Heat exchanger and refrigeration apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11415371-B2
Application number	US-201816498924-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 22, 2018
Priority date	Mar 27, 2017
Publication date	Aug 16, 2022
Grant date	Aug 16, 2022

Abstract

A heat exchanger including: rows of heat exchanging units that are superposed with one another in an air flow direction of the heat exchanger; and flat multi-hole tubes that extend from a first end toward a second of the heat exchanging units in a first direction in the heat exchanging units and that include gas-side flat multi-hole tubes. A refrigerant flows in the heat exchanging unit in the first direction. A number of the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes that are included in a front-most row heat exchanging unit on an airflow upstream side of the heat exchanger is less than a number of the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes included in a rear-most row heat exchanging unit on an airflow downstream side of the heat exchanger.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A heat exchanger comprising:
heat exchanging units that are superposed with one another in an air flow direction of the heat exchanger, wherein
each of the heat exchanging units comprises:
a pair of header pipes; and
flat multi-hole tubes that:
extend, between the pair of header pipes, from a first end toward a second end of each of the heat exchanging units, and
comprise gas-side flat multi-hole tubes that each comprise a gas-refrigerant port at one end of each of the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes,

a refrigerant flows in the flat multi-hole tubes,
a number of the flat multi-hole tubes is same among all the heat exchanging units,
the one end of each of the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes is connected to a space in a corresponding one of the pair of header pipes, wherein a gas-refrigerant pipe is connected to and communicates with the space,
the refrigerant flows toward the heat exchanger through the gas-refrigerant pipe when the heat exchanger functions as a condenser and the refrigerant flows out of the heat exchanger through the gas-refrigerant pipe when the heat exchanger functions as an evaporator,
at least two of the heat exchanging units comprise the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes,
in each of the heat exchanging units, the flat multi-hole tubes are disposed in a first direction, and
among the heat exchanging units, a number of the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes that are included in a front-most heat exchanging unit on an airflow upstream side of the heat exchanger is less than a number of the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes included in a rear-most heat exchanging unit on an airflow downstream side of the heat exchanger.

2. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the flat multi-hole tubes further comprise liquid-side flat multi-hole tubes that:
differ from the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes, and
each comprise a liquid-refrigerant port at one end.

3. The heat exchanger according to claim 2 , wherein a total number of the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes is more than a total number of the liquid-side flat multi-hole tubes.

4. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the gas-refrigerant port included in each of the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes is disposed at the first end.

5. The heat exchanger according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a merging portion that:
merges the refrigerant flowing out from the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes, and
guides the refrigerant into the liquid-side flat multi-hole tubes.

6. The heat exchanger according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a partition plate that:
segregates the refrigerant flowing out from the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes among the heat exchanging units, and
is disposed in one of the header pipes that guides the refrigerant flowing out from the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes into the liquid-side flat multi-hole tubes.

7. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the refrigerant flows in an identical direction in all of the flat multi-hole tubes.

8. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein
the heat exchanger comprises three of the heat exchanging units.

9. The heat exchanger according to claim 2 , wherein
the heat exchanger comprises three of the heat exchanging units,
one of the pair of header pipes of only the front-most heat exchanging unit, among the three of the heat exchanging units, comprises a liquid-side port to which a liquid-refrigerant pipe is connected, and
the refrigerant flows out of the heat exchanger through the liquid-refrigerant pipe when the heat exchanger functions as a condenser and the refrigerant flows into the heat exchanger through the liquid-refrigerant pipe when the heat exchanger functions as an evaporator.

10. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein
the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes include a first gas-side flat multi-hole tube that comprises the gas-refrigerant port at the first end, and
the heat exchanging units are not disposed on an airflow downstream side of the first gas-side flat multi-hole tube in the air flow direction, or
on the airflow downstream side of the first gas-side flat multi-hole tube, only the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes that include the gas-refrigerant port at the first end are disposed, in the first direction, at a position identical to a position of the first gas-side flat multi-hole tube.

11. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein
the gas-side flat multi-hole tubes each include a gas region, in which a gas refrigerant flows, in a vicinity of the gas-refrigerant port thereof, and
no two-phase region in which a two-phase refrigerant flows or liquid region in which a liquid-phase refrigerant flows in the flat multi-hole tubes is disposed on an airflow downstream side of the gas region in the air flow direction.

12. A refrigeration apparatus comprising: the heat exchanger according to claim 1 .

Assignees

• Daikin Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Matsumoto Yoshiyuki
• Yoshioka Shun
• Agou Shouta

Classifications

• F28D1/05391 Primary

  with multiple rows of conduits or with multi-channel conduits combined with a particular flow pattern, e.g. multi-row multi-stage radiators · CPC title

• F28D1/0471

  the conduits having a non-circular cross-section (F28D1/0473, F28D1/0476, F28D1/0478 take precedence) · CPC title

• F28D2021/0068

  for refrigerant cycles · CPC title

• F25B13/00

  Compression machines, plants or systems, with reversible cycle (defrosting cycles F25B47/02) · CPC title

• F28D1/0408 Primary

  Multi-circuit heat exchangers, e.g. integrating different heat exchange sections in the same unit or heat exchangers for more than two fluids (F28F9/0234 takes precedence) · CPC title