FR3060105A1 - THERMAL EXCHANGER, IN PARTICULAR EVAPORATOR, OF THE TYPE OF PLATES HAVING MECHANICAL REINFORCING MEANS - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a heat exchanger (1), in particular an evaporator, comprising a plurality of heat exchange plates (2) stacked in a longitudinal stacking direction (x). According to the invention, at least a part of the plates (2) has a first notch (6) at a first end so as to form at least one first groove (8) extending in the longitudinal stacking direction (x) on a first longitudinal edge (12) of the heat exchanger (1), said at least one first groove (8) being configured to accommodate first mechanical reinforcing means (7) of said heat exchanger (1).

Description

® FRENCH REPUBLIC

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY © Publication number: 3,060,105 (to be used only for reproduction orders)

©) National registration number: 16 62 286

COURBEVOIE © Int Cl ⁸ : F28 F 3/08 (2017.01), F28 F 9/007

A1 PATENT APPLICATION

©) Date of filing: 12.12.16. © Applicant (s): VALEO THERMAL SYSTEMS (© Priority: Simplified joint stock company - FR. @ Inventor (s): ROBILLON LIONEL, BELLENFANT AURELIE, MOREAU SYLVAIN and TISON FREDERIC. (43) Date of public availability of the request: 15.06.18 Bulletin 18/24. ©) List of documents cited in the report preliminary research: Refer to end of present booklet (© References to other national documents ® Holder (s): VALEO THERMAL SYSTEMS related: Joint stock company. ©) Extension request (s): © Agent (s): VALEO THERMAL SYSTEMS.

FR 3 060 105 - A1

PLATE TYPE HEAT EXCHANGER, ESPECIALLY EVAPORATOR HAVING MECHANICAL REINFORCEMENTS.

_ The invention relates to a heat exchanger (1), in particular an evaporator, comprising a plurality of heat exchange plates (2) stacked in a longitudinal stacking direction (x).

According to the invention, at least part of the plates (2) has a first notch (6) at a first end so as to form at least a first groove (8) extending in the direction of longitudinal stacking (x) on a first longitudinal edge (12) of the heat exchanger (1), said at least one first groove (8) being configured to house first mechanical reinforcement means (7) of said heat exchanger (1).

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Plate type heat exchanger, including evaporator, having mechanical reinforcing means

1. Field of the invention

The field of the invention is that of plate type heat exchangers, in particular for a motor vehicle.

More specifically, the invention relates to the mechanical reinforcement of such exchangers.

2. Prior art

An evaporator is known, intended for a device for air conditioning the passenger compartment of a vehicle, comprising a bundle formed of a stack of plates allowing a heat exchange between an air flow passing through the bundle and a liquid. refrigerant circulating in the beam.

The beam is placed between two end plates. This type of evaporator is well known to those skilled in the art.

One of the end plates of the evaporator comprises, in an end region, two nozzles respectively for the entry of the refrigerant into the evaporator and for the outlet of this fluid.

These nozzles define an inlet duct and an outlet duct projecting from a lateral face of the evaporator, and intended to receive connection pipes used to connect the evaporator to other components of the air conditioning loop. , for example a regulator.

However, such evaporators do not have sufficient mechanical strength to withstand the various stresses, in particular the handling of the connection pipes and the shocks.

It has thus been noted that when such evaporators are subject to frontal impacts, the deformations caused by the latter can be relatively large. The force applied to the front face of the evaporator, oriented towards the front of the vehicle, can cause deformation (sinking) of the evaporator and have an impact on its sealing.

Furthermore, manipulations of the connection pipes occurring in particular during the mounting of the evaporator in a vehicle, can lead, in certain cases, to deformations of the end plate on which the end pieces are mounted and possibly one or several adjacent plates.

The connection between the flanges of the plates disposed near the end plate may possibly be broken.

In general, whatever the origin of these deformations, they are detrimental to the integrity and the functioning of the evaporator and therefore of the vehicle as a whole.

To remedy this problem, it has been proposed to add a reinforcing plate on a part of the upper face of the evaporator, near the end pieces.

The implementation of such a solution, however, requires the modification of the structure of the evaporator and entails additional manufacturing costs.

There is therefore a need to provide a simple, effective and economical solution to this problem.

3. Summary of the invention

To this end, the invention provides a heat exchanger, in particular an evaporator, comprising a plurality of heat exchange plates stacked in a longitudinal stacking direction.

According to the invention, at least a part of the plates has a first notch at a first end so as to form at least a first groove extending in the longitudinal stacking direction on a first longitudinal edge of the heat exchanger, said at least a first groove being configured to house first mechanical reinforcement means of said heat exchanger.

The present invention thus provides a heat exchanger, such as an evaporator, of the plate type, the latter being configured to form when they are stacked one or more grooves on one of the longitudinal edges of the exchanger located between the lateral edges of the latter .

The groove or grooves are capable of receiving a reinforcing element making it possible to improve the mechanical strength of the evaporator, and to minimize the risks of the latter deforming under the action of mechanical stress, in particular during an impact of the vehicle.

The risk of rupture of the evaporator is reduced and its reliability is increased.

According to one embodiment of the invention, at least part of the plates has a second notch at a second end so as to form at least a second groove extending in the direction of longitudinal stacking on a second longitudinal edge of the heat exchanger, opposite the first longitudinal edge, said at least one second groove being configured to accommodate second mechanical reinforcing means of said heat exchanger.

In one embodiment of the invention, the said groove or grooves have a stepped shape.

According to a variant of the invention, the said groove or grooves have a triangular shape.

In a particular embodiment, the mechanical reinforcement means comprise a mechanical reinforcement bar assembled by force in said corresponding groove.

According to one aspect of an embodiment of the invention, the depth of the said groove or grooves is greater than x mm.

In a variant of an embodiment of the invention, the heat exchange plates are less than 0.3 mm thick.

The invention also relates to a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning unit of a vehicle comprising mechanical reinforcement means intended to cooperate with at least one groove of the heat exchanger according to one of the abovementioned embodiments.

According to a variant of the heating box, said mechanical reinforcement means are made from one or a combination of materials chosen from plastics, aluminum, or steel.

In a particular embodiment, said mechanical reinforcement means are secured by snapping onto a wall of said housing.

According to a particular embodiment, said mechanical reinforcement means are formed during the molding of said housing.

4. List of figures

Other characteristics and advantages of the plate-type heat exchangers according to the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following detailed description of a particular embodiment of the invention, given by way of simple illustrative example and not limiting, and attached drawings, among which:

Figure 1 is an exploded view of a heat exchanger according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a partial side view of the heat exchanger of Figure 1 before mounting the reinforcing means; and Figure 3 is a partial side view of the heat exchanger of Figure 1 after mounting the reinforcing means.

5. Detailed description of the invention

By convention and to simplify the description of the heat exchanger 1 according to the invention, a Cartesian coordinate system (x, y, z) is formed and the direction ox is defined as being the length of the exchanger, oy its depth, and oz its height.

The embodiment described below is an evaporator but it goes without saying that the invention also covers a condenser, a radiator or any other heat exchanger, whatever the fluid passing through it.

The embodiment described below relates more precisely to a plate type evaporator, which can be implemented in a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning installation (called "CVC" in French or HVAC in English for "Heating , Ventilation and Air-Conditioning ”) of a motor vehicle.

The heat exchanger 1, of the evaporator type, illustrated in the exploded view of FIG. 1, is designed for the heat exchange between an air flow and a refrigerant, in particular for a device for air conditioning the passenger compartment. a motor vehicle.

This heat exchanger 1 comprises, for example, a plurality of exchange plates 2 stacked in a longitudinal stacking direction (x) and arranged between two end plates 4.

The plates 2 can be grouped in pairs to form a tube 20 (FIG. 4) allowing a flow of coolant fluid between the plates 2 of the same pair of plates 2.

Each tube 20 is here formed of two stamped plates 2 which are mutually brazed for sealing along their lateral edges.

Each plate 2 here has a generally rectangular shape, and comprises two longitudinal edges extending along the axis o-z connected by an upper edge and a lower edge each extending along the axis o-y in FIG. 1.

The heat exchanger 1 thus has a substantially parallelepiped shape, comprising two lateral edges connected by a first upper longitudinal edge 12 and a second lower longitudinal edge 13, opposite the first upper longitudinal edge 12, a front face 11 and a rear face opposite to the front panel 11.

Between two neighboring fluid circulation tubes, each defined by two adjacent plates of a pair, the heat exchanger 1 may include spacers making it possible to increase the exchange surface with an air flow passing through the heat exchanger 1 passing between the tubes. These spacers may have undulations defining passages for the air flow in the direction of the width of the tubes.

Such spacers can be made of the same material as the plates 2, for example aluminum alloy.

The aluminum alloy sheet forming the plates may have a thickness of less than 0.3 mm, preferably between 0.24 and 0.28 min.

Even more preferably, a sheet of thickness less than or equal to 0.27 mm is used, for example equal to 0.25 mm.

The plates 2 forming the bundle of tubes have at their upper end (along the axis o-z) two openings 31, 32 identical and aligned with those of the end plates 4.

The aligned openings 31 of the plates 2 define a first duct, called the inlet collecting duct, extending along the stacking axis o-z.

The aligned openings 32 of the plates define a second conduit, called the outlet collecting duct, extending along the stacking axis o-z, and parallel to the inlet collecting duct.

The plates 2 comprise at their upper end connection means, such as flanges or flanges, which once assembled together by brazing, form the collecting ducts allowing the coolant to pass from a pair of plates 2 to the other and emerging at one of the end plates 4 (the one on the left in FIG. 1).

The tubes of the heat exchanger 1 are in fluid communication with the inlet and outlet collecting ducts by means of passages formed at the edge of the openings 31, 32 of the plates 2.

The present invention also covers any other arrangement of the collecting ducts relative to the heat exchanger 1.

The left end plate 4 carries on its outer face an end piece 41 for fluid inlet into the exchanger and an end piece 42 for outlet of the heat exchanger, communicating here with the inlet and outlet manifolds respectively. It is noted that the diameter of the inlet nozzle 41 is greater than the diameter of the outlet nozzle 42, but that they could be identical.

The present invention also covers any other arrangement of the end pieces 41, 42 relative to the heat exchanger 1.

The parallel inlet 41 and outlet 42 ends of the heat exchanger 1 are in fluid communication with ports of a pressure reducer (not shown), for example, via pipes (not shown).

According to the invention, the plates 2 of the stack, including the end plates 4, each have a notch 6 (Figure 2). Note that the right end plate 4 has no openings.

The notch 6 of each plate 2 is formed on the upper edge of the plate 2, between the openings 31 and 32 (41 and 42 for the end plate 4 on the left), and extends along an axis parallel to the edges longitudinal of the plate 2, that is to say along the axis oz.

When the plates 2 are stacked, the alignment of the notches 6 thus forms a straight groove 8 extending over the upper longitudinal edge 12 of the heat exchanger 1, over the entire length of the latter (in the longitudinal stacking direction (x)).

The groove 8 is adapted to receive first mechanical reinforcement means 7, which here take the form of a tie rod or a bar, the length of which is equal to that of the groove 8.

These first reinforcing means 7 make it possible to improve the mechanical strength of the heat exchanger 1 on its upper part.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the first reinforcing means 7 take the form of an element projecting from the interior of a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning unit in which the heat exchanger is mounted 1.

These first reinforcement means 7 can be obtained during the manufacture of the housing, in particular during molding (for reasons of clarity, only the first reinforcement means 7 projecting from the housing are shown in Figures 1 to 3).

In a variant, these first reinforcing means 7 consist of an additional part which can be assembled by snap-fastening on the housing or in the groove 8.

In the example illustrated in Figure 1, the plates 2 of the stack, including the end plates 4, each have a notch 6 'on their lower edge so as to form a groove 8' on the longitudinal edge 13 bottom of the heat exchanger 1, over the entire length of the latter (in a longitudinal stacking direction (x)). The groove 8 'is adapted to receive second mechanical reinforcement means 7'.

These second reinforcement means 7 'make it possible to improve the mechanical strength of the heat exchanger 1 on its lower part.

Thus, when the front face 11, oriented towards the front of the vehicle, of the heat exchanger 1 provided with one or two reinforcing means 7, 7 ', is subjected to a stress F (arrow in FIG. 1 oriented along the axis oy) during a shock (crash), for example, the risk that the exchanger undergoes deformation (a depression) along the axis oy is less.

FIG. 2 is a partial side view of the heat exchanger 1, at the level of the upper notch 6 of the end plate 4. It is understood that the upper notches of the other plates 2, 4 of the stack are identical to the one illustrated.

In this particular embodiment of the invention, the notch 6 has a stepped structure. Thus, the notch 6 has a first portion 61 of rectangular section extending from the upper edge of the end plate 4 and extended by a second portion 62 of square section and of width less than that of the first portion 61.

The notch 6 has a depth of between 1 mm and 10 mm.

In an alternative, the notch 6 has a depth of between 2 mm and 6 mm.

The section of the first reinforcing means 7 has in FIGS. 2 and 3 a stepped shape, complementary to that of the section of the notch 6.

According to a variant of the invention, the notches 6, 6 '(and therefore the reinforcement means 7, 7') can take another shape, such as a triangular shape.

The notch 6 ′ and the second reinforcement means 7 ′ may have a section identical to or different from that of the notch 6 and the first reinforcement means 7.

In a particular embodiment, the first reinforcing means 7 are inserted by snap-fastening (that is to say clipped) inside the groove 8, once the brazing of the plates 2, 4 has been carried out.

Thus, the assembly of the first reinforcing means 7 in the groove 8 (Figure 3) is carried out without the need for particular fastening elements.

Preferably, the notches 6, 6 ′ are produced by stamping during the manufacture of each plate 2, 4, which makes it possible to minimize the additional manufacturing costs.

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According to a particular embodiment, the first reinforcing means 7 projecting from the interior of a heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning unit consist of a separate element fixed to at least one internal wall of the unit.

The reinforcing means 7, 7 'are made of a material or a combination of the following materials: plastic, aluminum, steel.

It should be noted that in a variant, the groove 8 may extend only over a part of the length along the axis o-x of the heat exchanger 1, only in the center for example.

In another variant, the groove 8 can be segmented into several spaced apart portions, which requires several corresponding mechanical reinforcement bars.

The heat exchanger 1 can only be mechanically reinforced on its upper longitudinal edge 12, and therefore its upper part, on the side of the openings 41 and 42 of the plates 2, or else on its lower longitudinal edge 13.

Claims (11)

1. Heat exchanger (1), in particular an evaporator, comprising a plurality of heat exchange plates (2) stacked in a longitudinal stacking direction (x), characterized in that at least part of the plates (2) has a first notch (6) at a first end so as to form at least a first groove (8) extending in the longitudinal stacking direction (x) on a first longitudinal edge (12) of the heat exchanger (1 ), said at least one first groove (8) being configured to accommodate first mechanical reinforcement means (7) of said heat exchanger (1). 2. Heat exchanger (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that at least a part of the plates (2) has a second notch (6) at a second end so as to form at least a second groove (8 ') extending in the longitudinal stacking direction (x) on a second longitudinal edge (13) of the heat exchanger (1), opposite to the first longitudinal edge (12), said at least one second groove (8 ') being configured to accommodate second mechanical reinforcement means (7 ') of said heat exchanger (1). 3. Heat exchanger (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the said groove or grooves (8, 8 ') have a stepped shape. 4. Heat exchanger (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the said groove or grooves (8, 8 ') have a triangular shape. 5. Heat exchanger (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the mechanical reinforcement means (7, 7 ') comprise a mechanical reinforcement bar assembled by force in said corresponding groove (8, 8') . 6. Heat exchanger (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the depth of the said groove or grooves (8, 8 ') is greater than x mm. 7. Heat exchanger (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plates (2) heat exchange are of thickness less than 0.3 mm. 8. Heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning unit of a vehicle comprising mechanical reinforcement means (7, 7 ') intended to cooperate with at least one groove (8, 8') of the heat exchanger (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7. 9. Heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning unit of a vehicle according to claim 8, characterized in that said mechanical reinforcement means (7, 7 ′) are produced in one or a combination of materials chosen from: plastics , aluminum, steel. 10. Heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning unit of a vehicle according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that said mechanical reinforcement means (7, 7 ') are secured by snap-fastening on a wall of said housing. 11. Heating, ventilation and / or air conditioning unit of a vehicle claim 8 or 9, characterized in that said mechanical reinforcement means (7, 7 ') are formed during the molding of said housing. 1/2