This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. P2003-096895, filed on Mar. 31, 2003; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a header tank for a heat exchanger such as a condenser or the like used in an air conditioner of a motor vehicle or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Each of the header tanks 11 and 12 is comprised of a pipe 15, closing members 16 closing both end opening portions of the pipe 15, and partition plates 17 sectioning a passage extending in a longitudinal direction within the pipe 15. In this embodiment, the closing member 16 doubles as a joint with an outlet pipe or an inlet pipe.
As shown in
The structure is made such as to prevent a cooling medium from leaking from the insertion hole 18 by fixing the tube 13, a periphery of the insertion hole 18 and the fin 14 according to a brazing after inserting the tube 13 to the tube insertion hole 18.
Within the condenser 1, the cooling medium flows within the tube 13 so as to meander between one header tank 11 sectioned by the partition plate 17 and another header tank 12.
The cooling medium is cooled by radiating heat to an air ventilating through a gap of the fins 14 between the tubes 13. Accordingly, the cooling medium introduced into the condenser 1 in a gas phase state is flow out in a liquid phase state from the condenser 1.
As shown in
However, in the conventional header tanks 11 and 12 for the heat exchanger, since the pipe 15 is formed in the cylindrical shape as shown in
Therefore, in order to make the passage cross sectional area S of the pipe 15 large, it is necessary to make a diameter of the pipe 15 large, so that the pipe 15 is enlarged. On the other hand, in the case that the diameter of the pipe 15 is made small for the purpose of making the condenser 1 compact, there is a problem that the passage cross sectional area S of the pipe 15 can not be sufficiently secured.
The present invention is made for the purpose of solving the problem mentioned above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a header tank which can make a heat exchanger (a condenser) small while securing a passage cross sectional area of a pipe.
According to the present invention, there is provided a header tank for a heat exchanger in which a plurality of flat tubes are communicated and connected to at least a pair of header tanks so as to form a multiple stages, which is comprised of a pipe formed by combining a first separated body and a second separated body, a closing member for closing opening portions in both ends of the pipe, a tube holding wall portion inserting the flat tube provided in the second separated body thereto so as to hold, and a pair of straight portions protruded from the tube holding wall portion in an approximately orthogonal direction and formed along both ends in a width direction of the tube, wherein the holding wall portion and the pair of straight portions are formed in a C-shaped cross sectional shape.
A description will be given below of an embodiment according to the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this case, since an entire structure of the heat exchanger is the same as the conventional one, a description thereof will be omitted.
With reference to
A description will be in detail given below of the pipe 32.
As shown in
The first separated body 32A is formed in a C-shaped cross sectional shape while being provided with a tube holding wall portion 34 and a pair of straight portions 36 protruded in an approximately orthogonal direction from both ends of the tube holding wall portion 34.
The tube holding wall portion 34 has at least one insertion hole 34a holding the inserted flat tube 30, and is formed in a tabular shape which is orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the tube 30.
A pair of straight portions 36 are protruded in the approximately orthogonal direction from the tube holding wall portion 34 via a small-diameter curved portion 35, and are provided along both end portions 30a and 30a of the tube 30 in a width direction.
On the other hand, the second separated body 32B is provided with a main body portion 41 closing an opening portion 0 of the first separated body 32A. Abutment portions 42 brought into contact with a leading end surface 36a of the straight portion 36 in the first separated body 32A are formed in both ends of the main body portion 41.
Further, a joint projection 43 bonded to an inner peripheral surface 36b in a leading end portion of the straight portion 36 in the first separated body 32A is formed in an inner peripheral surface 41a of the main body portion 41. In other words, L-shaped joint surfaces 42a and 43a brought into contact with the leading end portion of the straight portion 36 in the first separated body 32A are formed in the second separated body 32B.
The main body portion 41 of the second separated body 32B is formed in such a manner as to approximately linearly connect the abutment portions 42 and 42 to each other so as to be approximately orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the tube 30. Accordingly, the pipe 32 constituted by the first separated body 32A and the second separated body 32B is formed in a square tube shape in a cross section.
The inner peripheral surface 41a of the main body portion 41 in the second separated body 32B is formed in a circular curved shape obtained by connecting a pair of joint projections 43 and 43 to each other by a smooth surface, and the circular curved surface 41a is a curved surface bulging to an outer side. Accordingly, the structure is made such that a high durability is achieved against a pressure applied from an inner portion of the pipe 32.
The pipe 32 having the structure mentioned above is manufactured by assembling the first separated body 32A and the second separated body 32B (while clamping the partition plate (not shown) to a predetermined position) as shown in
A length d2 of the base end portion of the joint projections 43 and 43 of the second separated body 32B along a caulking direction (directions of arrows AR1 and AR2 in
According to the header tank 31 for the heat exchanger based on the embodiment mentioned above, the following effects can be obtained.
First, since the first separated body 32A is set to the C-shaped cross sectional shape as shown in
Secondly, since the tube holding wall portion 34 of the first separated body 32A is formed in a flat shape orthogonal to the longitudinal direction X of the tube 30, it is possible to make the structure more compact in the longitudinal direction of the tube. In this case, according to the present invention, a curved tube holding wall portion 58 may be employed as far as a curvature is larger than a curvature of the small-diameter curved portion 35 as shown in
Thirdly, the second separated body 32B of the header tank 31 is comprised of the abutment portions 42 which are provided in both ends of the main body portion 41 and with which the leading end surface 36a of the straight portion 36 of the first separated body 32A is brought into contact, and the joint projection 43 which is protruded from the inner peripheral surface 41a of the main body portion 41 and is bonded to the inner peripheral surface 36b in the leading end portion of the straight portion 36. Accordingly, it is possible to assemble the first separated body 32A and the second separated body 32B while preventing both end portions 42 and 42 of the second separated body 32B from protruding out in the width direction Y of the tube 30 from the straight portion 36 of the first separated body 32A, as shown in
Further, in the cross sectional shape of the header tank 31, since the inner peripheral surface thereof comes close to the circular shape owing to the existence of the joint projections 43 and 43, the durability of the header tank 31 is further improved. In this case, it is not necessary that the leading end surface 36a of the straight portion 36 is brought into contact with the abutment portion 42. In other words, in the case that the size of the partition plate interposing in the pipe 32 is set large, there is a case that the abutment portion 42 and the leading end surface 36a of the straight portion 36 are apart from each other.
Fourthly, since the main body portion 41 of the second separated body 32B is formed in a linear shape, it is possible to make the header tank 31 (the pipe 32) more compact along the longitudinal direction X of the tube 30.
Fifthly, since the inner peripheral surface 41a of the main body portion 41 of the second separated body 32B is formed in the circular curved surface, an excellent pressure resistance can be achieved in comparison with the case that the entire of the inner peripheral surface of the pipe is formed in the polygonal cross sectional shape, while making the pipe 32 compact.
Sixthly, since the first separated body 32A and the second separated body 32B are temporarily fixed to each other by the caulking work of the straight portion 36 in the first separated body 32A, a jig for temporarily fixing the first separated body 32A and the second separated body 32B is not required at a time of brazing, and a wasteful heat capacity is not dissipated.
Seventhly, since the base end portions of the joint projections 43 and 43 in the second separated body 32B are formed thicker than the straight portion 36 of the first separated body 32A along the caulking direction Y, the joint projections 43 and 43 in the second separated body 32B do not fall down due to the caulking force, and it is possible to temporarily fix the first separated body 32A and the second separated body 32B securely.
A modified embodiment according to the present invention will be described bellow.
A caulking structure shown in
In this case, as in a caulking structure shown in
In a caulking structure shown in
According to the structure, the first separated body 32A and the second separated body 32B can be temporarily fixed more securely than the conventional structure. In the case of
As mentioned above, according to the present invention, in the structure in which the pipe of the header tank is formed by combining two separated bodies which are separated along the longitudinal direction, wherein the first separated body has the tube holding wall portion including the insertion hole inserting and holding the flat tube, and wherein a pair of straight portions protruded from the tube holding wall portion in the approximately orthogonal direction and formed along both sides of the tube in the width direction, and is formed in the C-shaped cross sectional shape.
In other words, it is possible to make the insertion depth of the tube short in comparison with the header tank having the circular cross sectional shape, by setting the first separated body to the C-shaped cross sectional shape, and it is possible to make the structure compact in the longitudinal direction of the tube while securing the same passage cross sectional area as that of the header tank having the circular cross sectional shape.
The present invention can be applied to various structures such as a heat radiator, a condenser, an evaporator and the like as far as it is a heat exchanger. However, it is particularly effective to apply to the condenser in which the width of the header tank becomes larger than the heat exchanging portion (the core portion) constituted by the tube and the fin as shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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P2003-096895 | Mar 2003 | JP | national |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040226705 A1 | Nov 2004 | US |