JPH04187991A - Heat exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make compact a heat exchanger by a method wherein a plurality of refrigerant flow units are longitudinally aligned in the direction of an air flow, the end parts of tubes at the same stage of each refrigerant low unit are intercoupled through a header for a refrigerant U-turn to form a refrigerant zigzagging passage. CONSTITUTION:As a result of the straight flow of a refrigerant flowing to a lower header 4 through a refrigerant inlet pipe 9 being impeded by a partition plate 11, the refrigerant flows through a plurality of tubes 11, located closer to the refrigerant inlet pipe, of a lower refrigerant flow unit 1 to a header 2 for an U-turn. The refrigerant effects a U-turn as it is stirred up in the header 2 for a U-turn and flows through a tube 11 of the upper refrigerant flow unit 1 to an upper header 5. After the refrigerant flows from an upper header 5 through a rest tube 11 of the upper refrigerant flow unit 1 toward the header 2 for a U-turn, it effects a U-turn through the header 2 for a U-turn and flows down to the lower header 4 after the passage of it through the rest tube 11 of the lower refrigerant flow unit 1, and flows through a refrigerant outlet pipe 10 to the outside of a heat exchanger. During he flows of the refrigerant through each tube 11, the refrigerant heat-exchanges with air flowing through an air flow gasp, containing corrugated fin 12, in the direction of an arrow mark W.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a heat exchanger used for room coolers and the like.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, heat exchangers for room coolers and the like have been of the so-called expanded tube type, in which aluminum fins are mechanically adhered to copper pipes.

However, with such a heat exchanger, there is a limit to the improvement in heat exchange efficiency. Furthermore, there are limits to the compactness of the structure.

The present invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a compact and high-performance heat exchanger for room air conditioners and other heat exchangers.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, a heat exchanger according to the present invention includes a refrigerant distribution unit consisting of multiple stages in which tubes (11) of a predetermined length and fins (12) are alternately arranged. (1)
is formed, and a plurality of these units are arranged in a row back and forth in the air flow direction, and the ends of the tubes (11) in the same stage of each refrigerant flow unit (1) are connected to the refrigerant U-turn header (12). By connecting the tubes at the same stage, a refrigerant passage or a meandering passage is formed, and the tubes (11) forming this meandering passage are connected to headers (4) for refrigerant inlets and outlets, respectively.
(5).

The refrigerant that enters the tube of the outermost refrigerant distribution unit from the operation inlet header flows through the tube, and then passes through the U-turn header at the other end of the tube and flows into the tube of the next row of refrigerant distribution units. Furthermore, after passing through this tube, it makes a U-turn and flows into the next row of tubes. Finally, after flowing through the outermost tube on the opposite side, it reaches the exit to the rudder. In this way, while the refrigerant flows through the tubes of each refrigerant distribution unit, it exchanges heat with the air flowing through the air distribution gap including the fins.

Since the meandering passage formed by the tubes in the same stage of each refrigerant distribution unit is formed in a plane parallel to the air flow direction, the refrigerant flow is cross-flow with respect to the air, so the heat is reduced. Improves exchange efficiency. Furthermore, since the refrigerant distribution units are arranged in the front and rear in the air distribution direction, the overall size can be made compact.

EXAMPLE Next, an example will be described in which the present invention is applied to an aluminum (including alloy thereof) equipment exchanger for a room cooler.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, (1) and (1) are refrigerant distribution units that are arranged close to each other in two rows of front and rear (up and down) in the air distribution direction shown by arrow W.

Each refrigerant distribution unit (1) includes a plurality of tubes (11) arranged in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the air distribution direction W.
and corrugated fins (12) interposed between adjacent tubes (11) (11). The tube (11) is made of a flat extruded aluminum material. This tube (1) may be of a porous type, so-called a harmonica tube. Alternatively, an electric resistance welded pipe made of an extruded member may be used. In this embodiment, the corrugated fins (12) are wide common fins that span over each refrigerant distribution unit, and are joined to the tubes (11) by brazing. By using the shared fins in this way, the bonding strength of each refrigerant distribution unit can be increased. This corrugated fin (12) is also made of aluminum, preferably with louvers cut and raised.

A plurality of hollow cylindrical U-turn headers (2) made of aluminum are brazed to one end in the width direction of the vertical circulation unit (1) (1) to connect the tubes (11) in the same stage of each unit to each other. connected by. Adjacent U-turn headers (2) are interconnected by connecting walls (3), and the whole is constructed as a single piece.

Specifically, this U-turn header (2) is formed as follows.

That is, as shown in Fig. 4, aluminum plate material (
21) are prepared, and these plates are bulged outward in a semicircular arc shape at intervals corresponding to the tube intervals. Then, on the bulge part (21a) of the inner plate material (21),
After drilling the tube insertion holes (22), both plates (2
1) Overlap (21) in the middle to form a U-turn header (2) and a connecting wall (3), and attach lids (23) to the openings at both ends of the header (2) (Fig. 1). ) are arranged, and the plate material (21) (21) and the lid body (23) are brazed. By forming the U-turn header (2) in this way, especially the connecting wall (3)
The presence of the header (2) increases the strength of the header (2), and the pressure resistance against the internal pressure of the refrigerant also increases. Also, the header (2)
This is advantageous in terms of the ease of manufacturing the heat exchanger itself, and the heat exchanger is easy to handle and assemble, improving productivity. By connecting this U-turn header (2),
2 of the same stage of refrigerant distribution units (1) (1) in two rows above and below
A refrigerant passage made up of several tubes is formed in a meandering passage that makes one U-turn at a U-turn header (2).

At the other end of each refrigerant distribution unit (1), a hollow cylindrical aluminum refrigerant inlet/outlet header (4) (5) is arranged.
1) is connected to the lower header (4), and the tube (11) of the upper refrigerant distribution unit (1) is connected to the upper header (5) and brazed. Further, the upper and lower headers (4) and (5) are integrally connected by a connecting wall (6). Furthermore, lid pieces (7) (8) are attached to both ends of each header (4) (5), and the lower header (
The cover piece (7) of 4) has a refrigerant inlet pipe (9) and an outlet pipe (1).
0) is attached. Further, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a partition plate (11) is interposed at the middle position in the length direction of the lower header (4), so that the refrigerant entering from the inlet pipe (9) is passed through the outlet pipe (9). 10), the flow direction is changed during the process.

By the way, the above-mentioned entrance/exit headers (4) and (5) are formed as follows. That is, as shown in Fig. 3, two aluminum plates (41)
(41) is bulged outward in a semi-circular shape in the upper and lower width directions, and the swelling ratio portion (41) of the inner plate material (41) is
After drilling a tube insertion hole (42) in a), the plates are overlapped in the middle to form the upper and lower headers (4) and (5) and the connecting wall (6). Then, the lid pieces (7) and (8) and the inlet and outlet pipes (9) and (10) are placed in predetermined positions and brazed. By configuring the entrance/exit headers (4) and (5) in this way, the former U-turn header (2)
Similarly, it is possible to enjoy the advantages of improved strength and ease of manufacture due to the connecting wall (6).

In the heat exchanger of the illustrated embodiment, the refrigerant flowing into the lower header (4) from the refrigerant inlet pipe (9) is prevented from moving straight by the partition plate (11), and as a result, the refrigerant flows into the lower refrigerant distribution unit (1). The refrigerant flows through multiple tubes (11) near the refrigerant inlet pipe and reaches the U-turn header (2). Within this U-turn header (2), the refrigerant makes a U-turn while being disturbed and flows through the tubes (11) of the upper refrigerant distribution unit (1) to the upper header (5). Next, the refrigerant flows from the upper header (5) through the remaining tubes (11) of the upper refrigerant distribution unit (1) toward the U-turn header (2), and then flows through the U-turn header (2). The refrigerant then flows through the remaining tubes (11) of the lower refrigerant distribution unit (1) to the lower header (4) and flows out of the refrigerant outlet pipe (10). In this way, the refrigerant flows into each tube (11
), it exchanges heat with the air flowing in the direction of arrow W through the air circulation gap including the corrugated fins (12).

In the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the case where the refrigerant distribution units (1) are arranged in two rows in the front and rear rows in the air distribution direction is shown, but the number is not limited to two rows. As shown in the figure, the refrigerant may be arranged in three rows in parallel, and U-turn headers (2) may be provided on the left and right sides to cause the refrigerant to meander twice, or four or more rows may be arranged in parallel.

In FIG. 5, parts with the same names as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 are given the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention includes a plurality of refrigerant distribution units in which tubes and fins are arranged alternately in a row in the air flow direction, and the ends of the tubes in the same stage of each refrigerant distribution unit are arranged in a row in the air flow direction. The sections are connected by a refrigerant U-turn header to form a refrigerant meandering passage. Therefore, this refrigerant meandering passage is formed in a plane parallel to the air flow direction, and the refrigerant can be repeatedly circulated orthogonally to the air, thereby ensuring sufficient heat exchange with the air. It is possible to increase the heat exchange efficiency. Moreover, since the refrigerant distribution units are arranged in the front and rear in the air circulation direction, and the U-turn headers and entrance/exit headers are arranged at their ends, it is possible to make the heat exchanger co-compact, and to make effective use of the installation space. can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger showing an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the heat exchanger in Figure 1 with the refrigerant distribution unit, inlet/outlet header, and U-turn header separated, Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the inlet/outlet header, and Figure 4 is the U-turn header. FIG. 5, an exploded perspective view of the heat exchanger, shows another embodiment of the present invention, and is a front view of the heat exchanger viewed from a direction perpendicular to the direction of air flow. (1)...Refrigerant distribution unit, (11)...Tube, (12)...Fin, (2)...U-turn header, (4)(5)...Refrigerant inlet/outlet header . More than cr＞C)

Claims (1)

[Claims] Tubes (11) of a predetermined length and fins (12) are arranged alternately to form a refrigerant distribution unit (1) consisting of multiple stages, and a plurality of these units are arranged in a row back and forth in the air distribution direction. , and the ends of the tubes (11) in the same stage of each refrigerant distribution unit (1) are connected by the refrigerant U-turn header (12), so that the refrigerant passage composed of the tubes in the same stage becomes a meandering passage. The inlet and outlet of the tube (11) forming this meandering passage are connected to a header (4) (4) for refrigerant inlet and outlet, respectively.
5) A heat exchanger characterized by being connected to.