FR2588366A1 - WATER BOX AND EXPANSION VESSEL DEVICE, AND HEAT EXCHANGER COMPRISING THE SAME - Google Patents

Abstract

THE INVENTION RELATES TO A WATER BOX AND EXPANSION VESSEL 14 FOR A HEAT EXCHANGER, WHICH IS MONOBLOC MOLD IN ONE PIECE AND IN WHICH THE WATER BOX 16 IS AVAILABLE VERTICALLY, WHILE THE VASE OF ' EXPANSION 18 EXTENDS HORIZONTALLY, ABOVE WATERBOX 16 AND HEAT EXCHANGER BEAM 10. THE INVENTION APPLIES IN PARTICULAR TO RADIATORS OF COOLING CIRCUITS OF MOTORS OF MOTOR VEHICLES.

Description

Water box and expansion tank device, and

  heat exchanger comprising this device.

  The invention relates essentially to a water box and expansion tank device for a heat exchanger, such as for example a radiator of a cooling circuit of an internal combustion engine of a motor vehicle, as well as an exchanger heat

including this device.

  Devices of this type are already known, in which the expansion tank and the water box form a one-piece molded assembly. This arrangement is advantageous because it allows mounting of the heat exchanger on a vehicle faster and more economically than in the case where the expansion tank is independent of the

water box.

  In known devices, the expansion tank molded with the water box extends along this box.

  water. When the heat exchanger is of the circulating type

  horizontal tion of liquid, that is to say when it comprises a bundle of horizontal tubes at the ends of which are mounted vertical water boxes, the

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  expansion tank which extends along the water box, in the plane of the exchanger, increases by its presence

  the dimension and therefore the horizontal size of the sample

  geur. In certain cases, the architecture of the vehicle or of the engine compartment of this vehicle does not allow this arrangement for reasons of space,

  and then we use a radiator with an expansion tank

  independent tank, this vessel being mounted elsewhere in the engine compartment and connected to the radiator by

flexible conduits.

  The object of the invention is in particular to avoid this drawback, by means of a heat exchanger comprising a molded expansion tank, forming a block with one of the water boxes of the exchanger and in which the presence of the vase expansion does not significantly increase the size

horizontal of the exchanger.

  To this end, the invention provides a device for a water box and an expansion tank for a heat exchanger, such as a radiator of a cooling circuit of an internal combustion engine, this device being in one piece, characterized in that that, the water box being generally vertical, the expansion tank is provided at the upper end of the water box

  and extends horizontally beyond it.

  Thus, the expansion tank will be located, not on the vertical side of the water box, but above it, which reduces the horizontal size of the exchanger. According to another characteristic of the invention, the expansion vessel extends perpendicular to the open mounting face of the water box on one end of the bundle

of exchanger tubes.

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  Thus, in the heat exchanger, the expansion vessel will extend above the tube bundle, over a part

of the length of it.

  Advantageously, the invention provides that the expansion vessel comprises, on its underside, a fixing lug on the bundle of tubes of the exchanger. This thus ensures good mechanical strength of the assembly

  water box-expansion vessel-bundle of sample tubes

  geur. The arrangement of the expansion tank above the water box also allows excellent degassing of the liquid circulating in the heat exchanger, without the need to have recourse to an attached tubing used until now in the prior art and the mounting of which complicates the assembly

  of the exchanger and increases its cost.

  For this purpose, the water box of the device comprises, for example, molding, a liquid intake manifold which has a common wall with the expansion tank, the degassing passage then being constituted by an orifice.

formed in this wall.

  Optionally, this orifice can be extended towards

  the top by a tube coming from molding with the expansion tank

  sion, which ensures better degassing of the liquid, especially when part of the engine cylinder head is at a level higher than that of the end

top of the water box.

  In the following description, given as an example,

  reference is made to the appended drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a schematic elevation view,

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  with partial removal, of a heat exchanger according to the invention; Figure 2 is a partial sectional view along line II of Figure 1; - Figure 3 is a sectional view along line III of Figure 1; Figures 4 to 10 schematically represent various alternative embodiments of a heat exchanger according to the invention. Reference is first made to FIGS. 1 to 3 which represent a heat exchanger, in particular a radiator for a cooling circuit of a motor vehicle engine, which comprises a water box device

  and expansion tank according to the invention.

  The radiator shown in these figures includes essential-

  Lement a bundle of tubes 10, in which the liquid circulation tubes are arranged in one or more rows of parallel horizontal tubes, a water box 12 of a conventional type mounted at one end of the bundle, and a box device 14 tank and expansion tank according to the invention, which is a single piece molded in one piece and which comprises a water box 16 and an expansion tank 18. The water boxes 12 and 16 are mounted in the usual way on the ends of the bundle of tubes 10, by means of collectors 20 which are plates comprising holes in which the ends of the tubes are mounted in leaktightness,

  as is well known in the art.

  The water box 16 includes, for molding, a partition

  median 22 which divides its internal space into two compar-

  roofs separated in a sealed manner from each other when the water box 16 is mounted on the tube bundle, the upper compartment 24 being connected to a circuit

  coolant through a manifold 26

  liquid in the exchanger, and the lower compartment

  laughing 28 being connected to this circuit by a pipe 30

  liquid outlet from the exchanger.

  The liquid inlet manifold 26 extends partly above the water box 16 of the tube bundle 10 and comes from molding with the water box 16 and with the lower part 32 of the expansion tank 18 , which is of substantially semi-cylindrical shape and which is tangent to the upper part of the intake manifold 26 having with this manifold a common wall in which is formed an orifice 34 for communication between the expansion tank 18 and the tubing 26, this orifice 34 playing the role of degassing passage of the liquid

  which is brought into the exchanger by the pipe 26.

  The lower part 32 of the expansion vessel 18 extends horizontally, that is to say perpendicular to

  the general direction of the water box 16, and perpendicular to

  the open face of the water box 16 by

  which this water box can be mounted on the outside

  mity of the bundle of tubes 10. Thus, the expansion vessel 18 extends horizontally, above the water box 24 and above a part of the bundle of tubes, as shown in FIG. 1. The end of the lower part 32 of the expansion tank, which is opposite to the intake manifold 26, comprises, by molding, a U-shaped bracket 36 for fixing, for example by clipping or embedding, on the horizontal upper edge of the

tube bundle 10.

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  As a variant, this fixing lug can be planar and is then fixed by suitable means, for example screws, to a cross member crimped on the horizontal edge.

top of the tube bundle.

  The lower part 32 of the expansion vessel 18 has an open upper face, for example horizontal, which is closed by sealing by an attached part 38, for example also substantially semi-cylindrical, comprising a clean filling orifice or end piece 40

  be closed by a plug 42 of the usual type and

  for example, overpressure and relief valves

  pressure. The lower part 32 of the expansion vessel is also formed, by molding, with a tube 44 which extends along the water box 16 up to the liquid outlet pipe 30 and which forms a return conduit from liquid

  between the expansion tank 18 and the tubing 30 or even

  the lower end of the water box 16. At the junction between the upper end of the tube 44 and the lower part 32 of the expansion tank,

  may provide a level 46 detector of a conventional type

  as shown in Figures 1 and 3.

  In its middle part, the tube 44 is also connected to the upper end of the compartment 28 of the water box 16, immediately below the middle partition wall 22, by a small conduit 48 coming from molding, which makes it possible to perfect the degassing of the liquid, the air or gas bubbles gathered under the central partition 22 at the top of the compartment 28 which can escape through the conduit 48 and come to the free surface

  liquid in the expansion tank 18.

  The water boxes 12 and 16, the part 38 forming the upper part of the expansion tank 18 and possibly

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  the lower part 32 of the expansion tank may comprise, by molding, lugs or pins for fixing the exchanger in the engine compartment of a vehicle

  automotive, as represented 50, 52, 54 and 56 respec-

  tively. In operation, the coolant of the motor vehicle engine penetrates into the upper compartment 24 of the water box 16 through the tube 26, circulates in the tubes of the upper half of the bundle to reach the water box 12, then circulates, in sense

  reverse, in the tubes of the lower half of the beam

  ceau 10 to reach the lower compartment 28 of the water box and leaves the exchanger through the tube 30. The air or gas bubbles carried by the liquid are sucked into the expansion tank 18, on the one hand , by the orifice 34 of communication with the intake manifold 26 and, on the other hand, by the conduit 48 and

the tube 44.

  When certain points of the cylinder head of the engine may be at a level higher than that of the intake manifold 26 of the exchanger, provision may be made, as shown in FIG. 2, for the communication orifice

  34 opens into a small vertical tube 58, the former

  open top end is above the highest points of the engine cylinder head. This avoids an accumulation of air or gas bubbles at these points

of the breech.

  Furthermore, the formation of the molding tube 58 with the lower part 32 of the expansion tank does not pose any problem, the tube 58 being able to be demolded in

  the same direction as the lower part 32.

  In addition, the degassing passage 34 can be a simple

  orifice formed in a wall common to the lower part

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  lower 32 of the expansion tank and the intake manifold 26, or else, as shown in FIG. 2, an orifice surrounded by a small vertical rim 60 oriented upwards for guiding the air and gas bubbles towards the expansion vessel 18. We now refer to FIG. 4, which represents an alternative embodiment of the invention, differing from that of FIGS. 1 to 3 only in that the tube

  62 forming a return pipe for the liquid in the expansion tank

  sion 18 to the lower compartment 28 of the water box 16 extends, not to the outlet pipe 30,

  but only up to the upper part of the compartment

  ment 28, the lower end of the tube 62 opening into the water box 16 directly below the

center partition 22.

  The operation of this alternative embodiment of

  the invention is identical to that previously exposed.

  The variant shown in FIG. 5 differs from that in FIG. 4 in that the upper compartment 24 of the water box 16 and the intake manifold 26 do not communicate directly with the expansion tank 18, that is that is to say that the liquid degassing passage is not formed by an orifice of a wall common to the

  expansion tank 18 and to the water box 24 or to the tube-

  re admission 26. In this alternative embodiment, the degassing passage comprises an upper tube 64 of the bundle of tubes 10 which opens, on the side of the water box 16, directly into the lower part 32 of the expansion tank, this lower part 32 being in direct extension of the water box 16 and being separated from the upper compartment 24 by

a partition 66.

  In operation, the air or gas bubbles conveyed

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  by the liquid collect at the upper end of the other water box 12, are sucked by the tube 64 and arrive in the lower part 32 of the vase

  expansion. For the rest, the operation is identical

  tick to the one previously exposed. In the variant embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the expansion tank 18 is formed above the water box 16 and does not include a return duct 44 or 62 extending vertically along this box

  water 16. The fluid return pipe is then

  killed by the upper tube 64 of the beam 10, which opens out

  che directly in the lower part 32 of the expansion tank 18, separated from the upper compartment 24 of the water box 16 by the partition 66. The liquid is therefore returned by this tube 64 and by the other water box 12 The liquid degassing passage can in this case be formed by an orifice 68 in the partition 66, or by a small tube extending upwards from this partition and establishing communication between the expansion tank 18 and the upper compartment 24. of the water box 16. In operation, the air or gas bubbles carried by the liquid brought into the water box 16 by the intake manifold 26, collect in the upper part of the compartment 24 and are sucked into the expansion vessel 18 through port 68 or small

aforementioned conduit.

  The embodiment shown in Figure 7 differs from that in Figure 6 in that the functions of the degassing passage and the liquid return duct are reversed. In this variant embodiment, the other water box 12 comprises, in the upper part, a tubulu = re 70 for liquid intake and, in the lower part, a tube 74 for liquid outlet, the internal space of this box 12 being divided by a central partition 76 into two compartments separated in a sealed manner from one another. The water box 16 which is molded in

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  one piece with the bottom 32 of the vase

  expansion 18 therefore no longer includes these manifolds

  mission and exit. The internal space of the

  water 16 is separated from the internal space of the lower part

  lower 32 of the expansion vessel by an internal partition 78, corresponding to the internal partition 66 of FIG. 6 and which, on the one hand, directly connects the end of the upper tube 64 of the bundle 10 to the expansion vessel 18 and , on the other hand, has an orifice or a connecting conduit between the expansion tank 18 and the box

  with water 16, for the return of the liquid.

  The operation is as follows: the liquid is brought into the upper compartment of the water box 12 by the intake manifold 70, circulates in the tubes of the upper half of the bundle in the direction of the water box 16, passes through this water box, circulates, in the opposite direction, in the tubes of the lower half of the bundle 10, enters the lower compartment of the water box 12 and exits through the tube 74. The air or gas bubbles conveyed by the liquid collect at the top of the upper compartment of the water box 12 and are sucked by the tube 64 in the expansion tank 18. Optionally, the air or gas bubbles which could collect in the water box 16 can pass into the expansion tank 18 through the liquid return pipe presented by the

partition 78.

  In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the water box 16, molded in one piece with the lower part 32 of the expansion tank 18, comprises in the upper part the inlet manifold 80, while the outlet manifold 82 is provided on the lower part of the other water box 12. Neither of these two water boxes comprises a central partition of separation and the liquid circulates in the same direction in 11i 2588366 in all the tubes of the bundle 10. The upper tube 64 of this bundle forms the liquid return duct and, at its outlet in the water box 16, is connected directly to the expansion tank 18 by a partition 84 of separation between the expansion tank and the water box 16, this partition 84 being analogous to the partition 78 of FIG. 7. As in FIG. 7, this partition 84 provides an orifice or a small communication conduit between the expansion vessel 18 and the water box 16 which

  forms the liquid degassing passage.

  In operation, the liquid is brought through the tubing into the water box 16, circulates in the same direction in all the tubes of the bundle 10, with the exception of the tube 64, reaches the water box 12 and leaves the exchanger. by the tubing 82. The air or gas bubbles tend to collect in the upper part of the water box 16 and are sucked into the expansion tank 18 by 1, the orifice or the small conduit formed by the partition internal 84. The return of liquid from the expansion vessel 18 to the exchanger takes place via the upper tube 64

of beam 10.

  The variant embodiment shown in FIG. 9 differs from that of FIG. 8 in that the functions of the water boxes 16 and 12 are reversed, as well as the functions of the degassing passage and of the liquid return duct. The water box 12 therefore comprises, in the upper part, a liquid intake pipe 86,

  while the water box 16 comprises, partly below

  upper, the liquid outlet tubing 88. The liquid degassing passage is formed by the upper tube 64 of the bundle 10 which, thanks to the internal partition 84,

  opens directly into the expansion tank 18. The opening

  fice or the conduit that household this partition 84 between the expansion tank 18 and the water box 16 constitutes

the liquid return pipe.

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  In operation, the liquid is brought through the tubing 86 into the water box 12, circulates in the tubes of the bundle 10 in the direction of the water box 16, circulates in this water box and leaves the exchanger through the tubing. outlet 88. The air or gas bubbles carried by the liquid tend to collect in the upper part of the water box 12 and are sucked

  in the expansion tank 18 by the tube 64.

  Figure 10 shows another alternative embodiment of the invention, in which the joint plane between the part of the expansion tank which is molded with the water box and the attached part of this expansion tank is, either horizontal, but vertical, as indicated by the dotted line 90. The water box 16 is in this case molded in one piece with a first part 92 of the expansion tank, which extends above and in the extension of the water box 16 and which includes a nozzle. filling 94 substantially vertical in its upper part. This vertical end piece 94 enables the orifices or conduits forming the liquid degassing passage and the liquid return conduit to be removed from the mold, respectively. The first part 92 of

  expiration vessel also extends horizontally, that is

  that is to say perpendicular to the general direction of the water box 16, above the bundle of tubes 10, and comprises an open face corresponding to the joint plane 90. This open face is closed by an insert 96 whose lower face can be formed with the tab 98 for fixing the expansion vessel on the upper side of the tube bundle 10. This second part 96 of the expansion vessel can have a greater or lesser volume, as shown by the lines in dotted lines . This makes it possible to manufacture a one-piece water box and expansion tank device, molded in one piece, having a standard size whatever the capacity of the heat exchanger, and

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  to adapt the expansion tank to the capacity of the sample

  heat gor by fixing, on the first part 92 of this expansion vessel, a second part 96 of suitable volume.

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Claims (20)

Claims.   1. Water box and expansion tank device for a heat exchanger such as a radiator of a cooling circuit of an internal combustion engine, this device being in one piece, characterized in that,   the water box (16) being generally vertically available   wedge, the expansion tank (18) is provided at the upper end of the water box and extends horizontally beyond this.   2. Device according to claim 1, characterized   in that the expansion tank (18) extends perpendicularly   rement at the open mounting face of the water box   on one end of a bundle of tubes (10) of the sample   geur. 3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the expansion tank (18) and the water box   (16) form a molded assembly in one piece.   4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, character-   rised in that the one-piece expansion tank (18) with the water box (16) comprises an open face which is   closed by an insert (38).   5. Device according to claim 4, characterized   in that the open face of the expansion tank is sensitive-   horizontal and perpendicular to the general direction water box rale.   6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the insert (38) comprises an orifice or a tube (40) for filling, suitable for receiving a closure plug (42).   7. Device according to claim 4, characterized 2588366   in that the open face of the expansion vessel is felt   roughly parallel to the open side of the box water (16).   8. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that the part (92) of the expansion vessel which is integral with the water box (16) comprises an orifice or a filling nozzle (94).   9. Device according to one of the preceding claims,   characterized in that the expansion vessel comprises, on its underside, a lug (36) for fixing to   the tube bundle (10) of the exchanger.   10. Device according to one of the preceding claims,   characterized in that the expansion tank (18) and the water box (16) are connected by a liquid degassing passage (34) and by a liquid return channel or conduit (44) which are formed by molding with   the water box (16) and the expansion tank (18).   11. Device according to claim 10, characterized in that the water box (16) comprises, by molding, a tube (26) for admitting liquid which has a common wall with the expansion tank (18), and in that the degassing passage includes an orifice (34) formed in this wall.   12. Device according to claim 11, characterized in that this orifice (34) is extended from above   by a tube (58) coming from molding with the expansion tank.   13. Device according to claim 10, characterized in that the liquid return channel is a tube (44) extending along the water box (16) and establishing communication between the expansion tank (18) and   the lower part (28) of the water box (16). 16 2588366   14. Device according to claim 13, characterized   in that the tube (44) is connected to the lower end   of the water box (16) or the tubing (30)   liquid outlet with which the water box (16) is provided.   15. Device according to claim 13, characterized in that the tube (44) is connected to the water box below a central partition (22) of the water box, which forms a separation between the upper part (24)   and the lower part (28) of the water box.   16. Heat exchanger, in particular radiator of a cooling circuit of an internal combustion engine, characterized in that it comprises a device (14) of water box and expansion tank according to one   of the preceding claims, mounted at one end   tube bundle (10), and a second water box   (12) mounted at the other end of the tube bundle.   17. Exchanger according to claim 16, characterized in that the liquid degassing passage comprises an upper tube (64) of the bundle (10), connecting the upper part of the second water box (12) to the lower part (32 ) the expansion tank (18), which is separated from the water box (16) by a partition (66, 78, 84).   18. Exchanger according to claim 17, characterized in that the liquid return channel comprises a   orifice formed through said partition (78, 84) for separation   tion between the lower part of the expansion tank (18) and the upper part of the first water (16).   19. Exchanger according to claim 16, characterized in that the liquid return duct comprises an upper tube (64) of the bundle (10) connecting the part 17 2588366   bottom (32) of the expansion tank to the top of the second water box (12) and a partition (66,84) separating the bottom of the expansion tank (18)   of the upper part of the first water box (16).   20. Exchanger according to claim 19, characterized in that the liquid degassing passage is an orifice or a conduit presented by this partition (66, 84) and connecting the upper part of the first box to water (16) to the expansion tank (18). /