US 8,037,595 B2Granted

Hairpin expander machine for manufacturing tube and fin heat exchangers with reduced tube diameter

AssigneeGoodman Global, Inc.

InventorsDan Dees, Eric Garza, Stephen Merschat, Sean Mosser, Andrew Overturff, Dale Stetson, William Topper

Life of this patent

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Abstract

An improved hairpin expander machine equipped with a closed-loop-controlled hydraulically positioned bolster plate and a heat exchanger-holding fixture characterized by a full-length, continuous front plate, back plate, and side rails. The hairpin expander includes a novel heat exchanger bottom end plate clamping mechanism as part of the fixture. These features enable the hairpin expander to provide larger expansion ratios and exert greater forces with tighter control, which is required for producing heat exchangers with reduced diameter hairpin tubes according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Claims3

Dependent claims

In a hairpin expander machine (250) for the manufacture of tube and fin heat exchangers (10), said hairpin expander machine (250) having (a) a fixture (259) for holding a heat exchanger assembly, which includes a loose stack of fins (12′) disposed between top and bottom end plates (14, 16) and at least one hairpin tube (22) laced through the stack of fins (12′) and the top and bottom end plates (14, 16), (b) a first actuator (252) coupled between said fixture (259) and at least one rod (256) so as to forcefully drive said at least one rod (256) within said at least one hairpin tube (22) to enlarge the diameter of said at least one hairpin tube (22), and (c) a second actuator (274) coupled between said fixture (259) and a bolster plate (272) so as to support said at least one hairpin tube (22) at its bent end (23) during expansion, the improvement comprising:

a base plate (165) having a recessed seat (166) formed therein for receiving said bottom end plate (16) of said heat exchanger assembly (10);
first and second bridges (452) immovably fixed to said base plate (165) and defining first and second openings between said base plate (165) and said first and second bridges (452), respectively;
and
a retaining member (456) arranged to be received within said first and second openings and dimensioned so that when said bottom end plate (16) of said heat exchanger assembly (10) is seated in said recessed seat (166) of said base plate (165), said bottom end plate (16) cannot be removed from said recessed seat (166) while said retaining member (456) remains received within said first and second openings;
wherein
said retaining member (456) is slidingly receivable within said first and second openings.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/485,370Filed 16 Jun 2009 · continuation
Priority: 13 Jun 2008
Published: US 2009/0307898 A117 Dec 2009
Granted: 18 Oct 2011
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification20 codes

B23P 15/26
Making specific metal objects by operations not covered by a single other subclass or a group in this subclass: heat exchangers or the like
B21D 39/06
Application of procedures in order to connect objects or parts, e.g. coating with sheet metal otherwise than by plating ; Tube expanders: of tubes…
B21D 39/20
Tube expanders: with mandrels, e.g. expandable
B21D 53/08
Heat exchangers or parts thereof, e.g. radiators, condensers fins, headers: of both metal tubes and sheet metal

Family

Application12/139,379Parent of this continuation · filed 13 Jun 2008
US 2009/0307898 A1Pre-grant publication · published 17 Dec 2009
US 2009/0308583 A1Published application
US 8,033,018 B2Related patent
US 8,037,595 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.