KR20040073726A - Pipe connection structure of heat exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A pipe connection structure of a heat exchanger is provided to improve the productivity and reduce a defect rate and the manufacturing cost by realizing a simple combination structure. CONSTITUTION: A connector(10) is combined with a header tank of a heat exchanger, and has a pipe insertion part(11) inside, and of which a free end is formed in an expanded pipe part(12), and has an O-ring securing part(15) formed on a plane connecting the pipe insertion part with the expanded pipe part. An O-ring(20) is arranged on the O-ring securing part. A pipe(30) has one side inserted into the pipe insertion part, having an O-shaped bead(31) to be attached closely to the O-ring. A combining element(40) combines the connector and the pipe by changing a shape of the expanded pipe part in a state that the pipe is inserted into the connector. The combining element has plural taps(13) divided by plural grooves(14) at a circumference of the expanded pipe part. The taps are bent toward the O-shaped bead to fix the pipe, wherein width of the tap is larger than width of the groove.

Description

Pipe connection structure of heat exchanger

The present invention relates to a pipe connection structure of a heat exchanger, and more particularly, in connecting a pipe for fluid access to a connector joined to a header tank of a heat exchanger, the connection structure is simplified to reduce productivity by reducing labor. The present invention relates to a pipe connection structure of a heat exchanger which improves air quality, reduces defect rate and manufacturing cost, and improves airtightness by a more rigid coupling structure.

The heat exchanger used in the vehicle air conditioner is an effective heat exchange between the heat exchange medium (coolant or cooling water) circulating in a specific flow path and the blowing air blown by the blower. Such a heat exchanger, as shown in Figure 1, connects the two header tanks (2) (3) and the two header tanks (2) (3) arranged side by side at a predetermined interval to connect them to each other A plurality of tubes 4, a plurality of heat dissipation fins 5 stacked between the tubes 4, and a heat exchange medium is introduced into predetermined positions of the two header tanks 2 and 3, respectively. And two pipes 8 which are connected to each other.

And, in order to reinforce the tubes 4 and the heat dissipation fins 5, side supports 6 are provided at their outermost sides.

The heat exchanger 1 of the above-described type may include a condenser, an evaporator, a heater core, and the like, and an evaporator and a heater core are built in the air conditioning case for controlling heat exchange of the blower air by providing a passage of air blown by the blower. do.

The air conditioner may be divided into various types according to the way in which the evaporator and the heater core are refrigerated in the air conditioning case, but the semi-center mounting and the center mounting type of the evaporator and the heater core are installed in a line. Air conditioners have been used a lot recently.

In such a semi-center mounting or center mounting type air conditioner, the lengths of the pipes 8 connected to the heat exchanger 1 are getting longer, and in the case where the lengths of the pipes 8 are long, the heat exchanger 1 In order to braze the assembly, it is difficult to enter the heat exchanger 1 assembly into the brazing furnace since the inlet of the brazing furnace has a finite size when it enters the brazing furnace. In this case, even when brazing, poor bonding between the heat exchanger 1 and the pipe 8 is likely to occur.

Therefore, a method of completing the heat exchanger 1 by brazing the laminated heat exchanger 1 first and then welding the pipes 8 to the brazed heat exchanger 1 again is usually employed. It is becoming.

However, this method jig secures the pipe 8 to the expansion portion 7a of the connector 7 and then attaches a clad ring (not shown) to the heat exchanger 1 and the joint of the pipe 8. The pipes 8 are connected to each other, and a flux solution is applied to the joints and the clad rings are melted by torch heating to connect the pipes 8. There was a problem.

An object of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is to improve the productivity, reduce the defective rate and manufacturing cost, and more robust coupling by simplifying the connection structure in fixing the pipe to the heat exchanger to reduce the labor labor The present invention provides a pipe connecting structure of a heat exchanger in which airtightness is improved by the structure.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is coupled to communicate with the header tank of the heat exchanger and provided with a pipe insert therein, the free end is formed with an expansion portion, O-ring seating on the plane connecting the pipe insertion portion and expansion portion An additional connector; An O-ring disposed in the O-ring seating portion; A pipe having one side inserted into the pipe insertion part and having a mold bead formed to be in close contact with the O-ring on an outer circumferential surface thereof; In the pipe connection structure of the group, the coupling means is a plurality of tabs divided into a plurality of grooves around the expansion pipe so that the O-ring is compressed to maintain the airtight by elastically pressing one side of the mold bead It is formed and configured to fix the pipe by bending the tab toward the pentagonal bead side, the width of the tab is characterized by satisfying the following formula, W > W1 larger than the width of the groove.

1 is a view showing a heat exchanger to which a conventional pipe connection structure is applied;

2 is a view showing a heat exchanger to which the pipe connection structure according to the present invention is applied;

3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a pipe and a connector are separated in a pipe connection structure according to the present invention;

4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of bending a tab in a state in which a pipe is coupled to a connector in FIG. 3.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

1: heat exchanger 10: connector

11: pipe insertion part 12: expansion part

13: tab 14: home

15: O-ring seat 20: O-ring

30: pipe 31: mold bead

40: coupling means

W: Width of the tab W1: Width of the groove

W2: Extruded width of pentagonal beads

H: Height from the O-ring seat to the hem of the groove

H1: Height between the lower side and the O-ring seat with the tab bent

H2: Height of the tab

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The same parts as in the prior art are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof will be omitted.

2 is a view showing a heat exchanger to which the pipe connection structure according to the present invention is applied, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a pipe and a connector are separated from the pipe connection structure according to the present invention, and FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the process of bending a tab in the state couple | bonded with.

The heat exchanger 1 according to the present invention connects two header tanks 2 and 3 arranged side by side at a predetermined interval and the two header tanks 2 and 3 communicate with each other. A plurality of tubes 4, a plurality of heat dissipation fins 5 respectively stacked between the tubes 4, and an outermost part thereof for reinforcing the tubes 4 and the heat dissipation fins 5; It consists of the side support 6 which becomes.

In such a heat exchanger, a connector 10 is provided at a predetermined position among the two header tanks 2 and 3 to which two pipes 30 are connected to each other to introduce and discharge the heat exchange medium.

The connector 10 is spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and connected to the header tank 2 by brazing and communicate with the header tank 2.

In addition, a pipe insertion portion 11 is formed therein so that the pipe 30 can be inserted therein, and a free end portion is formed as an expansion portion 12 extending from the pipe insertion portion 11.

In addition, the O-ring seating portion 15 is provided on a plane connecting the pipe insertion portion 11 and the expansion pipe portion 12.

In addition, the O-ring seating portion 15 is the O-ring 20 is interposed.

Subsequently, one side of the pipe 30 is inserted into the pipe inserting portion 11, and an outer circumferential surface of the pipe 30 is provided with a mold bead 31 in close contact with the O-ring 20.

Here, the coupling means 40 is provided to be coupled to the shape deformation of the expansion pipe 12 in the state in which the pipe 30 is inserted into the connector 10,

The coupling means 40 forms a plurality of grooves 14 at regular intervals on the outer circumference of the expansion pipe 12 to form a plurality of tabs 13, and subsequently forms the tabs 13 as the misalignment. It is configured to bend toward the bead 31 to fix the pipe 30. Here, the plurality of tabs 13 may be bent inward by forming the grooves 14 in the expansion pipe 12.

At this time, it is preferable that the width W of the tab 13 satisfies the following formula, W> W1, which is larger than the width W1 of the groove 14.

That is, the greater the width W of the tab 13 than the width W1 of the groove 14, the higher the coupling force is when the connector 10 and the pipe 30 are coupled. As will be described below, the tab 13 is bent so that the connector 10 and the pipe 30 are fixed to each other, so that the larger the width W of the tab 13, the higher the coupling force.

Accordingly, the pipe 30 is inserted into the pipe inserting portion 11 of the connector 10 in a state where the o-ring 20 is disposed on the o-ring seating portion 15, and then the expansion pipe 12 is The connector 10 and the pipe 30 are coupled to each other by bending the tab 13 to the inside to press one side of the mold bead 31.

Here, the plurality of tabs 13 elastically support one side of the mold bead 31, wherein the O-ring 20 is compressed between the O-ring seat 15 and the mold bead 31. It is elastically deformed while being in close contact with them to maintain airtightness.

In addition, the height H from the O-ring seating portion 15 to the bottom of the groove 14 is preferably smaller than the sum of the thicknesses of the mold bead 31 and the O-ring 20.

In addition, the height H1 between the lower surface of the tab 13 and the O-ring seating portion 15 in the state in which the tab 13 is bent adds up the thicknesses of the mold bead 31 and the O-ring 20. Smaller ones are preferred.

That is, the tab 13 is bent at almost right angles, in order to allow the O-ring 20 to be in a compressed state when the bending is completed.

In addition, the height (H2) of the tab 13 is formed to be less than or equal to the protruding width (W2) of the mold bead 31 so that the interference with the outer peripheral surface of the pipe 30 is not generated during bending. .

As described above, in the pipe connection structure of the heat exchanger according to the present invention, the pipe 30 is connected to the connector 10 in a state in which the O-ring 20 is interposed in the O-ring seating part 15 of the connector 10. Is inserted into the pipe insertion portion 11 of the pipe, and subsequently the tab 13 formed on the expansion pipe 12 is bent inward to elastically support one side of the mold bead 31 to support the connector 10. ) And the pipe 30 is firmly coupled, as the connector 10 joined to the heat exchanger 1 and the pipe 30 are combined in a simple structure, the defect rate and manufacturing cost are reduced, and the labor manpower is reduced. Productivity is improved.

In addition, the plurality of tabs 13 formed at regular intervals elastically support one side of the mold bead 31 so that the entire O-ring 20 is uniformly compressed, thereby improving airtightness and maintaining airtightness for a long time. The connector 10 and the pipe 30 can also be firmly coupled.

As described above, in the present invention, the case in which the connector 10 is joined to the upper side of the header tank 2 has been described as an example. However, the connector 10 is located at the front, rear, or longitudinal sides of the header tank 2. Even when the (10) is bonded, the pipe connection structure of the present invention can be applied in the same way, and the same effect can be obtained.

According to the pipe connection structure of the heat exchanger of the present invention, by inserting a pipe formed with a bead on the outer peripheral surface through the O-ring in the connector joined to the header tank and then bending the tab formed on the expansion portion of the connector to the inside As the structure to be bonded, by taking a simple coupling structure, the labor maneuvering is reduced to improve productivity, and the defective rate and manufacturing cost is reduced.

In addition, the plurality of tabs are elastically pressurized to support one side of the mold bead to uniformly compress the entire O-ring, thereby further improving airtightness, and firmly coupling the connector and the pipe.

Claims (4)

It is coupled to the header tank (2) of the heat exchanger (1) and has a pipe insert (11) therein, the free end is formed by the expansion pipe 12, the pipe insert 11 and expansion pipe ( A connector 10 having an o-ring seating portion 15 in a plane connecting the 12; An o-ring 20 disposed on the o-ring seating portion 15; A pipe 30 having one side inserted into the pipe inserting portion 11 and having a mold-shaped bead 31 formed to be in close contact with the O-ring 20 on an outer circumferential surface thereof, wherein the pipe 30 is inserted into the connector 10. In the pipe connection structure of the heat exchanger comprising a coupling means 40 to which they are coupled in shape deformation of the expansion pipe 12 in the state, The coupling means 40 is a plurality of grooves 14 around the expansion portion 12 so that the O-ring 20 is compressed to maintain airtightness by elastically pressing one side of the mold bead 31. A plurality of tabs 13 are formed and are configured to bend the tab 13 toward the misaligned bead 31 to fix the pipe 30, and the width W of the tab 13 is A pipe connection structure of a heat exchanger, characterized in that the following formula (W &gt; W1) larger than the width (W1) of the groove (14) is satisfied. The height H from the o-ring seat 15 to the hem of the groove 14 is smaller than the sum of the thicknesses of the mold bead 31 and the o-ring 20. Pipe connection structure of heat exchanger. According to claim 1, wherein the height (H1) between the lower surface and the O-ring seating portion 15 in the state in which the tab 13 is bent the sum of the thickness of the mold bead 31 and the O-ring 20 Pipe connection structure of heat exchanger, characterized in that smaller. 4. The height H2 of the tab 13 satisfies the following equation, H &lt; W2, which is smaller than or equal to the protruding width W2 of the mold bead 31. Pipe connection structure of the heat exchanger.