Patent Application
20190226730
The present disclosure relates to a modulator assembly for a condenser, the modulator assembly including a brazed-in connector and/or a threaded-in connector.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure, which is not necessarily prior art.
Existing condensers include inlet and outlet connectors, which are brazed to one or both header tanks of the condenser. Many existing condensers also have a modulator brazed to one of the header tanks. While existing condenser assemblies are suitable for their intended use, they are subject to improvement. For example, because each brazing is a potential leak path, it would be desirable to reduce the number of brazing connections to the header tanks. The present disclosure advantageously includes a modulator assembly for a condenser that reduces the number of brazing connections to the header tanks of the condenser, thereby reducing the number of potential leak paths. The present disclosure also provides various packaging and production advantages, as one skilled in the art will appreciate.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
The present disclosure includes a modulator assembly for a condenser. The modulator assembly has a tube having a first end and a second end. A first connector is brazed to the first end of the tube. A second connector is threadably secured at the second end of the tube.
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 select 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 initial reference to
The condenser 12 generally includes a core 14 of refrigerant conduits, which extend between a first header tank 16 and a second header tank 18. The condenser assembly 10 may include one or more mounting brackets 20 for mounting the condenser assembly 10 at any suitable location. In the example of
The modulator assembly 30 includes a tube 32. The tube 32 can be made of any suitable material, such as aluminum. The tube 32 is secured to the first header tank 16 by brazing at tank mating portions 34 and 36.
The modulator assembly 30 includes an inlet connector 40, which is connected to any suitable inlet conduit 42. Refrigerant flows through the inlet conduit 42 to the inlet connector 40. From the inlet connector 40, the refrigerant flows into the condenser 12 through an opening of the first header tank 16. At the condenser 12, high pressure gas refrigerant condenses as the refrigerant flows through the core 14. From the core 14, the refrigerant flows out of an opening of the first header tank 16, and back to the modulator assembly 30 by way of the tank mating portion 36 and an outlet connector assembly 50. Liquid refrigerant flows out of the modulator assembly 30 through an outlet conduit 52, and any remaining gaseous refrigerant continues to condense within the modulator assembly 30. After the gaseous refrigerant condenses into liquid refrigerant, it flows out through the outlet conduit 52. Thus the condenser assembly 10 advantageously radiates heat out of the refrigerant and the HVAC system generally. The condenser assembly 10 can be configured as a three-pass condenser assembly, a one-pass condenser assembly, or any other suitable condenser assembly having any suitable number of passes, such as, but not limited to, passes of any odd number increments.
With continued reference to
The outlet connector assembly 50 further includes the outlet connector 70. The outlet connector 70 has a plurality of threads 72, which are configured to cooperate with internal threads of the block 60. The outlet connector 70 defines an outlet 74, to which the outlet conduit 52 can be connected to. To provide a seal between the outlet connector 70 and the outlet conduit 52, one or more seals, such as washers 76, can be arranged proximate to the outlet 74. The outlet connector 70 defines an opening 78, which is aligned with the opening 62 of the block 60 when the outlet connector 70 is threaded into cooperation with the block 60. The block 60 and the outlet connector 70 can each be made of any suitable material, such as aluminum.
The threaded connection between the outlet connector 70 and the block 60 advantageously allows the outlet connector 70 to be removably attached to the block 60. Thus after the block 60 is braised to the tube 32, the outlet connector 70 may be threadably coupled to, and decoupled from, the block 60 in order to allow a suitable drying agent, such as a desiccant (e.g., desiccant beads) to be added to, or removed from, the modulator assembly 30. The desiccant absorbs moisture to prevent it from circulating throughout the HVAC system.
The tank mating portion 36 is at the opening 80, and includes a first leg 82 and a second leg 84 on opposite sides of the opening 80. The first and second legs 82 and 84 each extend outward, and are generally curved to match an outer radii of the first header tank 16 so that the first and second legs 82 and 84 closely abut the first header tank 16. A planar surface 86 of the tube 32 extends between the tank mating portion 36 and the tank mating portion 34, and is shaped to abut a generally planar portion of the first header tank 16. The tank mating portion 34 is the same as, or substantially similar to, the tank making portion 36, and thus the illustration and description of the tank mating portion 36 is sufficient to describe the tank mating portion 34. With regards to
With additional reference to
Thus the present disclosure advantageously provides for a modulator assembly 30 as a single sub-assembly having both an inlet connector 40 and an outlet connector assembly 50, which eliminates any need for separate inlet and outlet connectors to be brazed to the tanks 16/18 of the condenser 12. Reducing the number of brazings to the tanks 16/18 advantageously reduces potential leak paths. Providing the modulator assembly 30 as a single subassembly also provides various packaging and production advantages, as one skilled in the art will appreciate. For example, the present disclosure permits a more narrow condenser profile, increased design flexibility, and has few features that may potentially obstruct use of side seals. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present disclosure provides numerous additional advantages and unexpected results over the art.
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.
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 herein 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 herein 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 herein 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.
