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US 5,491,997 AGranted
Apparatus and method for forming a heat exchanger inner fin having cross-flow passages
AssigneeNippondenso Co., Ltd.
InventorYuji Ogawa
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AssigneeNippondenso Co., Ltd.
InventorYuji Ogawa
Estimating the term…
In a heat exchanger, an inner fin is formed from a thin plate of aluminum alloy having a corrugated cross-section in a widthwise direction. The inner fin includes multiple crest surfaces extending parallel to one another in a lengthwise direction and multiple trough surfaces extending parallel to one another in the lengthwise direction. The crest surfaces and the trough surfaces are connected together by inclined surfaces. The crest surfaces have concavities which are shifted relative to one other in the lengthwise direction of the fin so that the concavities formed in adjacent crest surfaces are not aligned with one another in the widthwise direction. The inner fin inserted into the tube partitions the passages which communicate with each other through the concavities.
A forming apparatus for processing band plate into an inner fin corrugated laterally to have a plurality of alternating crest portions and trough portions, a crest portion of said plurality of crest portions having a plurality of concavities defined by a reduced height portion thereof, said apparatus comprising:
A method of processing a band plate into an inner fin corrugated laterally to have a plurality of alternating crest portions and trough portions, a crest portion of said plurality of crest portions having a plurality of concavities defined by a reduced height portion thereof, said method comprising the steps of:
An apparatus for producing an inner fin having a plurality of parallel passages, said apparatus comprising:
An apparatus for producing an inner fin having a plurality of parallel passages, said apparatus comprising:
A method of producing an inner fin having a plurality of parallel passages, said method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
Tubular elements; Assemblies of tubular elements: tubular elements of cross-section which is non-circular
By rolling: the corrugations being parallel to the feeding movement
Elements or assemblies thereof with means for increasing heat-transfer area, e.g. with fins, with recesses, with corrugations: the means being…
Details of heat-exchange and heat-transfer apparatus, of general application
Term ended 20 Feb 2013 (estimated)
USPTO file history isn’t available for this patent, so only indexed dates are shown.
1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to an inner fin for a heat exchanger, and in particular, to an inner fin fixedly inserted into a heat exchange tube and a manufacturing method of the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
The foregoing and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1(a) is a schematic perspective view showing an inner fin according to an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 1(b) is a cross section taken along line 1b--1b in FIG. 1(a);
FIG. 2(a) is a fragmentary schematic enlarged view at a compressed scale in the lengthwise direction of an inner fin, showing an inner fin according to an embodiment of the invention, with a certain part cut away, and FIG. 2(b) is a cross section taken along line 2b--2b in FIG. 2(a);
An embodiment of the invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIGS. 1-4 show an embodiment, in which an inner fin of the invention is applied to a heat exchanger tube used in an air conditioner for an automobile.
As shown in FIG. 1(a), an inner fin 5 is formed of a thin plate which extends in a lengthwise direction and has a corrugated section in a widthwise direction. The thin plate is made of aluminum or aluminum alloy. In a plan view, trough surfaces 6 and crest surfaces 7 are connected together by inclined surfaces 8, and the trough surface 6 and the crest surfaces 7 are located alternately in the widthwise direction. The illustrated crest surfaces 7 are four in number and extend parallel in the lengthwise direction in the top view, as shown in FIG. 1.