Heat exchanger
AssigneeAustin Rover Group Limited
InventorDavid R. Howells
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A heat exchanger is provided in which two header tanks (11,12) are structurally connected together by two spaced apart casing members (15,16) therebeing a number of fluid conduits (13) to provide a fluid transfer connection therebetween. Each of the header tanks (11,12) includes a plate member (18) a side wall member (19) which defines in combination with the plate member (18) a fluid manifold each end of which is closed by a respective end cap (20A,20B,21A,21B). Each of the end caps (20A, 20B,21A,21B) includes means (25) used during assembly as an assembly aid. A further feature of the invention is the use of extruded material for several of the structural components.
Claims13
A heat exchanger of brazed aluminum construction comprising:
- a first tank;
- a second tank;
- a heat exchanger core interposed between said first and second tanks;
- a first casing member extending between said first and second tanks;
- a second casing member extending between said first and second tanks, the heat exchanger core including a number of fluid transfer conduits to provide a fluid transfer connection between said first and second tanks, each of said conduits being separated from adjacent conduits by an open structured heat transfer media, each of said tanks including a plate member defining a number of apertures, each aperture having one end of one of said fluid conduits secured therein, a side wall member connected to said plate member to define therewith a fluid manifold, at least one component from the group comprising said first casing member, said second casing member, and said side wall member extruded and formed with a pair of grooves, each groove having an open end and a closed end opposite said open end, and in which the distance between said open ends is different from the distance between said closed ends, and in which another component of the heat exchanger, other than said one component formed with said grooves, is formed with edges which lie within and are held by said grooves.
A method of assembling a heat exchanger, the heat exchanger comprising a first tank;
- a second tank;
- a heat exchanger core interposed between said first and second tanks;
- a first casing member extending between said first and second tanks;
- a second casing member extending between said first and second tanks, the heat exchanger core including a number of fluid transfer conduits to provide a fluid transfer connection between said first and second tanks, each of said conduits being separated from adjacent conduits by an open structured heat transfer media, each of said tanks including a plate member defining a number of apertures, each aperature having one end of one of said fluid conduits secured therein, a side wall member connected to said plate member to define therewith a fluid manifold, and a pair of end caps to close the ends of said manifold wherein one of said end caps defines a fluid inlet means and a further one of said end caps defines a fluid outlet means, the method including the steps of:
- fitting the end caps to the first and second casing members;
- stacking alternately the fluid conduits and the heat transfer media to form a sub-assembled heat exchanger core;
- fitting the plate members and the side wall members to the sub-assembled heat exchanger core;
- fitting the sub-assembled heat exchanger core complete with plate members and side walls to the second casing member so that the end caps become engaged with the lower ends of the manifolds defined by the side wall members and the plate members;
- fitting the first casing member complete with end caps to the sub-assembled heat exchanger core so that the end caps become engaged with the upper ends of the manifolds defined by the side wall members and the plate members;
- urging the first and second casing members towards each other thereby forcing the end caps fully into engagement with the manifolds and then placing the assembled but unsecured heat exchanger into a furnace where it is brought to a sufficiently high temperature to effect brazing of the pre-assembled parts.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.