Patent Application
20090229803
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat exchanger, and more particularly to a heat exchanger having an improved reinforcing structure or device for suitably reinforcing the heat exchanging plates or boards or housings and for preventing the heat exchanging plates or boards or housings from being distorted or deformed or broken.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typical heat exchangers comprise a receptacle including a chamber formed therein for receiving a heat medium, such as water or fluid, and an inlet and an outlet provided therein for allowing the heat medium or water or fluid to flow into and out of the chamber of the receptacle. The receptacle further includes a number of plates or boards or housings disposed therein, and superposed with each other, and each having a wavy structure arranged to allow the heat medium or water or fluid to flow through the wavy plates or boards or housings, and to allow the heat medium or water or fluid to be heat exchanged indirectly with the other heat medium within the chamber of the receptacle.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,065 to Bertilson et al. discloses one of the typical plate heat exchangers also comprising a receptacle including a number of plates or boards or housings disposed therein, and superposed with each other, and each plate or board including an inlet opening and an outlet opening provided therein and each formed by an inner peripheral flange for allowing the heat medium or water or fluid to flow into and out of the receptacle.
However, the plates or boards or housings may have a space formed between the peripheral flanges of the inlet openings and the outlet openings of the plates or boards such that the peripheral flanges of the plates or boards may not sustain a great pressure and may have a good chance to be bent or distorted or deformed or even broken when the pressurized heat medium or water or fluid flows through the inlet openings and the outlet openings of the plates or boards.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional heat exchanging plates or boards or housings for the heat exchangers.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger including an improved reinforcing structure or device for suitably reinforcing the peripheral flanges of the heat exchanging plates or boards or housings and for preventing the heat exchanging plates or boards or housings from being distorted or deformed or broken.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided a heat exchanger comprising a first heat exchanging board including an orifice formed therein, and including a peripheral flange formed and located around the orifice of the first heat exchanging board, at least one second heat exchanging board including an orifice formed therein, and including a peripheral flange formed and located around the orifice of the second heat exchanging board, and a reinforcing device disposed between the peripheral flanges of the first and the second heat exchanging boards, and including a bore formed in the reinforcing device and aligned with the orifices of the first and the second heat exchanging boards respectively for suitably reinforcing the first and the second heat exchanging boards and for preventing the first and the second heat exchanging boards from being distorted or deformed, and the reinforcing device including at least one opening formed therein and communicating with the bore of the reinforcing device and communicating with a space formed between the first and the second heat exchanging boards for allowing the heat medium to flow through the spaces between the heat exchanging boards and then to flow into or out of the orifices of the heat exchanging boards.
The opening of the reinforcing device may either be a notch or a through passage. The reinforcing device may also include a wavy structure having a number of swellings and depressions formed in the upper portion thereof and also having a number of swellings and depressions formed in the lower portion thereof for communicating the bore of the reinforcing device with the space formed between the heat exchanging boards, and the reinforcing device may also be disposed between the peripheral flanges of the heat exchanging boards for reinforcing the boards.
Further objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided hereinbelow, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to the drawings, and initially to
The boards may be formed with a wavy structure (not shown) for increasing the contacting area between the boards and the heat media, and for increasing the heat exchanging effect. The heat exchanging boards 10, 30 each includes one or more passages or orifices 11, 31 formed therein and each formed or defined by a peripheral flange 12, 32, and aligned with each other for controlling or guiding the heat medium to suitably flow through the passages or orifices 11, 31 of the heat exchanging boards 10, 30.
The heat exchanger 1 further includes a reinforcing structure or device 20 disposed between the peripheral flanges 12, 32 of every two adjacent heat exchanging boards 10, 30, and the reinforcing devices 20 each includes a ring shaped structure having a bore 21 formed therein and aligned with the orifices 11, 31 of the heat exchanging boards 10, 30 respectively for suitably reinforcing the heat exchanging boards 10, 30 and for preventing the heat exchanging boards 10, 30 from being distorted or deformed or even broken.
The reinforcing devices 20 each further includes a notch or opening 22 formed therein and communicating with the bore 21 of the reinforcing devices 20 and also communicating with the spaces 23 formed between the heat exchanging boards 10, 30 for allowing the heat medium or water or fluid to flow through the spaces 23 formed between the heat exchanging boards 10, 30 and to flow into or out of the orifices 11, 31 of the heat exchanging boards 10, 30, and the reinforcing devices 20 may thus be used to reinforce the heat exchanging boards 10, 30 and to prevent the heat exchanging boards 10, 30 from being distorted or deformed or even broken.
Alternatively, as shown in
Further alternatively, as shown in
Accordingly, the heat exchanger in accordance with the present invention includes an improved reinforcing structure or device, for suitably reinforcing the heat exchanging plates or boards or housings and for preventing the heat exchanging plates or boards or housings from being distorted or deformed or broken.
Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made by way of example only and that numerous changes in the detailed construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.
