage as well as a second passage intended
to couple the other ports of the exchanger and of the
evaporator.
[0012] It is in fact easy to form through holes in parts, for
example by machining, or to form parts directly with holes, for
example from casting. The parts of the device are preferably metal,
and for example made of aluminum and/or aluminum alloys.
[0013] In the present application, the concept of "through holes"
should be understood to mean holes which pass through a part, that
is to say whose ends emerge on opposite faces of the part, these
passages extending preferably in a direction intended to be
substantially parallel to the axes of the ports of the exchanger
and/or of the expansion valve.
[0014] The parts are stacked and fixed together and to the
exchanger, for example by brazing. In the assembled position, the
holes of the parts define the passages coupling the ports of the
exchanger to the ports of the expansion valve. The fact that the
first part is pressed flat and fixed onto the exchanger, and for
example onto an end plate of this exchanger, makes it possible to
close the first passage in a seal-tight manner, on the side of the
exchanger. The fact that the second part is pressed flat and fixed
onto the first part makes it possible to close the first passage in
a seal-tight manner, on the side of said second part. Furthermore,
the holes of said parts are linked in seal-tight manner to one
another and with the ports of the exchanger and of the expansion
valve.
[0015] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the holes of the
first part are formed respectively by an opening or slit of
elongate form, defining, with said exchanger and/or said second
part, said first passage, and by an orifice, defining said second
passage.
[0016] At least a part of the slit can have an incurved form about
en axis of the orifice of the first part. This incurved part can
have a radius of curvature, taken substantially at the middle of
the slit, which is substantially equal to a center distance between
the holes of the second part. This makes it possible to allow the
adjustment of the angular position of the second part with respect
to the first, about the axis of the orifice of the first part. The
angular range over which the incurved part of the slit extends
corresponds substantially the angular range of adjustment of
position of the second part with respect to the first. This also
makes it possible to provide a single reference (called standard
part) for said first part, this reference being able to be
associated with a number of different references for the second
part, the references of the second part being able to differ from
one another by the positions of their holes.
[0017] The slit can comprise a rectilinear part of which one end is
linked to the incurved part of the slit and of which the opposite
end is intended to cooperate with a port of the exchanger.
[0018] One of the holes of the second part can emerge in the
incurved part of the slit of the first part.
[0019] The first part can be formed by a plate or a sheet.
[0020] In the case where a sheet is used, the latter can be
stamped, the sheet comprising at least two indented zones at the
bottom of which the holes are formed, for example by drilling.
[0021] The second part can be formed by a metal block, and its
holes can be formed by orifices.
[0022] Said device will be able to comprise tubular bushings into
which some of the holes of the second part emerge.
[0023] Some of these tubular bushings can protrude on a face of the
second part, which is situated on the side opposite the first part,
and which intended to be inserted into the ports of the expansion
valve. These bushings simplify the assembly and the positioning of
the expansion valve on the coupling device.
[0024] Others of these tubular bushings can protrude on a face of
the second part, which is situated on the side of the first part,
and which are intended to be inserted into the holes of this first
part. These bushings simplify the assembly and the positioning of
the parts on one another.
[0025] The present invention relates also to an assembly comprising
a heat exchanger such as an evaporator, an expansion valve, and a
coupling device as described above.
[0026] The present invention relates also to a method tor
assembling a device as described above, in which the part or parts
are pressed flat and fixed onto one another and/or between said
exchanger and said expansion valve, for example by brazing,
depending on the desired angular position of the expansion
valve.
[0027] Advantageously, the second part is positioned in relation to
the first part such that one of the holes of the second part is
substantially aligned on the axis of a corresponding hole of the
first part, the second part being positioned angularly in relation
to the first part about the abovementioned alignment axis, to
obtain the orientation desired for the expansion valve.
DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0028] The invention will be better understood and other details,
features and advantages of the invention will become apparent on
reading the following description given as a nonlimiting example
and by referring to the attached drawings, in which:
[0029] FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective schematic view of
an assembly comprising on evaporator, an expansion valve and a
device for coupling the evaporator to the expansion valve,
according to the invention;
[0030] FIG. 2 is a view on a larger scale of the expansion valve
and of the coupling device of FIG. 1; and
[0031] FIGS. 3 to 6 are views similar to those of FIG. 2 and
representing variant embodiments of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0032] Reference is first of all made to FIG. 1 which represents an
exchanger 10 of the evaporator type, notably for an air
conditioning device of the interior of a motor vehicle. This
exchanger 10 comprises, for example, a stack of exchange plates 12
arranged between two end plates 14, 16.
[0033] The plates will be able to be grouped in pairs to form a
tube allowing a flow of refrigerant between the plates of a some
pair of plates. Between two neighboring tubes, said exchanger will
be able to comprise separators making it possible to increase the
exchange surface area with a flow of air passing through the
exchanger by passing between the tubes. Said plates comprise, at at
least one of their ends, connection means, such as added-on stamped
parts or flanges, forming manifolds making it possible to pass the
refrigerant from one pair of plates to the other and emerging at at
least one 16 of said end plates.
[0034] This latter comprises a fluid inlet port 18 in the exchanger
and a fluid outlet port 20 of the exchanger, communicating here
with said manifolds. As can be seen in FIG. 1, in the position
(vertical) of use of the exchanger, the axes of the ports 18, 20
which are parallel extend in a horizontal plane P1.
[0035] The ports 18, 20 of the exchanger 10 are linked to ports 22,
24 of an expansion valve 26 via a coupling device 28 according to
the invention.
[0036] In the case represented in FIG. 2, the expansion valve 26 is
in the vertical position and the axes of its ports 22, 24 are
parallel to one another and to the axes of the ports 18, 20, and
extend in a vertical plane P2 which passes through a bulb 30 of the
expansion valve, which is here in a high position.
[0037] The part 22 of the expansion valve 26 is aligned on the port
20 of the exchanger 10 and the port 24 of the expansion valve 26 is
not aligned on the port 10 of the exchanger.
[0038] The coupling device 20 according to the invention ensures
the fluidic communication between the ports 20 and 22, on the one
hand, and the ports 18 and 24, on the other hand, and here
comprises an assembly or stack of two parts 30, 32.
[0039] A first part 30 of the device 28 is pressed flat against the
and plate 16 and comprises two through holes 34, 36 fluidically
linking to the ports 18, 20 of the exchanger. This part 30 is here
formed by a plate of small thickness (for example between 1 and 10
mm) with substantially rectangular outline. The passage of the
holes 34, 36 is here produced in a direction parallel to the ports
1B-24.
[0040] The hole 34 is formed by a cylindrical orifice aligned on
the axis of the port 20 of the exchanger. The hole 36 is formed by
a substantially L-shaped slit of elongate form. This slit comprises
a first rectilinear and vertical 38, the top end of which is
situated facing the port 18 of the exchanger, is in the plane P1,
and serves to fluidically link with this port. The rectilinear part
38 is linked by its bottom and to the top end of an incurved part
40 of the slit, the bottom and of which is situated substantially
facing the port 24 of the expansion valve, and is in the plane P2.
The part 40 is incurved about an axis A which is the axis of the
hole 34 and of the port over an angular range of approximately
45.degree. in the example represented. The radius of curvature R of
this incurred part 40 is measured between the axis A and the middle
of the slit.
[0041] When the part 30 is applied and fixed, for example by
brazing, onto the end plate 16, the ports 18, 20 are in fluidic
communication with the top and of the hole 36 and with the hole 34,
respectively. The end plate 16 blocks the rest of the hole 36 in a
seal-tight manner, on the side of the exchanger.
[0042] The second part 32 of the device is pressed flat against the
first part 30 and comprises two through holes 42, 44 fluidically
linking to the ports 2, 24 of the expansion valve. This part 32 is
here formed by a substantially parallelepipedal metal block that
has, for example, a thickness of between approximately 5 and 20 mm.
The passage of the holes 42, 44 is here produced in a direction
parallel to the ports 18-24. The holes 42, 44 are each formed by a
cylindrical orifice. The orifice 42 is aligned on the axis A, that
is to say on the hole 34 of the first plate 30 and on the ports 20
and 22. The orifice 44 is aligned on the axis B of the port 24 of
the expansion valve and is facing the bottom end of the incurved
part 40 of the hole 36 of the first part 30. The center distance
between the holes 42, 44 is substantially equal to the
abovementioned radius R. The hole 42 thus ensures the fluidic
communication between the hole 34 and the port 22, and the hole 44
ensures the fluidic communication between the hole 36 and the port
24.
[0043] The part 32 comprises, on its face oriented toward the
expansion valve 26, two protruding cylindrical bushings 46, which
surround the corresponding ends of the holes 42, 44. These bushings
46 are intended to be inserted into the ports 22, 24 of the
expansion valve 26, to facilitate the positioning and mounting
thereof.
[0044] The part 32 further comprises, on this same face, two tapped
holes 48 which are intended to receive fixing screws (not
represented) for the expansion valve 26, the expansion valve
comprising two orifices 50 for the passage of these screws.
[0045] When the part 32 is applied and fixed, for example by
brazing, onto the part 30, the holes 34 and 42 are in fluidic
communication and the hole 44 is in fluidic communication with the
hole 36 by its bottom end, the rest of this hole 36 being blocked
in a seal-tight manner by the covering of the plate 30 by the plate
32.
[0046] The slit 36 of the part 30, closed laterally here by the end
plate 16 of the exchanger and by the neighboring part 32, thus
defines a duct for the fluid between the two non-aligned ports 18,
24. By combining a number of parts together, a passage is therefore
formed between said ports without having to involve complex
machining or casting operations generally associated with the bulk
production of bent ducts.
[0047] The expansion valve is mounted on the plate 32 by inserting
the bushings 46 of this plate 32 into the ports 32, 24 of the
expansion valve, then the above-mentioned screws are mounted in the
orifices 50 and screwed into the holes 40 to join together the
assembly.
[0048] The arrows f1 to f9 represent the path of the fluid from the
outlet port 20 of the exchanger to the inlet port 22 of the
expansion valve, by passing through the holes 34, 42 of the device
and from the outlet port 24 of the expansion valve to the inlet 18
of the exchanger, by passing through the holes 44, 36 of the
device. As a variant, this path could be reversed.
[0049] In the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the expansion
valve 20 is in the vertical position. In the variants represented
in FIGS. 3 and 4, it is in the inclined position. In these
variants, the part 30 is identical to that described previously and
thus constitutes a standard part that can be used for a number of
embodiments of the invention.
[0050] In the variant of FIG. 3, the part 32' differs from the part
32 described above through the position of its hole 44 which is
intended, in the assembled position, to be facing the top end of
the inclined part of the hole 36 of the part 30. In this case, the
plane P2 of orientation of the expansion valve in which the axes of
the holes 42, 44 of the part 32' extend, is inclined, here by an
angle of approximately 45'. In the assembly position, the
peripheral edges of the parts 30, 32' are substantially aligned
with one another.
[0051] The embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 3 show that a number of
different parts 32, 32' references can be associated with a single
reference of a so-called standard part 30.
[0052] In the variant of FIG. 4, the part 32 is identical to the
part 32 of FIGS. 1 and 2 but is positioned differently in relation
to the part 30. The part 32 has undergone a rotation of 45.degree.
about the axis A such that its hole 44 is facing the top end of the
inclined part of the hole 36 of the part 30.
[0053] The embodiments of FIGS. 2 and 4 show that two standard
parts 30, 32 can be used to produce a coupling of the exchanger to
an expansion valve having any orientation, so long as the second
part 32 laterally closes the hole 36.
[0054] FIGS. 5 and 6 represent other variant embodiments of the
coupling device according to the invention, in which the first part
130, 130' is formed by a stamped sheet, which has a substantially
rectangular outline.
[0055] The part 130 of FIG. 5 comprises two zones 152, 154 indented
by stamping. The bottoms of these zones 152, 154 are substantially
flat and extend in a plane parallel to and at a distance from the
plane of the sheet. The first hole 134 is formed in the bottom of
the first zone 152 and has a substantially circular outline. The
second hole 136 is L-shaped comparable to the shape of the
abovementioned hole 36, and is formed in the bottom of the second
zone which is also generally L-shaped.
[0056] The holes 134, 136 can be formed during the stamping
operation or thereafter.
[0057] The second part 132 of FIG. 5 differs from the part of FIG.
2 essentially in that it further comprises, on its face oriented
toward the first part 130, two protruding cylindrical bushings 155
which surround the corresponding ends of the holes 142, 144 of the
part 132. The bushings 156 are intended to be inserted into the
holes 134, 136 of the first part 130, to facilitate the positioning
and mounting thereof. The bushing 156 of the hole 142 is intended
to be inserted into the hole 14, and the bushing 156 of the hole
144 is intended to be inserted into the bottom end of the incurved
part of the hole 136, such that the expansion valve, intended to be
fixed onto the part 132 has a vertical position.
[0058] For that, the hole 134 has a diameter slightly greater than
the outer diameter of the bushing 156 of the hole 142, and the
bottom end of the incurved part of the hole 136 has a transverse
dimension slightly greater than the outer diameter of the bushing
156 of the hole 144.
[0059] The second part 132 is configured to laterally close the
hole 136.
[0060] The part 130' of FIG. 6 differs from the part 130 of FIG. 5
that the hole 136' formed in the bottom of the zone 154 has a
circular outline and is situated at the level of the top and of the
incurved part of the hole 136 of FIG. 5. This hole 136' has a
diameter slightly greater than that of the bushing 156. The part
132 of FIG. 6 is identical to that of FIG. 5, except that it will
be able to have a reduced extension because its function is no
longer to laterally close the duct linking the port 18 to the
orifice 136', said duct being here laterally closed by the bottom
of the stamped part, on the side of said second part 132.
[0061] The parts 130, 132 and 130', 132 can also be fixed together
and to the exchanger by brazing, notably when brazing the different
parts of the exchanger.
* * * * *