Compact heat exchanger for a compact cooling system

Abstract
A heat exchanger including a first header having an inlet therein, a second header, an outlet in one of the first and second headers, and a plurality of flat tubes extending between the first and second headers for carrying a fluid between the first and second headers. A first connector is also provided for connecting a first exterior line to one of the first and second headers, the first connector being proximate and substantially parallel to an end of one of the flat tubes. In a compact cooling system, such heat exchangers may be disposed about a radial fan directing air flow outwardly away from the fan axis. One of a system inlet and a system outlet are connected via the first exterior lines to the first connectors of at least two of the heat exchangers.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates to heat exchangers, and more particularly to compact heat exchangers.




Heat exchangers are, in many applications, relatively unconstrained as to the space which they may take up, but in many other applications it is imperative to minimize their size so that they can fit in restricted spaces such as vehicle engine compartments. For example, compact cooling systems are sometimes used in vehicular applications and typically include a plurality of heat exchangers (e.g. radiators), for cooling engine coolant as well as to cool oil, cool turbo or supercharged combustion air and to provide air conditioning to the passenger compartment. Such heat exchangers are sometimes placed together with one another around a radial fan in a box-like configuration. In these and other applications, not only is the size of the heat exchanger important, but the space required for the various connecting lines is also important in minimizing space. Of course, in all instances, cost and ease and reliability of manufacture are important as well.




The present invention is directed toward one or more of the considerations set forth above.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In one aspect of the present invention, a heat exchanger is provided including a first header having an inlet therein, a second header, an outlet in one of the first and second headers, and a plurality of flat tubes extending between the first and second headers for carrying a fluid between the first and second headers. A first connector is also provided for connecting a first exterior line to one of the first and second headers, the first connector being proximate and substantially parallel to an end of one of the flat tubes.




In one form, the tubes are arranged in a row with the tubes disposed with facing flat sides, with the first connector secured to a portion of the one of the first and second headers extending beyond the tube row. In another form, a second connector is provided for connecting a second exterior line to the other of the first and second headers, with the second connector proximate and parallel to another of the flat tubes which is at opposite ends of the row to the one flat tube.




In another aspect of the present invention, a compact cooling system is provided, including a radial fan directing air flow radially outwardly away from the fan axis and a plurality of heat exchangers as described above disposed around the radial fan with their headers extending generally in the same direction as the fan axis with the plurality of flat tubes spaced from a system front to a system back across the air flow. One of a system inlet and a system outlet are connected via the first exterior lines to the first connectors of at least two of the heat exchangers.




In a form of this aspect of the invention, two connectors are provided in the headers with one first connector adjacent the system front and the other connector adjacent the system back.




In still another aspect of the present invention, a heat exchanger is provided including two headers, with at least one header having a laterally extending wall with a plurality of tube openings and a feed opening proximate an end one of the tube openings in the wall. A plurality of flat tubes are secured in the first header tube openings and extend between the first and second headers for carrying a fluid between the first and second headers. A first connector for connecting a first exterior line to one of the first and second headers is secured in the first header feed opening and extends substantially parallel to the flat tubes.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a vertical section through a compact cooling system incorporating the present invention;





FIG. 2

is a side view of the compact cooling system shown in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 3

is a rear perspective view of the compact cooling system shown in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a front elevation view of the compact cooling system shown in

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 5

is a front perspective view of the compact cooling system shown in FIG.


1


:





FIG. 6

is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of one of the heat exchangers of the compact cooling system of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 7

is a cross-sectional view taken along line


7





7


of

FIG. 6

;





FIG. 8

is perspective partially broken view of the heat exchanger portion illustrated in

FIGS. 6-7

;





FIG. 9

is a partial cross-sectional view of a portion of an alternative heat exchanger usable with the compact cooling system of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 10

is a cross-sectional view taken along line


10





10


of

FIG. 9

;





FIG. 11

is perspective partially broken view of the heat exchanger portion illustrated in

FIGS. 9-10

; and





FIG. 12

is a perspective partially broken view of a portion of another heat exchanger usable with the compact cooling system of FIG.


1


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION




One embodiment of a compact cooling system


20


incorporating heat exchangers according to the present invention is shown in

FIGS. 1-5

. While reference is made herein to a cooling system, it should nevertheless be understood that the invention could also be used with a compact system providing virtually any type of heat exchange.




The compact cooling system


20


includes a radial fan


22


which rotates about an axis


26


to direct air to flow radially out away from the axis


26


. The compact cooling system


20


also includes a back or rear wall


30


and a front wall


32


.




Supported around the fan


22


in the general shape of a rectangular box (though other shapes could be used) are a plurality of heat exchangers. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment an upper heat exchanger


40


extends across the top which operates independently of the other heat exchangers (i.e., is not supplied from a common fluid source). Specifically, the upper heat exchanger


40


includes a pair of headers


42


,


44


, one with an inlet


46


and one with an outlet


48


. The upper heat exchanger


40


may be, for example, a conventional charge air cooler for cooling turbocharged or supercharged engine combustion air. Though not shown in the Figures, the upper heat exchanger


40


commonly may include a plurality of suitable tubes extending between the headers


42


,


44


, with suitable fins extending between the tubes


50


(e.g., serpentine fins or plate fins), whereby the air flow in the upward direction caused by the fan


22


passes over the fins and tubes


50


to cool them and thereby cool the coolant passing through the tubes such as is well known in the art. Such cooling could be one or two phase, that is, a hot fluid (liquid or gas) in the tubes could be cooled (one phase) or a gas such as a refrigerant could be condensed (two phase). It should also be understood that heat transfer in the opposite direction could occur within the scope of the invention (i.e., a hot gas could be passed over the fins and tubes which convey a cool fluid). Most commonly, however, the compact cooling system


20


may be used with vehicles in which the ambient air is used to cool engine fluids.




In the

FIGS. 1-5

embodiment, the other three sides of the compact cooling system


20


include three separate heat exchangers


52


,


54


,


56


, each of which may be of generally a similar, generally identical configuration as described for the upper heat exchanger


40


(i.e., with a pair of headers, one with an inlet and the other with an outlet, with tubes extending between the headers and fins between the tubes as alternately illustrated in

FIGS. 6-12

hereafter). It should also be understood, however, that within the broad scope of the invention it would be possible to use the present invention with multipass heat exchangers which, as is understood in the art, have the inlet and outlet in the same headers where there are even numbers of passes. These three heat exchangers


52


,


54


,


56


are, in the disclosed embodiment, substantially the same size with substantially the same tube sizes and numbers, and therefore to maximize the cooling capacity of the compact cooling system


20


it is desirable to maintain substantially the same coolant flow through each. This may be accomplished by providing substantially similar overall lengths of flow paths to and from the compact cooling system


20


.




Specifically, there is a single coolant inlet


60


on the front of the compact cooling system


20


. Coolant from whatever the compact cooling system


20


is used with (e.g., a vehicle engine) enters through the inlet


60


(in the direction of arrow


61


) and from there is distributed to the heat exchangers


52


,


54


,


56


as follows:




1. Coolant passes (in the direction of arrow


62


) through a relatively long horizontal feed line


64


connected to the inlet header


66


of one of the side or lateral heat exchangers


56


(see FIG.


4


).




2. Coolant passes (in the direction of arrow


70


) through a relatively long vertical feed line


72


connected to the inlet header


74


of the bottom heat exchanger


54


.




3. Coolant passes through a short feed line


76


to the inlet header


78


at the top of the other lateral heat exchangers


52


.




In each of the inlet headers


66


,


74


,


78


, the coolant is distributed such as is known to the previously described tubes and then passes through the tubes for cooling such as is known (in the direction of arrows


80


,


82


in heat exchangers


52


,


54


as shown in

FIGS. 2

,


3


and


5


). The coolant exits the tubes into the outlet headers


86


,


88


,


90


, all of which are located at the bottom of the compact cooling system


20


(the outlet headers


86


,


90


are located at the bottom of the lateral heat exchangers


52


,


56


and the outlet header


88


of the bottom heat exchanger


54


is at the end opposite its inlet header


74


).




Each of the outlet headers


86


,


88


,


90


includes an outlet connection


92


,


94


,


96


from which the cooled coolant exits and from which it is collected at a single coolant outlet


98


as follows (see particularly FIGS.


3


-


5


):




1. Coolant passes from the outlet header


86


of heat exchanger


52


(in the direction of arrow


100


) through a relatively long generally horizontal feed line


102


connected to coolant outlet


98


.




2. Coolant passes from the outlet header


88


of heat exchanger


54


(in the direction of arrow


104


) through a very short feed line


106


connected to the coolant outlet


98


.




3. Coolant passes from the outlet header


90


of heat exchanger


56


in the direction of arrow


108


through another short feed line


110


including two elbows


112


,


114


and connected to the coolant outlet


98


.




The various feed lines may be rectangular in cross section to provide a relatively flat outer surface and thereby allow the outer faces of the compact cooling system


20


to be compact with minimal bulges although it should be understood that other shapes could also be used within the scope of the invention. For example, where increased pressure resistance is required, the cross sections could be oval shaped or cylindrical. Further, the feed lines may also be of substantially similar size to provide similar flow resistance. As illustrated, the feed lines can be formed from various straight sections, bent sections, elbows, crosspieces, and the like suitably connected by sleeves, with such feed line components formed from any suitable manner dependent upon the coolant to be used (e.g., from materials capable of containing the coolant without unacceptable degradation resulting from corrosion and/or expected temperatures). For example, the feed line components such as sleeves, T-pieces, etc. could be formed by plastic injection molding whereas the longer feed lines could be extruded aluminum. Further, the lines may be flat rather than round to allow them to be located on the face of the compact cooling system without projecting outwardly from the face (e.g., to maintain a generally rectangular box outer shape), and the below described connectors similarly configured so that the various heat exchangers may be suitably connected to one another and/or to the source of coolant fluid in a modular fashion.




It should now be appreciated that the radial air flow caused by the fan


22


will cause air to pass through all four heat exchangers


40


,


52


,


54


,


56


for advantageous cooling with all four. It should also be appreciated that the compact cooling system


20


can be advantageously manufactured using the four heat exchangers


40


,


52


,


54


,


56


on all four sides. Further, as variously seen in

FIGS. 2-5

, the headers of the heat exchangers may be arranged snugly against one another to prevent air flow therebetween, thereby ensuring that maximum air flow generated by the fan


22


may occur where it is desired, through the tubes and fins of the heat exchangers.




Also, it should also be recognized that of the three heat exchangers


52


,


54


,


56


which operate in parallel with a single inlet


60


and a single outlet


98


will all have relatively identical flow paths for the coolant between the inlet


60


and the outlet


98


. That is, the heat exchangers themselves provide substantially the same path (e.g., with similar headers and similar tubes). Further, the flow outside the heat exchangers is also substantially the same with flow between the inlet


60


and outlet


98


occurring through a relatively long and relatively short feed line for each of the three heat exchangers


52


,


54


,


56


operating in parallel. This is the subject matter of the related Ehlers et al. application entitled “Compact Cooling System with Similar Flow Paths for Multiple Heat Exchangers”, filed concurrently herewith. The complete disclosure of that application is hereby incorporated by reference. From the disclosure, as illustrated further therein, it can be seen that a compact cooling system can be variously otherwise configured (e.g., with only two heat exchangers operating in parallel, with those heat exchangers positioned end to end at a corner or on opposite sides of the compact cooling system).




It should be appreciated, however, that for compact cooling systems such as described above, and for many other applications and uses of heat exchangers, the illustrated heat exchangers


52


,


54


,


56


provide connections for the feed lines which allow for compact size even when multiple heat exchangers


52


,


54


,


56


are variously combined in different configurations.

FIGS. 6-8

illustrate in detail an advantageous connection structure provided in accordance with the present invention. For convenience of reference here, reference is made to the inlet header


66


of the heat exchanger


52


(and corresponding reference numerals are used where appropriate). However, it should be understood that the construction illustrated therein could be used for any or all of the heat exchangers


52


,


54


,


56


, for either or both of their headers (including those connections highlighted by circles in FIGS.


1


-


5


).




Specifically, the heat exchanger


52


includes suitable openings


150


in which a plurality of flat tubes


152


are suitably secured. As one example used for illustrative purposes only, the openings


150


may include flanges therearound, with the tubes


152


inserted through the openings


150


and then soldered (or brazed, or glued, or welded, etc., depending upon the materials of the components) thereto in a suitable leak-proof manner. It should, however, be understood that there are a wide variety of manners of securing heat exchanger tubes to the headers, and the present invention is not limited to any particular manner of doing so. As is well known in the art, the tubes


152


have passages therethrough which are open to the inlet header


66


so that fluid such as engine coolant will pass from the inlet header


66


into the tube passages, and will travel through the tubes to their other end, where it will be discharged into the outlet header


86


. A substantially similar construction would be used at the connection of the tubes


152


to the outlet header


86


, where the fluid will be discharged from the tube passages into the outlet header


86


.




The tubes


152


are arranged in two rows (see

FIG. 7

) with their flat sides facing one another. One or more tube rows could be used with the present invention. The tube rows include a last tube


152




a.






Suitable fins


156


are secured between the tubes


152


and provide good heat transfer resulting from the passage of air from the radial fan


22


over the tubes


152


and fins


156


as is well known. Serpentine fins


156


are illustrated, but it should be understood that the present invention could be advantageously used with virtually any fins providing heat transfer surfaces. For example, plate fins could also advantageously be used dependent upon the tubes used. A side piece


160


may also be provided against the fins


156


on the outer side of the last tube


152




a


to permit those fins


156


to be properly secured.




The header


66


includes an extension or protrusion


164


extending beyond the ends of the tube rows (i.e., beyond the last tube


152




a


and side piece


160


). An opening


166


is provided in the protrusion


164


adjacent to the end of the tube rows into which the end of a connector


170


fits and is suitably secured. For example, a flange


172


may be provided around the opening


166


, with the connector


170


secured thereto by soldering or brazing or other suitable manner, similar to the tubes


152


. As the term is used herein, the connector


170


is “indirectly proximate” to the last tube


152




a


because it is proximate to the last tube


152




a


with only the last fins and the side plate


160


therebetween. Further, it will be seen that the connector


170


is in line with the tubes


152


(i.e., extends in the same direction as the tubes from the header).




It should be appreciated that this configuration will allow for the feed lines to be secured to the heat exchanger


52


without unnecessary protrusion beyond, for example, the generally box-shaped envelope of the compact cooling system


20


. In fact, whatever the space requirements in which such a heat exchanger


52


is being used, the arrangement of the connector


170


such as shown will ensure that the feed lines which must be connected to the header


66


will potentially be of minimal concern inasmuch as the feed lines can be disposed flush against the side of the heat exchanger


52


with space being required for only the relatively small thickness of the feed line.




The feed line


64


may be suitably secured to the connector


170


such as illustrated in FIG.


6


. Specifically, the feed line


64


(in this case an elbow piece such as shown in the upper left of

FIG. 4

) is aligned with the end of the connector


170


and secured thereto by a sleeve


176


. Seals


178


,


180


may also be provided therearound to ensure that there is no leakage through the connection.





FIGS. 9-11

illustrate another embodiment in which a connector


200


is secured to the header


66


, with the tubes of the heat exchanger


52




a


formed by plates


180


secured together at the sides such as is known in the art. Specifically, the plates


180


have a longitudinal flat portion, the sides of which are connected so as to form closed tube passages


182


between secured flat portions. The ends


186


of the plates


180


are bent away from the tube passages


182


and then may be connected to the bent ends


186


of the adjacent flat plate


180


forming one side of the adjacent tube passages


182


. Fluid such as coolant is received in a tapered passage


188


between the bent ends


186


and passes from there into the tube passages


182


(or, in the outlet header, would discharge from the tube passages


182


through the tapered passages


188


between the bent ends


186


into the header). Suitable fins


156


are disposed between the tube passages


182


, and between the last tube passage of the row and the side piece


160




a.






In accordance with the invention, the connector


200


is secured proximate to the side piece


160




a


. A slight offset


202


is provided to allow space between the side piece


160




a


for the sleeve


176


connecting the connector to the feed line


64


.





FIG. 12

shows another embodiment, similar to the

FIGS. 9-11

configuration, except that the connector


220


is secured in direct proximity to the first tube (i.e., there are no side wall and fins adjacent the last tube passage


182




a


). By providing the last plate


180




a


of the heat exchanger


52




a


with a bent end


186


such as with the other plates


180


, a straight connector


220


can be secured directly proximate the plate


180




a


and still provide space for the connecting sleeve


176


.




It should be appreciated that the

FIGS. 9-12

configurations will, as with the

FIG. 6-8

configuration, allow for the feed lines to be secured to the heat exchanger


52




a


,


52




b


without unnecessary protrusion beyond, for example, the generally box-shaped configuration of the compact cooling system


20


. In fact, whatever the space requirements in which such heat exchangers


52




a


,


52




b


are being used, the arrangement of the connectors


200


,


220


such as shown will ensure that the feed lines which must be connected to the header


66




a


will potentially be of minimal concern inasmuch as the feed lines can be disposed flush against the side of the heat exchanger


52




a


,


52




b


with space being required for only the relatively small thickness of the feed line. Further, such heat exchangers


52




a


,


52




b


can be easily and relatively inexpensively manufactured, as the connectors


200


,


220


can be, for example, coated with solder and then secured to the header


66




a


in the same process as tubes are soldered to the header


66




a.






Still other aspects, objects, and advantages of the present invention can be obtained from a study of the specification, the drawings, and the appended claims. It should be understood, however, that the present invention could be used in alternate forms where less than all of the objects and advantages of the present invention and preferred embodiment as described above would be obtained.



Claims
  • 1. A compact cooling system, comprising:a radial fan having an axis, said radial fan directing air flow outwardly away from said fan axis; a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger, said heat exchangers being disposed around said radial fan with first and second headers extending generally in the same direction as said fan axis, said heat exchangers each having: an inlet in said first header, an outlet in one of said first and second headers, a plurality of flat tubes extending between said first and second headers, said plurality of tubes: being substantially parallel between first and second end tubes of said plurality of flat tubes, adapted to carry a fluid between said first and second headers, and spaced from a system front to a system back across said air flow, and said first header including a portion extending beyond one of said first and second end tubes whereby said inlet is in said extending portion of said first header; a system inlet; a first rectangular tube connecting said system inlet to said inlet in said extending portion of said first heat exchanger, said first rectangular tube being proximate and in line with said one of said first and second end tubes of said first heat exchanger and generally disposed in a space along said fan axis bounded by the ends of said extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said first heat exchanger; and a second rectangular tube connecting said system inlet to said inlet in said extending portion of said second heat exchanger, said second rectangular tube being proximate and in line with said one of said first and second end tubes of said second heat exchanger and generally disposed in a space along said fan axis bounded by the ends of said extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said second heat exchanger; wherein said first and second rectangular tubes have a major dimension and minor dimension, with said minor dimension extending generally parallel to said fan axis.
  • 2. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein said first heat exchanger and said second heat exchanger are disposed with one header of said first heat exchanger against one header of said second heat exchanger whereby air flow between said one headers is prevented.
  • 3. The cooling system of claim 1, further comprising fins between said flat tubes.
  • 4. The cooling system of claim 3, wherein said fins are serpentine.
  • 5. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein said space along said fan axis bounded by the ends of said extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said first heat exchanger generally coincides with said space along said fan axis bounded by the ends of said extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said second heat exchanger.
  • 6. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein said minor dimension is generally no larger than the spacing between the ends of said extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said first and second heat exchangers.
  • 7. The cooling system of claim 1, wherein said first and second rectangular tubes have a flat face extending in the direction of said major dimension, and said flat face is proximate said one of said first and second end tubes.
  • 8. The cooling system of claim 1, further comprising:a second portion in said one of said first and second headers extending beyond one of said first and second end tubes in said one of said first and second headers of each of said first and second heat exchangers; a system outlet; a third rectangular tube connecting said system outlet to said outlet in said second extending portion of said first heat exchanger, said third rectangular tube being proximate and in line with one of said first and second end tubes of said first heat exchanger and generally disposed in a space along said fan axis bounded by the ends of said second extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said first heat exchanger; and a fourth rectangular tube connecting said system outlet to said outlet in said second extending portion of said second heat exchanger, said second rectangular tube being proximate and in line with said one of said first and second end tubes of said second heat exchanger and generally disposed in a space along said fan axis bounded by the ends of said second extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said second heat exchanger.
  • 9. The cooling system of claim 8, wherein said first and second rectangular tubes are proximate said first end tubes of said first and second heat exchangers and said third and fourth rectangular tubes are proximate said second end tubes of said first and second heat exchangers.
  • 10. A compact cooling system, comprising:a radial fan having an axis, said radial fan directing air flow outwardly away from said fan axis; a first heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger, said heat exchangers being disposed around said radial fan with first and second headers extending generally in the same direction as said fan axis, said heat exchangers each having: an inlet in said first header, an outlet in one of said first and second headers, a plurality of flat tubes extending between said first and second headers, said plurality of tubes: being substantially parallel between first and second end tubes of said plurality of flat tubes, adapted to carry a fluid between said first and second headers, and spaced from a system front to a system back across said air flow, and said first header including a portion extending beyond one of said first and second end tubes whereby said inlet is in said extending portion of said first header; a second portion in said one of said first and second headers extending beyond one of said first and second end tubes in said one of said first and second headers of each of said first and second heat exchangers; a system inlet; a system outlet; a first rectangular tube connecting said system inlet to said inlet in said extending portion of said first heat exchanger, said first rectangular tube being proximate and in line with said one of said first and second end tubes of said first heat exchanger and generally disposed in a space along said fan axis bounded by the ends of said extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said first heat exchanger; and a second rectangular tube connecting said system inlet to said inlet in said extending portion of said second heat exchanger, said second rectangular tube being proximate and in line with said one of said first and second end tubes of said second heat exchanger and generally disposed in a space along said fan axis bounded by the ends of said extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said second heat exchanger; a third rectangular tube connecting said system outlet to said outlet in said second extending portion of said first heat exchanger, said third rectangular tube being proximate and in line with one of said first and second end tubes of said first heat exchanger and generally disposed in a space along said fan axis bounded by the ends of said second extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said first heat exchanger; and a fourth rectangular tube connecting said system outlet to said outlet in said second extending portion of said second heat exchanger, said second rectangular tube being proximate and in line with said one of said first and second end tubes of said second heat exchanger and generally disposed in a space along said fan axis bounded by the ends of said second extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said second heat exchanger, wherein said first and second rectangular tubes are proximate said first end tubes of said first and second heat exchangers and said third and fourth rectangular tubes are proximate said second end tubes of said first and second heat exchangers, and said system inlet is at said system front and said system outlet is at said system back.
  • 11. A compact cooling system, comprising:a radial fan having an axis, said radial fan directing air flow outwardly away from said fan axis; four heat exchangers, three of said heat exchangers each comprising a plurality of generally flat members joined along longitudinal sides to define tube passages between joined flat members, adjacent flat members defining different tube passages being connected at their ends, said flat members including first and second end flat members between which the other of the plurality of generally flat members are disposed; first and second headers at opposite ends of said flat members enclosing said defined tube passages; an inlet in said first header; an outlet in one of said first and second headers; one of said first and second headers including a portion extending beyond the first end flat member whereby one of said inlet and outlet is in said extending portion of said one of said first and second headers; a first rectangular connector for connecting a first exterior line to said one of said inlet and outlet in said header extending portion, said first rectangular connector being proximate and in line with said first end flat member and having a major dimension and a minor dimension, wherein said major dimension generally coincides with the width of the flat members; said heat exchangers being arranged in a box-shaped envelope about said radial fan with said headers of said heat exchangers extending generally in the same direction as said fan axis with adjacent headers of said heat exchangers being disposed against one another whereby air flow between said adjacent headers is prevented.
  • 12. The cooling system of claim 11, wherein, for each of said three heat exchangers, said minor dimension is generally no larger than the spacing between the ends of said extending portion of said one of said first and second headers of said heat exchanger.
  • 13. The cooling system of claim 11, wherein, for each of said three heat exchangers, said first rectangular connector has a flat face extending in the direction of said major dimension, and said flat face is proximate said first end flat member.
  • 14. The cooling system of claim 11, each of said three heat exchangers further comprising a second rectangular connector for connecting a second exterior line to the other of said inlet and outlet in another header extending portion, said second connector being proximate and in line with the second end flat member.
Priority Claims (2)
Number Date Country Kind
100 41 795 Aug 2000 DE
100 41 794 Aug 2000 DE
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Number Name Date Kind
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4977956 Aoki et al. Dec 1990 A
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5458190 Sasaki et al. Oct 1995 A
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