WO2011039563A1

WO2011039563A1 - A heat exchanger

Info

Publication number: WO2011039563A1
Application number: PCT/IB2009/054258
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jonas Fyrst Bachmann; Jan Ostenfeldt Jensen; Erik Hog; Jørgen BLOMBERG; Blago Minovski; Thomas Stie; Jens-Martin Jensen
Original assignee: K. Nissen International A/S
Priority date: 2009-09-29
Filing date: 2009-09-29
Publication date: 2011-04-07

Abstract

A heat exchanger (1) comprising a row of heat exchanger elements (2) each defining a centre plane (29), crosswise to the centre planes (29) protruding spacers (4a,4b) for defining a distance (D) between neighboring heat exchanger elements (2), said spacers (4a,4b) are formed as a depression of the wall of the heat exchanger element (2), at least one opening (13) formed in the wall of the spacers (4a,4b) and communicating with a similar opening (13) in an opposite spacer (4a,4b) of an adjacent heat exchanger element (2), and the spacers (4a,4b) are arranged to define an inlet manifold (5) and an outlet manifold (6) of the heat exchanger (1). At least one connector member (8,8a,8b) having an annular wall (19) is inserted between two adjacent heat exchanger elements (2) of at least one of the manifolds (5,6), the annular wall (19) of the connector member (8,8a,8b) is encompassing the opposite spacers (12) of said adjacent elements (2), at least one of the spacers (12) of the heat exchanger elements (2) between which the connector member (8,8a,8b) is inserted is trimmed or more or less moved, and the annular wall (19) of the connector member (8,8a,8b) has at least one through opening (9,9a,9b) debouching into the free in the assembled state of the heat exchanger (1).

Description

A heat exchanger

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger comprising a row of heat exchanger elements each defining a centre plane, crosswise to the centre planes protruding spacers for defining a distance between neighboring heat exchanger elements, said spacers are formed as a depression of the wall of the heat exchanger element, at least one opening formed in the wall of the spacers and communicating with a similar opening in an opposite spacer of an adjacent heat exchanger element, which spacers are arranged to define an inlet manifold and an outlet manifold of the heat exchanger.

A common heat exchanger is the radiator in a car, in which the heat source, being a hot engine-cooling fluid such as water, transfers heat to air flowing through the radiator. Plate heat exchangers made of metal have good heat transfer efficiency, large heat transfer area, and can withstand high pressure. A particular type of plate heat exchanger is the plate and fin heat exchanger which is particularly suited for systems operating with low temperatures. Nowadays plate and fin heat exchanger may be preferred for cooling motor engines. There is however a problem with pressure loss and/or clogging as the pathways are very narrow and therefore difficult to kept free for passage of heat exchange fluid.

The term "heat exchanger element" is defined as an element with at least one internal channel capable of transporting a fluid from at least one inlet to at least one outlet of the channel, where the fluid exchanges heat with another fluid surrounding the heat exchanger element.

In use, the inlet manifold is connected to an inlet pipe for providing fluid, such as anti-freeze, to the heat exchanger elements, and the outlet manifold is connected to an outlet pipe for transporting fluid away from the heat exchanger elements and back into the heat exchanger via the inlet pipe in repeated cycles.

Heat exchangers comprising a number of tube-formed heat exchanger elements arranged in a row are generally known in the art, e.g. from US patent application no. 10/330,467, where a number of elements/tubes having cup portions are combined in a stack. The cup portions define inlet and outlet manifolds that are connected to an inlet and outlet pipe, respectively. The connections with the inlet and outlet pipes are obtained by replacing two common tubes with two special tubes having an integrated manifold portion that is especially adapted to provide the connection between the manifolds and the inlet pipe or outlet pipe. The manifold portions are provided with burr portions for connection with the cup portions of the adjacent common tubes. In order to avoid leakage the burr portions and cup portions have to match each other very precisely and they have to be carefully assembled. European patent publication no. EP0943884 describes a heat exchanger with pairs of plates having through holes at both ends and a channel extending between the through holes. In order to make room for the outer fins located between the pairs of plates it is necessary to insert header forming members between each pair of plates. The header forming members are firstly provided with a flat portion adapted to overlap corresponding flat portions on the edges of the through openings of the plates, and secondly with recessed portions adapted to fit on convex surfaces on the ends of the channel portions. The inlet and outlet manifolds are primarily made up from the header forming members extending along the length of the heat exchanger, and secondly from the area around the through holes. Four kinds of header forming members are needed; the ones with only one recessed portion at either the upper or lower end surface are located at each end of the manifolds, and either has or has not a socket communication bore; the ones along the manifolds have recessed portions on both the upper and lower end surface, and either has or has not a socket communication bore. The bores of two adjacent header forming members do in combination make it possible for a annular piping socket to be welded to the bores. It is highly undesired that different kinds of header forming members have to be kept on stock and assembled in the correct order for the specific application, and that only one kind of header forming member can be connected with a socket pipe of one specific size.

US patent no. 4,258,785 describes a heat exchanger with pairs of plates provided with raised portions of bubbles, which are combined to form header tank portions. To allow the insertion of a fitting for connecting to an inlet or an outlet pipe into the row of pairs of plates, the adjacent plates are modified by omitting the bubble portion and used in combination with an additional dished member. Each fitting has a bubble with an opening defining a flange, where the flange extends into the opening of the adjacent additional dished member. The assembly is particular troublesome because the additional dished member have to be inserted between the fitting and the plate, and that the bubble of the fitting have to fit exactly with the additional dished member, and that only one kind of fitting can be connected with an inlet or outlet pipe of one specific size.

As demonstrated above, conventional heat exchanger suffers from design limitations and there is a need for a heat exchanger with a more simple structure that reduces the risk of leakage. In a first aspect according to the present invention is provided a heat exchanger that is more simple to manufacture and assemble, and more reliable with respect to leakage than known heat exchangers. In a second aspect according to the present invention is provided a heat exchanger with high degree of configuration possibilities with respect to the connection between the inlet manifold or outlet manifold and the inlet pipe or outlet pipe.

In a third aspect according to the present invention is provided a heat exchanger that can be assembled by prefabricated unit elements into a heat exchanger configuration where the structural design of the heat exchanger can easily be adapted to the environment into which the heat exchanger is installed .

The novel an unique way whereby these aspects are achieved according to the present invention is that at least one connector member having an annular wall is inserted between two adjacent heat exchanger elements of at least one of the manifolds, the annular wall of the connector member is encompassing the opposite spacers of said adjacent elements, at least one of the spacers of the heat exchanger elements between which the connector member is inserted is trimmed or more or less removed, and the annular wall of the connector member has at least one through opening debouching into the free in the assembled state of the heat exchanger.

It is only necessary that one of said opposite spacers is trimmed or more or less removed in order for the inlet manifold or outlet manifold to be in fluid communication with the connector member, although it might be preferred that both opposite spacers are trimmed or more or less removed.

The term "more or less removed" is to be understood as partly removed or completely removed. The term "trimmed" means to modify, e.g. to deform or lancing structural components to comply with a given condition. The term "encompassing" includes to enclose, surround, go completely around or encircle. A very reliable assembly of the heat exchanger elements and the connector member is obtained since the annular wall of the connector member encompasses the protruding spacers of the adjacent elements or at least the at lest one opening formed in the wall of the spacers. Because the presence or the functionality of the spacers encompassed by the connector member is not essential, the permissible range of variation when manufacturing, trimming and/or partly removing the spacers is less important at the connector member than between adjacent sheets making up a heat exchanger element. In addition to this reduced demand on accuracy when manufacturing and modifying the heat exchanger elements, is also obtained the advantage that the durability of the heat exchanger is less negatively influenced by the often large temperature gradients, e.g. across each heat exchanger element during use than in known conventional heat exchanger.

Since the through opening formed in the annular wall of the connector member is debouching into the free it is possible to couple an inlet and/or an outlet pipe for the heat exchanger fluid to the heat exchanger wherever the at least one connector member is inserted and not only at terminal points as in conventional heat exchanger. Also the through opening can be located on any part of the annular wall facing away from the heat exchanger dependent on specific needs. The at least one connector member can be inserted anywhere in the row of heat exchanger elements making it possible to obtain any user- defined configuration of a heat exchanger from the same few starting components. By means of the easy insertable connector member and the easily adaptable heat exchanger elements heat exchangers with differently located inlets and outlets can be manufactured according to demand.

The heat exchanger may comprise two ore more juxtaposed connector members. The two or more connector members may be inserted in the inlet manifold or outlet manifold to increase the total cross section area of the corresponding through openings, to facilitate connection of an inlet pipe or outlet pipe with a large internal cross section area. Any suitable number of connector members can be inserted in the inlet manifold or outlet manifolds to enhance ad ustability and degree of freedom to choose or define the connection point for the heat exchanger to the fluid cycle and the internal diameter of the inlet and/or outlet pipe. In an alternative embodiment it may be preferred to provide two or more separate groups or sets of connector members in the inlet and/or outlet manifold to e.g. facilitate heat exchange from different sources and promote fast fluid cycling.

It is even possible that two or more connector members can be inserted between two adjacent elements, so that a connector member adapted to a heat exchanger with a specific distance between heat exchanger elements also can be used in a heat exchanger where the distance is e.g. two, three or four times as large.

If only one connector member is inserted in one of the manifolds, it is inserted between two adjacent elements. If two or more connector members are inserted in one of the manifolds, they are preferably inserted such that the space between two adjacent heat exchanger elements is only occupied by one connector member. It is however also within the scope of the invention that two or more connector member could be inserted between two adjacent elements.

During use the heat exchanger is inserted as a part of a fluid cycle and it is preferred that at least a part of the annular wall of the connector member has a flange for mounting a pipe fitting of the fluid cycle, whereby the at least one through opening can serve as an inlet or an outlet for heat exchanger fluid to the heat exchanger. If the flange of the annular wall of the connector member protrudes from the heat exchanger, it is especially easy and quick to couple the inlet pipe or outlet pipe to the heat exchanger fluid cycle. The flange protrudes where the connector member is arranged in the row of heat exchanger elements, e.g. so that inexpedient space consuming pipework can be avoided and free space for other component or allow use of a bigger heat exchanger. Accordingly, the at least one connector member can be located anywhere along the inlet manifold or outlet manifold, so that the construction of the fluid cycle, of which the heat exchanger is part of, can be optimized and be made exceptionally suitable for a specific purpose and installation environment. For example, the desire of car manufacturers to reduce the size of a car's engine compartment can be met in this way. Preferably the annular wall of the connector member may have two opposite side wall parts extending on each their side of the at least one trimmed or more or less removed spacer, a bottom wall part and a front wall part extending crosswise to the side wall parts, and that the at least one through opening debouching into the free is formed in the front wall part. The annular wall of the connector member may be any appropriate shape including but not limited to rectangular, circular, oval, triangular, polygonal or any other shape capable of encompassing the spacers of the elements. The annular wall delimits and defines a passageway for the heat exchanger fluid through the connector into the manifolds and the fluid cycle of the heat exchanger. In a preferred embodiment the flange is formed in a part of the front wall of the annular wall of the connector member.

In an alternative embodiment of the connector member the centre axis of the at least one through opening of the connector member can form an angle with the side wall parts of the connector member. E.g. in situation where the front wall part of the connector member is asymmetric it is possible to utilize the goods of the connector member so that the cross section area of the through opening in the connector member can be increased .

In a preferred embodiment the protruding flange may have two opposite parallel sides extending into a direction parallel with the centre planes of the heat exchanger, and the distance between the two opposite parallel sides of the protruding flange corresponds to the distance between two neighboring centre planes of the elements. In this way the flanges of juxtaposed connector members are in contact with each other, which makes it easy to align the juxtaposed connector members with each other and maintain an unobstructed fluid passage via the through openings of the combined juxtaposed connector members into or out of the manifolds. It also means that the juxtaposed flanges can define a combined flange for connection with an inlet pipe or outlet pipe. When an inlet pipe or outlet pipe is connected to the combined flange of the juxtaposed connector members, the inlet pipe or outlet pipe is put in fluid communication with each of the through openings in the juxtaposed connector members and constrictions and bottlenecks in the fluid flow is avoided, and e.g. when used for a car or a truck a sustained exceptional degree of continuous cooling is obtained. Thus overheated motors are not or only rarely seen in cars using the heat exchanger according to the present invention.

In the heat exchanger with two or more juxtaposed connector members it is especially advantageously that the front face of the flanges is plane, so that the combined flange resembles one single smooth surface to be connected to an inlet pipe or outlet pipe. Moreover, the manufacturing process and finishing process of a substantially plane surface is much faster than that of a complex surface. The connector member can be made using for example one or more of the production apparatus and methods of cutting by means of e.g. machine tools, laser cutting, punching, stamping or even molding. In order to increase the accuracy of the alignment of juxtaposed connector members, the opposite parallel sides of the flange can be provided with guide means. When two parallel sides of two juxtaposed connector members are in contact and provided with complementary guide means, such as a key fitting into a slot or a tap fitting into a hole, the heat exchanger is easy and fast to assemble and a more accurately combined flange can be obtained.

The flange can advantageously be provided with e.g. screw holes or other similar or conventional type of securing means for securing a pipe fitting to the connector member. No welding process is needed for joining the inlet or outlet pipe with the heat exchanger, such as with the well-known heat exchangers where the time-consuming welding process with its high temperature puts extremely high demands on quality control.

Preferably a connector member is formed as an integral unit to make the connector member a robust unit that is easy to manipulate and/or handle during assembling of the heat exchanger .

Each heat exchanger element can advantageously be formed of two opposite sheets each defining an inner side and an outer side of the heat exchanger element, where said sheets are joined together along the centre plane of the element at a circumferential extending joining area on the inner side of the sheet, and the annular wall of the connecter member can be formed with opposite exterior sides, which each fits with the outer side of one of the sheets at the area around the trimmed or the more or less removed spacer.

Thus, the opposite exterior sides of the annular wall of the connector member can be formed so that they mate with the outer sides of the adjacent sheets to provide a heat exchanger that is simple to assemble and has a fluid tight connection between the connector member and the sheets. If the opposite exterior sides of the wall of the connector are manufactured with a shape that is complementary to the shape of the contacting area of the outer side of the sheets, the fluid tight fitting or mating of connector member and sheet is very easy to ensure without supplement of any additionally gaskets or subsequent application of sealant compounds.

When the heat exchanger element is formed of two opposite sheets, the channel within the heat exchanger element is defined between the inner sides of the two sheets.

As an alternative to the key on the exterior opposite sides, the exterior opposite sides of the connector member can be flat and adapted to be assembled with a circumferential projection on the spacers. The projection is used to guide the position of the connector with respect to the adjacent heat exchanger elements and the projection could be located at or near the wall of the heat exchanger element and be substantially parallel with the centre plane of the heat exchanger elements.

In a preferred embodiment according to the present invention the circumferential joining area on the inner side of each sheet may substantially follow the periphery of said sheet, the sheet may have a depression defining a bulge on the inner side of the sheet and a slot on the outer side of the sheet, and the joining area may be part of the surface of the bulge. When said exterior opposite sides of the connector member has a key fitting into the slot while the remainder of said sides of the connector member is abutting the outer sides of the sheets the connector member can be aligned with the appropriate adjacent sheets without the use of special alignment and guiding tools. Moreover, the slot may be used as a convenient location or joint for application of soldering or brazing material in the manufacturing completion phase of assembling the fluid tight heat exchanger. It is to be understood that "the remainder of said side of the connector member" is the part of said side that does not align with the periphery of the sheet. The remainder of said side of the connector member may preferably have a shape that is complementary to the outer side of the sheets.

The key of the connector member can preferably be extending along a straight path along the end of the sheet and be merging into a curved path at each end of the straight path, where the curved paths corresponds to the adjacent sides of the sheet. According to the design of the sheets and the connector member, the key may preferably encompass or surround the neighboring spacer as much as possible. The sheets may preferably have an elongated rectangular shape and the spacers be located at the respective short ends of the sheets .

The through opening of the connector member may within the scope of the present invention have any appropriate shape including but not limited to oval, rectangular, circular, triangular or polygonal.

The connector members can be dimensioned to be inserted in a manifold between neighboring heat exchanger elements to surround a spacer to form a combined outlet or inlet of the manifold .

Because the heat exchanger can be made up of standard components and blanks, such as identical connector member and pre-manufactured standard sheets a manufacturer of heat exchangers can minimize his stock while still being able to manufacture heat exchanger with different specifications. The persons skilled in the art will understand that any exemplary configuration at and of the inlet manifold is intended for the outlet manifold as well within the scope of the present invention.

The invention also relates to a method for assembling the heat exchanger described and discussed above.

The method comprising the steps of:

providing a number of heat exchanger elements,

providing at least one annular connector member,

preliminary trimming or more or less removing at least one of the spacers to be encompassed by the at least one connector member,

providing a soldering or brazing material at relevant locations on the elements and/or the at least one connector member,

inserting the at least one annular connector member between two adjacent heat exchanger elements of at least one of the manifolds in such way that the connector member encompasses the at least one trimmed or more or less removed spacer and is abutting the adjacent outer sides of the heat exchanger elements ,

clamping together the heat exchanger elements in a row, and heating the clamped row to a brazing temperature. A soldering or brazing material is provided at relevant locations on the elements and/or the at least one connector member to during heating achieving joining the heat exchanger elements and connector member effectively in a fluid tight and leak proof manner. The resulting inlet manifold and outlet manifold is provided with an inlet pipe and/or outlet pipe of appropriate length, curvature and internal diameter depending on the selected location and number of connector member (s), which parameters are selected in dependency of the individual installation environment. The heat exchanger elements may be clamped together using any well-known technique and heated to a suitable brazing temperature, such that the elements and the at least one connector member are assembled along the annular wall of the at least one connector member to establish the fluid tight connection between the heat exchanger elements at the at least one connector member. No subsequent welding process is needed for joining the inlet or outlet pipe to the heat exchanger such as in the well-known assembly methods.

The heat exchanger can be made of the same standard components irrespective of the heat exchanger being manufactured in large scale numbers as off-the-shelf items or is manufactured in small scale numbers as customized items without the productions cost differing to any appreciable extent. The manufacturer is able to meet almost any imaginable demand without time- consuming reconfiguration of production line and education of workers . The invention further relates to the use of the heat exchanger in e.g. radiators, intercoolers , oil coolers, heaters, condensers, receiver dryers, evaporators and fans.

The invention will be explained in greater detail below, describing exemplary embodiments of the heat exchanger according to the invention, where

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of the heat exchanger with two connector member inserted in the inlet manifold and the outlet manifold, respectively,

Fig. 2 shows an exploded, perspective view of a connector member and two adjacent sheets, Fig. 3 shows a perspective view of the connector member shown in fig. 2, seen from the flange, Fig. 4 shows the same from the bottom wall part of the annular wall ,

Fig. 5 shows the same from a side wall part,

Fig. 6 shows a sectional view of a heat exchanger with six heat exchanger elements and two connector members inserted in the inlet and the outlet manifold, respectively, Figs. 7a and 7b show a heat exchanger with four combined connector members inserted in juxtaposition in both the inlet manifold and the outlet manifold,

Fig. 8 shows a perspective view of a connector member and a pipe fitting in an unassembled position,

Fig. 9 shows the same in an assembled position,

Figs. 10 shows, seen from the bottom wall part of the connector members, four combined connector members assembled with an inlet or outlet pipe, and

Figs. 11 shows the same seen from the inlet or outlet pipe. The invention is described below by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which the number and size of sheets, heat exchanger elements and connector members are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. One purpose of the spacers of the sheets is to create an open space between the main part of the heat exchanger elements in order to optimize the outer area of the heat exchanger elements in contact with the heat exchanger fluid surrounding the heat exchanger. In the figures the heat exchanger is shown without a fin structure in the space between the heat exchanger elements for illustrative purposes only. It should be understood than any fin structure suitable for facilitating the required degree of heat exchange is normally integrated in the heat exchanger. Different types of fins, such as corrugated fins are well-known to the skilled person.

The heat exchanger can be counter-current or co-current and the sheets may conveniently and expediently be initially made by punching out identical blanks of a larger plate, e.g. of metal, such as aluminium. The heat exchanger elements could e.g. be tube-formed.

When configuring the sheets for use with the connector member the blanks are just modified, e.g. by cutting surplus of spacer material away or otherwise adapting the spacers of the sheets for joining or combining the modified sheets with the at least one connector member. It is appreciated that the blanks and/or heat exchanger elements may be made as unit items.

Fig. 1 shows the heat exchanger 1 according to the present invention with a number of heat exchanger elements 2 stacked in a row. An element 2 comprises two opposite sheets 3a, 3b. Each sheet 3a, 3b has two spacers 4a, 4b at respective free ends of the sheet 3a, 3b. The spacers 4a are arranged adjacent each other to define a first conduit constituting an inlet manifold 5 at one free end of the sheets 3a, 3b, and the spacers 4b are arranged adjacent each other at the opposite end of the sheets 3a, 3b to define a second conduit constituting an outlet manifold 6. The row of elements 2 is terminated by end plates 7 that reinforce the heat exchanger elements 2, and also delimit the manifolds 5,6 by providing a boundary at both ends of each manifold 5,6. The design of the end plates are exemplary and other designs are intended within the scope of the present invention . A connector member 8a with a through opening 9a is inserted in the inlet manifold 5 and a connector member 8b with a through opening 9b is inserted in the outlet manifold 6. The connector members 8a, 8b are inserted at the appropriate locations for the intended use of enabling customization of the heat exchanger according to individual requirements at the installation site. When the heat exchanger 1 is connected to a fluid cycle (not shown) the fluid enters the inlet manifold 5 through the opening 9a of the corresponding connector member 8a, flows through the channels 15 of the elements, further into the outlet manifold 6, and exits through the opening 9b of the connector member 8b inserted in the outlet manifold 6. During passage of the heat exchanger 1 the fluid exchanges heat in a conventional countercurrent or co-current manner as will be known to the persons skilled in the art.

Fig. 2 shows an inlet connector member 8a and two adjacent sheets 3a, 3b. The original spacers 4a facing towards the connector member 8a are partly removed to define less protruding spacers 12. The sheets 3a, 3b have inner sides 10 facing opposite the spacers 4b, 12 and facing away from the connector member 8a, while the outer sides 11 are facing towards the connector member 8a. Thus, when a connector member 8a is inserted the opposite spacers 12 are not in contact with each other when the heat exchanger 1 is assembled, to thereby ensure that the manifold 5 is in fluid communication with the through opening 9a of the manifold 8a. The spacers 4b at the opposite end of the sheets 3a, 3b are not modified and the openings 13 of the spacers 4b of the sheets 3a, 3b will be in contact along the edge 14 of the openings when the heat exchanger 1 is assembled, so that the spacers 4b define a manifold 6.

Each spacer 4b, 12 in fig. 2 is shown with two openings 13, but each spacer could also have been provided with only one opening having any suitable shape such as e.g. oblong, circular, triangular, rectangular or polygonal. The embodiment of the sheets 3a, 3b shown in fig. 2 has an internal channel 15 defined by the bulge 16 on the inner side 10 of the sheets 3a, 3b. The bulge 16 is defined by a depression formed in the sheets 3a, 3b, where the depression also define a slot 17 on the outer side 11 of the sheets 3a, 3b. The connector member 8a has a key 18 that is in contact with the slot 17 at the periphery of the sheets 3a, 3b when the adjacent sheets 3a, 3b are assembled with the connector member 8a. Figs. 3, 4 and 5 show the connector member 8 according to the present invention from different angles. The shown connector member 8 is an integral unit having an annular wall 19 defined by two opposite side wall parts 20,21, a front wall part 22 and a bottom wall part 23. In the assembled state of the heat exchanger 1 opposite exterior sides 24 of the wall 19 face the elements 2. Both opposite exterior sides 24 has a key 18 extending along the curvature of the front wall part 22, the side wall part 20 and the bottom wall part 23. It is to be understood that the opposite exterior sides 24 have a shape that is complementary to the shape of the adjacent sheets 3a, 3b that the connector member 8 is in contact with when the heat exchanger 1 is in the assembled state.

The front wall part 22 has a flange 25 with a through opening 9, two parallel sides 26, a planar front face 27, two screw holes 32 and four guide means 28a, 28b. The guide means 28a, 28b are based on the key and slot principle with one key 28a and one slot 28b on each parallel side 26 of the flange 25, so that juxtaposed connector members 8 having their opposite parallel sides 26 in contact with each other is alienable fast and easy by means of the guide means 28a, 28b.

I an alternative embodiment (not shown) all four guide means could be slots and used in combination with a pin, where the holes of two adjacent connector members are opposite each other when assembled and with a pin inserted there between. Different combinations of the described guide means are also within the scope of the present invention.

When the heat exchanger 1 is assembled, the central opening 31 defined by the annular wall 19 of the connector element contributes to a fluid passageway through the manifolds 5,6 to establish the fluid communication with the through openings 9a, 9b of the inserted connector members 8a, 8b. Fig. 6 shows a sectional view through a heat exchanger 1 with six elements 2 each made of two sheets 3a, 3b that are combined about a centre plane 29. The centre planes 29 of the elements 2 are arranged a distance D from each other. The spacers 4a, 12 at the top of fig. 2 define an inlet manifold 5 and the spacers 4b, 12 at the bottom define an outlet manifold 6. A connector member 8a is inserted between two adjacent elements 2 in the inlet manifold 5 and another connector member 8b is in the same way inserted in the outlet manifold 6. The spacers 12 encompassed by the connector members 8a, 8b are partly removed and not in contact with each other in order for the through openings 9 (not shown) to be in fluid communication with the manifolds 5,6. The spacers 4a, 4b not encompassed by the connector members 8 are in contact with each other and has juxtaposed openings 13 defining a fluid conduit.

Figs. 7a and 7b show a heat exchanger 1 with four juxtaposed connector members 8a inserted in the inlet manifold 5 and four juxtaposed connector members 8b inserted in the outlet manifold 6. For each set of four juxtaposed connector members 8a, 8b the opposite parallel sides 26 of the protruding flanges 25 abut each other and thereby constitute one single combined flange. Each connector member 8a, 8b has two screw holes 32 for easy connection with an inlet pipe or outlet pipe. The flanges 25 with through openings 9a, 9b shown in fig. 7a, are located on the front wall part 27 of the connector members 8a, 8b. In fig. 7b the flanges 25 with the through openings 9b of the connector members 8b inserted in the outlet manifold 6 are located on the side wall part 20 facing away from the heat exchanger 1. In an alternative embodiment (not shown) , the flanges 25 with the through openings 9 could be located on the bottom side wall 23.

In this way an outlet or inlet pipe can be connected to any part of the manifolds facing away from the heat exchanger.

Figs. 8 and 9 show a connector member 8 according to the invention and a pipe fitting 30 in an unassembled and assembled position, respectively. The pipe fitting 30 is provided with screws 33 fitting the screw holes 32 of the connector member 8 so that the flange 25 can be connected to the flange 34 of the pipe fitting 30 in a fluid tight manner.

Figs. 10 and 11 show the same four juxtaposed connector members 8 as shown in fig. 7a in an assembled position with an inlet pipe fitting 35 that is in fluid communication with the through openings 9 of each of the four connector member 8. The heat exchanger elements are not shown, but when assembled with the connector members 8 they are located in the gaps 36 between the connector members 8. The inlet pipe fitting 25 is screwed to the two terminal connector members 9 by means of four screws 33.

In a similar manner any arbitrary number of basic connector members can be inserted in the inlet or outlet manifold to achieve just the size of inlet or outlet openings that are required for a specific environment and type of heat exchanger.

The connector member may in an advantageous embodiment be moulded as a unit item, however other manufacturing processes are intended within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A heat exchanger (1) comprising

- a row of heat exchanger elements (2) each defining a centre plane (29),

- crosswise to the centre planes (29) protruding spacers (4a, 4b) for defining a distance (D) between neighboring heat exchanger elements (2), said spacers (4a, 4b) are formed as a depression of the wall of the heat exchanger element ( 2 ) ,

- at least one opening (13) formed in the wall of the spacers (4a, 4b) and communicating with a similar opening (13) in an opposite spacer (4a, 4b) of an adjacent heat exchanger element (2), and

- the spacers (4a, 4b) are arranged to define an inlet manifold (5) and an outlet manifold (6) of the heat exchanger ( 1 ) ,

characterized in that

- at least one connector member (8, 8a, 8b) having an annular wall (19) is inserted between two adjacent heat exchanger elements (2) of at least one of the manifolds (5,6) ,

- the annular wall (19) of the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) is encompassing the opposite spacers (12) of said adjacent elements (2),

- at least one of the spacers (12) of the heat exchanger elements (2) between which the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) is inserted is trimmed or more or less moved, and

- the annular wall (19) of the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) has at least one through opening (9, 9a, 9b) debouching into the free in the assembled state of the heat exchanger ( 1 ) .

2. A heat exchanger (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that two ore more juxtaposed connector members (8, 8a, 8b) are inserted in at least one of the manifolds (5,6) . 3. A heat exchanger (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the at least one connector member (8, 8a, 8b) can be inserted anywhere along the row of heat exchanger elements (2).

A heat exchanger (1) according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that a plurality of separate sets of connector members (8, 8a, 8b) are inserted in the inlet manifold (5) and/or the outlet manifold (6), where each set comprises one or more juxtaposed connector members (8,8a, 8b) .

A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 4, characterized in that only one connector member (8, 8a, 8b) is inserted between two adjacent heat exchanger elements (2) .

A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 5, characterized in that two or more connector members (8, 8a, 8b) are inserted between two adjacent heat exchanger elements ( 2 ) .

A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 6, characterized in that the annular wall (19) of the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) defines a central opening (31) providing fluid passageway between the through opening (9,9a, 9b) and the manifold (5,6) .

A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 characterized in that the through opening (9, 9a, 9b) provided in any part of the annular wall (19) facing from the heat exchanger (1) . A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 8, characterized in that at least a part of the annular wall (19) has a flange (25) for mounting a pipe fitting (30).

A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 8, characterized in that a flange (25) is provided for mounting a pipe fitting (30) of a fluid cycle into which the heat exchanger (1) is to be inserted whereby the at least one through opening (9, 9a, 9b) serves as an inlet or an outlet of the heat exchanger (1) .

A heat exchanger (1) according to claim 9 or characterized in that the flange (25) is protruding the heat exchanger (1) .

12. A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 11, characterized in that the annular wall (19) of the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) has two opposite side wall parts (20, 21) extending on each their side of the at least one trimmed or more or less removed spacer (12), a bottom wall part (23) and a front wall part (22) extending crosswise to the side wall parts (20,21), and that the at least one through opening (9, 9a, 9b) debouching into the free is formed in the front wall part (22) of the annular wall (19) of the connector member (8, 8a, 8b).

A heat exchanger (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that a part of the front wall part (22) of the annular wall (19) of the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) is formed as the flange ( 25 ) .

14. A heat exchanger (1) according to claim 12 or 13, characterized in that the centre axis of the at least one through opening (9, 9a, 9b) is forming an angle with the side wall parts (20,21) of the connector member (8, 8a, 8b). A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 11 - 14, characterized in that the protruding flange (25) has two opposite parallel sides (26) extending into a direction parallel with the centre planes (29) of the heat exchanger elements (2), and that the distance (D) between the two opposite parallel sides (26) of the protruding flange (25) corresponds with the distance (D) between two neighboring centre planes (29).

A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 9 - 15, characterized in that juxtaposed flanges (25) of two or more juxtaposed connector members (8, 8a, 8b) define a combined flange for connection with an inlet pipe or outlet pipe .

17. A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 9 - 16, characterized in that the front face (27) of the flange (25) is plane.

18. A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 15 - 17, characterized in that the opposite parallel sides (26) of the flange (25) is provided with guide means (28a, 28b). 19. A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 9 - 18, characterized in that the flange (25) is provided with at least one securing means (32).

20. A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 19, characterized in that the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) is formed as an integral unit.

A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 20, characterized in that at least some of the heat exchanger elements (2) are formed of two opposite sheets (3a, 3b) defining each an inner side (10) and an outer side (11) of the heat exchanger element (2), said sheets (3a, 3b) are joined together along the centre plane (29) of the element (2) at a circumferential extending joining area on the inner side (10) of the sheet (3a, 3b), the annular wall (19) of the connecter member (8, 8a, 8b) is formed with opposite exterior sides (24) each fitting the outer side (10) of one of the sheets (3a, 3b) at the area around the trimmed or more or less removed spacer (12) . 22. A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 21, characterized the exterior opposite sides (24) of the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) are flat and adapted to be assembled with a circumferential projection on the trimmed or more or less removed spacers (12) .

23. A heat exchanger (1) according to claim 21 or 22, characterized in that

- the circumferential joining area on the inner side (10) of sheet (3a, 3b) is following the periphery of said sheet ( 3a, 3b) ,

- the sheet (3a, 3b) has a depression defining a bulge (16) on the inner side (10) of the sheet (3a, 3b) and a slot (17) on the outer side (11) of the sheet (3a, 3b),

- the joining area is part of the surface of the bulge (16), and

- said opposite exterior sides (24) of the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) has a key (18) fitting into the slot (17) while the remainder of said sides (24) of the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) is abutting the outer sides (11) of the sheets (3a, 3b) .

24. A heat exchanger (1) according to claim 23, characterized in that the key (18) of the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) is extending along a straight path merging into a curved path at each end of the straight path. A heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 24, characterized the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) is dimensioned to be inserted in a manifold (5,6) between neighboring heat exchanger elements (2) to surround a spacer (12) to form a combined outlet or inlet of the manifold (5,6) .

A method for assembling the heat exchanger (1) according to any of the claims 1 - 25, comprising the steps of:

- providing a number of heat exchanger elements (2),

- providing at least one annular connector member (8,8a, 8b) ,

- preliminary trimming or more or less removing at least one of the spacers (12) to be encompassed by the at least one connector member (8, 8a, 8b),

- providing a soldering or brazing material at relevant locations on the elements (2) and/or the at least one connector member (8, 8a, 8b),

- inserting the at least one annular connector member (8a, 8b) between two adjacent heat exchanger elements (2) of at least one of the manifolds (5,6) in such way that the connector member (8, 8a, 8b) encompasses the at least one trimmed or more or less removed spacer (12) and is abutting the adjacent outer sides (11) of the heat exchanger elements (2),

- clamping together the heat exchanger elements (2) in a row, and

- heating the clamped row to a brazing temperature.

Use of the heat exchanger (1) according to any of the preceding claims 1 - 25 as radiators, intercoolers , oil coolers, heaters, condensers, receiver dryers, evaporators or fans .