WO2021118336A1

WO2021118336A1 - An assembly of a heat exchanger

Info

Publication number: WO2021118336A1
Application number: PCT/MY2020/050131
Authority: WO
Inventors: Soon Peng TAN; Soon Sien TAN; Her Mei TENG
Original assignee: Daikin Research & Development Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
Priority date: 2019-12-09
Filing date: 2020-11-03
Publication date: 2021-06-17

Abstract

The present invention provides an assembly of a heat exchanger (10). The assembly of the heat exchanger (10) comprises a front heat exchange part (101), a rear heat exchange part (102), a first fixing plate (1011) attached to the side of the front heat exchange part (101) and a second fixing plate (1021) attached to the side of the rear heat exchange part (102), in which one end of the second fixing plate (1021) is overlapping on one end of the first fixing plate (1011), characterized in that the first fixing plate (1011) comprises at least a protrusion (103) adjacent to the overlapped ends of the fixing plates (1011, 1021) and the protrusion (103) is in contact with the edge (1021a) of the second fixing plate (1021) when assembled for restricting movement of the second fixing plate (1021), thereby securing the fixing plates (1011, 1021) at a predetermined position and angle.

Description

AN ASSEMBLY OF A HEAT EXCHANGER

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to an assembly of a heat exchanger, particularly to an assembly of a plurality of heat exchange parts in an air conditioning unit, which is supported by a plurality of fixing plates.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A heat exchanger of an air conditioner, especially in indoor unit structure, is usually divided into a plurality of heat exchange parts due to space limitations as well as performance optimization. Each heat exchange part is required to be securely connected with another heat exchange part in order to prevent air intrusion from any opening between the heat exchange parts and also to prevent condensation inside fan chamber during operation.

Each heat exchange part normally comprises a fixing plate attached to the side which serves as a support to a heat exchanger assembly in an air conditioning unit. For instance, in an indoor unit, the heat exchange parts are preferably assembled into a substantially inverted V-shape configuration by connecting the fixing plate from one heat exchange part with the fixing plate from another heat exchange part. The fixing plates are designed to possess different kind of connecting features which are available over the prior art in order to strengthen the overall heat exchanger assembly.

It is disclosed in JP2009281657A an assembly of a heat exchanger in an air conditioner, wherein the heat exchanger comprises a plurality of heat exchange parts and a plurality of fixing plates attached to the heat exchange parts. There is a side protrusion formed at the edge on one of the fixing plate which is adapted to be fitted into a recess formed on another fixing plate. Nevertheless, the step of engaging the side protrusion to the recess could be one of the assembling limitations, in which more time and concentration is required to couple the side protrusion to the recess correctly, thereby limiting overall production efficiency.

Further, JP2004156890A discloses another heat exchanger assembly for connecting two heat exchange parts in an air conditioner, wherein each heat exchange part is equipped with a fixing plate. One of the fixing plates comprises a concave recessed structure which provides coupling with a protruding structure formed on another fixing plate when both fixing plates overlap. However, the process of assembling using such connecting structures could take time as the fixing plates required to be aligned in a particular position before pairing the connecting structures.

Accordingly, it can be seen in the prior art documents that there exists a need to have an improved heat exchanger assembly which overcomes the aforesaid problems and shortcomings. The heat exchanger assembly shall be easy for assembling. Also, the heat exchanger assembly shall be robust and durable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide an assembly of a heat exchanger comprising a protrusion that acts as a stopper structure for restricting movement of fixing plates, thereby maintaining the desired position and angle of the fixing plates as well as the desired assembly profile.

Another objective of the present invention is to provide an assembly of a heat exchanger that suppresses in-plane and out-of-plane movement of fixing plates for preventing disengagement of the heat exchanger assembly.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a simple and effective way to assemble a heat exchanger, thereby facilitating the manufacturing operation. It is a further objective of the present invention to provide an assembly of a heat exchanger with minimum clearance between the fixing plates to prevent bypass air from leaking thereinto, thereby avoiding condensation inside fan chamber during operation.

Accordingly, these objectives shall be achieved by following the teachings of the present invention. The present invention relates to an assembly of a heat exchanger, the assembly of the heat exchanger comprising a front heat exchange part, a rear heat exchange part connected to the front heat exchange part, a first fixing plate attached to the side of the front heat exchange part and a second fixing plate attached to the side of the rear heat exchange part. One end of the second fixing plate is overlapping on one end of the first fixing plate and the overlapped ends of both fixing plates are fixed by a fastening means for fixing the front and the rear heat exchange parts at a predetermined position and angle in order to restrict out-of-plane movement. The assembly of the heat exchanger is characterized in that the first fixing plate comprises at least a protrusion which is located adjacent to the overlapped ends of the fixing plates. The protrusion is in contact with the edge of the second fixing plate for restricting in-plane movement of the second fixing plate, thereby securing the fixing plates in place.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

The features of the invention will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which:

Figure 1 (a) illustrates a side perspective view showing an assembly of a heat exchanger of an air conditioner.

Figure 1 (b) illustrates a side view showing a connection formed between two fixing plates of two heat exchange parts according to the present invention. Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view showing a close-up on connection formed between two fixing plates of two heat exchange parts according to the present invention.

Figure 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view showing overlapped part of two fixing plates which is fixed by a protrusion formed adjacent to thereof according to the present invention.

Figure 4 shows different embodiments of a protrusion formed on one fixing plate according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

While the present invention is described herein by way of example using embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention is not limited to the embodiments of drawing or drawings described, and are not intended to represent the scale of the various components. Further, some components that may form a part of the invention may not be illustrated in certain figures, for ease of illustration, and such omissions do not limit the embodiments outlined in any way. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit the invention to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim. As used throughout this description, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e. meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense, (i.e. meaning must). Further, the words "a" or "an" mean "at least one” and the word “plurality” means “more than one” unless otherwise mentioned. Furthermore, the terminology and phraseology used herein is solely used for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as limiting in scope. Language such as "including," "comprising," "having," "containing," or "involving," and variations thereof, is intended to be broad and encompass the subject matter listed thereafter, equivalents, and additional subject matter not recited, and is not intended to exclude other components, integers or steps. Any discussion of documents, acts, articles and the like is included in the specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention.

The present invention is described hereinafter by various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein reference numerals used in the accompanying drawings correspond to the like elements throughout the description. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiment set forth herein. Rather, the embodiment is provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.

The present invention will now be described with reference to Figures 1 - 4.

The present invention relates to an assembly of a heat exchanger (10) of an air conditioner. As shown in Figure 1 (a), the assembly of the heat exchanger (10) comprises a plurality of heat exchange parts including a front heat exchange part (101) and a rear heat exchange part (102). Each heat exchange part (101 , 102) preferably comprises a heat exchange plate having a plurality of heat transfer tubes which are extending horizontally through the heat exchange plate. The heat exchange parts (101 , 102) are preferably disposed by having the upper end of the front heat exchange part (101 ) abutting on the upper end of the rear exchange part (102), forming a substantially inverted V-shape like configuration as the top part of the assembly of the heat exchanger (10). A fan chamber is formed beneath the inverted V-shape like configuration where a cross flow fan is located.

The heat exchanger assembly (10) further comprises a first fixing plate (1011 ) which is attached to the side of the front heat exchange part (101 ) and a second fixing plate (1021 ) which is attached to the side of the rear heat exchange part (102). With reference to Figure 1 (b), when the upper end of the front heat exchange part (101 ) abuts on the upper end of the rear heat exchange part (102), one end of the second fixing plate (1021 ) is overlapping one end of the first fixing plate (1011 ). The overlapped ends of the fixing plates (1011 , 1021 ) are fixed by a fastening means for securely fixing the heat exchange parts (101, 102).

The overlapped ends of the fixing plates (1011 , 1021 ) are further secured by a protrusion (103) which is formed on the first fixing plate (1011). The protrusion (103) is preferably disposed adjacent to and in contact with the edge (1021a) of the second fixing plate (1021 ) which lies on top of the first fixing plate

(1011).

In accordance to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion (103) can be more than one, being disposed in different position on the first fixing plate (1011). The protrusions are preferably disposed next to the overlapped ends of the fixing plates (1011 , 1021 ).

In accordance to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the protrusion (103) is preferably in the form of tetrahedron-like shape. However, the protrusion can be constructed in other applicable shapes including shape of quarter-sphere, semi-circular and rectangular as illustrated in Figure 4. Furthermore, the protrusion (103) is constructed by, preferably but not limited to, lancing process during manufacturing. According to the example shown in Figure 2, the second fixing plate (1021 ) is overlapping the first fixing plate (1011) at one end and both fixing plates (1011 , 1021 ) are preferably fastened by a screw at their overlapped ends for eliminating out-of-plane movement. There are two tetrahedron-like shaped protrusions (103) provided by the first fixing plate (1011) acting as a support structure to hold the second fixing plate (1021 ) in place. The two protrusions (103) are disposed to be in contact with the edge (1021a) of the second fixing plate (1021) (as shown in Figure 3) in order to restrict in-plane movement of the second fixing plate (1021) especially when experiencing substantial vibration under certain circumstances, for instance, during transportation or loading. Hence, both fixing plates (1011 , 1021 ) are connected in such a manner for protecting the assembly of heat exchanger (10) from disengagement as well as for averting condensation in the fan chamber due to air intrusion.

The assembly of the heat exchanger (10) in accordance to the present invention offers a number of advantages over the existing heat exchanger assembly. Particularly, the present invention provides a different way of connecting the fixing plates (1011 , 1021 ) in a heat exchanger assembly (10), whereby there is a protrusion (103) formed on one of the fixing plates for keeping the overlapped fixing plates (1011 , 1021 ) secured at a predetermined position and angle as well as for maintaining the desired heat exchanger assembly profile. Further, the fixing plates (1011 , 1021 ) can be assembled without involving any precise pairing or coupling of two corresponding parts, thereby providing a much easier and effective way of assembling and eventually increasing efficiency of the manufacturing operation. Further, the present invention is capable of avoiding condensation occurring inside the fan chamber due to air intrusion and preventing the fixing plates (1011 , 1021 ) from being misaligned or detached, hence avoiding loosening of the connection between the heat exchange parts (101 ,102).

The exemplary implementation described above is illustrated with specific shapes, dimensions, and other characteristics, but the scope of the invention also includes various other shapes, dimensions, and characteristics. For example, the preferred shape of the protrusion (103) formed on the first fixing plate (1011 ) and the number of the protrusion (103) could be modified to adapt to any appropriate particular combination of various parts in the assembly of the heat exchanger (10).

Various modifications to these embodiments are apparent to those skilled in the art from the description and the accompanying drawings. The principles associated with the various embodiments described herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the description is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown along with the accompanying drawings but is to be providing broadest scope of consistent with the principles and the novel features disclosed or suggested herein. Accordingly, the invention is anticipated to hold on to all other such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope of the present invention and appended claim.

Claims

CLAIM:

1. An assembly of a heat exchanger (10) comprising: a front heat exchange part (101); a rear heat exchange part (102) connected to the front heat exchange part

(101 ); a first fixing plate (1011) attached to the side of the front heat exchange part (101); a second fixing plate (1021 ) attached to the side of the rear heat exchange part (102); wherein one end of the second fixing plate (1021) is overlapping on one end of the first fixing plate (1011 ); and wherein the overlapped ends of the first fixing plate (1011) and the second fixing plate (1021) are fixed by a fastening means for fixing the front and the rear heat exchange parts (101 , 102) at a predetermined position and angle; characterized in that the first fixing plate (1011) comprises at least a protrusion (103) adjacent to the overlapped ends of the fixing plates (1011 , 1021) and the protrusion (103) is in contact with the edge (1021a) of the second fixing plate (1021) when assembled for restricting the movement of the second fixing plate (1021 ), thereby securing the fixing plates (1011 , 1021 ) in place.