Plate heat exchanger, heat pump device including plate heat exchanger, and heat pump type of cooling, heating, and hot water supply system including heat pump device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11719495-B2
Application number	US-201916979047-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2019
Priority date	Mar 15, 2018
Publication date	Aug 8, 2023
Grant date	Aug 8, 2023

Abstract

A plate heat exchanger includes heat transfer plates having openings at four corners thereof, having outer wall portions at their edges, and stacked together. The heat transfer plates are partially brazed together such that a first flow passage for first fluid and a second flow passage for second fluid are alternately arranged, with a heat transfer plate interposed between these flow passages, the openings communicating with each other, forming a first header allowing the first fluid to flow into and out of the first flow passage and a second header allowing the second fluid to flow into and out of the second flow passage. One heat transfer plate located between the first or second flow passage is formed by stacking two metal plates. Space between the metal plates includes a fine flow passage located within a heat exchange region, and a peripheral leakage passage outward of the fine flow passage.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A plate heat exchanger comprising:
a plurality of heat transfer plates each of which has openings at four corners thereof, the plurality of heat transfer plates having outer wall portions at edges thereof and being stacked together,
wherein the plurality of heat transfer plates are partially brazed together such that a first flow passage through which first fluid flows and a second flow passage through which second fluid flows are alternately provided, with an associated one of the plurality of heat transfer plates interposed between the first flow passage and the second flow passage, the openings at the corners of the plurality of heat transfer plates being provided such that the openings at each of the corners communicate with each other, thereby forming a first header and a second header, the first header being configured to allow the first fluid to flow into and flow out of the first flow passage, the second header being configured to allow the second fluid to flow into and flow out of the second flow passage,
wherein at least one of two of the plurality of heat transfer plates between which the first flow passage or the second flow passage is located is formed by stacking two metal plates together, and
wherein space between the two metal plates includes
a fine flow passage that is located within a heat exchange region in which the first fluid and the second fluid exchange heat, and
a peripheral leakage passage provided outward of the fine flow passage to communicate with the outside of the space and having a hydraulic diameter greater than a hydraulic diameter of the fine flow passage.

2. The plate heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein one of the two of the plurality of heat transfer plates between which the first flow passage or the second flow passage is provided is a single metal plate.

3. The plate heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the two metal plates is processed to have a projection or a recess that forms the peripheral leakage passage.

4. The plate heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the metal plates between which the second flow passage is located are thinner than the metal plates between which the first flow passage is located.

5. The plate heat exchanger of claim 4 , wherein the metal plates that are thinner are processed to have projections that form the peripheral leakage passage.

6. The plate heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the two metal plates are partially brazed together at brazed portions such that a plurality of the fine flow passages are formed in the heat exchange region between the metal plates.

7. The plate heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of outer flow passages are provided outward of the peripheral leakage passage, and at least one or more of the plurality of outer flow passages are connected with the outside.

8. The plate heat exchanger of claim 7 , wherein only some of the plurality of outer flow passages are connected with the outside.

9. The plate heat exchanger of claim 7 , wherein only one of the plurality of outer flow passages is connected with the outside.

10. The plate heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the outer wall portions are not brazed together.

11. The plate heat exchanger of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of outer flow passages are formed by forming through holes that extend through the outer wall portions in a stacking direction.

12. The plate heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the peripheral leakage passage is provided inward of the outer wall portions and outward of the fine flow passage.

13. The plate heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein the peripheral leakage passage is provided between the outer wall portions.

14. The plate heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the pair of metal plates is processed to have a projection or a recess that forms a partition passage.

15. The plate heat exchanger of claim 14 , wherein the partition passage is connected with the peripheral leakage passage.

16. The plate heat exchanger of claim 14 , wherein an outer wall of the partition passage is brazed to form a partition in the first flow passage or the second flow passage.

17. The plate heat exchanger of claim 14 , wherein an in-plane flow in the first flow passage or the second flow passage is a U-shaped flow.

18. A heat pump device comprising:
a refrigerant circuit in which a compressor, a heat exchanger, a pressure reducing device, and the plate heat exchanger of claim 1 are connected, and refrigerant is circulated; and
a heat medium circuit in which a heat medium is circulated, the heat medium exchanging heat with the refrigerant in the plate heat exchanger.

19. A heat pump type of cooling, heating, and hot water supply system comprising: the heat pump device of claim 18 ; a cooling, heating, and hot water supply apparatus that performs a cooling operation, a heating operation, and a hot water supply operation, using heating energy of the heat medium; and a pump provided in the heat medium circuit, and configured to circulate the heat medium.

Assignees

• Mitsubishi Electric Corp

Inventors

• Sun Faming
• Yoshimura Susumu
• EIJIMA Yoshitaka
• Shiraishi Sho
• Abe Ryosuke
• Yokoi Masahiro
• Suzuki Kazutaka

Classifications

• F28F3/086 Primary

  having one or more openings therein forming tubular heat-exchange passages · CPC title

• F24H4/02

  Water heaters · CPC title

• F25B13/00

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

• F25B39/00

  Evaporators; Condensers · CPC title

• F25B39/04

  Condensers · CPC title