Claims
- 1. A heat exchanger of the plate fin type having first fluid channels and second fluid channels arranged alternately and each separated from the adjacent channel by a flat metal plate, at least one of the first fluid channel and the second channel being formed by a pair of adjacent flat metal plates and a spacer interposed between the flat plates, the spacer comprising a pair of side walls each joined to an interconnecting a pair of opposed edges of the two flat plates at each side thereof, a connecting wall interconnecting the two side walls and spaced apart from the opposite flat plates in parallel therewith, and fins provided on the opposite surfaces of the connecting wall at a right angle therewith and joined at their forward ends to the flat plate, the fins extending in parallel with the direction of flow of fluid through the fluid channel, wherein each fin is further provided with a plurality of bent portions projecting to at least either of the right and the left at a specified spacing in the direction of flow of fluid, each bent portion having a `V`-shape oriented transversely of the direction of fluid flow and opened toward the side at which the bent portion does not project, when cut along a plane parallel with the connecting wall, said `V`-shape being the largest at the side of the flat plate and gradually getting smaller as it comes close to the connecting wall portion, and in a next row of passages being the largest at the side of said connecting wall and gradually getting smaller as it comes close to said flat plate, and a flat portion of said fin provided between the bent portions adjacent to each other in the direction of flow of fluid.
- 2. A heat exchanger as defined in claim 1 in which each of the side walls has a larger thickness than each fin.
Priority Claims (4)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
| 59-128284 |
Jun 1984 |
JPX |
|
| 59-128285 |
Jun 1984 |
JPX |
|
| 59-128286 |
Jun 1984 |
JPX |
|
| 59-110413[U] |
Jul 1984 |
JPX |
|
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This application is a division of application Ser. No. 746,472, filed June 19, 1985, now abandoned.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to heat exchangers of the plate fin type for use in oil coolers, condensers, evaporators, etc., and more particularly to a heat exchanger of the plate fin type which has first fluid channels and second fluid channels arranged alternately and each separated from the adjacent channel by a flat metal plate.
The term "aluminum" as used herein includes pure aluminum, commercial pure aluminum containing small amounts of impurities and aluminum alloys. The terms "front" and "rear" are used based on the direction of flow of a fluid through the first fluid channel which is formed by flat plates and a spacer; the term "front" refers to the direction in which the fluid flows, and the term "rear" to the opposite direction. The terms "right" and "left" are used as the heat exchanger is viewed by a person facing the front.
Conventional heat exchangers of the plate fin type have first fluid channels and second fluid channels for a fluid different from the fluid through the first channels, the first and second channels being arranged alternately and separated by a flat metal plate. A side bar is interposed between the opposed edges of the adjacent flat plates at each side thereof, and a corrugated fin is provided between two side bars. For example, brazing sheets, side bars and corrugated fins are joined together by a vacuum brazing process to assemble such a heat exchanger.
However, the conventional plate fin-type heat exchanger, which comprises a large number of parts, has the problem that the step of setting the parts requires much time and is not amenable to automation, consequently making it impossible to manufacture heat exchangers efficiently.
The present invention provides a heat exchanger of the plate fin type which is free of the above problem.
The heat exchanger of the plate fin type according to the invention has first fluid channels and second fluid channels arranged alternately and each separated from the adjacent channel by a flat metal plate. At least one of the first fluid channel and the second fluid channel is formed by a pair of adjacent flat metal plates and a spacer interposed between the flat plates. The spacer comprises a pair of side walls each joined to and interconnecting a pair of opposed edges of the two flat plates at each side thereof, a connecting wall interconnecting the two side walls, and fins provided on the connecting wall at an angle therewith and joined at their forward ends to the flat plate, the fins extending in parallel with the direction of flow of fluid through the fluid channel. Since the side walls, the connecting wall and the fins are integral to form the spacer, the space needs only to be interposed between a pair of flat plates. Accordingly, the heat exchanger can be constructed of a reduced number of parts, which can be set within a greatly shortened period of time, and the setting step is amenable to automation. As a result, the heat exchanger can be produced with an improved efficiency.
The present invention will be described below in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Foreign Referenced Citations (2)
| Number |
Date |
Country |
| 517964 |
Jan 1955 |
BEX |
| 506471 |
Oct 1954 |
CAX |
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
| Parent |
746472 |
Jun 1985 |
|
Patent Grant
4729428
