EP0693665A2 - Arrangement for connecting two or several heat exchangers - Google Patents

Abstract

The two heat exchangers (1,2) are joined into a common mounting block by special couplings at one end for a hinged connection and with snap fastening elastic fasteners (17) at the other end. The hinged grips comprise studs (9) fitted to the collection chamber (5) of one heat exchanger locating in shaped grips (11) attached to the respective collection chamber (3) of the next heat exchanger (1). To fit a second and more heat exchangers to the original mounting, they are merely positioned to couple the hinge mountings and swung into position parallel to the first heat exchanger and secured by the elastic fasteners. The hinge fasteners can be of various shapes and can be of plastics. During the pivot action the two heat exchangers pivot about thrust surfaces. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to an arrangement for connecting two or more heat exchangers to one another, which are each provided with collecting tanks, in particular made of plastic, and with flow paths running between them with heat exchange surfaces for a heat exchange medium.

In practice, particularly in vehicle construction, it is often necessary to assemble several heat exchangers, for example in order to connect a charge air cooler to the cooler for the engine coolant in a commercial vehicle. The assembly of such heat exchangers can prove to be very complex if, for example, the cooler is to be attached to the radiator already in the vehicle when there is limited space in the engine compartments of motor vehicles.

Since the connections of the two coolers should be designed in such a way that they compensate for the different thermal expansion of the two coolers and also take up manufacturing tolerances, special brackets and screw connections have hitherto been provided so that the forces occurring during acceleration of the masses during vehicle operation are absorbed properly can be. The assembly process with such screw connections is complex.

The invention has for its object to provide an arrangement of the type mentioned, with which two or more heat exchangers can be firmly connected in a simple manner without problems due to different thermal expansions of the two heat exchangers or due to tolerance-related dimensional deviations.

This object is achieved according to the invention in that one of the header boxes of a heat exchanger is assigned a spacing from one another and approximately perpendicularly from its longitudinal direction, which can be inserted into corresponding openings in bracket-like counter bearings on the associated header box of the other heat exchanger and by pivoting around a counter bearing surface in a certain end position can be positioned, and further in that locking devices, in particular snap hooks, are assigned to the other two collecting boxes to secure the end position of the pins and the two heat exchangers. This configuration elaborate connecting elements such as screws, brackets or the like. superfluous. One heat exchanger can be pre-positioned on the other by inserting its pins and then brought into its end position by locking against the other heat exchanger and locked there.

From EP 0 346 602 B1 it is already known for the fastening of side parts of a radiator for vehicle engines to have pegs engage in recesses in the side parts, which are fastened to the collecting boxes and act in the manner of hinges in order to fold in for assembly of the side parts to the collection boxes. When arranging side panels, the mutual alignment of two heat exchangers, which can also be subject to different thermal expansions, is irrelevant. The swiveled-in position of the side parts is also secured there by wedges, which are separate are to be inserted. The device shown there has nothing in common with the connection of two or more heat exchangers.

In a further development of the concept of the invention, two snap tabs which can be pivoted elastically about an axis can be provided as the locking device, which are each assigned approximately to the end region of a collecting tank and are aligned perpendicular to one another with their pivot axes. In a further development of the invention, the cross sections of at least one of the pegs and the opening of the counterbearing associated therewith can be adapted to one another in the longitudinal direction of the collecting boxes, so that after inserting the pegs into the assigned openings and when pivoting, the two water boxes are also aligned exactly in the direction the longitudinal axis of their collection boxes. This can be further promoted by the fact that one of the two pegs has a rectangular one, the other one has a cross section of a quadrangle with two side walls aligned parallel to one another, in which at least one further side wall runs obliquely to the opposite side wall and in its inclination the inclination of corresponds with it interacting wall of the counter bearing when positioning the heat exchanger. This configuration provides one of the pins with a wedge-like configuration on at least one side, which leads to alignment in one direction during the pivoting process, without special measures having to be taken for such alignment. Since the bevel is only in one direction and on one side wall, it is still possible for the pegs to move perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the header boxes if thermal expansion should occur.

In a development of the invention, one of the snap tabs can be aligned horizontally and the other vertically, wherein then each snap tab is assigned a contact surface for a stop of a heat exchanger and a counter surface as a snap-in edge and a resilient rib, which is assigned to the snap-in edge so that its free end lies in the path of movement of the end of the snap-in tab provided with the latching hooks and, when the snap-in clip is engaged, against presses the side of the end of the snap tabs facing away from the locking hooks. This configuration ensures, on the one hand, because of the vertical arrangement of the snap tabs to one another, that a production-related parallelogram shape, ie a shape of the heat exchanger which deviates from an exact rectangle and which can actually occur in practice due to production, can be compensated for. The vertical snap tab is placed near a fixed bearing point and can also perform its function fully in the event of floor angle deviations.

Since an inclined position of the base must also be expected in the region of the horizontally arranged snap-in tab, it is advantageous if the contact surface of the horizontally aligned snap-in tab is somewhat elastic.

Fig. 1

die schematische Darstellung einer Frontansicht einer erfindungsgemäßen Anordnung zur Verbindung eines Ladeluftkühlers und eines Kühlmittelkühlers,

Fig. 2

die Seitenansicht der Anordnung der Figur 1 in Richtung des Pfeiles II der Figur 1,

Fig. 3

die Draufsicht auf die Anordnung der Figur 1 in Richtung des Pfeiles III der Figur 1 gesehen,

Fig. 4

die Seitenansicht der Anordnung der Figur 1 in Richtung des Pfeiles IV gesehen,

Fig. 5

die Darstellung des Teilschnittes durch die linken Sammelkästen der Figur 1 in Richtung der Schnittlinie V-V,

Fig. 6

die vergrößerte Detaildarstellung des Schnittes nach der Linie VI-VI in Figur 1,

Fig. 7

die vergrößerte Detaildarstellung der Einzelheit VII in Figur 3,

Fig. 8

die schematische Darstellung des Schnittes VIII-VIII durch die Zapfenverbindung der Figur 6,

Fig. 9

die schematische Darstellung des Schnittes nach der Linie IX-IX in Figur 7,

Fig. 10 und 10a

die vergrößerte Darstellung der in der Figur 1 links oben gezeigten Schnapplaschenverbindung im nicht montierten, Figur 10a die Schnapplaschenverbindung der Figur 10 während des Verbindungsvorganges,

Fig. 11

die vergrößerte Darstellung des Detail XI in Fig. 2 mit der unteren Schnapplaschenverbindung der Anordnung der Fig. 1 im Verriegelungszustand,

Fig. 11a

die Schnapplaschenverbindung der Figur 11 während eines ersten Schrittes zur Aufhebung der Schnapparretierung,

Fig. 11b

eine Darstellung ähnlich Fig. 11a, jedoch in einer weiteren Lösephase,

Fig. 11c

die auf die Phase der Fig. 11b folgende Demontagephase, in der der Haken der Schnapplasche von seiner Gegenfläche frei wird, und

Fig. 11d

die Schnapplaschenanordnung der Fig. 11, jedoch im gelösten Zustand.

In the drawing, an embodiment of an arrangement according to the invention is shown, which is explained below. Show it:

Fig. 1

the schematic representation of a front view of an arrangement according to the invention for connecting a charge air cooler and a coolant cooler,

Fig. 2

2 shows the side view of the arrangement in FIG. 1 in the direction of arrow II in FIG. 1,

Fig. 3

the top view of the arrangement of Figure 1 seen in the direction of arrow III of Figure 1,

Fig. 4

the side view of the arrangement of Figure 1 seen in the direction of arrow IV,

Fig. 5

the representation of the partial section through the left header box of Figure 1 in the direction of section line VV,

Fig. 6

the enlarged detailed representation of the section along the line VI-VI in Figure 1,

Fig. 7

the enlarged detail of detail VII in Figure 3,

Fig. 8

the schematic representation of section VIII-VIII through the pin connection of Figure 6,

Fig. 9

the schematic representation of the section along the line IX-IX in Figure 7,

10 and 10a

1 shows the enlarged representation of the snap-tab connection shown at the top left in FIG. 1, FIG. 10a shows the snap-tab connection of FIG. 10 during the connecting process,

Fig. 11

2 shows the enlarged representation of detail XI in FIG. 2 with the lower snap-tab connection of the arrangement of FIG. 1 in the locked state,

Fig. 11a

11 during a first step to release the snap lock,

Fig. 11b

11a, but in a further release phase,

Fig. 11c

the dismantling phase following the phase of FIG. 11b, in which the hook of the snap tab is released from its counter surface, and

Fig. 11d

11, but in the released state.

1 to 3 show an arrangement consisting of a charge air cooler (1) and a coolant cooler (2), both of which are firmly connected to one another. Both the charge air cooler (1) and the coolant cooler, which is used to cool the engine coolant of an internal combustion engine (not shown) for a vehicle, are each provided with header boxes (3, 4) or (5, 6), between which, in a manner not shown, because, as is known, so-called finned tube blocks (7 and 8) run which serve as heat exchange surfaces for the heat exchange medium flowing between the header tanks (3, 4) on the one hand and (5, 6) on the other hand. In the example shown, the coolant cooler (2) is fastened to the charge air cooler (1) in that two pins (9 and 10) projecting from the collecting box (5) approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the collecting box (5) of the coolant cooler (2) Appropriate openings engage in bracket-like counter bearings (11 and 12), each of which is provided on the side of the header boxes (3) facing the coolant cooler (2). The pins (9 and 10) lie both on the counter bearing (11 or 12) and on stop surfaces (13 and 14), which are also attached to the header box (3).

As can be seen from the enlarged representations of FIGS. 6 and 7, the pin (9) of the collecting box (5) lies with its side facing away from the collecting box (3) on the inner surface of the bow-like counter bearing (11) and with a side facing the collecting box (3) on the stop surface (13) when it, as in FIGS. 6, 7 or 3 is shown, is in its fastening position.

It is also clear from FIGS. 6 and 7 that the stop surfaces (13 and 14) are each offset from the counter-bearing surfaces (11a and 12a) of the bow-like counter-bearings (11 and 12). This staggered arrangement makes it possible during assembly to pivot the pins (9 and 10) counterclockwise by a certain angle relative to the illustration in FIGS. 6 and 7, into the openings of larger dimensions than the cross section of the pins (9 and 10) between the stop surfaces (13, 14) and the respective left edge of the counter bearing surfaces (11a and 12a) before pivoting clockwise for the purpose of assembly. The coolant cooler (2) is therefore connected to the charge air cooler (1), which is already arranged in the engine compartment of a vehicle, for example, in that it is positioned slightly obliquely to the charge air cooler (1), for example in such a way that the longitudinal axes indicated in FIGS. 6 and 7 (15, 16) each take the position (15 'or 16'). The coolant cooler (2) is then pivoted clockwise until the assembly position shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 or 3 is reached. The pins (9 and 10) are then held firmly and securely by their bilateral contact.

From Figures 8 and 9 also shows that the upper pin (9) is guided with lateral play within its bow-like counter-bearing (11). The pin (9) therefore forms with the counter bearing (11) a kind of floating bearing, which makes it possible for changes in length of the heat exchanger to be accommodated in the direction of their collecting boxes. Changes in length in the direction The tubes of the crib tube blocks, not shown in detail, ie changes in length transversely to the header tanks (3 or 5) can be moved in the position between the stop surfaces (13 or 14) and the counter bearing surfaces (11a or 12a) are included.

However, in order to obtain a clear assignment of the mounting position of the coolant cooler (2) to the charge air cooler (1), the pin (10), as shown in FIG. 8, has a cross section in the shape of a square with two side walls (10a) and which run parallel to one another a perpendicular side wall (10b). The fourth side wall (10c) is inclined obliquely with respect to the side wall (10b) and a corresponding inclined inner wall (12b) of the bow-shaped abutment (12) is associated with it. When pivoting the coolant cooler (2) clockwise for the purpose of fastening, the pin (10) in the illustration in FIG. 8 is therefore pressed in a wedge shape from bottom to top into the recess within the counter bearing (12) which is adapted to its cross-sectional shape. The pin (10) therefore forms a fixed bearing with its counter bearing (12), which leads to a secure anchoring of the two heat exchangers to one another. Of course, it would also be possible to achieve the corresponding wedge effect if both side walls (10c and 10b) are arranged obliquely to the parallel side walls (10a) and the associated inner walls (12b) of the abutment (12) are both adapted to the inclination of these side walls.

The securing of the assembly position achieved by the swivel movement in the clockwise direction is achieved in the exemplary embodiment in each case by snap tabs (17 and 18), the details of which can be seen in FIGS. 10 and 11, as will also be described. The collection boxes (4 and 6) is but one of these snap tabs (17 and 18) Another force absorption point is assigned, which is intended to provide a form-locking position. For this purpose, the collecting box (6) of the coolant cooler (2) is assigned a hollow pin (19) protruding to one side, which is inserted into a hollow pin (20) which protrudes from the collecting box (4).

Figures 10 and 10a first show that the collecting tank (6) of the coolant cooler (2) is assigned a snap-tab arrangement (17) at the location shown at the top left in Figure 1, which consists of an elastic part of the collecting tank (4) of the Charge air cooler (1) attached snap tab (21) with a hook (22) at its end and consisting of a snap edge (23) assigned to this snap tab (21) or its hook (22), which in the exemplary embodiment has a contact surface (24) for cooperation is associated with a counter surface (25) on the collecting box (4). A resilient securing web (26) is also arranged on the collecting box (6), the function of which, in the assembled state, is to secure the snap tab (21) in the end position reached. This can be seen better from FIG. 10a, where the last phase of the assembly process is shown. When the coolant cooler (2) is pivoted clockwise, the free end of the snap tab (21) with the latching hook (22) abuts against the securing web (26) and first presses it into position (26 ') until the coolant cooler () 2) in the direction of arrow (27) after a certain elastic deformation of the contact surface (24) of the latching hooks (22) engages behind its latching edge (23). If this has happened, the securing web is released and moves back into position (26) due to its elasticity. It then presses with its free end from the outside against the latching hook (22) and prevents this hook from being inadvertently released from the mounting position.

It may be mentioned on this occasion that the header boxes (3, 4 5 and 6) of the charge air cooler and coolant cooler (2) are made of plastic and that all parts described so far, including the snap tab (21) or pin (9 and 10 ) are made of plastic. The design of the contact surface (24) as a leg on an otherwise U-shaped rib (28) therefore ensures the elasticity required for assembly. It also has the advantage that certain manufacturing tolerances can be compensated for, because the two heat exchangers can in any case be pressed together so far that the snap tab (21) engages.

As described, the snap-tab arrangement (17) is arranged vertically. The snap-tab arrangement (18), on the other hand, is horizontal. This configuration also makes it possible to join the two heat exchangers, even if their outer shape is not exactly rectangular due to the manufacturing process, but, as is customary, has a certain parallelogram shape. This horizontal latching arrangement also consists of a snap tab (29) with a hook (30) attached to the header tank (6) of the coolant cooler (2) and a latching edge (31) and a contact surface (32) that connects the header tank (4 ) of the charge air cooler (1) are assigned. A counter surface (33) of the collecting tank (6) interacts with the contact surface (32) and is attached to an angular extension (34) from which the snap flap (29) also projects.

According to FIG. 11, the snap tab (29) is assigned a securing web (35) which has a contact edge for securing the latching position of the snap tab (29), but additionally also an actuating web (36), the function of which is explained with reference to FIGS. 11a to 11c will be. Associated with this actuating web (36) is a rib (37) protruding therefrom with a recess (38) in which the head of the hook (30) has space when the snap-in tab (29) is engaged.

From Figure 11a it can first be seen that a tool (39), for example in the form of a screwdriver, is provided on the underside of the snap flap (18) on the underside of the two heat exchangers for removal from the side into the space between the Hook (30) and an upstanding rib (40) of the support (32) can be inserted. According to FIG. 11b, the wall (37) can be grasped at the bottom by further insertion of this tool and pressed upwards according to FIG. 11c, so that the recess (38) and its securing edge of the securing web (35) are lifted up so far that the Hook of the snap tab (29) is free from its locking edge (31) and the coolant cooler (2) can be swiveled away from the charge air cooler (1), now in a counterclockwise direction until the pins (9 and 10) are again the same as before Assemble the above-mentioned inclined position to their contact surfaces (11a and 13) and the coolant cooler can then be detached from the charge air cooler in this way. Of course, before the dismantling process, it is also necessary to loosen the upper snap tab (17) before the coolers can be taken apart.

The configuration according to the invention makes it very simple or the like without the aid of screwing tools. possible to establish a secure and permanent connection between two heat exchangers. Of course, it would also be conceivable to additionally attach a third heat exchanger, for example an oil cooler, in a similar manner if there is a need for this. The design of the pin bearing (pins 9 and 10) on the one hand and the arrangement of the snap tabs (which are perpendicular to one another) on the other hand, in addition to the simple handling, also provide security for an exact alignment of the heat exchangers attached to one another. The possibility of manufacturing tolerances to compensate, there is also and the possibility that the new connection absorbs thermal expansion. The configuration according to the invention is particularly suitable for heat exchangers with plastic collecting boxes, because the previously mentioned parts can then also be produced in one piece with the collecting boxes in a simple manner.

Claims (10)

Arrangement for connecting two or more heat exchangers to one another, each with collecting boxes (3, 4) or (5, 6), in particular made of plastic, and with flow paths running between them (finned tube blocks 7, 8) with heat exchange surfaces for a heat exchange medium , characterized in that one (5) of the header boxes of a heat exchanger (2) at a distance from each other and approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the header boxes projecting pins (9, 10) are assigned, which in openings in bracket-like counter bearings (11, 12) on the associated header box (3) of the other heat exchanger (1) can be inserted and positioned in a specific end position by pivoting around a counter bearing surface (11a, 12a), and that the other two header boxes (4, 6) have locking devices (17, 18), in particular snap hooks , are assigned to secure the end position of the pins and the two heat exchangers. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that two locking tab arrangements (17, 18) which can be pivoted elastically about an axis are provided as locking devices, each of which is assigned approximately to the end region of a collecting tank and is aligned perpendicular to one another with its pivot axes. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the cross sections of at least one of the pins (10) and the opening of the counter bearing (12) assigned to them are matched to one another in the longitudinal direction of the collecting boxes. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that one of the two pins (9) with a rectangular, the other (10) with a cross-section of a square two side walls (10a) aligned parallel to one another, in which at least one further side wall (10c) runs obliquely to the parallel side walls (10a) and in its inclination the inclination of the wall (12b) interacting with it when positioning the heat exchanger (2) of the counter bearing (12). Arrangement according to claim 2, characterized in that one snap-tab arrangement (18) is aligned horizontally and the other (17) is aligned vertically. Arrangement according to claim 5, characterized in that each of the snap-tab arrangements (17, 18) has a snap-tab (21 or 29) which has a contact surface (24 or 32) for a stop (25 or 33) and a counter surface (23 or 31) is assigned as a snap-in edge and a resilient securing web (26 or 35) which is assigned to the snap-in edge (23 or 31) in such a way that its free end in the path of movement provided with the snap-in hook (22 or 30) The end of the snap tab (21 or 29) lies and, when the snap tab is engaged, presses against the side of the end of the snap tab (21 or 29) facing away from the latching hook. Arrangement according to claim 6, characterized in that the contact surface (33) of the horizontally oriented snap-tab arrangement (18) is somewhat elastic. Arrangement according to Claim 1, characterized in that each counter bearing surface (11a or 12a) of the pins (9 or 10) is assigned a stop surface (13 or 14) opposite it, on which the pin (9 or 10) in its End position is present. Arrangement according to claim 8, characterized in that the stop surfaces (13 or 14) are arranged offset with respect to the counter bearing surfaces (11a or 12a). Arrangement according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the collecting boxes (4 or 6) equipped with the snap-tab arrangements (17, 18) have at least one additional force-receiving point in the form of an engagement in a recess (hollow pin 20) of a collecting box (4) and on the other collecting box (6) arranged pin (19) is assigned.

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