US 4,580,623 AGranted

Heat exchanger

AssigneeInglis Limited

InventorsCory T. Smitte, Rico D. Ferrelli

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Abstract

An evaporator for refrigeration devices comprises a serpentine tube bundle having a plurality of spaced-apart parallel fins. The tube bundle is arranged to provide sets of tubes in a staggered arrangement to increase the number of tube passes for the height of the evaporator and space the tubes apart to improve efficiency of air flow patterns over the tubes to enhance heat transfer. The fins are made of ultra-thin material of a thickness less than 0.20 millimeters. The fins have an embossed pattern to reinforce the fins through which the tubes extend in appropriately shaped apertures. Due to the thinness of the fins, portions of the fin walls are displaced by inserting the tubes in the apertures to ensure metal to metal contact between the fin and the tubes. The embossed pattern is such to induce turbulence in the air flowing over the fins and tubes to considerably increase the efficiency of the evaporator unit.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A heat exchanger for exchanging heat between a first medium carried in a tube bundle of parallel extending spaced-apart tubes and a second medium flowing over said tube bundle, said heat exchanger comprising a plurality of essentially parallel spaced-apart fins extending perpendicularly to said tubes and through which said tubes extend, each of said tubes having a wall of lightweight metal in contact with said plurality of fins to provide for heat conduction between said tubes and said fins, said fins being ultra-thin of a thickness less than 0.20 mm formed of a lightweight metal chemically and thermally compatible with said lightweight metal of the tube walls, each of said fins having a pattern of embossments extending generally in a length dimension of each fin for increasing structural rigidity of said ultra-thin fin, each of said fins having plural aperatures through which tubes of said bundle pass, at least a portion of said ultra-thin fin about each said aperture is displaced to provide a flange which contacts at least a portion of corresponding tube wall, said embossment pattern reinforcing said fin about said fin flange by providing a continuous ridge having a curved ridge portion adjacent to and encircling a portion of each said flange disposed centrally of said fin and extending substantially the length of said fin, said fin being displaced approximately its wall thickness in forming said embossment pattern to induce turbulence in the medium flowing over said plurality of fins when said heat exchanger is in use.

An evaporator for use in a refrigeration device, said evaporator comprising a serpentine tube bundle arrangement and a plurality of parallel fins through which tubes of said tube bundle extend, said serpentine tube bundle comprising a continuous tube with an inlet and an outlet for a first heat exchange medium carried in said tube, said tube having a series of aligned reverse bends to provide a plurality of parallel tubes, said parallel tubes being arranged in sets of two as determined by the respective reverse bend, each of said fins having a length and width dimension, two rows of a plurality of said sets of tubes extending along said length dimension of said fin, said two parallel tubes of each set being offset laterally and sloping at an angle relative to said length dimension of said fin to provide two rows of sets of tubes all sloping in the same direction, each of said fins being identical in shape and comprising an elongate ultra-thin metal body portion having top and bottom edges and opposite side edges, two rows of spaced-apart slots being provided in said fin which are sloped relative to the length dimension of the fin to be in register with and receive a respective set of tubes, said parallel tubes of said set being spaced apart slightly greater than the length of said slot, opposite portions of said ultra-thin fin about said slot having flanges against which said set of tubes are press fitted to ensure metal to metal contact between said fin and at least a portion of the respective tube wall, each of said fins having similar embossment pattern for reinforcing said fin about said fin flanges, said embossment pattern comprising two continuous ridges extending the length of said fin, each ridge being associated with each row of slots, said ridge extending parallel with each slot, curving around the innermost portion of each slot relative to the fin width to reinforce said fin flange and continuing parallel to the next slot of the row, said two continuous ridges as they traverse portions of said fin diagonally thereby reinforce the central region of each fin along its length, said fin being displaced sufficiently in forming said embossment pattern to induce turbulence in a second heat exchange medium flowing over said plurality of fins when said evaporator is in use.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.