Heat exchanger having additional refrigerant channel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9759492-B2
Application number	US-61956609-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 16, 2009
Priority date	May 22, 2007
Publication date	Sep 12, 2017
Grant date	Sep 12, 2017

Abstract

A heat exchanger, particularly for a heating or air conditioning system for motor vehicles, includes at least one inlet channel and at least one outlet channel and at least one collector, which has at least two metal sheets or plates abutting each other, and a flow device through which a first medium can flow, while a second medium can flow around the flow device. The first medium is distributed by an inlet channel to the collector and to the flow device and can be conducted to an outlet channel, and at least one further channel for distributing the coolant is provided, which is connected in a communicating manner via at least one opening to the inlet channel.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A heat exchanger for a heating or air conditioning system for motor vehicles, the heat exchanger comprising:
at least one inlet channel having a first number of openings;
at least one outlet channel;
at least one collector that has two adjacent metal sheets or plates; and
a flow device comprising a first number of tubes through which a first medium is flowable and around which a second medium is flowable, wherein the first number of tubes are inserted into tube openings in at least one of the two adjacent metal sheets or plates of the collector,
wherein the two adjacent metal sheets or plates of the collector include an upper metal sheet or plate and a lower metal sheet or plate, each of the upper metal sheet or plate and the lower metal sheet or plate have convex areas that protrude in opposite directions, such that the convex areas of the upper metal sheet or plate protrude upward from the upper metal sheet or plate and the convex areas of the lower metal sheet or plate protrude downward from the lower metal sheet or plate and wherein a hollow space provided between the convex areas of the upper metal sheet or plate and the convex areas of the lower metal sheet or plate form chambers for distribution of a refrigerant,
wherein at least one first additional channel is provided in the at least one inlet channel for the distribution of the refrigerant,
wherein the at least one first additional channel is connectable to the at least one inlet channel in a communicating manner via a second number of openings, wherein the second number of openings is at least one and is less than the first number of tubes,
wherein the first medium is distributed from the at least one first additional channel to the at least one inlet channel through the second number of openings of the at least one first additional channel, the first medium is distributed from the at least one inlet channel to the at least one collector through the first number of openings of the at least one inlet channel, the first medium is distributed from the at least one collector to the first number of tubes and the first medium is distributed from the first number of tubes to the at least one outlet channel,
wherein the at least one inlet channel and the at least one outlet channel are arranged on a same side of the heat exchanger, and
wherein a size of each of the first number of openings of the at least one inlet channel is smaller than a size of each of the tubes inserted into the tube openings of the at least one of the two adjacent metal sheets or plates of the collector.

2. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the two metal sheets or plates are connectable to one another form-fittingly and/or by material bonding.

3. The heat exchanger according to claim 2 , wherein the two metal sheets or plates are produced by a shaping method or by a deep-drawing method.

4. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the flow device tubes are flat tubes.

5. The heat exchanger according to claim 4 , further comprising fins or corrugated fins that are configured to be arranged between the tubes.

6. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one second additional channel provided in the at least one outlet channel, wherein the at least one second additional channel is connected to the at least one outlet channel in a communicating manner via one or two openings.

7. The heat exchanger according to claim 6 , wherein the one or two openings are arranged substantially in a mid area of the at least one second additional channel and the second number of openings of the at least one first additional channel are arranged substantially in a mid area thereof.

8. The heat exchanger according to claim 6 , wherein the one or two openings are arranged at a distance from a mid area of the at least one second additional channel and the second number of openings of the at least one first additional channel are arranged at a distance from a mid area thereof.

9. The heat exchanger according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one first additional channel and the at least one second additional channel are each formed as a tube that is insertable into the at least one inlet channel and the at least one outlet channel, respectively.

10. The heat exchanger according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one first additional channel, the at least one second additional channel, the at least one inlet channel, and the at least one outlet channel are formed as a tube.

11. The heat exchanger according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one first additional channel and the at least one second additional channel are each arranged concentrically or eccentrically in the at least one inlet channel and the at least one outlet channel, respectively.

12. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one inlet channel, the at least one first additional channel, and the at least one outlet channel are formed by shaped metal sheets.

13. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the cross section of the at least one inlet channel, of the at least one first additional channel and of the at least one outlet channel is substantially triangular, semicircular, circular, rectangular, or a combination of these shapes.

14. The heat exchanger according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one inlet channel, the at least one first additional channel, and/or the at least one outlet channel and the at least one second additional channel are connected to one another form-fittingly or by material bonding.

15. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger is an evaporator.

16. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the tubes comprise a plurality of parallel flat tubes, each tube of the plurality of flat tubes being spaced apart from at least one adjacent tube of the plurality of flat tubes by a gap, and including a fin structure in each gap.

17. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the second number is one or two.

18. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one first additional channel is connected to the inlet channel upstream of the flow device.

Assignees

• Kerler Boris
• Seewald Wolfgang
• Ruehl Markus
• Walter Christoph
• Staffa Karl-Heinz
• Geiger Michael
• Kranich Michael
• Geiger Ingo
• Geiger Wolfgang
• Satrapa Alexander
• Mahle Int Gmbh

Inventors

• Kerler Boris
• Seewald Wolfgang
• Ruehl Markus
• Walter Christoph
• Staffa Karl-Heinz
• Geiger Michael
• Kranich Michael
• Geiger Ingo
• Geiger Wolfgang
• Satrapa Alexander

Classifications

• F28F9/0278

  in the form of stacked distribution plates or perforated plates arranged over end plates · CPC title

• F25B39/022

  with plate-like or laminated elements · CPC title

• F28D2021/0085

  Evaporators · CPC title

• 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

• F28F9/0229

  Double end plates; Single end plates with hollow spaces · CPC title