JPH0449514Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a connector structure for a heat exchanger, and particularly to a connector structure suitable for connecting a heat exchanger and piping used in a vehicle air conditioner.

(Prior Art) Flange connectors are often used to connect piping in a heat exchanger, such as a condenser, of a vehicle air conditioner, from the viewpoint of ease of connection and space saving. A typical example thereof will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

In the first connector structure, referring to FIG. 4, a piping connector 50 is butt-connected to a flange connector 30 attached to a condenser main body (not shown) with bolts 40. Flange connector 3
0 has a screw hole 31 for screwing in a bolt, and a hole 32 that communicates with a flat pipe 60 brazed to the flange connector 30 to allow a refrigerant to flow therethrough. The piping connector 50 has a through hole 51 through which the bolt 40 is inserted, and the flange connector 3
has a hole (not shown) that can communicate with the hole 32 of 0;
A refrigerant pipe 70 is connected to this hole. 61 is a corrugated fin.

Referring to FIG. 5, the second connector structure is such that the butt connection between the flange connector 30 and the piping connector 50 is made via a bolt 40 and a bracket 80. Therefore, the flange connector 30 is provided with a through hole 33 instead of the screw hole shown in FIG. Bracket 8
0 is attached to the condenser body by spot welding or the like, and a projection nut 81 for the bolt 40 is fixed.

FIG. 6 shows how it is attached to the condenser body. The condenser 100 includes a meandering flat pipe 60 and a corrugated fin 6 provided between the flat pipe 60.
1 and a channel 101. Such a condenser 101 is called a serpentine type condenser. Bracket 80 is channel 1
Spot welded to 01.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, in the structure shown in FIG. 4, since the screw hole 31 must be formed in the flange connector 30, there is a problem in terms of man-hours and cost. Furthermore, as the bolts 40 are tightened more tightly, rotational force acts on the flange connector 30, causing the flat pipe 6
Damage may occur to the brazed portion 62 of 0.

On the other hand, in the structure shown in Fig. 5, the flange connector 3
Since the diameter of the through hole 33 of the bolt 40 is larger than the diameter of the threaded portion of the bolt 40, misalignment may occur between it and the projection nut 81 of the bracket 80. In this case, a misalignment may occur between the hole 31 of the flange connector 30 and the refrigerant flow hole of the piping connector 50, which may impede the refrigerant flow.

Therefore, a technical object of the present invention is to provide a connector structure that can improve workability when connecting a flange connector and a piping connector.

(Means for Solving the Problem) The present invention includes a flange connector that is attached to a heat exchanger body and has a through hole for bolt insertion and a hole for refrigerant circulation, and a refrigerant pipe is connected to the flange connector by bolts. In the connector structure of a heat exchanger including piping connectors that are butt-connected at
A weld nut with a pilot that can be fitted into the through hole of the flange connector is fixed to a bracket for attaching the flange connector to the heat exchanger body, and a weld nut with a pilot is provided to prevent the flange connector from rotating, and the bolt and the pilot are attached. It is characterized in that the piping connector and the flange connector are tightened and connected to a weld nut.

(Function) This structure prevents the flange connector from rotating due to the rotational force applied when the bracket bolts are tightened. Also, when placing the flange connector on the bracket, the weld nut with a pilot must pass through the flange connector. Since the flange connector is automatically positioned by fitting into the hole, a good butt connection between the piping connector and the flange connector is achieved.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

Referring to FIG. 1, a feature of the present invention is a bracket 10. The bracket 10 has locking portions 11 at multiple locations around its periphery to prevent rotation of the flange connector 30, and is equipped with a pilot so that the nut portion protrudes from the lower surface side through a hole 12 provided on the main surface. A weld nut 20 is fixed by spot welding or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the outer diameter of the nut portion of the weld nut 20 with pilot is approximately equal to the diameter of the hole 31 of the flange connector 30. Such a weld nut with a pilot is realized by an existing so-called T-shaped weld nut.

FIG. 3, like FIG. 6, shows how it is attached to the condenser body, and the bracket 10 is attached to the channel 101 by spot welding or the like.

According to such a structure, the flange connector 3
0 is automatically positioned when the nut part of the pilot weld nut 20 is inserted into the through hole 33, so that the hole 31 of the flange connector 30 and the refrigerant circulation hole of the piping connector 50 are aligned. There will be no positional deviation between them. Further, when the butted flange connector 30 and piping connector 50 are tightened and fixed to the bracket 10 with the bolts 40, even if rotational force is applied to the flange connector 30, rotation is prevented by the locking portion 11, so that the flange connector 30 and flat pipe 60
There is no problem with the brazed portion 62 between the two.

(Effects of the invention) As explained above, according to the invention, by using a bracket that combines an existing weld nut with a pilot, there is no need to thread the bolts, and the fluid piping to the heat exchanger body is connected. Connection workability can be greatly improved, and a connector structure can be provided at low cost.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic exploded perspective view for explaining the connector structure according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the assembled state of the bracket, weld nut with pilot and flange connector according to the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a schematic exploded perspective view for explaining the connector structure according to the present invention. is a diagram for explaining the relationship between a heat exchanger and the connector structure according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a first example of a conventional connector structure, and FIG. 5 is a second example of a conventional connector structure. An exploded perspective view showing an example of
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the connector structure shown in FIG. 5 and the heat exchanger. In the figure, 10 is a bracket, 20 is a weld nut with a pilot, 30 is a flange connector, 40
is a bolt, 50 is a piping connector, 60 is a flat pipe, 61 is a corrugated fin, 70 is a refrigerant pipe,
100 condenser, 101 channel.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A heat exchanger including a flange connector that has a through hole for bolt insertion and a hole for fluid circulation and is attached to the heat exchanger body, and a piping connector to which fluid piping is connected and butt-connected to the flange connector with bolts. In the connector structure of the exchanger, a weld nut with a pilot that can be fitted into the through hole of the flange connector is fixed to a bracket for attaching the flange connector to the heat exchanger body, and the flange connector is prevented from rotating. A connector structure for a heat exchanger, wherein the piping connector and the flange connector are connected by tightening between the bolt and a weld nut with a pilot.