Patent Application
20170108292
The present disclosure relates to a connector for a condenser header tank, such as a refrigerant line connector.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure, which is not necessarily prior art.
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems typically include a condenser and a connector for connecting HVAC refrigerant lines to a header tank of the condenser. The connector is often connected to the header tank by brazing. While current connectors are suitable for their intended use, they are subject to improvement. For example, current connectors fail to provide enough brazing surface to resist high torques that may be exerted upon the connector, which may result in the connector becoming detached from the header tank. The present teachings address these and other shortcomings experienced in the prior art.
This section provides a general summary of the present teachings, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
The present teachings provide for an HVAC refrigerant line connector for a condenser header tank. The connector includes a header tank mating surface having a concave shape configured to mate with a convex outer tank surface of the condenser header tank. An outer surface is opposite to the header tank mating surface. A first through bore is defined by the connector extending between the outer surface and the header tank mating surface. A first channel is defined by the header tank mating surface. The first channel is configured to receive header tank material staked into the first channel to hold the header tank mating surface against the convex outer tank surface prior to the connector being brazed to the header tank.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
With continued reference to
The connector 110 defines a first through bore 130 and a second through bore 132, each of which extends from the outer surface 112 to the header tank mating surface 114. The first through bore 130 is configured to receive, or mate with in any suitable manner, a refrigerant line of an HVAC system configured to deliver refrigerant to the connector 110, or direct refrigerant away from the connector 110. Thus by way of the first through bore 130, which is aligned with the first tank aperture 16 when the connector 110 is coupled to the header tank 12, HVAC refrigerant can be introduced into, or directed away from, the connector 110. Therefore, the connector 110 can be an inlet connector or an outlet connector. As an inlet connector, the connector 110 will be mounted over the first tank aperture 16 configured as an inlet aperture. As an outlet connector, the connector 110 will be mounted over the first tank aperture 16 configured as an outlet aperture.
The second through bore 132 is configured to receive a fastener 170. The fastener 170 can be configured to secure an additional connector (not shown) to the connector 110. The additional connector can be configured to couple inlet and outlet refrigerant pipes to the connector 110. The second through bore 132 can include threads 134 configured to threadably cooperate with threads of the fastener 170 when the fastener 170 is a threaded fastener.
The connector 110 can further include a third through bore 136, which includes a first portion 138 and a second portion 140 (see
The HVAC refrigerant line connector 110 can be made of any suitable material. For example, the connector 110 can be made of any suitable metallic material, such as aluminum. The header tank 12 is also often made of aluminum.
With continued reference to
With particular reference to
The HVAC refrigerant line connector 110 advantageously provides an enlarged brazing surface at the header tank mating surface 114 of the connector 110, thereby providing a connection between the connector 110 and the header tank 12 that is stronger than, and more resistant, to high torque, as compared to existing connectors. Also, the first and second channels 150 and 152 allow for the connector 110 to be coupled to the header tank 12 prior to brazing in order to facilitate the brazing process. One skilled in the art will recognize that the present teachings provide for numerous additional advantages in addition to those specifically set forth herein.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used in this application is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
