Support device for a tube, in particular a tube of a heat exchanger designed to come into contact with a motor vehicle battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10351012-B2
Application number	US-201415037106-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 23, 2014
Priority date	Nov 18, 2013
Publication date	Jul 16, 2019
Grant date	Jul 16, 2019

Abstract

The invention concerns a support device ( 1 ) for a tube, in particular a tube of a heat exchanger designed to come into contact with a vehicle battery for cooling thereof, the device ( 1 ) comprising a base ( 13 ) on which the tube is designed to be mounted, an element ( 15 ) for compressing the tube against the battery, and one or more elements ( 17 ) for connecting the compression element ( 15 ) to the base ( 13 ), the connecting elements ( 17 ) being configured to engage with a face ( 19 ) of the compression element ( 15 ) opposite said base ( 13 ) while being in contact with the base ( 13 ) on either side of said compression element ( 15 ).

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A support device for a tube of a heat exchanger that comes into contact with a vehicle battery for cooling thereof, the support device comprising:
a base on which the tube is configured to be mounted;
a compression element, in physical contact with an entirety of a length of a bottom face of the base, that compresses the tube against the battery;
one or more connecting elements that connect the compression element to the base, the connecting elements being configured to engage with a face of the compression element opposite said base while being in contact with the base on either side of said compression element, and
wherein a portion of the compression element is removed to allow clearance of the one or more connecting elements.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said base comprises a first face is provided with ribs to support the tube in a thermally insulated fashion, and a second face on which the compression element rests when under pressure.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the first and second faces of the base are opposite each other such that the force applied by the compression element to the first face is transmitted directly to the tube by the second face.

4. The device as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the compression element is a spring in the form of a strip with rounded apex, or in the form of an inverted trough, said rounded apex of the spring being received in a concave zone or a recess of the second face of the base.

5. The device as claimed in claim 4 , wherein said spring strip is designed to be mounted flexibly on a support surface inside the vehicle.

6. The device as claimed in claim 4 , wherein said spring strip has a thickness value between 0.1 and 0.3 mm.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said connecting element or elements are configured to engage on either side of longitudinal opposing edges of the compression element.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7 , wherein said connecting element or elements comprise two hook-shaped engagement elements holding said compression element on either side of the base.

9. The device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein said two hook-shaped engagement elements comprise a branch arranged at a distance from the apex of the spring to allow an elastic deflection of the spring.

10. The device as claimed in claim 8 , wherein said two hook-shaped engagement elements are arranged on the base to allow the spring to be fitted or removed by rotation by spring edges engaged between the base and each of the hook-shaped engagement elements.

11. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said one or more connecting elements and said compression element are configured respectively so that, on mounting of the compression element, the latter is compressed on the connecting element or elements so as to fasten, by gripping, the compression element to the base.

12. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said one or more connecting elements are formed integrally with the base.

13. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said one or more connecting elements are mounted attached to the base.

14. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said one or more connecting elements comprise an elastic strap able to be stretched below the compression element.

15. An assembly of a heat exchanger, comprising:
tubes; and
a plurality of support devices, as claimed in claim 1 , for supporting said tubes.

16. A battery comprising an assembly as claimed in claim 15 .

17. A support device for a tube of a heat exchanger designed to come into contact with a vehicle battery for cooling thereof, the device comprising:
a base on which the tube is to be mounted;
a compression element that compresses the tube against the battery;
one or more connecting elements that connects the compression element to the base, the connecting elements being configured to engage with a face of the compression element opposite said base while being in contact with the base on either side of said compression element, and
wherein the base and the compression element have a complimentary curvature located at a rounded apex of the compression element to allow contact between the base and the compression element.

Assignees

• Valeo Systemes Thermiques

Inventors

• Legot Laurent
• Bireaud Fabien

Classifications

• Y02T10/705

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• Y02T10/7005

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• H01M10/625

  Vehicles · CPC title

• B60K1/04

  of the electric storage means for propulsion · CPC title

• B60L58/26

  by cooling · CPC title