Patent Application
20160076676
The present disclosure relates to a connector device. The present disclosure further relates to a connector having the connector device. The present disclosure further relates to a tank for heat exchanger having the connector.
A heat exchanger generally includes a tank to accumulate a thermal medium such as cooling water or refrigerant. The tank is connected with an external pipe via, for example, a connector and a coupler to form a passage for a thermal medium. In general, the coupler has an outer thread, which is screwed into an inner thread of the connector. It is conceivable to form the inner screw of the connector by applying a machining work on a metallic monoblock such as a cast-aluminum alloy block or a forged aluminum alloy block. It may be desirable to reduce a manufacturing cost of the connector.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a connector device is configured to be fixed with a nut. The nut has an inner thread. The connector device comprises a bottom wall. The connector device further comprises a plurality of sidewalls integrated with the bottom wall into a single piece to form an accommodation space. The accommodation space is configured to accommodate the nut.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a connector comprises a nut having an inner thread. The connector further comprises a connector device accommodating the nut. The connector device is crimped to the nut and integrated together.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a connector device is configured to be fixed with a nut, which has an inner thread. The connector device comprises a body being a single piece having a claw and defining an accommodation space therein. The accommodation space is configured to accommodate the nut. The craw is configured to be crimped on the nut.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description made with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
As follows, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
As shown in
The connector 60 is fixed to a tank 100 of a heat exchanger 500 (
A coupler 80 is screwed into the nut 30 of the connector 60, thereby fixed to the tank 100 via the connector 60. The coupler 80 is coupled with an external pipe 90, which is connected with an external device, such as a pump, a compressor, a valve, and/or another heat exchanger. Thus, the external pipe 90 is communicated with the inner space of the tank 100 through the coupler 80 and the connector 60.
As shown in
As shown in
The nut holder 50 is a hollow component formed of a thin metallic material such as aluminum alloy or carbon steel. The nut holder 50 has six side edges 54 and six sidewalls 56, which are arranged alternately in the circumferential direction. The nut holder 50 further has a bottom wall 52, from which a tubular port 51 is projected. The tubular port 51 defines a passage hole 50b, which forms a fluidic passage. The sidewalls 56 and the bottom wall 52 define an accommodation space 50a for accommodating the nut 30. Each of the sidewalls 56 has a craw 58, which extends in the axial direction. Each of the sidewalls 56 further have two notches 56a interposing the craw 58 in the circumferential direction. The notches 56a are dented into the sidewall 56 in the axial direction. The nut holder 50 has six claws 58 arranged in the circumferential direction at 60-degrees interval.
The nut holder 50 may be formed of a metallic plate by press forming such as punching and/or drawing. For example, the nut holder 50 may be formed by punching a metallic plate into a predetermined shape to have the tubular port 51 and the passage hole 50b and to include the sidewalls 56 and the bottom wall 52. The sidewalls 56 may be bent relative to the bottom wall 52, and adjacent sidewalls 56 may be welded to each other form the accommodation space 50a. Alternatively, the nut holder 50 may be drawn from a metallic plate to have the accommodation space 50a, and thereafter, the claws 58 and notches 56a may be formed by, for example, machining work or laser cutting. The nut holder 50 may function as a connector device (body) 50.
In
As follows, a manufacturing process of the connector 60 and the tank 100 will be described. As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In
The coupler 80 is screwed into the nut 30 along the axial direction by using, for example, a wrench. Thus, an outer thread 88 of the coupler 80 is meshed with the inner thread of the nut 30. The coupler 80 is equipped with O-rings 82, 84 on its outer periphery. When the coupler 80 is screwed to the nut 30, the O-ring 82 is elastically interposed between the coupler 80 and the nut 30 to seal therebetween. The coupler 80 is further equipped with a spring 86 to enable connection with the external pipe 90. The coupler 80 may function as a quick connector (one-touch connector) configured to be coupled with the external pipe 90 by an operators hands without using a tool. In this case, the external pipe 90 can be resiliently detachable to the coupler 80 via the spring 86. When the external pipe 90 is coupled with the coupler 80, the O-ring 84 seals between the external pipe 90 and the coupler 80.
As shown in
The configuration enables a manufacturer to reduce a machining work when forming the connector 60 having the inner thread 38. Specifically, a manufacturer may purchase a low-cost standard nut 30 to obtain a core component of the connector 60. Thus, a manufacturer may have various options of the nut 30 and may select the nut 30 in consideration of its specification such as its quality, its material, its size, its price and/or the like. The nut holder 50 may be formed in a low-cost manufacturing process such as press forming, drawing, welding, and/or the like. Thus, the connector 60 can be manufactured at low cost compared with a configuration such as machined monoblock material.
The nut holder 50 is crimped on the nut 30. In addition, the nut 30, the nut holder 50, and the tank 100 are brazed together into a single component. Therefore, seams (interfaces) formed among the nut 30, the nut holder 50, and the tank 100 are fixed and sealed together at the brazed surfaces. Thus, without using a monoblock structure, the integrated components may form the fluid passage and the inner space, which are sealed from the outside.
The present configuration enables to employ different materials for the nut 30, the nut holder 50, and the tank 100 in consideration of those purposes.
The nut 30 is not limited to the hexagonal member and may be have various shapes. The nut holder 50 may have various shapes in accordance with the shape of the nut 30.
The manufacturing method for the nut 30 does not exclude a machining work. The nut 30 may be formed by, for example, a machining work, as a one-made product. The nut holder 50 may be formed by machining.
The notches 56a may be omitted from the sidewalls 56 of the nut holder 50.
The nut holder 50 may be fixed to the tank 100, and thereafter, the nut 30 may be fitted in and crimped to the nut holder 50.
The tubular port 51 of the nut holder 50 may be elongated in the radial direction after being fixed to the port hole 110a of the tank 100 to further secure the nut holder 50 to the tank 100.
Instead of or in addition to the crimping, the nut holder 50 may be fixed to the nut 30 by another method. For example, the nut holder 50 may be welded with the nut 30. For example, solder may be charged into a gap between the nut holder 50 and the nut 30, when the nut 30 is accommodated in the accommodation space 50a, to integrate the nut 30 and the nut holder 50 into a single piece.
An O-ring may be interposed between the nut holder 50 and the nut 30. The O-ring may be located in a place formed among the bottom wall 52 of the nut holder 50, the sidewalls 56 of the nut holder 50, and the tapered wall 32 of the nut 30.
The number of the craws 58 may be arbitrarily determined. The craws 58 may be arranged to be point-symmetric to each other along the circumferential direction. The craws may be provided point-symmetrically at, for example, two positions, three positions, or six positions. Two claws 58 may be provided in the circumferential direction at 180-degrees interval. Three claws 58 may be provided in the circumferential direction at 120-degrees interval.
It should be appreciated that while the processes of the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein as including a specific sequence of steps, further alternative embodiments including various other sequences of these steps and/or additional steps not disclosed herein are intended to be within the steps of the present disclosure.
While the present disclosure has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the preferred embodiments and constructions. The present disclosure is intended to cover various modification and equivalent arrangements. In addition, while the various combinations and configurations, which are preferred, other combinations and configurations, including more, less or only a single element, are also within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
