JPH0743094A - Pipe connector in heat exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To connect a flow passage pipe to the header pipe of a heat exchanger simply and surely by a method wherein a stopper is fitted previously into the window hole of a receiving port unit, then, an inserting unit is inserted into the receiving port unit. CONSTITUTION:A stopper 10 is fitted into the window hole 5 of a header pipe 11 previously while riding over the lattice unit 4c of a receiving port unit 4 from the outside of the same. In this case, the arced elastic leg body 7 of the stopper 10 is fitted into the window hole 5 under a condition that the leg body is projected inwardly and, at the same time, a head unit 8 pinches the lattice unit 4c. Next, the inserting unit 3 of a flow passage pipe 12 is inserted into the receiving port unit whereby the annular projection 1 of the inserting unit 3 is advanced inwardly into the receiving port unit 4 along a slanted surface 7a while opening the arced elastic leg body 7 against the elastic force thereof. Then, the arced projection 1 is abutted against the stepped part 4b of the receiving port unit 4 and, at the same time, the arced elastic leg body 7 is restored into a direction, in which the leg bodies are approached to each other by the elastic force thereof. As a result, the annular projection 1 is fixed while being pinched between the stepped part 4b and the arced leg body 7. According to the engagement of the inserting unit 3 and the receiving port unit 4, the flow passage pipe 12 is connected to the header pipe 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pipe connecting device for a heat exchanger such as a condenser and an evaporator of a car air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above heat exchanger is provided with a header pipe for distributing a heat exchange medium to a core portion, and the header pipe has a pipe for outlet or inlet of the heat exchange medium (hereinafter referred to as "streaming pipe"). When connecting pipes), either union joints were used or pipe flanges were provided at each connecting end of the header pipe and the flow pipe.

[0003]

However, of the above-mentioned connecting means, the former requires a certain amount of time for tightening the union nut, and the latter requires time for inserting and screwing the pipe flange. was there.

An object of the present invention is to provide a pipe connecting device capable of easily and surely connecting a flow pipe to a header pipe of a heat exchanger.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a pipe connecting device for connecting another pipe to a header pipe of a heat exchanger, the cylindrical inserting portion having an annular projection formed on the outer circumference from the tip. And an inner diameter that is the same as the outer diameter of the insertion part, two opposing window holes are formed in the peripheral wall from the tip, and the annular projection of the insertion part abuts the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the base end part. A cylindrical receiving portion provided with a step portion and two arc-shaped elastic legs that are fitted into the window hole so as to project inward from the outside are provided at opposing positions where their concave curved surfaces face each other. The arc-shaped elastic leg is provided with a stopper whose inner surface is an inclined surface, and the stopper is attached to the window hole of the receiving part with the inclined surface of the arc-shaped elastic leg facing the pipe insertion side. Insert the insertion part into the receiving part until the annular projection passes through the arc-shaped elastic leg. As a result, the annular projection of the insertion portion is fixed by being sandwiched between the stepped portion on the inner surface of the receiving portion and the arcuate elastic leg of the stopper, and one of the insertion portion and the receiving portion is fixed to the peripheral wall of the header pipe. And the other is provided at the connecting end of the pipe.

[0006]

According to the pipe connecting device of the present invention, the annular projection of the insertion portion faces the stopper by previously inserting the stopper into the window hole of the receiving portion and inserting the insertion portion into the receiving portion. The arcuate elastic legs can be smoothly moved inward along the inclined surface of the arcuate elastic legs while separating the arcuate elastic legs against the elastic force. Then, as a result of the annular projection of the insertion portion passing through the arcuate elastic leg and contacting the step on the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the receiving portion, the arcuate elastic legs of the stopper elastically return to the approaching direction, The annular projection of the portion is fixed by being sandwiched between the step portion of the peripheral wall of the receiving portion and the arcuate elastic leg of the stopper. The engagement of the insertion portion and the receiving portion allows the header pipe to be easily connected to the delivery pipe.

In the connected state of the pipe, the opposing arcuate elastic legs are in contact with substantially the entire circumference of the annular projection of the insertion portion against external force in the pipe withdrawal direction to prevent the pipe from coming off. Therefore, the connection state between the header pipe and the delivery pipe is stably maintained.

[0008]

[Examples] Examples in which the present invention is applied to a condenser for a car air conditioner will be described. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment, (A) is a core of a condenser made of aluminum (including an aluminum alloy), and the core (A) is a vertical header pipe (11) and a header pipe. A large number of horizontal extruded flat pipes (13) connected to the (11) at regular intervals in the vertical direction, and corrugated fins (14) interposed between the flat pipes (13). I have it.

The pipe connecting device in this embodiment is for connecting a header pipe (11) to a flow pipe (12), and has a cylindrical shape in which an annular projection (1) is formed on the outer periphery from the tip. The insertion part (3) has the same inner diameter as the outer diameter of the insertion part (3), and two window holes (5) facing each other are formed in the peripheral wall from the tip and the peripheral wall of the base end part. (4a) Insert part on the inner surface
(3) Cylindrical receiving part (4) provided with step (4b) with which the annular protrusion (1) abuts, and two pieces that are fitted into the window hole (5) so as to project inward from the outside. The arc-shaped elastic leg (7) is provided at a position where the concave curved surfaces face each other, and the inner surface of the arc-shaped elastic leg is provided with a stopper (10). Install (10) into the window hole (5) of the socket (4) with the inclined surface (7a) of the arcuate elastic leg (7) facing the pipe insertion side. ) By inserting the insertion part (3) until the annular projection (1) passes through the arcuate elastic leg (7), the annular projection (1) of the insertion part (3) is inserted into the receiving part (4).
It is fixed by being sandwiched between the step (4b) on the inner surface and the arcuate elastic leg (7) of the stopper (10), and the socket (4) is the header pipe.
While being provided on the peripheral wall (4a) from the lower end of (11), the insertion portion (3) is provided at the connection end portion of the flow pipe (12).

The receiving part (4) has two elongated hole-shaped window holes (5) at opposed positions, and a crosspiece (4c) is provided between these window holes (5). The stopper (10) is made of synthetic resin and has a concave head (8) when seen from the side that sandwiches the crosspiece (4c) of the receptacle (4) from the outside between the arcuate elastic legs (7). Is provided integrally,
Further, a retaining projection (9) is formed on the inner surface of the base of the head (8). On the other hand, a groove (6) is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the insertion part (3) at the connection end of the flow pipe (12), and an O-ring (2) is mounted in the groove.

As shown in FIG. 4, an aluminum pipe member (6) is inserted into the receiving port (4), and the tip end of the pipe member is expanded and the inner periphery of the receiving port (4) is formed. It has a flange (6a) to be engaged. The base end of the pipe member (6) is inserted into the through hole (15) provided in the peripheral wall of the header pipe (11) in advance, and is fitted between the peripheral wall of the header pipe (11) and the socket (4). It is directly joined to the peripheral wall of the header pipe (11) by brazing via the brazing ring (16). The brazing ring (16) is formed by press-molding an aluminum brazing sheet in which a brazing material is clad on both surfaces of a core material.

The insertion part (3) is provided with an annular projection (1) by beading at a position where a predetermined length is taken from the tip of the delivery pipe (12), so that the delivery pipe (12) is connected. It is integrally formed at the end.

The header pipe (11) is formed by press-molding an aluminum brazing sheet in which a brazing material is clad on both sides of a core material into a cylindrical shape, and joining its side edges to each other by butting them together. Is.
In addition to this, the header pipe (11) is not limited to the above-described structure, and may be an extruded pipe or an electric resistance welded pipe, and may have a structure in which half halves having an arcuate cross section are opposed and joined. .

Before connecting the sending pipe (12) to the header pipe (11) by the pipe connecting device of the above-mentioned embodiment, the cross section of the receiving part (4) of the header pipe (11) is previously prepared.
Fit the stopper (10) from the outside into the window hole (5) straddling (4c). At this time, the arcuate elastic leg (7) of the stopper (10) is
The head (8) sandwiches the crosspiece (4c) while it is fitted into (5) so as to project inward. In this case, against the external force of the stopper (10) in the pulling direction, the retaining projection (9) on the inner surface of the base of the arcuate elastic leg (7) contacts the crosspiece (4c), so that the stopper (10)
Is prevented from falling off.

Next, by inserting the insertion part (3) of the sending pipe (12) into the receiving part (4), the annular projection of the insertion part (3) is inserted.
(1) separates the opposing arcuate elastic legs (7) of the stopper (10) against the resilience of the stoppers (10), and along the inclined surface (7a) of the arcuate elastic legs, the receptacle ( 4) You can smoothly enter inward. Then, the annular protrusion (1) of the insertion part (3) passes through the arcuate elastic leg (7) and comes into contact with the stepped part (4b) of the receiving part (4), and at the same time, the arcuate shape of the stopper (10). As a result of the elastic legs (7) returning toward each other elastically, the annular protrusion (1) of the insertion part (3) is connected to the stepped portion (4b) of the receiving part and the arcuate elastic legs (10) of the stopper (10). 7)
It is sandwiched and fixed. This insert (3) and the socket (4)
The engagement of the header pipe (12) is easily connected to the header pipe (11). At this time, the O-ring (2) attached to the insertion part (3) ensures the airtightness between them.

In the connected state of the above-mentioned flow pipe (12), the arcuate elastic legs (7) opposed to each other with respect to the external force in the pipe withdrawing direction are attached to the annular projection (1) of the insertion part (3). Since the delivery pipe (12) is prevented from coming off by contacting substantially the entire circumference, the connection state of the header pipe (11) and the delivery pipe (12) is stably maintained. Moreover, since the annular protrusion (1) of the insertion part (3) is fixed by being sandwiched between the step part (4b) of the receiving part and the arcuate elastic leg (7) of the stopper (10), the flow pipe The so-called rattling does not occur in the header pipe (11).

FIG. 5 shows a modified example of the receiving portion (4) in the above-mentioned embodiment. The base end side of the receiving portion (4) has an insertion side end portion expanded from the pipe member of the above example ( Instead of 6), a sleeve-shaped pipe member (6b) is press-fitted.

FIG. 6 shows still another modified example of the receiving part (4). As in the above example, a separate pipe member (6) is attached to the receiving part (4).
The socket (24) having a cross-sectional shape, in which these (6b) and the like are not inserted, is integrally produced by cutting.

In the embodiment described above, the header pipe (11) side of the condenser is provided with the receiving portions (4) and (24), and
Although the insertion portion (3) is provided on the (12) side, the configuration may be reversed to this.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the insertion portion (3) is directly provided on the peripheral wall of the header pipe (11), and the insertion pipe (1
A socket (4) is provided at the connecting end of (2). Also in this case, the structure itself of the insertion part (3) and the receiving part (4) is the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows an insertion portion on the peripheral wall of the header pipe (11).
An example in which (3) is provided is shown in which the annular projection (1) is formed on the distal end side by beading processing, and the other end side is a contracted pipe-shaped insertion portion (3) that is transparent to the header pipe (11). The header pipe (1) is inserted into the hole (15) and brazed with a brazing ring (16) on the outer peripheral surface of the through hole (15).
The insert (3) is joined to 1). In addition, as a modified example of this brazing ring, the inner collar (17a) as shown in FIG.
A brazing ring (17) having a groove may be used.
The same applies to the brazing ring (16) in the embodiment of FIG. 4 above. In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, an annular protrusion (21) may be provided on the other end side in addition to the annular protrusion (1) on the distal end side of the insertion portion (3).

FIG. 11 shows an engagement state of the receiving portion (4) provided at the connection end of the flow pipe (12) and the insertion portion (3) of the header pipe (11). The end of 12) is expanded and engaged with the inner peripheral surface of the socket (4).
The insertion part (3) on the header pipe (11) side is fitted into the (4).

[0023]

According to the pipe connecting device in the heat exchanger of the present invention, with respect to the header pipe and the flow pipe of the heat exchange medium connected to the header pipe, the insertion portion provided on one side is provided with the receiving portion provided on the other side. The header pipe can be immediately connected to the sending pipe simply by inserting it into the mouth. In this case, unlike the conventional case, troublesome screw fitting work is completely unnecessary, and it suffices to fit the stopper in the receiving portion in advance. Therefore, the efficiency of the assembling work of this type heat exchanger can be greatly improved.

In addition, the pipe connecting device of the present invention has a simple structure and can be expected to be applied to various heat exchangers having a header pipe.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a pipe connecting device in a heat exchanger of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the pipe connecting device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a connected state of a header pipe and a delivery pipe in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a main-portion cross-sectional view showing a joint structure of a receiving portion of a header pipe.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing another joining structure of the receiving part of the header pipe.

FIG. 6 is a main-portion cross-sectional view showing still another joint structure of the receiving portion of the header pipe.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view showing another embodiment of the pipe connecting device in the heat exchanger of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a joint structure of an insertion part of a header pipe.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of main parts showing another joint structure of the insertion part of the header pipe.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing still another joining structure of the insertion part of the header pipe.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing the structure of a receiving portion at the connection end of the sending pipe.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (1) Annular protrusion (3) Insertion part (4) Receptacle part (4a) Circumferential wall (4b) Step part (5) Window hole (7) Arcuate elastic leg (7a) Inclined surface (10) Stopper (11) Header Pipe (12) Flow Pipe

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pipe connecting device for connecting another pipe (12) to a header pipe (11) of a heat exchanger, the cylindrical insertion having an annular projection (1) formed on the outer periphery from the tip. Department
(3) has the same inner diameter as the outer diameter of the insertion part (3) and has two window holes (5) facing each other on the peripheral wall (4a) from the tip and at the base end. The inner surface of the peripheral wall (4a) has a step (4b) with which the annular projection (1) of the insertion part (3) abuts, and a cylindrical receiving part (4) and a window hole (5) from the outside. A stopper having two arcuate elastic legs (7) fitted in an inward projecting state at positions where their concave curved surfaces face each other, and the inner surface of the arcuate elastic legs being an inclined surface (7a) (10), and the stopper (10) is attached to the inclined surface of the arcuate elastic leg (7).
The window hole (5) of the socket (4) with (7a) facing the pipe insertion side.
And insert the insertion part (3) into the socket (4).
By inserting the (1) until it passes through the arcuate elastic leg (7), the annular projection (1) of the insertion part (3) is inserted into the step (4b) and the stopper (10) on the inner surface of the receiving part (4). ) Is fixed by being sandwiched between the arcuate elastic legs (7) of the insertion part (3) and the socket (4).
Either one is provided on the peripheral wall of the header pipe (11),
A pipe connecting device in a heat exchanger, the other of which is provided at a connecting end of the pipe (12).