KR20030067877A - Heat exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

The heat exchanger 6 has two inlets 63 and 64 and two outlets 65 and 66 for two air passages 7 and 8 that cross flow through the stacked plates 70. The plate 70 has a portion 71 that is vacuum molded and has zigzag walls 72 that each form a plurality of flow channels 73 between adjacent plates. The edges of the plates are supported on each other and hermetically fixed between the ribs 95 on the two side plates 14, 15. Four grills 16-19 at the inlet and outlet have cross bars 97 having a request 99 for securing the sides of the pair of plates 70, which cross bars between the adjacent pairs of plates and the air flow path ( 7) is separated by a spacer 98 which allows air to flow.

Description

Heat exchanger {HEAT EXCHANGER}

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger of the type comprising a plurality of plates stacked up and down to form two independent fluid flow paths between adjacent pairs, and retainers holding these plates together.

The present invention relates in particular to heat exchangers for use in building ventilation systems.

Heat exchangers are used in building ventilation systems to transfer heat from the warm air vented from the building to the cold air supplied to the building. This minimizes the amount of energy needed to maintain the temperature in the building.

A common form of heat exchanger used in building ventilation systems consists of a stack of thin parallel plates spaced apart from each other to form two independent flow paths between adjacent pairs. Warm air is supplied to one flow path and part of its heat is transferred to the cool air supplied along the other flow path through the thickness of the plate.

An ideal heat exchanger should have a high heat transfer efficiency of more than 90% and produce a low back pressure to reduce the energy consumed by the fan used to send air through the heat exchanger. In addition, the heat exchanger should be free from leakage between the two air flow paths and should be easy to manufacture at low cost.

Plates commonly used in heat exchangers have a low protruding wall to support the plates at regular intervals from each other and to improve performance. In one configuration, the plates are molded with zigzag flow paths on both sides, and the plates are arranged so that the flow paths are in different phases so that the flow paths can remain open. This configuration is high in efficiency but significantly blocks the air flow path as air passes between the intersecting walls on the opposing plates, resulting in high back pressure.

Conventional heat exchangers have their plates joined together using adhesives, solvents or ultrasonic welding.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a heat exchanger of a different type than the prior art.

According to one aspect of the invention, a heat exchanger of the kind mentioned above is characterized in that the retainer comprises a plurality of first and second faces opposed to each other in which the sides of each pair of plates are hermetically fixed to one another.

The first and second surfaces are provided on protruding ribs in which the sides of the plate pair extend. The retainer includes four grills disposed at each inlet and outlet of the heat exchanger. These grills can act along the plane of the face of the heat exchanger, with the edges of adjacent plates fixed in a hermetically coupled state and the gaps between the fixed pair of plates fixed openly toward one fluid flow path. The heat exchanger has an inlet and an outlet face on the adjacent face of the heat exchanger and each grill on the adjacent face is operable toward the other side to form a seal between adjacent edges of the grill. The plate preferably has a plurality of inner walls which form a plurality of flow channels in the middle along the flow path. The inner wall and the channel of one side of the plate preferably have a matching channel and wall of the other side. The plates have spacers to secure spaces between adjacent plates on their front faces. The spacer includes a protrusion in the channel and the airflow through the channel is not obstructed by the protrusion by reducing the inner wall adjacent the protrusion. The plates have six sides, four sides are closed and two sides are open, each plate has sidewalls along the four closing sides, and the sidewalls of adjacent plates are supported on each other.

Referring to the present invention in more detail based on the accompanying drawings as follows.

1 is a plan view of an assembly;

2 is a perspective view of a heat exchange unit.

3 is a perspective view of an upper or base plate of the unit.

4 is a perspective view of a side plate of a unit;

5 is a perspective view of the end grill.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

7 is a perspective view showing one form of a heat exchange plate.

8 is a perspective view showing a heat exchange plate of another form.

9 is an enlarged plan view showing a part of one heat exchanger plate;

10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X of FIG.

11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the lower side plate of the heat exchange unit showing that the heat exchange plate is fixed by the side plate;

12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the upper end of the heat exchange unit showing that the heat exchange plate is coupled to the grill;

Explanation of Signs of Major Parts of Drawings

6 ... heat exchange unit 7, 8 ... air flow path

14, 15 ... shroud 16-19 ... grille

63, 64 ... Inlet 65, 66 ... Outlet

70 ... heat exchanger 72 ... zigzag wall

73 ... channel 90, 90 '... wall

97 ... cross bar 99 ... demands

1 and 2, the heat exchanger assembly has an outer housing 1 with two inlets 2, 3 and two outlets 4, 5 arranged at four corners. The heat exchange unit 6 is arranged in the housing 1 and forms two independent air passages 7 and 8 through the housing. The first passage 7 extends from the inlet 2 through the heat exchange unit 6 to the outlet 4 at the opposite corner to receive warm air exhausted from the room. The second flow passage 8 extends from the other inlet port 3 to the other outlet port 3 to receive cold air from the outside. The heat exchange unit 6 operates to transfer the heat from the air flowing along the first channel 7 to the air flowing along the second channel 8 so that the fresh air supplied to the building can be warmed. The assembly comprises two conventional electric fans 10, 11 arranged in the housing 1 at two outlets 4, 5 so as to draw air along each flow path 7, 8.

The heat exchange unit 6 is cross-flowable with two parallel vertical sides 61 and 62 and four end faces 63-66 providing two inlets and outlets. The unit 6 has a horizontal base 67 and a top 68. By operation of the two fans 10, 11, warm air drawn in through the inlet 2 of the housing flows to the inlet face 63 and passes the unit 6 past the diagonally opposed outlet face 65. This flows to the outlet 4 side. The cold air drawn through the inlet 3 flows through the inlet face 64, past the unit 6, and over the outlet face 66 facing diagonally therefrom to the outlet 5 side.

3 to 12, the heat exchange unit 6 consists of a parallel stack consisting of 44 heat exchange plates 70 having six sides. Plate 70 is housed in base plate 12, top plate 13, two side plates 14, 15 and four inlet grills 16-19. Each plate 70 is formed with walls at its sides such that seals are formed around four sides of the six sides, leaving two sides diagonally open for inflow and outflow of air. The heat exchange plate 70 is vacuum formed from a thin sheet of black carbon-containing uPVC, which has a high thermal conductivity and is an effective heat sink. The plate 70 is shaped to have a pattern of inner walls forming channels that function to receive air flowing through the heat exchanger along the flow path formed through the heat exchange unit 7 between the opposing surfaces. It has two different forms, the lower type A and the upper type B, which are alternately stacked with each other. The configuration of the lower type plate 70A will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

The plate 70A is a rectangular main part having 43 zigzag inner walls 72 which form 42 zigzag channels 73 extending parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction of the plate and along the plates between the walls ( 71). Wall 72 is shaped from the plate itself to protrude vertically from the top side of the plate and form a pattern of matching channels and walls at the bottom of the plate.

At both ends of main portion 71, plate 70A has inlet and outlet portions 74 and 75, respectively, in the form of triangles. One side 76 of the inlet portion 74 has an upward side wall 77 proximate to the side, and the other side 78 is opened by having the side portion 79 slightly downward. At the portion where the upward wall 77 meets the open side 78, a small jaw 177 is formed that is aligned in the longitudinal direction of the plate. The surface of the inlet portion 74 is formed with a shallow parallel rib 80 extending laterally of the plate and extending laterally with respect to the air flow direction. The inlet portion 74 also has three upward walls 81 extending perpendicular to the open side 78. These ribs 80 and wall 81 act to allow air entering the open side 78 to cross the end row of zigzag channel 73. Ribs 80 also impart small disturbances to the airflow. The outlet portion 75 has a closed side portion 82 having an upward wall 83 formed therein, and the open side portion 84 is connected to the closed side portion through the jaw 83. The outlet portion 75 also has ribs 85 and walls 86 that allow air from the zigzag channel 73 to pass to the open side 84 side of the portion. The placement protrusion 87 protrudes upward at both ends of the plate 70A at the apex of the inlet and outlet portions 74 and 75. The two sides of the main part 71 are each closed by an upward wall 90 having an M-shaped profile extending longitudinally along the plate.

In the upper type plate 70B, the elements thereof are similar to the plate 70A, so that the same part is denoted with a prime (') symbol. The inlet portion 74 'of the upper plate 70B lies at the opposite end from the inlet portion of the lower plate 70A. Plate 70B is alternately stacked on top of plate 70A and has the same zigzag channel as channel 73 except that wall 72 'is moved slightly laterally to align with channel 73. 73 '). In this way, the channel formed by the lower portion of the wall 72 'is aligned with the channel 73 of the upper portion of the plate 70A so that a channel is formed between adjacent plates having a diamond cross section. The upper portion of the inner wall 72 on the plate 70A supports the base of the channel 73 'on the plate 70B.

Along the two sides, the major portion 71 'of the plate 70B has a low sidewall M'-shaped sidewall 90' which lies on the sidewall 90 of the lower type plate 70A.

Also, the other side of the sides 76 ', 78', 82 ', 84' is open and closed, and the inner ribs 80 ', 85' and the walls 81 ', 86' are open. A triangular inlet and outlet portion 74 'at the end of the upper plate 70B except that it acts to allow air to pass between the sides 78' and 84 'and the end of the zigzag channel 73'. 75 'is similar to the lower type plate 70A. The inlet and outlet portions 74 'and 75' also have similar placement projections 87 'with their lower sides coupled to the placement projections 87 of the lower type plate 70A.

In order to prevent adjacent plate-shaped zigzag walls from joining each other to limit airflow, the pattern of zigzag walls may be arranged with several upward projections 92 disposed in the channel 73 between the inner walls 72 (FIG. 9 and FIG. 9). 10) it is suspended at the surface of the lower type plate 70A. In the region of these projections 92, the wall 72 is low in height so that the grooves 93 are formed so that air flowing along the channel 73 flows through the grooves into the adjacent channel so that the flow is not restricted by the projections. .

The plates 70A and 70B are fixed together by being stacked on each other by the bottom plate 12 (upper plate 13, side plates 14, 15 and grills 16-19). 15 (shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 11) is molded from a solid black ABS plastic material without holes and having 23 parallel ribs 95 extending horizontally along its length. The spacing and their height are such that each pair of ribs can accommodate a pair of plates 70A, 70B coupled therebetween and accommodate the side walls 90, 90 'and the opposite face 195 of adjacent ribs two walls. It is designed to be completely sealed by fixing it.

The four grilles 16-19 (shown in detail in FIGS. 5, 6 and 12) each have a similar structure and are spaced from each other to form a slot 98 so that air can flow between adjacent pairs of plates. It has 23 parallel horizontal cross bars 97. The outer surface of the cross bar 97 is curved in order to give an aerodynamic shape that allows free flow of air to the slot 98 side. Inside, each cross bar 97 has a request 99 formed with an opposing surface 199 in which the edges of the pair of plates 70A and 70B are inserted and hermetically sealed. The grills 16-19 are assembled to the unit 6 by aligning one end of the request 99 with the heat exchange plates 70A and 70B, where they are supported by the side plates 14 and 15 to support a pair of plates. Allow the edges of to be placed on each request. And the grills 16-19 act along their lengths parallel to the sides of the plates 70A and 70B towards the apex. If the two grilles 16, 19, 17 and 18 meet at the vertex, they are fixed at the jaws 177 and 183 of the plates 70A and 70B and are hermetically coupled along the ends of the unit 6 Be sure to Each grill 16-19 has an L-shaped protrusion 100 along a vertical edge disposed at the vertex. Each grill 16-19 also has a bent protrusion 101 along an opposite edge that overlaps the sides of adjacent side plates 14 and 15. Along the upper and lower vertical sides of each grill 16-19, a channel 102 having a clip 103 fixed to the sides of the upper and lower plates 13 and 12 extends. Similarly, the upper and lower plates 13 and 12 have a channel 104 having clips 105 (FIG. 11) fixed to the upper and lower sides of the side plates 14 and 15 along their sides.

When looking at the grills 16 and 19 at one end of the unit 6, one of these grills 16 has an upper type plate 70B directly below the edge 84 of each lower type plate 70a. To be sealed at the edge 84 'of the side. The slot 98 of the grill 16 thus opens into the space between the upper side of the lower type plate 70A and the lower side of the upper type plate so that the air passage 7 extends between these surfaces. However, the adjacent grille 19 allows the edge 83 of each plate 70A of the lower type to be sealed to the edge 83 'of the plate 70B of the upper type located immediately above the slot of the grill. 98 is open toward the air passage 8 extending between the upper side of the upper plate and the lower side of the lower plate. Warm air flowing along the flow path 7 flows along the channels 73 and 73 ′ in a direction parallel to, but opposite to, the direction of cold air flowing along the flow path 8. The heat of the exhaust air in the flow path 7 is conducted to the inlet air of the flow path 8 through the plates 70A and 70B. The structure and arrangement of the plates 70A and 70B are such that the rows can only move through a single layer between adjacent flow paths.

The unit 6 is assembled by fixing the side plates 14 and 15 to the base plate 12 and inserting a pair of heat exchange plates 70A and 70B into the gaps between the ribs 95 along the side plates. The heat exchange plate may be positioned by coupling the protrusion 87 formed on the plate of the lower type to the protrusion 87 'of the plate of the upper type. When all pairs of plates have been inserted, the top plate 13 is fixed on the upper side of the side plates 13 and 15. And the grills 16-19 are arranged in the manner mentioned above. In this way, the entire unit 6 can be assembled without using an adhesive or a solvent and without welding or adhesion.

The heat exchange unit 6 has six vertical edge projections 111-116 disposed around its surface and provided on the grills 16-19 and the side plates 14, 15. These protrusions may be inserted into the channels 611-216 formed on the inner surface of the housing 1 formed of a plastic material and fit into the housing so that the unit 6 may be inserted into the housing. The engagement of the protrusions 111-116 in the channels 211-216 is hermetically coupled to prevent air from passing between the outer side of the heat exchange unit 6 and the inner side of the housing 1.

The configuration of the present invention has several advantages. The way the plates are fixed together at their edges simplifies assembly and reduces costs by eliminating the need for adhesives or welding. The zigzag flow path formed on the upper surface of one side plate and the lower surface of the other side plate has a relatively low back pressure, while the spacer projection allows the air flow path to be kept open. A conventional heat exchanger plate having a zigzag flow path is arranged out of phase with each other so that the walls of adjacent plates cross each other and are supported. This conventional configuration presents a relatively high back pressure compared to the configuration of the present invention by imparting significant disturbances to the flow of air. Since the grills are inserted, aligning these grills with each plate is very simple compared to other configurations.

Claims (10)

In a heat exchanger comprising a plurality of plates 70 stacked up and down to form two independent fluid flow paths 7 and 8 between adjacent pairs, and retainers 14-19 holding these plates together, Heat exchanger, characterized in that (14-19) in the middle comprises a plurality of first and second faces (95, 97) opposed to each other in which the sides of each pair of plates are hermetically fixed to each other. 2. Heat exchanger according to claim 1, characterized in that the first and second surfaces are provided on protruding ribs (95, 97) extending in the middle of the pair of plates (70). Heat exchanger according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the retainer comprises four grilles (16-19) disposed at each inlet and outlet (63-66) of the heat exchanger. 4. A grill according to claim 3, wherein the grills (16-19) can act along the plane of the face of the heat exchanger, the grilles secure the edges of the adjacent plates (70) in a hermetically coupled state and close the gap between the fixed pair of plates. Heat exchanger characterized in that fixed to the open state toward the fluid passage (7, 8). The heat exchanger according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the heat exchanger has inlet and outlet faces (63 and 66, 64 and 65) on adjacent faces of the heat exchanger and each grill (16 and 19, 17 and 18) of adjacent faces is adjacent to the grill. A heat exchanger characterized in that it is operable toward the other side to form a seal between the edges. Heat exchanger according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plate has a plurality of inner walls (72) which form a plurality of flow channels (73) in the middle along the plate. 7. Heat exchanger according to claim 6, characterized in that the inner wall (72) of one side of the plate (70) and the channel (73) have corresponding channels (73) and wall (70) on the other side. Heat exchanger according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plates (70) have spacers (92) for securing space between adjacent plates on their front surfaces. 8. The air flow through the channel of claim 8, wherein the spacer comprises a protrusion 92 in the channel 73 and the inner wall 72 is reduced adjacent the protrusion 92. Heat exchanger characterized in that it is not disturbed by. The plate according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plate has six sides, four sides are closed and two sides are open, and each plate has side walls 90, 90 ', 83, 83' along the four closing sides. 77, 77 '), wherein the sidewalls of adjacent plates are supported on each other.