Heat exchanger and method of making the same

In a heat exchanger including a pair of substantially parallel header pipes and a plurality of substantially parallel tubes disposed between said pair of header pipes, each said tube defining a pair of end portions connected to said pair of header pipes, the improvement comprising:

• each of said pair of header pipes comprising a rectangular member having an opening formed on a side thereof and extending in the longitudinal direction of said rectangular member, and a connecting plate disposed in said opening, said connecting plate having a plurality of holes for inserting said end portions of said tubes therein to connect said tubes to each of said pair of header pipes;
• a plurality of fins provided along sides of said tubes;
• and
• a pair of reinforcement members provided along sides of each of the top and bottom fins, wherein said respective reinforcement members provided along sides of each of the top and bottom fins have a width which substantially equals the distance between the inner surfaces of said rectangular member in said opening and wherein said reinforcement members contact the side surfaces of said connecting plates at their end portions and contact the inner surfaces of said rectangular member in said opening along its side surfaces.

In a heat exchanger including a pair of substantially parallel header pipes and a plurality of substantially parallel tubes disposed between said pair of header pipes, each said tube defining a pair of end portions connected to said pair of header pipes, the improvement comprising:

• each of said pair of header pipes comprising a rectangular member having an opening formed on a side thereof and extending in the longitudinal direction of said rectangular member, and a connecting plate disposed in said opening, said connecting plate having a plurality of holes for inserting said end portions of said tubes therein to connect said tubes to each of said pair of header pipes;
• a plurality of fins provided along sides of said tubes;
• and
• a pair of reinforcement members provided along sides of each of the top and bottom fins, wherein said reinforcement members contact the side surfaces of said connecting plates at their end portions and contact the inner surfaces of said rectangular member in said opening along its side surfaces.

A heat exchanger comprising:

• a plurality of header pipes, each header pipe including an elongated channel member defining an opening along one side and a connecting plate disposed in said opening, said channel member and said connecting plate being interconnected to form a header pipe having a generally rectangular cross section, and said connecting plates defining a plurality of spaced apart holes along its length, wherein said channel member further includes an additional inner wall which divides said header pipe into a first portion forming a part of said path for the heat medium and second portion for enabling the use of fasteners to connect said bracket thereto;
• a plurality of heat exchange tubes each having a tubular construction and a plurality of ends, each said end of each heat exchange tube being received within a hole defined in said connecting plate to interconnect said header pipes together, said header pipes and tubes forming a path for the passage of a heat medium;
• an inlet tube interconnected with one of the header pipes to enable the heat medium to enter the heat exchanger;
• and
• an outlet tube interconnected with one of the header pipes to enable the heat medium to exit the heat exchanger.

A method of making a heat exchanger having a fluid flow path therein, said method comprising the steps of:

• forming a plurality of channel members such that each has a generally rectangular configuration and defines a longitudinal opening along one side thereof;
• forming an inner wall in at least one of said channel members such that said at least one channel member is divided into a first portion forming a part of the fluid flow path and a second portion for enabling the use of fasteners to connect a bracket thereto;
• forming a plurality of connecting plates;
• forming a plurality of spaced apart holes along the length of each of said connecting plates;
• forming a plurality of heat exchange tubes each having a pair of ends;
• inserting each end of each heat exchange tube into one of said holes defined in one of said connecting plates;
• and
• inserting each of said connecting plates into one of said openings defined by said channel members such that each assembled connecting plate and channel member define a rectangular header pipe.