Patent Application
20250137739
The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0143797, filed on Oct. 25, 2023, and No. 10-2024-0145435, filed on Oct. 23, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.
The present invention relates to a boss structure, and more particularly, to a boss structure applied to a heat exchanger.
A plate-shaped heat exchanger in the related art has a structure in which inlets and outlets for a refrigerant and a coolant are separately formed on one surface and separately assembled to counterpart components (e.g., AC pipes, coolant hoses, and the like). With the structure for assembling the plate-shaped heat exchanger in the related art, the AC pipes, the coolant hoses, and the like may be assembled to the plate-shaped heat exchanger.
In addition, the plate-shaped heat exchanger in the related art has a separate protruding boss structure for MT'g with an external component. The boss structure may be brazed on an outer surface plate of the plate-shaped heat exchanger. In this case, in order to fix the boss structure and a plate before brazing, a separate welding process (TIG welding) or a mechanical fixing method is used. The mechanical fixing method is preferable in consideration of costs, external appearance quality, and the like. However, in case that the boss and the plate are insufficiently fixed, a brazing defect is caused.
As illustrated in
Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2012-0012082 entitled “ALUMINUM FASTENING BOSS AND METHOD OF JOINING ALUMINUM BASE MATERIAL BY USING THE SAME”
The present invention is proposed to solve these problems and aims to provide a boss structure, in which a thickness thereof is reduced by forming a groove at a center of a coupling portion of a boss press-fitted with a plate, such that a boss part may be easily press-fitted with the plate, the plate and the boss part may be more securely coupled, and weldability may be improved during brazing, and a heat exchanger fixing system including the same.
The present invention also aims to provide a boss structure, in which a screw thread and a caulking portion, which is a groove formed at a center of a coupling portion, are designed not to communicate with each other, such that a cladding material may be prevented from contaminating the screw thread along the caulking portion, and a heat exchanger fixing system including the same.
The present invention also aims to provide a boss structure, in which a screw thread and a caulking portion, which is a groove formed at a center of a coupling portion, communicate with each other, and a multistage structure is designed in a passageway through which the screw thread and the caulking portion communicate with each other, such that a flow length of a cladding material may be increased, and the cladding material may be prevented from contaminating the screw thread along the caulking portion, and a heat exchanger fixing system including the same.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an embodiment of the present invention provides a boss structure, which is applied to a heat exchanger and fixes the heat exchanger to an external component, the boss structure including: a coupling portion coupled to a cover plate of the heat exchanger and extending in a direction perpendicular to one surface of the cover plate; and a protruding portion protruding from one end of the coupling portion.
In addition, the coupling portion may have a caulking portion that is a circular groove having a predetermined depth in a direction identical to an extension direction of the coupling portion.
In addition, a depth of the caulking portion may be equal to or shorter than an extension length of the coupling portion.
In addition, the protruding portion may include a screw thread portion formed in an inner surface thereof and having a predetermined depth in the direction identical to the extension direction of the coupling portion, and the screw thread portion and the caulking portion may be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval in the extension direction of the coupling portion.
In addition, one surface of the caulking portion, which faces a distal end surface of the screw thread portion, may be formed in a shape corresponding to the distal end surface of the screw thread portion.
In addition, the protruding portion may include a screw thread portion having a screw thread formed on a lateral surface thereof, the screw thread portion being formed to have a predetermined depth in the direction identical to the extension direction of the coupling portion, and the screw thread portion and the caulking portion may be connected to each other.
In addition, at least one projection having a predetermined height may be formed on an inner surface of the caulking portion.
In addition, an inner surface of the caulking portion may be formed in a stepped shape, and an inner diameter of the caulking portion may increase from one end toward the other end of the coupling portion.
A diameter of the screw thread portion may be smaller than a diameter of the caulking portion.
In addition, the coupling portion may be formed to be inclined outward toward a distal end from a portion that adjoins the protruding portion.
In addition, the protruding portion and the coupling portion may be made of the same material and integrated.
Another embodiment of the present invention provides a heat exchanger fixing system including: a boss structure including a coupling portion coupled to a cover plate of a heat exchanger and extending in a direction perpendicular to one surface of the cover plate, and a protruding portion protruding from one end of the coupling portion; a cover plate having one surface provided in surface contact with an outer surface of the heat exchanger, the cover plate having a mounting hole into which the boss structure is fitted, in which an extension portion protruding by a predetermined height to the outside of the heat exchanger is provided at an edge of the mounting hole.
In addition, the protruding portion may have a diameter larger than a diameter of the mounting hole and adjoin and span a distal end of the extension portion.
In addition, an extension length of the coupling portion may be shorter than an extension length of the extension portion.
In addition, the coupling portion may be formed in a shape corresponding to an inner surface of the extension portion of the cover plate, and an entire outer surface of the coupling portion may adjoin the inner surface of the extension portion.
In addition, the coupling portion may be fitted into the mounting hole and coupled to the mounting hole by brazing.
Hereinafter, the technical spirit of the present invention will be described in more detail using the accompanying drawings. In addition, terms or words used in the specification and the claims should not be interpreted as being limited to a general or dictionary meaning and should be interpreted as a meaning and a concept which conform to the technical spirit of the present invention based on a principle that an inventor can appropriately define a concept of a term in order to describe his/her own invention by the best method.
Hereinafter, a basic configuration of a heat exchanger fixing system 1000 and a first embodiment of a boss structure 200 of the present invention will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
In this case, as illustrated in
In addition, the extension portion 111 may be provided at an edge of the mounting hole 110 and extend to the outside of the heat exchanger H by a predetermined height. Because the extension portion 111 is included, a lateral surface of the coupling portion 210 may be in surface contact with an end of the extension portion 111 and the coupling portion 210 may be more securely supported by the mounting hole 110 when the coupling portion 210 is fitted into the mounting hole 110. In addition, the coupling portion 210 may have a caulking portion 211 that is a circular groove having a predetermined depth in the extension direction of the coupling portion 210, i.e., a direction identical to the direction perpendicular to the surface of the cover plate 100.
The caulking portion 211 is included, which may reduce a radial thickness that comes into contact with the mounting hole 110 and the extension portion 111 and receives a force when the coupling portion 210 is fitted into the mounting hole 110. Therefore, the coupling portion 210 may be easily deformed while fitting a shape of the extension portion 111, such that the coupling portion 210 and the extension portion 111 may be caulked. As a result, the coupling portion 210, the extension portion 111, and the mounting hole 110 may be tightly attached, which may increase coupling strength. In addition, the caulking portion 211 is formed, such that even though a diameter of the mounting hole 110 is shorter than an overall diameter of the coupling portion 210, the coupling portion 210 may be easily fitted into the mounting hole 110, and coupling strength between the mounting hole 110 and the coupling portion 210 may be increased. Therefore, weldability may be improved during subsequent brazing.
In this case, an extension length of the coupling portion 210 may be shorter than an extension length of the extension portion 111. Therefore, a distal end of the coupling portion 210 may be spaced apart from the outer surface of the heat exchanger H at a predetermined interval without adjoining the outer surface of the heat exchanger H. Because the coupling portion 210 is designed as described above, the heat exchanger H may not be damaged by the coupling portion 210.
In addition, a depth of the caulking portion 211 may be equal to the extension length of the coupling portion 210 or shorter than the extension length of the coupling portion 210. Because the above-mentioned design is applied, the rigidity of the coupling portion 210 is not degraded by the caulking portion 211, and at least a part of the coupling portion 210 may be securely connected to the protruding portion 220.
In this case, in the first embodiment of the boss structure 200 illustrated in
Therefore, even though the caulking portion 211 is filled with a cladding material in a state in which the cladding material on the surface of the heat exchanger H or the cover plate 100 is abraded and deformed, the cladding material generated in the caulking portion 211 may not come into contact with the screw thread portion 221, as illustrated in
Furthermore, one surface of the caulking portion 211 (one end side distal end surface of the coupling portion 210), which faces a distal end surface of the screw thread portion 221, may be formed in a shape corresponding to one surface of the screw thread portion 221. In more detail, the screw thread portion 221 is configured to be coupled to a screw. A distal end surface of the screw thread portion 221, which adjoins a distal end of the screw, may be formed in a shape having a conical lateral surface. In this case, one surface of the caulking portion 211 may also be formed in a shape corresponding to the above-mentioned shape. Therefore, a thickness of the partition wall, which separates the screw thread portion 221 and the caulking portion 211, may be constant, which may improve the durability.
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the boss structure 200 of the present invention will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
Therefore, even though the caulking portion 211 is filled with a cladding material in a state in which the cladding material on the surface of the heat exchanger H or the cover plate 100 is abraded and deformed, most parts of the cladding material may be blocked by the stepped portion between the screw thread portion 221 and the caulking portion 211, as indicated by the arrows in
Furthermore, a projection having a predetermined height may be formed on an inner surface of the caulking portion 211. Alternatively, the inner surface of the caulking portion 211 may be formed in a stepped shape, and the caulking portion 211 may be formed in a shape having an inner diameter that increases from one end toward the other end of the coupling portion 210. The inner surface of the caulking portion 211 is formed as described above, such that even though the caulking portion 211 is filled with the cladding material, the projection may more effectively prevent a situation in which the cladding material moves toward the screw thread portion 221 along the caulking portion 211.
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the boss structure 200 of the present invention will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
The technical spirit should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments of the present invention. Of course, the scope of application is diverse, and various modifications and implementations may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the subject matter of the present invention claimed in the claims. Accordingly, these improvements and modifications will fall within the scope of the present invention as long as they are apparent to those skilled in the art.
1000: Heat exchanger fixing system
100: Cover plate
110: Mounting hole
111: Extension portion
200: Boss structure
210: Coupling portion
211: Caulking portion
220: Protruding portion
221: Screw thread portion
H: Heat exchanger
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2023-0143797 | Oct 2023 | KR | national |
| 10-2024-0145435 | Oct 2024 | KR | national |
