1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for shaping a corrugated fin into a wave shape with its bent portions successively connected and, more particularly, to shaping a bent portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional device for shaping a corrugated fin of this type, for example, the one described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H08-261678, by feeding a fin material between a pair of gear-like forming rollers from a material roll around which a thin plate-like fin material is wound, a number of bent portions are formed and a corrugated fin is formed into a wave shape and, at the same time, a heat exchange section for promoting heat exchange is formed on a surface continuous with the bent portion and thus a wave-shaped corrugated fin is formed.
Further, a forming device is known which continuously performs shaping in order to obtain a predetermined shape and a predetermined fin pitch by performing a compression process for compressing a wave-shaped corrugated fin formed by being passed through a forming roller in its lengthwise direction and a stretch process for stretching the compressed fin material by a predetermined distance in its lengthwise direction while holding both ends.
However, in the compression process for performing shaping as described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H08-261678, the known forming device is made so as to include a feeding roller for feeding forward a wave-shaped corrugated fin and a friction application section for applying a frictional resistance to the corrugated fin to be fed, and the corrugated fin is compressed in its lengthwise direction by compressing it so that a number of bent portions come into contact with each another at one time.
Because of this, it is not possible to apply a uniform compression force to each ridge and, therefore, there may be a case where the amount of displacement of a portion to which a strong compression force is applied or of a portion vulnerable to bending force becomes large and in particular, a collapse begins from a bent portion with a small strength, resulting in that the shape of the bent portion is not formed into a predetermined shape.
In particular, if a bent portion is required to have, for example, a portal shape, it is difficult to obtain a predetermined shape that meets a required precision regarding the irregularity or inclination of the planar portion. Further, it is recommended to provide a shaping device capable of shaping a planar portion by providing a shaping mechanism inside and outside a bent portion for each ridge after compression formation in order to shape the planar portion into a stable shape, however, there arises a problem in that a complex shaping device is required and the facility cost for the device is increased.
An object of the present invention is, the above-mentioned problem being taken into account, to provide a corrugated fin shaping device capable of shaping the planar shape of a folding portion into a continuous and stable shape.
In order to attain the above-mentioned object, the technical means described below is employed. In other words, in the present invention, a corrugated fin shaping device for shaping a corrugated fin (1) having a plurality of bent portions (1b) formed as a flat top portion comprises a plurality of shaping members (3) provided in accordance with the bent portions (1b) of the corrugated fin (1) and shaping the bent portion while holding the inner surface side of the bent portion (1b) by its top end portion, a feeding mechanism slidably linked with the plurality of shaping members (3) and sequentially feeding the shaping members (3) from one side to the other side so as to gradually reduce the distance between the shaping members (3), and a reference member (4) having a reference surface with which the upper end surface of the bent portion (1b) in opposition to the inner surface side of the bent portion (1b) comes into contact, wherein the feeding mechanism (2) gradually reduces the distance between the shaping members (3) to a predetermined fin pitch and shapes the upper end surface of the bent portion (1b) into a predetermined shape in a state in which the plurality of bent portions (1b) of the corrugated fin (1) are arranged at the respective shaping members (3).
According to the present invention, it is possible to shape the bent portion (1b) into a predetermined planar shape, to have a predetermined fin pitch, because a uniform compression force is applied to the respective bent portions (1b) due to the feeding mechanism (2) and the shaping members (3).
Further, in the corrugated fin (1), the bent portion (1b) is a contact portion that comes into contact with a heat transfer medium and it is possible to improve the heat transferability of the corrugated fin (1) because the contact area of the contact portion can be increased and, at the same time, it can be shaped into a stable shape.
In the present invention, the feeding mechanism (2) is formed by a worm-like groove that rotates and the groove slidably comes into contact with each of the shaping members (3) at least at two positions in order to maintain the plurality of shaping members in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which they are fed from one side to the other side.
According to the present invention, it is possible to gradually move the plurality of shaping members (3) with ease from one side to the other side by means of the worm-like groove and to form a shaping device with a simple structure. Further, it is also possible to shape the bent portion (1b) into a stable shape.
The symbols in the brackets attached to each means described above indicate a correspondence with a specific means in the embodiments to be described later.
The present invention may be more fully understood from the description of preferred embodiments of the invention, as set forth below, together with the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings:
A corrugated fin shaping device in an embodiment of the present invention is explained below with reference to
The corrugated fin shaping device in the present embodiment is a device for shaping the corrugated fin 1 before shaping work, shown in
Here, as shown in
As shown in
The shaping member 3 is a plate member for shaping the inner surface side of the bent portion 1b as well as holding the corrugated fin 1, having a substantially rectangular section, and arranged at the respective bent portions 1b so as to hold the inner surface side of the bent portion 1b, which is the ridge side of the corrugated fin 1, with its top end portion, as shown in
The worm gear 2 is a screw arranged on each end of the shaping member 3 so as to be capable of sliding the plurality of shaping members 3 with at least two worm gears 2 via grooves, and worm-like grooves are formed so as to gradually reduce the distance of the sequential feeding of the plurality of shaping members 3 from one side to the other side by rotating the worm gear 2.
More specifically, the grooves and the groove pitch are formed so that the distance of sequential feeding has three patterns, that is, (a), (b), and (c) shown in
Further, (b) corresponds to a fin pitch reduction portion, where the worm-like grooves are formed, which gradually reduce the fin pitch p, that is, the distance between the shaping members 3. Furthermore, (c) corresponds to a shaping completion portion at which a predetermined fin pitch P is attained, where the worm-like grooves capable of attaining a predetermined fin pitch P are formed.
As shown in
The inclination prevention plate 5 is a holding plate for holding the shaping member 3 with the grooves of the worm gear 2 as well as preventing the top end of the shaping member 3 from inclining when the shaping member 3 is fed and, similar to the groove, serves as a support for holding the shaping member 3 so as to maintain its posture with respect to the vertical direction.
On the other hand, reference member 4 is a reference surface 4a with which the upper end surface of the bent portion 1b of the corrugated fin 1 comes into contact when the shaping member 3 is fed from one side to the other side and, after the corrugated fin 1 is arranged on the fin mount portion denoted by (a) shown in
In other words, it is arranged so that the upper end surface of the bent portion 1b comes into contact with the reference surface 4a when the shaping member 3 is fed in the direction of the arrow as shown in
Next, a shaping method of a corrugated fin shaping device with the above-mentioned configuration is explained based on
Then, the worm gear 2 is rotated. Due to this, the plurality of shaping members 3 are fed in the direction of the arrow. Due to this, the gap between the shaping members 3 is gradually reduced as shown in
At this time, a uniform compression force is applied to each of the bent portions 1b due to the worm gear 2 and the shaping member 3, therefore, the upper end surface of the bent portion 1b comes into contact with the reference surface 4a and is shaped into a planar shape. Due to this, it is possible to shape the upper end surface of the bent portion 1b with high precision. Then, after all of the bent portions 1b are shaped into the predetermined fin pitch P and the corrugated fin 1 is removed, by reversing the worm gear 2, the plurality of shaping members 3 can be returned to the original position.
By the way, for the corrugated fin 1 after shaping, it is possible to improve heat transferability because the planar bent portion 1b is a contact portion that comes into contact with a heat transfer medium and the contact area of the contact portion can be increased and therefore the contact portion can be shaped-into a stable shape.
According to the corrugated fin shaping device in the above-mentioned one embodiment, the worm gear 2 is configured so that after the plurality of bent portions 1b are arranged at the respective shaping members 3, by rotating the worm gear 2, the distance between the shaping members 3 is gradually reduced to the predetermined pitch and the upper end surface of the bent portion 1b is shaped into the predetermined shape.
According to this, it is possible to shape the bent portion 1b into a predetermined planar shape, so as to have a predetermined fin pitch, because a uniform compression force is applied to the bent portion 1b due to the worm gear 2 and the shaping member 3.
Further, for the corrugated fin 1 after shaping, it is possible to improve heat transferability because the bent portion 1b is a contact portion that comes into contact with a heat transfer medium and the contact area of the contact portion can be increased and the contact portion can be shaped into a stable shape
The worm gear 2 is formed by worm-like grooves and, in order to maintain the shaping member 3 in the vertical direction, is arranged so as to be capable of slidably coming into contact with the shaping member at least at two positions, therefore, it is possible to gradually move the plurality of shaping members 3, with ease, from one side to the other side by means of the worm-like grooves and to form a shaping device with a simple structure. Further, it is also possible to shape the shape of the bent portion 1b into a stable shape successively
In the above-mentioned one embodiment, the configuration is made by the two worm gears 2 and the inclination prevention plate 5 in order to maintain the vertical posture of the plurality of shaping members 3 with respect to the vertical direction, however, this is not limited, and specifically, as shown in
According to this, it is possible to maintain the plurality of shaping members 3 in a well-balanced manner, and to easily prevent the top end from inclining, with a simple configuration.
In the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention is applied to a corrugated fin. However, generally, the present invention can be effectively used to shape the planar bent portion 1b of a corrugated fin of a heat exchanger such as an evaporator, a condenser, a radiator, and a heat core radiator.
In addition to such a use, the present invention can be applied to a heat exchange device that uses a Peltier element and which effects heat exchange for heat absorption and heat dissipation. According to this, it is possible to improve the performance of thermoelectric conversion efficiency by improving the heat transferability of the Peltier element
While the invention has been described by reference to specific embodiments chosen for purpose of illustration, it should be apparent that numerous modifications could be made thereto, by those skilled in the art, without departing from the basic concept and scope of the invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2005-137684 | May 2005 | JP | national |