Vehicle condenser
AssigneesHyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation
InventorsMan Ju Oh, Sang Shin Lee
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An embodiment vehicle condenser includes a heater including an internal space coupled to receive a refrigerant and a heat exchanger integrally formed with the heater and configured to allow the refrigerant heated in the heater to exchange heat with ambient air. In an embodiment, the heat exchanger includes a plurality of flow-path pipes, wherein a first side of each of the flow-path pipes is integrally connected to the heater, a tank integrally connected to a second side of each of the flow-path pipes and configured to collect the refrigerant after heat is exchanged in the flow-path pipes, and a return pipe that defines a flow path for the refrigerant collected in the tank to be discharged after the refrigerant passes through the heater.
Claims6
A vehicle condenser comprising:
- a heater comprising an internal space coupled to receive a refrigerant;
- and
- a heat exchanger integrally formed with the heater and configured to allow the refrigerant heated in the heater to exchange heat with ambient air
- wherein the heater comprises:
- a heater housing comprising the internal space configured to allow the refrigerant to flow therethrough;
- a heater main body provided in the internal space in the heater housing and configured to heat the refrigerant;
- a guide bracket provided in the internal space in the heater housing to hold the heater main body in place in the internal space in the heater housing;
- and
- additional heater main bodies,
- wherein:
- the guide bracket defines a flow path for the refrigerant introduced into the internal space in the heater housing,
- the heater main body and the additional heater main bodies each have a bar shape,
- the heater main body and the additional heater main bodies are arranged in an upward-downward direction in the internal space in the heater housing, and
- the guide bracket is wrapped in a helical shape around the heater main body and the additional heater main bodies.
A method for operating a vehicle condenser, the method comprising:
- heating a refrigerant received in an internal space of a heater;
- and
- flowing the refrigerant out of the heater and into a heat exchanger integrally formed with the heater, wherein the refrigerant heated in the heater exchanges heat with ambient air through the heat exchanger,
- wherein:
- heating the refrigerant comprises:
- flowing the refrigerant through a heater housing of the heater, the heater housing comprising the internal space;
- and
- heating the refrigerant using a heater main body provided in the internal space,
- a guide bracket is provided in the internal space in the heater housing to hold the heater main body in place in the internal space in the heater housing,
- the guide bracket defines a flow path for the refrigerant introduced into the internal space in the heater housing,
- the heater further comprises additional heater main bodies,
- the heater main body and the additional heater main bodies each have a bar shape,
- the heater main body and the additional heater main bodies are arranged in an upward-downward direction in the internal space in the heater housing, and
- the guide bracket is wrapped in a helical shape around the heater main body and the additional heater main bodies.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.