WO2011120972A1

WO2011120972A1 - Heat exchanger comprising a connecting flange

Info

Publication number: WO2011120972A1
Application number: PCT/EP2011/054831
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean Lavenu; Jean-Jacques Garcia; Michel De Villoutreys
Original assignee: Valeo Systemes Thermiques
Priority date: 2010-03-31
Filing date: 2011-03-29
Publication date: 2011-10-06
Also published as: FR2958387B1; FR2958387A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a heat exchanger (10) comprising a tube bundle (12) entering a collecting box (14), and a connecting flange (20) for connecting a fluid conduit (52) to the collecting box. The connecting flange (20) is a metal block for receiving a fixing lug (18) created by a component (16) of the tube bundle (12) for attaching the fixing lug (18) to the metal block by welding. The invention is applicable to heat exchangers for motor vehicles.

Description

Heat exchanger with connection flange

The invention relates to the field of heat exchangers, especially for motor vehicles.

It relates more particularly to a heat exchanger comprising a bundle of tubes opening into a manifold, and a connection flange for connecting a fluid line to the manifold.

A connection flange of this kind makes it possible to connect an inlet or outlet pipe of a heat transfer fluid to one of the manifolds of the heat exchanger. A typical application is the connection of a condenser or condenser / evaporator to a circulation loop of a refrigerant.

Indeed, it must be possible to connect each time a fluid inlet or outlet manifold to one of the manifolds of this heat exchanger in implantation and congestion conditions imposed by the manufacturer of the motor vehicle. In addition, such a connection flange must be able to offer, most often, a removable connection with the heat transfer fluid inlet or outlet pipe to facilitate the assembly or replacement of the heat exchanger.

Generally, a connection flange of this kind is made in a machined block, usually aluminum alloy, which is fixed on a manifold of the exchanger.

However, in some applications, collector boxes are difficult to access.

The heat exchangers concerned by the invention are mainly, but not limited, those covered by a refrigerant, such as condensers or condensers / evaporators for heating-ventilation and air conditioning of motor vehicles. The object of the invention is in particular to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks.

It proposes for this purpose a heat exchanger as defined above, wherein the connecting flange is a metal block, adapted to receive a fixing lug from a component of the tube bundle for brazing attachment of the fixing lug at said block.

Since the current heat exchangers are increasingly made by soldering, in a single operation, the connection flange can thus be easily integrated into the manufacture, its connection to the heat exchanger being obtained definitively by soldering. during the brazing operation.

Furthermore, in the case of exchangers having manifolds intended to be positioned horizontally, the invention makes it possible to envisage placement of the flanges along the vertical sides of the exchanger with a recovery of stress making them more reliable.

Said block is provided, for example, with at least one opening opening on a face of the block and said fixing lug is brazed in the opening of the metal block.

The fixing lug can thus be introduced into the opening of the connection flange to allow pre-positioning before final fixing by brazing. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to provide additional mounting operations, with the resulting disadvantages.

In the description which follows, made only by way of example, reference is made to the appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a heat exchanger provided with a flange connection;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of another heat exchanger provided with another connection flange;

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the heat exchanger and the connection flange of FIG. 1 showing the connection of a fluid inlet or outlet pipe; FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of a heat exchanger provided with a connection flange in another embodiment; and

- Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of a heat exchanger provided with a connection flange in another embodiment.

Referring first to Figure 1 which shows a heat exchanger 10 comprising a bundle of tubes 12 opening into a header box 14, in the example a tubular manifold of substantially circular cross section. The bundle of tubes 12 further comprises corrugated spacers (not shown) forming heat exchange surfaces. The beam has a component 16 located on one side of the tube bundle to form a side cheek. This component also opens into the header box 14, through a suitable slot, but this component is not traversed by the fluid flowing in the heat exchanger. This heat exchanger also comprises another manifold (not shown) in which opens the tube bundle 12 at its other end.

Component 16, which forms a cheek laterally flanking the beam, is provided with a fastening lug 18 which comes from the component forming a one-piece assembly.

The component 16 has the general shape of a tube 12, but is not traversed by the fluid. In the example, this component opens into both the header box 14 and the opposite box, not shown.

The heat exchanger 10 can be produced in particular in the form of a condenser or a condenser / evaporator traversed by a refrigerant. In the example, the manifold 14 is disposed in a substantially horizontal position at the lower end of the tube bundle 12 which is oriented substantially vertically.

A horizontal implantation of the manifold has proved advantageous for heat exchangers placed on the front face of motor vehicles, which are likely to function either as a condenser in cooling mode, or as an evaporator in heating mode (heat pump). heat).

Indeed, such heat exchangers are then less subject to icing problems.

The bracket 18 has a flat profile of rectangular shape and is placed at a desired height along the axial length of the component 16. In the example, the bracket 18 is bent and is placed at a short distance and above of the manifold 14.

This fixing lug 18 serves to mount by brazing a connecting flange 20, the latter being made in the form of a metal block of generally parallelepipedal shape, advantageously made of aluminum alloy.

The block comprises a first face 22, a second face 24 connected perpendicular to the face 22, a third face 26 opposite the first face 22 and a fourth face 28 opposite the second face 24. Two end faces 30 and 32 connect between them the four aforementioned faces.

A first bore 34 of circular section opens on the first face 22 and a second bore 36 of circular section opens on the second face 24, these two bores establishing a fluid connection therebetween. The two bores 34 and 36 thus have, in the example, perpendicular axial directions. The connecting flange 20 is provided on at least one of its faces with an opening 38. Here, the opening 38 passes through the block from one side to the other on the two opposite faces 24 and 28.

The opening 38 of the connecting flange is, in the example, constituted by a narrow slit having a generally rectangular cross section adapted to the cross section of the fastening lug 18.

Thus, as seen in FIG. 1, the fixing lug 18 is received in the opening 38, on the side where it opens on the face 28.

The bore 34, which opens on the face 22, is intended to receive by brazing a first end 40 of a pipe 42, a second end 44 communicates with the manifold 14. For this purpose, this end 44 is engaged in a circular opening 46 arranged through the wall of the header box 14, in an end portion 48 of the manifold that protrudes beyond the beam and more particularly beyond the component 16. The opening 46 is arranged so as to allow interlocking of the end 44 of the tubing 42 in a direction parallel to the tubes, the opening being directed to the side of the other manifold, not shown.

The first end 40 of the tubing forms a first tubular nozzle of circular section homologous to the bore 34 to allow a connection by brazing, after interlocking. The homologous circular shapes allow mutual angular rotation of the connecting flange 20 and the tubing 40 before their final connection by brazing. In the example shown, the entire heat exchanger 10, as well as the connection flange 20 are made from metal parts, preferably aluminum alloy, which allows to assemble the heat exchanger together. heat 10, the connecting flange 20 and the tubing 42 in a single operation in a suitable brazing furnace.

For this purpose, the component 16, and in particular its fixing lug 18, are coated with a solder plating to allow the aforementioned soldering operation. The second bore 36 is intended to removably receive a tip 50 from a fluid line 52 to allow the entry or exit of a heat transfer fluid. This endpiece 50 thus constitutes a second tubular endpiece that can be inserted into the bore 36 to ensure a fluid connection with the manifold 14 through the tubing 42.

In the example shown, the tubing 42 is bent, that is to say that it has at least one elbow, for its respective ends 40 and 44 are directed in directions substantially perpendicular to each other. The axis defined by the bore 36 (which forms the direction of engagement of the nozzle 50 of the pipe) is here generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the manifold 14, it being understood that other possibilities of implantation are possible.

FIG. 2 shows another example of implantation in which the connection flange 20 is different from that of FIG. 1 in that the bore 34 is formed on an opposite face and parallel to that on which the bore 36 opens. .

As a result, these two bores are generally aligned and that the axis of the tip 50 of the tubing extends in a direction generally perpendicular to the plane of the beam of the heat exchanger. A pipe 42 with double elbows ensures, as in the case of Figure 1, a fluid connection between the connection flange 20 and the manifold 14.

Again, the connection flange is located at a short distance from the manifold 14, the bracket 18 also being derived from a component 16 forming a cheek which surrounds one side of the tube bundle.

FIG. 3 shows a connector 54 intended to ensure the sealing of the end piece 50 of the pipe 52 in the bore 36 of the connection flange 20 in the case of FIG. 1, it being understood that this type of connection can be used in other embodiments.

The connector 54 is provided to maintain the end piece 50 by fixing means here constituted by a hexagonal screw 56 which passes through the connector. The screw 56 has a threaded portion 58 which is adapted to engage in a threaded orifice 60 which opens into the face 24 of the connection flange, close to the bore 34. It can also be seen in FIG. opening 38 opens on this face 24.

The tip 50 is surrounded by a seal 62, here an O-ring, which is compressed between the connector 54 and the second face 24 of the connection flange under the action of the fixing means. Tightening the screw 56 causes the endpiece to hold with compression of the seal.

FIG. 4, to which reference is now made, shows another embodiment in which the connecting flange is also fixed on a component 16, such as a cheek, which is provided with the fixing lug 18.

Here, the tubing 42 has two bends and opens out on an end face 30 of the connecting flange, which is oriented downwards. The tubing 42 also opens into an opening of the manifold box which is located at the bottom of the header, opposite the bundle of tubes. In the embodiment of Figure 5, the connection flange is also attached to the component 16, but at a greater distance from the manifold than in the other embodiments above. The tubing 52 is longer than in the previous embodiments. It has a double elbow 64 in the lower part for a connection under the header box 14 and a single elbow in the upper part for connection to the connection flange.

Thus, it will be understood that the two bores can be formed on adjacent faces, perpendicular to each other, or on opposite sides, parallel to each other, to allow an arrangement of the two ends (mouthpiece of the tubing, and tip of the pipe) in mutually perpendicular directions or generally parallel to each other, depending on the conditions of implantation. It is also conceivable to make the connection flange in a machined metal block of geometrical shape different from a parallelepiped.

Furthermore, the bracket which is received in the connection flange can be placed at a desired height, being bent or not, relative to the tube bundle.

In the embodiments shown above, this bracket is derived from a component of the beam which is located on one side of this beam to form a side cheek. However, this component could also, alternatively, be located within the bundle of tubes and be made for example in the form of a dead tube or inactive, not traversed by the fluid.

Also, this component can only exit into one of the manifolds instead of opening into the two opposite header boxes of the heat exchanger. Thus, the connection flange can be placed in different positions with respect to the heat exchanger by a chosen arrangement of the bracket.

The opening 38 which receives the fixing lug 18 can be placed on any one of the faces of the connection flange and it is not mandatory either that it passes right through the thickness of the flange.

The invention finds particular application to heat exchangers for motor vehicles, including those intended to be part of a heating-ventilation system and air conditioning of the passenger compartment.

A preferred application is that of condensers or condensers / evaporators that can operate in two different modes (air conditioning or heating).

Claims

claims

A heat exchanger (10) comprising a bundle of tubes (12) opening into a header (14), and a connecting flange (20) for connecting a fluid line (52) to the header, characterized in that the connecting flange (20) is a metal block adapted to receive a fastening lug (18) issuing from a component (16) of the tube bundle (12) for brazing attachment of the fixing lug (18) at said block.

2. Heat exchanger according to claim 1 characterized in that said block is provided with at least one opening (38) opening on one face (24; 28) of the block and said fixing lug is brazed in the opening (38). ) of the metal block.

3. Heat exchanger according to claim 2, characterized in that the opening (38) of the connecting flange (20) is a slot having a cross section of generally rectangular shape.

4. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the opening (38) of the connecting flange (20) through the block and opens on two opposite faces (24; 28) of the this.

5. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the metal block is generally parallelepipedal shape and has a first bore (34) opening on a first face (22; 28) of the block for receiving by soldering a first end (42) of a pipe (40), a second end (44) communicates with the manifold (14), and a second bore (36) opening on a second face (24) of the block for removably receiving a tip (50) from the fluid conduit (52), said bores (34, 36) providing a fluid connection therebetween.

6. Heat exchanger according to claim 5, characterized in that the first bore (34) is of circular section to receive the first end (50) of the tubing (40), which forms a first tubular nozzle of circular section, while the second bore (36) is of circular section to receive the tip (50) of the fluid line (52) which forms a second tubular tip.

7. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the first face (22) and the second face (24) of the block are perpendicular to each other.

8. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the first face (28) and the second face (24) of the block are parallel to each other.

9. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that the connection flange (20) further comprises a connector (54) for maintaining the tip (50) of the fluid line. (52).

10. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the fluid line (52) has at least one bend.

11. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the component (16) which is derived from the bracket (18) is part of the bundle of tubes and opens into the header, this component n 'not being traversed by the fluid.

12. Heat exchanger according to claim 11, characterized in that the component (16) is located on one side of the tube bundle (12) forming a side cheek.

13. Heat exchanger according to claim 11, characterized in that the component (16) is located within the tube bundle (12).

14. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized in that it is intended to be traversed by a refrigerant.

15. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that it is intended to be part of a heating and air conditioning system for a motor vehicle.

16. Heat exchanger according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that it constitutes a condenser / evaporator designed to operate as a condenser in an air conditioning mode and as an evaporator in a heating mode.