US20120118543A1

US20120118543A1 - Heat exchanger

Info

Publication number: US20120118543A1
Application number: US13/296,535
Authority: US
Inventors: Toshihide Ninagawa; Taichirou Kuroda
Original assignee: Denso Corp
Current assignee: Denso Corp
Priority date: 2010-11-17
Filing date: 2011-11-15
Publication date: 2012-05-17
Also published as: DE102011086066A1; JP2012107808A

Abstract

Tubes extend in a first direction and are stacked in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. A side plate is located on an outer side of the tubes in the second direction. A core plate extends in the second direction, and longitudinal end portions of the tubes are joined to the core plate. A through-hole extends through a bent portion of a holding claw of the core plate. A projection is formed in a side plate end portion of the side plate to project in the first direction. The projection is inserted through the through-hole of the holding claw.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based on and incorporates herein by reference Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-257181 filed on Nov. 17, 2010.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat exchanger.
2. Description of Related Art
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP 2007-120827A teaches a heat exchanger (more specifically, a radiator of a vehicle). This heat exchanger includes a core, in which tubes are stacked one after another in a stacking direction such that a fin is interposed between each adjacent two of the tubes. Two core plates are provided on two opposed longitudinal end sides, respectively, of the tubes. Each core plate includes tube holes and a groove. The tube holes are formed in a tube joint surface of the core plate, and the groove is formed to surround the tube joint surface in the core plate. Longitudinal end portions of the tubes are joined to the tube holes, respectively, of the core plate, and an opening end of a tank main body is inserted into the groove of the core plate.
Furthermore, a holding claw is formed in an outer wall surface (a core plate end portion) of each longitudinal end portion of the core plate and is bent by 180 degrees from the tank main body side toward the longitudinal center side of the tubes. Two reinforcing side plates (inserts) are placed on two sides, respectively, of the core, which are opposed to each other in the stacking direction of the tubes. A corresponding longitudinal end portion of the corresponding side plate is inserted into a gap between the outer wall surface and the holding claw. In the side plate, a shallow recess (a stepped part) is formed in a widthwise center part of the longitudinal end portion of the side plate, which is centered in the longitudinal end portion in an air flow direction of cooling air applied to the core of the heat exchanger. This recess is placed at a corresponding location where an end of the holding claw, which is bent by 180 degrees, is positioned relative to and engages the shallow recess. The tubes, the fins and the core plates are securely brazed together in a brazing process with a brazing material, which is previously applied to each brazing location (contact location) of the tubes, the fins and the core plates.
At the time of assembling the core of the above heat exchanger, the tubes and the fins are alternately stacked one after another in the stacking direction, and the two side plates are placed at the two outermost sides, respectively, of the stack of the tubes and the fins, which are opposed to each other in the stacking direction. In this way, a stacked assembly of the tubes, the fins and the side plates is formed. Thereafter, the longitudinal end portions of the tubes of the stacked assembly are inserted into the tube holes of the core plates, and the longitudinal end portions of the side plates are inserted into the gaps, respectively, each of which is formed between the corresponding outer wall surface and the corresponding holding claw. Thereby, the assembling of the core is completed.
The shallow recess (stepped part) of the longitudinal end portion of each side plate is made shallow and is positioned relative to the corresponding holding claw. Therefore, when an external force is applied in the air flow direction after the completion of the assembling of the core, each side plate may possibly be inadvertently released from the corresponding gap between the corresponding outer wall surface and the corresponding holding claw to possibly cause disassembling, i.e., collapse of the temporarily assembled core before the brazing process.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the above disadvantage. According to the present invention, there is provided a heat exchanger, which includes a plurality of tubes, a side plate, a core plate and a tank. The tubes extend in a first direction and are stacked one after another in a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. The side plate is adapted to reinforce the plurality of tubes. The side plate is located on an outer side of the plurality of tubes in the second direction and extends in the first direction. The core plate extends in the second direction. A longitudinal end portion of each of the plurality of tubes is joined to the core plate. The tank is fixed to the core plate. A holding claw is formed in the core plate and is bent into a U-shape from a tank side end of an outer wall surface of a longitudinal end portion of the core plate to extend in the first direction on an outer side of the outer wall surface toward a side where the plurality of tubes is located. The side plate includes a side plate end portion, which is an end portion of the side plate in the first direction and is inserted into a gap that is defined between the outer wall surface and the holding claw. A through-hole extends through a bent portion of the holding claw, which is bent into the U-shape. A projection is formed in the side plate end portion to project in the first direction. The projection is inserted through the through-hole of the holding claw.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, together with additional objectives, features and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a radiator according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken in a direction of an arrow II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing a core plate and a stacked assembly of tubes, fins and side plates according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a screw used in an assembling process of a core of a radiator according to a second embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a pusher jig used to install a core plate to a stacked assembly of tubes, fins and side plates according to the second embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiments, similar components are indicated by the same reference numerals and will not be redundantly described to simplify the description. In each of the following embodiments, if only a part of a structure is described, the remaining part of the structure is the same as that of the previously described embodiment(s). Any one or more components of any one of the following embodiments may be combined with the components of the other one of the following embodiments without departing a scope and spirit of the present invention.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, a heat exchanger of the present invention is implemented as a radiator 100, which cools an engine of a vehicle (e.g., an automobile), more specifically coolant of the engine with cooling air applied externally to the radiator 100. FIG. 1 is a front view of the radiator 100 showing an entire structure of the radiator 100. FIG. 2 is a view taken in a direction of an arrow II in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded view showing one of core plates 114 as well as a stacked assembly of tubes 111, fins 112 and side plates 113. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 2.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the radiator 100 includes a core 110, an upper tank 120 and a lower tank 130. The radiator 100 is a vertical flow type radiator, in which the coolant flows through the stacked tubes 111 in the core 110 from the upper side toward the lower side in FIG. 1.
The core 110 includes the tubes 111, the fins 112, the side plates 113 and the core plates 114. These components 111-114 are made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, which has a high strength and is highly corrosion resistant.
Each tube 111 is a tubular member, in which the coolant flows. Furthermore, the tube 111 is formed by, for example, bending an elongated rectangular plate material and is configured as a flat tube, which has a generally flat cross section in a plane that extends in a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the tube 111. The longitudinal direction of the tube 111 will be also referred to as a first direction. Furthermore, each fin 112 is a heat radiation member that enlarges a heat transfer surface area (i.e., a heat radiating surface area). In the present embodiment, the fin 112 is a corrugate fin, which is formed by bending an elongated thin rectangular plate material into a wavy form through a roll forming process.
Each side plate 113 is a reinforcing member, which is adapted to reinforce the structure of the core 110 (thereby reinforcing the tubes 111) and is elongated in the longitudinal direction of the tube 111. A length of the side plate 113 is set to be substantially the same as a length of the tube 111 in the longitudinal direction of the tube 111. An intermediate portion (also referred to as a general portion) 113 a, which is located in a longitudinal intermediate region of the side plate 113, is configured to have a U-shaped cross section that opens toward an outer side in a stacking direction (a left-to-right direction in FIG. 1) of the tubes 111, which will be also referred to as a second direction that is perpendicular to the first direction. Specifically, the intermediate portion 113 a has a bottom wall portion and two side wall portions, and these two side wall portions project from two lateral edges of the bottom wall portion toward the outer side (a left side in FIG. 3) in the stacking direction of the tubes 111. Furthermore, a longitudinal and portion (hereinafter referred to as a side plate end portion) 113 b of the side plate 113 is configured into a rectangular plate form that corresponds to a shape of the bottom wall portion of the intermediate portion 113 a, from which the two side wall portions are removed. The side plate end portion 113 b is bent outwardly in the stacking direction of the tubes 111 to form a step (slope). A width of the side plate end portion 113 b, which is measured in a flow direction (hereinafter referred to as an air flow direction or air flowing direction) of cooling air, which is applied by an electric fan (not shown) to the core 110 of the radiator 100 to cool the same, is set to be smaller than a width of the intermediate portion 113 a, which is measured in the air flow direction. The air flow direction is also referred to a third direction and is perpendicular to the stacking direction of the tubes 111 and also perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of each tube 111.
A distal end part 113 c is formed in a distal end part (an upper part in FIG. 2) of the side plate end portion 113 b. A projection 113 d is formed in the distal end part 113 c to project in the longitudinal direction of the side plate 113. The projection 113 d is placed in a center location of the distal end part 113 c, which is centered in the distal end part 113 c in the air flow direction. The projection 113 d is configured into a plate form and is continuously extends from the side plate end portion 113 b. The projection 113 d is shaped into a trapezoidal shape and is tapered toward a distal end of the projection 113 d when the projection 113 d is viewed in the stacking direction of the tubes 111. Specifically, two lateral sides of the projection 113 d, which are opposed to each other in the air flow direction, are tapered from a base end toward a distal end thereof to have a progressively distally decreasing distance therebetween, i.e., are tilted toward a center location of the projection 113 d, which is centered in the air flow direction. Thereby, the two lateral sides of the projection 113 d form a tapered portion 113 e. Preferably, a projecting length of the projection 113 d, which is measured from the base and of the projection 113 d located in the distal end part 113 c, is set to be generally two or three times larger than a plate thickness of a holding claw 114 d of the core plate 114, which will be described later.
The core plate 114 is a narrow elongated plate member, which is elongated in the stacking direction of the tubes 111. A groove 114 b is formed by press working in an outer peripheral portion of the core plate 114 to extend all around the core plate 114. A wall surface of the groove 114 b, which is located at an outer side (the left side in FIG. 3) of the groove 114 b, extends in the longitudinal direction of the tube 111. A plurality (two in this instance) of pawls 114 c is formed in this wall surface of the groove 114 b. An outer peripheral wall surface of each longitudinal end portion (the left end portion in FIG. 3) of the core plate 114 will be hereinafter referred to as an outer wall surface 114 a. The corresponding side plate end portion 113 b, which extends parallel to the outer wall surface 114 a, makes surface-to-surface contact and is joined to the outer wall surface 114 a.
The two pawls 114 c are formed in the outer wall surface 114 a such that the two pawls 114 c are symmetrically placed about a center location of the outer wall surface 114 a, which is centered in the air flow direction. An extent of a space between the two pawls 114 c is set to be larger than the width of the side plate end portion 113 b, which is measured in the air flow direction. The holding claw 114 d is formed between the two pawls 114 c (a center location of the outer wall surface 114 e. which is centered in the air flow direction). An upper tank 120 side end portion (a claw portion) of the outer wall surface 114 a, which projects toward the upper tank 120, is bent by 180 degrees toward the tubes 111 to form the holding claw 114 d. That is, the holding claw 114 d includes a U-turned portion (bent portion) and a claw main body. The U-turned portion is formed by bending the upper tank 120 side end portion of the outer wall surface 114 a toward the tubes 111 in a U-shape form. The claw main body extends from the U-turned portion toward the tubes 111. A gap is formed between the outer wall surface 114 a and the claw main body of the holding claw 114 d, and the side plate end portion 113 b is insertable into this gap.
A width of the holding claw 114 d, which is measured in the air flow direction, is set to be generally the same as the width of the side plate end portion 113 b, which is measured in the air flow direction. A projecting length of the claw main body of the holding claw 114 d, which projects toward the tubes 111, is set such that the claw main body covers at least a portion of the side plate end portion 113 b to limit outward movement of the side plate end portion 113 b in the stacking direction of the tubes 111. Furthermore, the distal end part 113 c of the side end portion 113 b is placed in the inner side of the U-turned portion of the holding claw 114 d, and thereby the longitudinal movement of the side plate end portion 113 b in the longitudinal direction of the side plate 113 is limited.
A through-hole 114 e is formed to extend through the wall of the U-turned portion of the holding claw 114 d in a thickness direction thereof, and the projection 113 d of the side plate 113 is insertable through the through-hole 114 e in the longitudinal direction of the side plate 113. The through-hole 114 e is elongated in the air flow direction. A width of the through-hole 114 e, which is measured in the air flow direction, is set to be larger than a width of the distal end of the projection 113 d, which is measured in the air flow direction. Furthermore, the width of the through-hole 114 e, which is measured in the air flow direction, is set to be slightly larger than or generally equal to a width of the base end of the projection 113 d, which is measured in the air flow direction. Thereby, when the projection 113 d is completely inserted through the through hole 114 e to place the base end of the projection 113 d into the through-hole 114 e, the movement of the projection 113 d and thereby of the side plate 113 in the air flow direction is limited.
A plurality of tube holes 114 f is formed in the core plate 114 at an inner area of the core plate 114 (a main surface of the core plate 114), which is located on an inner side (a right side in FIG. 3) of the groove 114 b. The tube holes 114 f are arranged one after another to correspond with the locations of the tubes 111, and each tube hole 114 f has a cross section, which corresponds to a cross section of the corresponding tube 111.
The tubes 111 and the fins 112 are stacked such that the tubes 111 and the fins 112 are alternately arranged one after another in the stacking direction (the left-to-right direction in FIG. 1). The wave crests of each fin 112 contact the outer wall surfaces the adjacent tubes 111. Each side plate 113 is placed on an outer side of a corresponding outermost one (also referred to as an outermost fin) of the fins 112, which is closes to the side plate 113 and is located outermost in the stacking direction of the tubes 111. The wave crests of the outermost fin 112 contact the intermediate portion 113 a of the side plate 113. The side plate 113 is placed such that a location of the distal end of the projection 113 d of the side plate 113 generally coincides with a location of a longitudinal end (hereinafter referred to as a tube end 111 a) of each of the tubes 111 in the longitudinal direction of the tube 111, as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 3.
As shown in FIG. 4, each tube end 111 a is inserted through the corresponding tube hole 114 f of the core plate 114. Furthermore, the side plate end portion 113 b is inserted into the gap between the outer wall surface 114 a of the core plate 114 and the holding claw 114 d, and the side plate end portion 113 b contacts the outer wall surface 114 a. Moreover, the projection 113 d of the side plate 113 is inserted into the through-hole 114 e of the holding claw 114 d.
The tubes 111, the fins 112, the side plates 113 and the core plates 114 are brazed together with a brazing material applied to the surfaces of the tubes 111, the side plates 13 and the core plates 114 to form the core 110.
Each of the upper tank (tank) 120 and the lower tank (tank) 130 extends along the length of the corresponding core plate 114 in the stacking direction of the tubes 111. Each of the upper and lower tanks 120, 130 is configured into a half-container body that has a U-shaped cross section in a plane, which is taken in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tank 120, 130. An opening end of each tank 120, 130, which is directed toward the core 110, is inserted into the groove 114 b of the adjacent core plate 114 and is securely held by the pawls 114 c through a sealing packing (not shown) upon swaging the pawls 114 c against the tank 120, 130. Therefore, each of the tanks 120, 130 is mechanically fixed to the corresponding core plate 114. The tubes 111 (more specifically, the interior of each tube 111) is communicated with the interior space of each tank 120, 130.
The upper tank 120 is a tank that distributes the coolant from the engine to each tube 111. The upper tank 120 is made of a resin material (e.g., polyamide also referred to as a PA material). The upper tank 120 includes a tank main body 121, which is formed as the half-container body. The tank main body 121 has an inlet pipe 121 a, a plurality (four in this instance) of fan shroud attachment portions 121 b and a plurality (two in this instance) of vehicle body attachment portions 121 c, which are formed integrally in the tank main body 121. The inlet pipe 121 a receives the coolant from the engine. Upper connections of a fan shroud of the electric fan (not shown) are installed to the shroud attachment portions 121 b, respectively. The vehicle body attachment portions 121 c are installed to a body of the vehicle.
The lower tank 130 is a tank that collects the coolant from the respective tubes 111. The lower tank 130 is made of a resin material (e.g., polyamide also referred to as the PA material). Similar to the upper tank 120, the lower tank 130 includes a tank main body 131, which is formed as the half-container body. The tank main body 131 has an outlet pipe 131 a, a plurality (two in this instance) of fan shroud attachment portions 131 b, a plurality (two in this instance) of vehicle body attachment portions 131 c and a drainer 131 d, which are formed integrally in the tank main body 131. The outlet pipe 131 a outputs the coolant from the interior of the tank main body 131. Lower connections of the fan shroud are installed to the fan shroud attachment portions 131 b, respectively. The vehicle body attachment portions 131 c are installed to the body of the vehicle. The drainer 131 d is provided to drain the coolant at the time of maintenance. In addition, an oil cooler 140 is installed in the lower tank 130 to cool automatic transmission fluid (ATF) of an automatic transmission of the vehicle.
The radiator 100, which is formed as described above, is placed in a front portion of an engine compartment (a behind of a grille) of the vehicle. The vehicle body attachment portions 121 c, 131 c are installed to a frame of the body of the vehicle. An inlet hose extending from the engine is installed to the inlet pipe 121 a. In addition, an outlet hose returning to the engine is installed to the outlet pipe 131 a.
The coolant, which is supplied from the engine into the upper tank 120 through the inlet hose and the inlet pipe 121 a, is distributed into the tubes 111 and flows downward through the tubes 111. At this time, the coolant, which flows downward through each tube 111, is cooled through heat exchange with the cooling air applied to the core 110. This heat exchange is promoted by the fins 112 joined to the tubes 111. Then, the coolant is collected into the lower tank 130 after flowing through the tubes 111 and is returned to the engine trough the outlet pipe 131 a and the outlet hose.
At the time of assembling the core 110 of the radiator 100, each of the two side plate end portions 113 b of each side plate 113 is inserted into the gap between the outer wall surface 114 a of the corresponding core plate 114 and the corresponding holding claw 114 d, so that the side plate 113 is secured to the core plate 114 by the holding claw 114 d. In this way, the tubes 111 and the fins 112 are held between the side plates 113. Furthermore, the projection 113 d of each side plate end portion 113 b of each side plate 113 is inserted into the through-hole 114 e of the corresponding holding claw 114 d.
In this way, upon completion of the assembling process of the core 110 through the assembling of the tubes 111, the fins 112, the side plates 113 and the core plates 114, the side plate end portions 113 b can be securely held with the holding claws 114 d, respectively, in both of the stacking direction of the tubes 111 and the longitudinal direction of the tubes 111. Furthermore, each projection 113 d of each side plate 113 is inserted into the through-hole 114 e of the corresponding holding claw 114 d, so that the corresponding side plate end portion 113 b can be reliably and securely held in the air flow direction. Thereby, the assembled state of the core 110 is securely maintained, so that the side plates 113 will not be come off from the core plates 114. Thereby, it is possible to limit the disassembling of the core 110.
The tapered portion 113 e is formed in each projection 113 d, as discussed above. Therefore, at the time of assembling the tubes 111 and the side plates 113 to the core plates 114, the insertion of the projection 113 d can be started while a sufficient gap is provided between the distal end of the projection 113 d and the inner surface of the through-hole 114 e. Therefore, it is possible to improve and ease the insertion of the projection 113 d into the through-hole 114 e. When the projection 113 d is completely inserted through the through-hole 114 e, the base end of the projection 113 d is fitted into the through-hole 114 e without having a substantial gap between the base end of the projection 113 d and the inner surface of the through-hole 114 e. Therefore, the projection 113 d can be securely held by the holding claw 114 d without forming a substantial play therebetween in the air flow direction, i.e., without causing a rattling movement therebetween in the air flow direction.
Furthermore, the location of the distal end of the projection 113 d of each side plate 113 is set to generally coincide with the location of the tube end 111 a of each of the tubes 111 in the longitudinal direction of the tubes 111, as discussed above. Therefore, at the time of stacking, i.e., assembling the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113 together or at the time of installing the core plates 114 to the tubes 111 and the side plates 113, a positioning member, such a simple plate, may be placed on the side where the corresponding tank 120, 130 is placed during the process of positioning the tube ends 111 a of the tubes 111 and the distal ends of the projections 113 d of the side plates 113. In this way, the process of the positioning can be eased while the configuration of the positioning member is simplified.

Second Embodiment

FIGS. 5 and 6 show a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is similar to the first embodiment except the following difference. Specifically, in the second embodiment, the location of each projection 113 d of each side plate 113 (the side plate end portion 113 b) relative to the adjacent outermost one (also referred to as an outermost tube) of the tubes 111, which is closest to the side plate 113 and is located outermost in the stacking direction of the tubes 111, is set based on a tube-to-tube pitch Tp.
In the core 110, the tube-to-tube pitch Tp, i.e., an interval between each adjacent two of the tubes 111 is set to a predetermined value based on a thickness of each tube 111, which is measured in the stacking direction, and a height of the crests of each fin 112, which is measured in the stacking direction. In the present embodiment, a distance (hereinafter referred to as a tube-to-side plate pitch) between a center of the outermost tube 111, which is centered in the outermost tube 111 in the stacking direction, and a center of the adjacent projection 113 d (the side plate end portion 113 b), which is centered in the projection 113 d in the stacking direction, is set to a value, which is obtained by multiplying the tube-to-tube pitch Tp with an integer number. Desirably, this integer number is two (2), so that the tube-to-side plate pitch=2 Tp in this embodiment. This setting is made for the following reason in view of a requirement of the following manufacturing process.
Specifically, the core 110 is assembled through the following procedure.
(1) The tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113 are assembled into the stacked assembly and is transferred to a next assembling process.
(2) The stacked assembly is compressed in the stacking direction to implement and maintain the preset tube-to-tube pitch Tp.
(3) The core plates 114 are pressed and fitted to the corresponding tube ends 111 e. and the side plate end portions 113 b of the side plates 113 are inserted into the corresponding holding claws 114 d such that the projections 113 d are inserted through the through-holes 114 e of the corresponding holding claws 114 d.
At the time of transferring, i.e., transporting the stacked assembly to the next assembling process discussed in the above section (1), a screw 210 shown in FIG. 5 is used. The screw 210 is a threaded structure, in which a ridge 211 and a valley 212 are spirally wound. A valley-to-valley pitch (also referred to as a screw pitch), which is measured between each adjacent two segments of the valley 212 located on one side and the other side of an adjacent segment of the ridge 211 along the length of the screw 210, is set to be the same as the tube-to-tube pitch Tp. As shown in FIG. 5, the tube ends 111 a of the tubes 111 and the projections 113 d of the side plates 113 are inserted into the corresponding segments, respectively, of the valley 212 of the screw 210. When the screw 210 is rotated, the stacked assembly is transferred in the axial direction of the screw 210.
At this time, since the tube-to-side plate pitch is set to the value, which is obtained by multiplying the tube-to-tube pitch Tp with the integer number (two in this embodiment), the projections 113 d (the side plate end portions 113 b) of the side plates 113 can be inserted into the corresponding segments of the valley 212 in addition to the tube ends 111 a. Thereby, the stacked assembly of the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113 can be transferred, i.e., transported with the screw 210.
Furthermore, at the time of installing the core plates 114 discussed above in the section (3), a pusher jig 220 shown in FIG. 6 is used. The pusher jig 220 includes a plurality of protrusions 221, which protrude from a planar main body of the pusher jig 220 that is held parallel to and is located on a tank side of the main surface of the core plate 114, to which the tubes 111 are joined. The protrusions 221 are arranged one after another in the stacking direction of the tubes 111. A protrusion-to-protrusion pitch (also simply referred to as a protrusion pitch) between the centers of each adjacent two of the protrusions 221 in the longitudinal direction of the screw 210 is set to be the same as the tube-to-tube pitch Tp. Furthermore, in a case where various sizes of the cores 110 are manufactured through the manufacturing line (assembling line), a length of the pusher jig 220 (the main body), which is measured in a direction of the row of the protrusions 221 of the pusher jig 220, is set to be the same as a maximum possible length of the core plate 114 of the core 110, which has the maximum possible number of the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113 among the various sizes of the cores 110.
In the state where each of the protrusions 221 of the pusher jig 220 is placed between the corresponding adjacent two of the tubes 111 after the setting of the core plate 114 to the stacked assembly of the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113, the pusher jig 220 is pushed against the core plate 114 from the tank 120, 130 side toward the tube 111 side. Thereby, the core plate 114 is fitted to the stacked assembly of the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113.
In this embodiment, the tube-to-side plate pitch is set to the value, which is obtained by multiplying the tube-to-tube pitch Tp with the integer number (two in this embodiment). Therefore, it is only required to provide the pusher jig 220, which has the length that corresponds to the maximum possible number of the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113, which are stacked together. In this way, it is possible to avoid the abutment of the projections 113 d (the side plate end portions 113 b) of the side plates 113 against the protrusions 221 of the pusher jig 220 even in the case where the manufacturing line need to produce the various sizes of the cores 110, which have different numbers, respectively, of the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113. Thereby, the core plates 114 of various sizes can be installed by using the single pusher jig 220 without a need for replacing the pusher jig 220 to another one.
Furthermore, the tube-to-side plate pitch is set to the value, which is obtained by multiplying the tube-to-tube pitch Tp with two in this embodiment, as discussed above. Therefore, the minimum size of the connection (the groove 114 b) between the core plate 114 and the tank 120, 130 can be formed in the outer peripheral portion of the core plate 114, and it is possible to avoid formation of a wasteful space, which is not used in the heat exchange, at a location between each outermost tube 111 and the adjacent side plate end portion 113 b. Thereby, it is possible to form the radiator 100 into the compact size (low profile).
Now, modifications of the above embodiments will be described.
In the above embodiments, the tapered portion 113 e is formed in the projection 113 d of each side plate 113. However, if the projection 113 d can be appropriately inserted into the corresponding through-hole 114 e without a difficulty, the tapered portion 113 e may be eliminated. In such a case, the width of the projection 113 d, which is measured in the air flow direction, may be set to be slightly smaller than the width of the corresponding through-hole 114 e, which is measured in the air flow direction.
Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the location of the distal end of each projection 113 d of each side plate 113 in the longitudinal direction of the tubes 111 coincides with the location of each corresponding tube end 111 a in the longitudinal direction of the tubes 111. However, the present invention is not limited this. Specifically, the shape of the positioning member, which is used to position the corresponding component (the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113) of the stacked assembly or of the assembly of the core 110, may be changed to any appropriate shape (e.g., by changing the planar member to the stepped member) to correspond with such a change in the positioning of the corresponding component (the tubes 111, the fins 112 and the side plates 113).
Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the tube-to-side plate pitch is set to the value, which is obtained by multiplying the tube-to-tube pitch Tp with the integer number (e.g., two). However, the present invention is not limited to this. Specifically, the use of the screw 210 and the pusher jig 220 discussed in the second embodiment may be eliminated from the manufacturing process. Alternatively, a transferring mechanism (a transporting mechanism) and a pusher mechanism, which correspond to the configuration of the stacked assembly or the core 110, may be used in place of the screw 210 and the pusher jig 220. In such a case, the tube-to-side plate pitch may be appropriately set depending on a need.
Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the heat exchanger is implemented as the radiator 100 for cooling the engine. However, the heat exchanger of the present invention may be implemented as any other type of heat exchanger, such as an intercooler for cooling the intake air of the engine or a condenser for a refrigeration cycle, as long as the side plate end portion 113 b is inserted into the gap between the outer wall surface 114 a of the core plate 114 and the holding claw 114 d.
In the above embodiments, the holding claw 114 d is the single holding claw in each longitudinal end portion of the core plate 114 and is centered in the longitudinal end portion of the core plate 114 in the air flow direction, and the projection 113 d is the single projection in each side plate end portion 113 b of the side plate 113 and is centered in the side plate end portion 113 b (also in the side plate 113) in the air flow direction. However, the number of the holding claw(s) 114 d, each of which has the through hole 114 e, in each longitudinal end portion of the core plate 114 is not limited to one and may be increased to any desirable number. Similarly, the number of the projection(s) 113 d in each side plate end portion 113 b of the side plate 113 is not limited to one and may be increased to any desirable number, which corresponds to the number of the holding claws 114 d.
Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader terms is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus, and illustrative examples shown and described.

Claims

1. A heat exchanger comprising:

a plurality of tubes that extend in a first direction and are stacked one after another in a second direction, which is perpendicular to the first direction;

a side plate that is adapted to reinforce the plurality of tubes, wherein the side plate is located on an outer side of the plurality of tubes in the second direction and extends in the first direction;

a core plate that extends in the second direction, wherein a longitudinal end portion of each of the plurality of tubes is joined to the core plate; and

a tank that is fixed to the core plate, wherein:

a holding claw is formed in the core plate and is bent into a U-shape from a tank side end of an outer wall surface of a longitudinal end portion of the core plate to extend in the first direction on an outer side of the outer wall surface toward a side where the plurality of tubes is located;

the side plate includes a side plate end portion, which is an and portion of the side plate in the first direction and is inserted into a gap that is defined between the outer wall surface and the holding claw;

a through-hole extends through a bent portion of the holding claw, which is bent into the U-shape;

a projection is formed in the side plate end portion to project in the first direction; and

the projection is inserted through the through-hole of the holding claw.

2. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the projection has a tapered portion, which is tapered in the first direction toward a distal end of the tapered portion.

3. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein a location of a distal end of the projection in the first direction generally coincides with a location of a longitudinal end of each of the plurality of tubes in the first direction.

4. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein:

the plurality of the tubes includes an outermost tube, which is closest to the side plate and is located outermost in the second direction among the plurality of tubes; and

a distance between a center of the outermost tube, which is centered in the outermost tube in the second direction, and a center of the projection, which is centered in the projection in the second direction, is set to a value, which is obtained by multiplying a tube-to-tube pitch of the plurality of tubes with an integer number.

5. The heat exchanger according to claim 4, wherein the integer number is two.

6. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein:

the through-hole of the holding claw is elongated in a third direction, which is perpendicular to both of the first direction and the second direction;

a distance between two sides of the projection, which are opposed to each other in the third direction, progressively distally decreases from a base end of the projection in the first direction; and

the base end of the projection has a width, which is measured in the third direction and generally coincides with a width of the through-hole, which is measured in the third direction.

7. The heat exchanger according to claim 6, wherein:

the holding claw is a single holding claw in the longitudinal end portion of the core plate and is centered in the longitudinal end portion of the core plate in the third direction; and

the projection is a single projection in the side plate end portion and is centered in the side plate end portion in the third direction.

8. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein the outer wall surface of the longitudinal end portion of the core plate and the side plate end portion extend parallel to each other in the first direction and make surface-to-surface contact therebetween.

9. The heat exchanger according to claim 1, wherein:

the heat exchanger is a radiator of a vehicle, which is adapted to be cooled with cooling air applied externally thereto; and

the third direction generally coincides with a flow direction of the cooling air.