FR2777638A1 - Automobile air conditioning condenser with integrated reservoir - Google Patents

Abstract

The condenser has a removable fluid processing unit designed to be placed inside a fitting in an end box of the condenser The condenser is of the type which has a group of tubes (19) mounted between two end boxes (1,2) which extend in a vertical direction. The box (2) is divided by vertical walls (5) into first (3) and second (4) parts. The first part (3) being subdivided and sealed by at least a horizontal wall (6) into first (15) and second (16) chambers superposed in this order in a region (8). The first chamber communicates via an orifice (23) with the second part (3). A fitting (27) having a principal hollow cylindrical part, which is open at its opposed upper and lower ends, is designed to be fixed to the internal faces of the upper region (8) in the box (2). One upper end of the part has a radial projection designed to obstruct and seal the upper end of the first chamber (15). A removable fluid processing unit (31) is designed to be fixed and sealed inside the fitting (27), has means (39), which allow introduction of fluid into an internal zone (40), as well as means (43) to evacuate the treated fluid in the second part (4).

Description

Integrated tank condenser for removable fluid treatment block,

  The invention relates to the field of air conditioning circuits used in particular in motor vehicle air conditioning installations, and more particularly condensers.

  with integrated reservoir that such circuits include.

  Some of these condensers include a bundle of tubes mounted between first and second boxes which extend in a substantially vertical direction. The second box is generally delimited by a sheet and houses a substantially vertical partition which subdivides it into a first collection part and a second part forming an integrated tank. The vertical partition supports at least one horizontal partition which subdivides the first part,

  tightly sealed, in first and second superimposed chambers

  in this order starting from an upper part, the first chamber communicating through a first orifice with a

  upper part of the second part.

  The second box forms with the vertical partition a piece

  monobloc in which it is difficult to lodge,

  means, in a secure manner, of means for treating the fluid, of the type of filtration of impurities and / or means

desiccation.

  An object of the invention is therefore to provide a condenser with

  integrated tank which does not have the aforementioned drawback.

  To this end, the invention proposes a condenser with an integrated reservoir of the type defined in the introduction, in which there is provided: * a nozzle which has a main part of generally cylindrical shape, hollowed out, open at its opposite upper and lower ends, secured to the faces internal of the upper part of the second box, and the upper end of which has a radial projection which sealingly obstructs the upper end part of the first chamber, and * a block for treating the immobilized fluid in a removable and leaktight manner inside the nozzle, and comprising, on the one hand, means for allowing the introduction of the fluid into an internal zone, and on the other hand, means

  to evacuate the treated fluid in the second part.

  The nozzle, which is an insert in the second box, ensures the immobilization of the processing block inside the tank (second part), without there being any need to modify the box. The block can therefore be

  introduced (or extracted) into (or from) the tank through the opening

  upper ture of the nozzle, for its replacement.

  In a particularly advantageous manner, the internal faces of the nozzle and the external faces of the fluid treatment block comprise first and second respectively

  immobilization means, preferably homologous threads

  gues, which cooperate together to immobilize the

block inside the tank.

  According to another characteristic of the invention, the processing block preferably houses filtration means formed by means of filtering impurities and / or drying means. According to yet another characteristic of the invention, the processing block is produced in two parts integral with each other, including an upper part which forms a plug and comprises the second immobilization means, and a lower part of fluid treatment which includes

the filtration means.

  In a particular embodiment, the main part of the endpiece has a lateral light intended to be

  placed opposite the first opening to allow intro-

  fluid duction in the internal part of the milking block

  is lying. Preferably, the plug comprises a passage for the fluid, forming the introduction means, placed opposite the first orifice and the lateral lumen, as well as a hollow part, forming the internal zone and ensuring communication.

  between the passage and the lower part of the treatment.

  Also preferably, the plug has at least one seal, such as an O-ring, to ensure

  the seal at the end piece which immobilizes it.

  According to yet another characteristic of the invention,

  the tip is made of a material allowing its solida-

  risation by brazing the internal faces delimiting the first and second parts of the second box. To do this, it is preferably made of aluminum or in a

aluminum alloy.

  In the following description, given by way of example, we

  refers to the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating, in a side view, a condenser according to the invention, in a particular embodiment; - Figure 2 is a sectional view of the second box along the axis II-II of Figures 1 and 3; - Figure 3 schematically illustrates, in detail, the tip and part of the processing block housed in the second box; and - Figure 4 is a sectional view of the second box according to

axis IV-IV of Figures 1 and 3.

  Reference is first made to FIGS. 1 and 2 to describe a condenser with an integrated reservoir, according to the invention, in a

  preferred embodiment with "sub-cooling".

  In what follows, it will be considered that the condenser is part of an air conditioning circuit of a heating and air conditioning installation of a motor vehicle. Of course, this application is given by way of example. The condenser firstly comprises a first tubular element 1 (or box) which delimits a first manifold box and placed, here, in a substantially vertical position (but it could be oriented differently), and a second tubular element 2 (or box ) substantially parallel to the first tubular element 1. The second tubular element 2 is subdivided into a first part called “collection” 3 and a second part 4 called “reservoir”, by

  a substantially vertical partition 5.

  Throughout the description, the vertical expressions and

  horizontal refer to a vertical orientation of the boxes. The first box 1 is subdivided into three chambers by virtue of substantially horizontal partitions 6. In this example, the first chamber 7 is that which is placed in the upper region 8 of the condenser, the second chamber 9 is placed

  in a region 18 which can be described here as intermediary-

  re, and the third chamber 10 is placed in a region

lower 11.

  The first box 1 is produced by winding a

  plate, for example aluminum or aluminum alloy.

  Its upper 12 and lower 13 ends are respectively

  obstructed by end partitions 14, also

substantially horizontal.

  The first part 3 of the second box 2 is also subdivided into three chambers by substantially horizontal partitions 6. Just as for the first box 1, the first chamber 15 of this first part is placed in the upper region 8 of the condenser, the second chamber 16 is placed partly in the upper region 8 and in the intermediate region 18, and the third chamber 17 is placed in the lower region 11 which will be called by the

  following sub-cooling region.

  The chambers of these two boxes 1 and 2 communicate with each other by means of tubes 19 substantially parallel to each other and placed, in this example, in a substantially horizontal position. Although this is not shown in Figure 1, fins are generally placed between the tubes, so as to improve the exchange

  thermal with the air circulating between said tubes.

  The condenser also includes, here, a distribution block

  tion 20 connected to the rest of the air conditioning circuit of the installation and to which is connected an inlet pipe 21, which supplies the first box 1 with refrigerant, as well as an outlet pipe 22, which collects the fluid

  refrigerant first cooled and condensed to a temperature

  Tc condensation level at the cooling part

  ment and condensation placed upstream of the under-

  cooling, then sub-cooled to a temperature of

  sub-cooling Ts at this part of sub-

  cooling. Preferably, the sub-temperature

  Ts cooling is about 10 C lower than the temperature

ture of condensation Tc.

  The refrigerant reaches, in this example, in the second chamber 9 of the first box 1 via the inlet pipe 21 (arrow F1). It then circulates in the tubes which connect the second chamber 9 of the first box 1 to the second chamber 16 of the second box 2 (arrow F2), then borrows the tubes which connect this second chamber 16 to the first chamber 7 of the first box 1 (arrow F3). The fluid then borrows the tubes which connect the first chamber 7 of the first box 1 to the first chamber 15 of

the second box 2 (arrow F4).

  The vertical partition 5, which subdivides the second box 2 into its first 3 and second 4 parts comprises a first orifice 23 allowing the fluid which arrives in the first chamber 15 to penetrate inside the second part 4 forming the integrated reservoir ( arrow F5). The vertical partition 5 of the second box 2 also comprises in its lower part (or sub-cooling), at the level of the third chamber 17 of the first part 3, a second orifice 24 allowing the fluid, which is located inside the integrated tank 4, to enter the third chamber 17, then to circulate inside the tubes which connect this third chamber 17 to the third chamber 10 of the first box 1 (arrow F7), to finally be collected

  by the outlet pipe 22 (arrow F8).

  As is better illustrated in FIG. 2, the second box 2 is preferably substantially off-center with respect to the bundle of tubes 19. In other words, the axis II, which defines the direction of longitudinal extension of the tubes 19, does not intersect the axis I2, which defines, substantially, the axial (or vertical) middle direction of the second box 2. Furthermore, and still preferably, the vertical partition 5 is a shaped metallic element which supports the horizontal partitions 6 delimiting the chambers of the first collection part 3. On the other hand, the second box 2 is also produced by winding a plate

  metallic, preferably aluminum or aluminum alloy

  nium. In this example, the lower opening 25 of the second box 2 is obstructed by a substantially horizontal partition 26. We now refer more particularly to FIGS. 3

and 4.

  The second box 2 comprises at the end of its upper region 8 an end piece preferably made of a material

  metallic, for example aluminum or aluminum alloy

  nium. This nozzle 27 comprises a main part 28 of generally cylindrical shape, here cylindrical circular, having a cross section equal, apart from play, to the internal cross section of the reservoir 4 (at least in its upper region 8). The main part 28 of this endpiece 27 is crossed by a vertical bore which opens through the upper 29 and lower 30 openings so as to allow the introduction of a cartridge 31 to which we will return later. The main part 28 of the end piece 27 comprises, at its upper end, a radial projection 32 whose dimensions are chosen so as to obstruct the upper end of the first part 3 of the second box 2, at its first chamber 15. Preferably, the end piece 27 is secured to the faces, facing the end piece, of the walls which delimit the first part 3 and the second part 4 of the second box 2, at the parts of its

  own external faces which are in contact with the inter-

  nes. In the example illustrated, the contact points are materialized by the letters P, the joining is preferably carried out by brazing, during the passage of the condenser in an oven, with a view to the joining of all of its

metal parts.

  Also preferably, it is carried out at the upper region of the wall delimiting the second box 2, and more precisely at the main part 28 of the nozzle.

  27, a crimping point 33 in order to reinforce the immobilization

  station 27 inside the tank 4.

  Finally, the nozzle comprises on the internal faces of the lower part of its main part 28, substantially upstream of the lower opening 30, immobilizing means 34

  preferably made in the form of a thread.

  The nozzle 27 is intended mainly to immobilize inside the integrated tank, in a removable and secure manner (due to the high pressures which prevail at

  inside the condenser), a cartridge or block

  of the fluid 31, so that this fluid which is condensed and

  cooled, or treated (filtered) before being sub-cooled.

  The cartridge 31 comprises, in the example illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, an upper part forming a plug 35, the dimensions of which are adapted to those of the recessed part of

end piece 27.

  Preferably, the plug 35 comprises two annular grooves.

  res 36 intended to receive sealing means, such as O-rings 37. These two annular grooves 36 are intended to be placed above the lateral lumen 38

  formed in the main part 28 of the nozzle 27, that is to say

  say on the side opposite to the lower opening 30 of this nozzle. Below the O-rings 37, the plug 35 has a passage 39, preferably annular, which communicates with a channel 44 (or hollowed out part, or even internal part), here central (or axial with respect to the axis I3 of the cartridge), and intended to collect the condensed and cooled fluid which emerges from the first chamber 15 of the first collection part 3 via the first orifice 23 formed in the vertical partition 5 and the lateral lumen 38 formed in the wall of

  the main part 28 of the nozzle 27.

  The lower end of the plug 35 comprises on its external faces, below the annular zone in which the passage or passages 39 is formed, second immobilization means homologous to the first means, here a

thread 41.

  Thus, in order to install a cartridge 31 inside the integrated reservoir 4 (or second part) in a fixed and although removable manner, it suffices to introduce it axially (along the axis I3) into the openings upper 29 and lower 30 of end piece 27, then screw this

  cartridge by making the threads 34 and 41 cooperate.

  The reverse operation can be performed to replace the

cartridge 31.

  To allow the treatment of the condensed and cooled fluid, the cartridge 31 (or fluid treatment block) comprises a lower part 42 secured to its upper part forming the plug 35 and communicating with the hollowed out part

formed in this plug 35.

  This lower processing part 42 preferably comprises filtration means comprising means for

  filtration of impurities and / or a desiccant.

  Finally, in order to evacuate the condensed and cooled fluid which penetrates inside the cartridge through its passage 39, said cartridge 31 comprises means for evacuating the fluid 43 (see FIG. 1), preferably in end of the lower treatment part 42. These evacuation means are also preferably made in the form of small holes. Thus, the fluid can be effectively filtered (or treated) in the lower treatment part 42 of the cartridge 31 before being evacuated in the reservoir (or second part) 4 of the second box 2, then reaching the third chamber. 17 of the first part of

  collection 3 of this same second box 2.

  The invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, only by way of example, but it extends to other variants which a person skilled in the art may develop.

  in the context of the claims below.

  Thus, a condenser with a subcooling zone has been described.

  ment, but it is clear that the invention applies all

  as much for condensers which do not have such a zone.

  Furthermore, a condenser has been described in which the fluid follows an ascending then descending course. But it is clear that one can envisage other configurations. For example, the path can be entirely descending, the fluid flowing from the first chamber of the first box to the second chamber of the second box, then entering the second part (reservoir) via the first orifice formed at this level in the vertical wall. In this type of condenser, the nozzle will not need to understand a lateral light and the plug of the cartridge will not need to understand the means for introducing the fluid into the internal zone. These could be provided directly on the lower processing part in the form of one or

several passages.

Claims (12)

Claims   1. Condenser for a refrigeration circuit traversed by a refrigerant, of the type comprising a bundle of tubes (19) mounted between first (1) and second (2) boxes extending in a substantially vertical direction, the second box ( 2) being divided by a substantially vertical partition (5) into first (3) and second (4) parts, the first part (3) being subdivided, in leaktight manner, by at least one substantially horizontal partition (6) into first (15) and second (16) chambers superimposed in this order starting from an upper region (8), the first chamber (15) communicating through a first orifice (23) with the second part (3), characterized in that that he understands:   * a nozzle (27) having a main cylinder part   hollow (28), open at its opposite upper ends   upper (29) and lower (30), suitable for being secured to the internal faces of the upper region (8) of the second box (2), and the upper end of which has a radial projection (35) intended to obstruct sealing the upper end part of the first chamber (15), and * a fluid processing block (31) suitable for being detachably immobilized, and sealed, inside   of the nozzle (27), and comprising means (39) for allowing   being the introduction of the fluid into an internal zone (40), as well as means (43) for discharging the fluid treated in the second part (4).   2. Condenser according to claim 1, characterized in that the internal faces of said endpiece (27) comprise first immobilization means (34), and in that the external faces of said fluid treatment block (31) comprise second immobilization means (41) capable of cooperating with said first immobilization means with a view to immobilization of said block.   3. Condenser according to claim 2, characterized in that the first (34) and second (41) immobilization means are homologous threads.   4. Condenser according to one of claims 1 to 3,   characterized in that said treatment unit (31) houses filtration means comprising filtration means   impurities and / or desiccation means.   5. Condenser according to claim 4, characterized in that the processing block (31) comprises an upper part   (35), forming a plug, provided with said second immobilizing means   reading (41) and a lower part (42) for processing the   fluid comprising said filtration means.   6. Condenser according to one of claims 1 to 5,   characterized in that the main part (28) of the end piece (27) has a lateral lumen (38) intended to be   placed opposite said first orifice (23).   7. Condenser according to the combination of claims 5 and   6, characterized in that said plug (35) comprises a passage (39) forming said introduction means, and suitable for being placed opposite the first orifice (23) and the lateral lumen (38), and a hollow part (40), forming the internal zone, ensuring communication between said passage   (39) and said lower processing part (42).   8. Condenser according to one of claims 5 to 7,   characterized in that said plug (35) is provided with at least one seal (37) suitable for sealing the level of the second part (4).   9. Condenser according to one of claims 1 to 8,   characterized in that said end piece (27) is suitable for being joined by brazing to the faces, turned towards the end piece, delimiting the first (3) and second (4) parts of the second box (2).   10. Condenser according to claim 9, characterized in that said end piece (27) is also secured to the faces of the   second part (4) of said second box (2) by crimping ge.   11. Condenser according to one of claims 1 to 10,   characterized in that the end piece (27) is made of aluminum or in an aluminum alloy.   12. Condenser according to one of claims 1 to 11,   characterized in that the first part (3) comprises a third chamber (17) placed below the second chamber (16), communicating through a second orifice (24) with a lower region (11) of the second part (4) in which is housed the lower part of the treatment block (31), and suitable for discharging the treated fluid for to sub-cool it.