FR2826437A1 - Connecting fitting for heat exchanger evaporator in vehicle air conditioning system, has block with drillings to receive evaporator entry and exit conduits and connections to regulator - Google Patents

Abstract

A one piece connection block (31) is traversed by two drillings (32) which receive the entry and exit tubes (22) of the heat exchanger evaporator tank (21). The reverse face of the block has two channels (36) supported by annular reinforcement (38) which enable connections to be made to be made to a regulator. The drillings may be configured to allow for different conduit spacing on either side of the block An Independent claim is also included for: Intermediate tubes which may be attached to the connection block

Description

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The invention relates to a heat exchanger, in particular an evaporator for a vehicle air conditioning loop, provided with a connection device for the introduction and extraction of a first fluid.

The object of the invention is to provide such a connection device making it possible to conveniently connect the heat exchanger, in particular the evaporator, to the rest of the fluid circuit, in particular to the pressure reducer, in a removable manner and in a reduced space requirement.

The invention relates in particular to a heat exchanger of the kind defined in the introduction, and provides that said device comprises a connection block traversed by a first bore and by a second bore both emerging on the one hand in a first face of the block, according to respective parallel axes so as to come opposite respectively an inlet opening and an outlet opening of the exchanger mutually juxtaposed at the same end thereof, on the other hand in a second face of the block opposite the first, along respective parallel axes.

Optional, complementary or alternative characteristics of the invention are set out below: - For at least one of the first and second bores, the outlet axes in the first and second faces are distinct and parallel.

- Said inlet and outlet openings are defined by inlet and outlet pipes projecting from said end and whose axes come into coincidence with the outlet axes in the first face.

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- Said bores are adapted to receive said inlet and outlet pipes.

- The connection device further comprises two intermediate tubes, each of which is suitable for engaging by one of its ends in one of the inlet and outlet pipes and by its opposite end in the corresponding bore of the block. .

- Each intermediate tube has an annular shoulder capable of resting on the connection block with the interposition of a seal to ensure the tightness of the fluid communication between the intermediate tube and the corresponding bore.

- Said shoulder is defined by an annular bead.

- The connection device further comprises a clamping flange having openings capable of being traversed by the intermediate tubes, and means for urging the latter towards the connection block so as to tighten the beads between the connection block and the flange.

- Said openings of the clamping flange are adapted to be crossed by the inlet and outlet pipes.

- At least one of the inlet and outlet openings is formed in an end plate of a stack of plates constituting the heat exchanger, said inlet or outlet opening communicating with a chamber for the first fluid delimited by said end plate and connected to other chambers by means of paths allowing the first fluid to exchange heat with a second fluid.

- Said outlet opening is formed in the end plate while said inlet opening is defined by the upstream end of an injection tube which passes through

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 sealingly a penultimate plate and which opens downstream in a chamber not adjacent thereto.

- Said upstream end of the injection tube has a projection facing radially outwards which is immobilized axially between the penultimate plate and the connection block.

- Said projection of the injection tube is housed in a counterbore made in the first face of the connection block.

- Said bores pass through male tubular tips which protrude from the second face of the block.

- Said bores open into the second face of the block in the form of female fittings.

- The connection device is tightly fixed by brazing or by bonding to the body of the exchanger, and in particular to the inlet and outlet pipes, to said end plate and / or to the upstream end of the injection tube. .

- The connection block is provided with means allowing its sealed and removable connection with components associated with said heat exchanger in a fluid circuit.

The invention also relates to a connection device for a heat exchanger, comprising a connection block, and where appropriate intermediate tubes, as defined above.

The characteristics and advantages of the invention will be explained in more detail in the description below, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which identical or similar elements are designated in all the figures by the same reference numbers.

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Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an evaporator capable of being fitted with a connection device according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a partial view, in section along the line II-II of Figure 1, the evaporator equipped with a connecting device.

Figures 3 to 5 are views similar to Figure 2, relating to variants.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are views respectively in section and in perspective of the connection device in FIG. 2.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are views in section and in perspective respectively of the connection block of FIG. 3.

The evaporator illustrated in FIG. 1, intended for a device for air conditioning the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle, comprises a multiplicity of pockets 1 mutually stacked in a substantially horizontal longitudinal direction, and each formed from two sheet metal plates stamped in shape of bowls 2 and 3. The latter are identical to each other and have their concavities turned towards one another, that is respectively towards second and first longitudinal ends 5,4 of the stack.

Each bowl has a peripheral edge 6 located in a vertical plane, and the peripheral edges 6 of the two bowls forming a pocket are mutually assembled in a fluid-tight manner, by brazing, to delimit the interior volume of the pocket. Each bowl also has, at its upper part, two regions 7 of greater depth than that of the remaining region, the latter occupying most of the height of the bowl, below regions 7 and therefore behind the plan of the figure. These two regions of greater depth of each bowl, juxtaposed from the left to the right of the figure, define in each pocket an inlet chamber and an outlet chamber for the refrigerant. The

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 inlet chamber and outlet chamber of each pocket are separated from each other by a sealed junction zone 9 between the two bowls at half the width of the pocket, this junction zone connecting to the edge 6 to the upper end of the pouch and extending down to the vicinity of the lower end of the pouch so as to define therein, between the regions of reduced depth of the cuvettes, a U-shaped path for the fluid between the entry chamber and the exit chamber. The bottom of each bowl is crossed, in each of the regions 7 of greater depth, by an opening 11 and the bottoms facing one another of a bowl 2 and a bowl 3 adjacent are mutually linked so waterproof around the openings, by soldering.

The alignment of the inlet / outlet chambers located on the left side of the figure forms a manifold 16, and the alignment of the inlet / outlet chambers located on the right side forms a manifold 17. The manifold 16 is subdivided by a transverse partition 18 into a connecting pipe 12 extending from this partition at the end 4 of the stack and a connecting pipe 14 extending from the partition to the end 5. Similarly, a partition transverse 19, further from the end 4 than the partition 18, separates the manifold 17 into a connecting pipe 13 adjacent to the end 4 and a connecting pipe 15 adjacent to the end 5. Two end plates 20 and 21 frame the stack of pockets at the ends 4.5 thereof respectively. The inlet / outlet chambers forming the same connecting pipe communicate with each other through the openings 11 of the bowls 2,3.

An inlet pipe 22 and an outlet pipe 23 protrude at the end 5, along respective axes 22a and 23a parallel to the longitudinal axis of the stack and pass in leaktight manner through the end plate 21 and the regions 7 of the bowl 3 adjacent to it. The pipes 22 and 23 are here spacers. An injection tube 24 extends the tubing 22 towards the inside of the manifold 16 until

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 that beyond the intermediate partition 18, so as to put in communication the connecting line 12 with the part of the refrigerant circuit located upstream of the evaporator. The tubing 23 opens into the connecting pipe 15, so as to put the latter in communication with the downstream part of the circuit.

The refrigerant entering the connecting line 12 through the injection tube 24 then passes through the connecting line 13, taking, in parallel, the U-shaped paths of a first group of bags. It is then transferred to the connecting pipe 14, via the U-shaped paths of a second group of pockets, then to the connecting line 15, via the U-shaped paths of a third and last group. of pockets. The fluid finally leaves the evaporator through the pipe 23. During the circulation in the U-shaped paths, the fluid receives heat from an air flow which crosses the evaporator horizontally from the right to the left of the figure. , according to arrow FI, passing through the intervals which separate the pockets facing the regions of reduced depth of the bowls.

According to the invention, there is provided a connection device which, in the example illustrated in FIGS. 2, 6 and 7, is formed by a connection block 31, that is to say a single piece, crossed by two bores 32 and 33 into which the pipes 22 and 23 respectively engage. As can be seen in FIG. 6, these two bores open out into a first planar face 34, along respective axes 32a, 33a perpendicular thereto, which coincide with axes 22a and 23a. On the face 35 of the block, opposite and parallel to the face 34, project tubular end pieces 36,37 surrounding the bores 32 and 33. The tubular end pieces 36 and 37 are connected to the face 35 by annular beads 38,39. They are intended to engage in a sealed and removable manner in conduits used to connect the evaporator to other components of the air conditioning loop, or in bores of such a component, for example a regulator. As seen in Figure 6, the bore 32

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 crosses the end piece 36 along the axis 32a, while the bore 33 crosses the end piece 37 along an axis 33b separate from the axis 33a and parallel thereto. The block 31 therefore makes it possible, in a very simple manner and in a reduced space, to connect the evaporator to a pressure reducer whose connection bores have a different center distance from the center distance of the inlet and outlet pipes 22 23. Of course, depending on the relative arrangement desired for the components, it is possible to provide non-coincident axes for the bore 32 rather than for the bore 33, or both for these two bores, or even to provide axes combined for the two bores.

FIG. 7 shows two holes 40 which pass through the block 31 from the face 34 to the face 35. These holes allow the passage of clean screws to be screwed for example in a pressure reducer so as to compress the O-rings sealingly axially surrounding the tips 36 and 37, between the beads 38 and 39 and the shoulders of the bores of the regulator in which the tips engage. Tubing 22 and 23 can in turn be fixed in bores 32 and 33 in a sealed and permanent manner, for example by brazing or by gluing.

In the variant illustrated in Figure 3, the block 31 differs from that shown in Figure 2 in that its bores, of which only the bore 32 is partially shown, have, at their outlet in the face 34, a substantially equal diameter to the outside diameter of the inlet and outlet pipes 22, and no longer a diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter of these pipes. An intermediate tube 42 engages at its two ends respectively in the tube 22, to which it can be brazed or glued in a sealed manner, and in the bore 32. A chamfer 41 is formed at the outlet of the bore 32 in the face 34. The tube 42 has an annular bead 43 projecting radially outwards. A flange 44 extending opposite the face 34 of the block 31 has two openings 45 crossed respectively by the inlet and outlet pipes of

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 the evaporator respectively. This flange can be urged by screws towards the face 34, in a known manner, so as to rest on the beads 43 and to compress axially between these and the chamfers 41 of the O-rings 46. A similar tube the tube 42 engages in the outlet tube of the evaporator and in the bore of the block 31 associated therewith.

FIGS. 8 and 9 represent a connection block 31 whose bores 32, 33 have chamfers 41 similar to that of FIG. 3. These bores are therefore suitable for cooperating in the manner described with intermediate tubes such as 42. However, it is understood that such bores can also cooperate in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2 with inlet and outlet pipes of an appropriate diameter, the chamfers 41 then simply serving to facilitate the insertion of these.

Unlike the block 31 of Figures 2,6 and 7, that of Figures 8 and 9 has no projection on its face 35 opposite the face 34. The bores are adapted to receive, by their ends opening into the face 35, the ends connection pipes or male ends of a component such as a pressure reducer. The bores 32, 33 have, in the immediate vicinity of the face 35, shoulders 50 making it possible to house and compress axially, between these and appropriate bearing surfaces, O-rings for sealing. Here again, holes 51 passing through the block 31 can receive screws used for tightening the joints.

Figures 4 and 5 partially illustrate an evaporator which differs from that shown in Figure 1, and partially in Figures 2 and 3, by removing the inlet and outlet pipes 22,23. The injection tube 24 passes through the wall of the 3-0 cup-shaped plate located at the end of the stack, in the vicinity of the end plate 21. This 3-0 plate here constitutes a penultimate plate. The upstream end of the tube 24, located between the plates 3-0 and 21, is folded radially outward to form a flange 60 which is housed in a

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 counterbore 61 formed in the face 34 of the block 31, the latter being applied against the plate 3-0. The plate 3-0, the block 31 and the flange 60 are permanently assembled by brazing or by gluing, ensuring fluid-tight communication between the bore 32 and the interior of the tube 24. The second bore, not shown, of the connection block of FIGS. 4 and 5 communicates directly with the outlet chamber of the end pocket to which the plate 3-0 belongs, through an opening made in the latter, a countersink such as 61 not being necessary at this level.

The block 31 of FIG. 4 has, like that of FIGS. 2, 6 and 7, a male end piece 36 and a bead 38 associated with the bore 32, as well as a similar end piece and bead associated with the other bore. The block passes through an opening 62 formed in the plate 21. Such ends and beads are absent from the block 31 of FIG. 5, the bores of which have shoulders 50 similar to those of the block of FIGS. 8 and 9. In the particular example of Figure 5, to facilitate the maintenance in position of the block 31 during assembly operations, the plate 21 is folded away from the plate 3-0, to form a horizontal region 63 supporting the block 31, and folded again upwards, facing the face 35, to form a vertical part 64 pierced with two openings 65 facing the two bores of the block respectively.

Claims (18)

Claims 1. Heat exchanger, in particular evaporator for a vehicle air conditioning loop, provided with a connection device for the introduction and extraction of a first fluid, characterized in that said device comprises a connection block ( 31) traversed by a first bore (32) and by a second bore (33) both emerging on the one hand in a first face (34) of the block, along respective parallel axes (32a, 33a) so as to come into look respectively of an inlet opening and an outlet opening of the exchanger mutually juxtaposed at the same end thereof, on the other hand in a second face (35) of the block opposite to the first, according to respective parallel axes (32a, 33b). 2. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein, for at least one (33) of the first and second bores, the outlet axes (33a, 33b) in the first and second faces are distinct and parallel. 3. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 and 2, wherein said inlet and outlet openings are defined by inlet and outlet pipes (22,23) projecting at said end and whose axes (22a, 23a) come into coincidence with the outlet axes (32a, 33a) in the first face. 4. Heat exchanger according to claim 3, wherein said bores are adapted to receive said inlet and outlet pipes. 5. Heat exchanger according to claim 3, wherein the connection device further comprises two intermediate tubes (42) each of which is adapted to engage at one of its ends in one (22) of the pipes d 'inlet and outlet and by its opposite end in the corresponding bore (32) of the block. <Desc / Clms Page number 11> 6. Heat exchanger according to claim 5, wherein each intermediate tube has an annular shoulder (43) adapted to bear on the connection block with the interposition of a seal (46) to ensure the tightness of the fluid communication between the intermediate tube and the corresponding bore. 7. Heat exchanger according to claim 6, wherein said shoulder is defined by an annular bead (43). 8. Heat exchanger according to claim 7, wherein the connection device further comprises a clamp (44) having openings (45) adapted to be traversed by the intermediate tubes, and means for urging it towards the connection block so as to tighten the beads between the connection block and the flange. 9. Heat exchanger according to claim 8, wherein said openings (45) of the clamping flange are adapted to be traversed by the inlet and outlet pipes (22,23). 10. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 and 2, wherein at least one of the inlet and outlet openings is formed in an end plate (21) of a stack of plates constituting the exchanger heat, said inlet or outlet opening communicating with a chamber for the first fluid delimited by said end plate (21) and connected to other chambers by means of paths allowing the first fluid to exchange heat with a second fluid.  11. Heat exchanger according to claim 10, wherein said outlet opening is formed in the end plate (21) while said inlet opening is defined by the upstream end of an injection tube (24) which crossing <Desc / Clms Page number 12>  sealingly a penultimate plate (3-0) and which opens downstream in a chamber not adjacent thereto. 12. Heat exchanger according to claim 11, wherein said upstream end of the injection tube has a projection (60) turned radially outwards which is immobilized axially between the penultimate plate (3-0) and the connection block (31). 13. Heat exchanger according to claim 12, wherein said projection of the injection tube is housed in a counterbore (61) formed in the first face (34) of the connection block. 14. Heat exchanger according to one of the preceding claims, wherein said bores pass through male tubular ends (36,37) which protrude on the second face (35) of the block. 15. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 12, wherein said bores open into the second face of the block in the form of female fittings. 16. Heat exchanger according to one of the preceding claims, in which the connection device (31, 42) is tightly fixed by brazing or by bonding to the body of the exchanger, and in particular to the inlet and outlet pipes. outlet (22,23), to said end plate (21) and / or to the upstream end (60) of the injection tube. 17. Heat exchanger according to one of the preceding claims, in which the connection block (31) is provided with means (36-39; 50) allowing its sealed and removable connection with components associated with said heat exchanger in a circuit of fluid. 18. Connection device for a heat exchanger, comprising a connection block (31), and if necessary <Desc / Clms Page number 13>  intermediate tubes (42), as defined in one of the preceding claims.