A microchannel heat exchanger

Abstract

The present invention provides a microchannel heat exchanger, comprising two headers and a plurality of flat tubes, wherein the plurality of flat tubes are vertically connected between the two headers, and the two ends of the flat tubes are respectively connected with a plurality of connectors for connecting the two headers, wherein the diameter of the header connected at one end of the connector is smaller than the width of the flat tube connected at the other end of the connector. The microchannel heat exchanger can not only increase the refrigerant flow rate in the header, but also make the refrigerant entering the flat tubes more evenly separated, thereby improving the heat exchanger performance and reducing the refrigerant charge.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of heat exchangers, and in particular to a microchannel heat exchanger. Background Art

[0002] The inner diameter of the header of a traditional microchannel heat exchanger must be larger than the width of the flat tube to complete the assembly. Therefore, the internal space of the header is larger, which will reduce the refrigerant flow rate in the header, causing the refrigerant gas and liquid stratification when the heat exchanger acts as an evaporator, and uneven liquid separation when entering the flat tube, reducing the performance of the heat exchanger and increasing the refrigerant charge.

[0003] Patent CN103245132B discloses a microchannel heat exchanger that is beneficial for reducing the amount of refrigerant charged. It provides a technical solution for rotating the ends of the flat tubes 90° and then inserting them into the manifold to reduce the diameter of the manifold and reduce the amount of refrigerant charged. However, after the ends of the flat tubes are rotated 90°, the distance between two adjacent flat tubes is expanded to exceed the width of the flat tubes, which is not conducive to heat exchange outside the tubes.

[0004] Patent CN201964816U discloses a microchannel heat exchange flat tube with anisotropic tube openings and a heat exchanger, providing a technical solution for converting the flat tube port from a flat port with multiple microchannels into a port with a circular, polygonal or other cross-sectional shape, thereby reducing the diameter of the collecting pipe and reducing the amount of refrigerant injection. However, the flat tube structure of this technical solution is complex and difficult to process. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to avoid the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a microchannel heat exchanger, which can not only increase the refrigerant flow rate in the header, but also make the refrigerant entering the flat tube more evenly separated, thereby improving the heat exchanger performance and reducing the refrigerant charge.

[0006] An embodiment of the present invention provides a microchannel heat exchanger, comprising two headers and a plurality of flat tubes, wherein the plurality of flat tubes are vertically connected between the two headers, and the two ends of the flat tubes are respectively connected with a plurality of connectors for connecting the two headers, wherein the diameter of the header connected at one end of the connector is smaller than the width of the flat tube connected at the other end of the connector.

[0007] Furthermore, one end of the connector is provided with a header slot for fixing the header, and the other end is provided with a flat tube slot for fixing the flat tube, and a connecting hole for connecting the header slot and the flat tube slot is provided between the header slot and the flat tube slot.

[0008] Furthermore, the collecting pipe is provided with a plurality of collecting pipe holes corresponding to the connecting holes, and the diameter of the collecting pipe holes is equal to the diameter of the connecting holes.

[0009] Furthermore, the cross-section of the manifold slot is semicircular, the outer diameter of the manifold is the same as the diameter of the manifold slot, and the diameter of the manifold slot is smaller than the width of the flat tube slot.

[0010] Furthermore, one end of the connecting piece is connected to the header through a header slot, and the other end is connected to the flat tube through a flat tube slot.

[0011] Furthermore, one end of the connector is provided with a convex tube for fixing the collecting pipe, and the other end is provided with a flat tube limiting groove for fixing the flat tube, and a connecting channel for connecting the convex tube and the flat tube limiting groove is provided between the convex tube and the flat tube limiting groove.

[0012] Furthermore, the convex tube is a cylindrical convex tube, the outer diameter of the convex tube is smaller than the outer diameter of the collecting tube, and the outer diameter of the collecting tube is smaller than the width of the flat tube limiting groove.

[0013] Furthermore, one end of the connecting piece is connected to the collecting pipe through a convex pipe, and the other end is connected to the flat tube through a flat tube limiting groove.

[0014] Furthermore, the two collecting pipes are respectively a liquid collecting pipe and an air collecting pipe, one end of the liquid collecting pipe is connected to a plurality of liquid collecting pipe inlet and outlet pipes, and one end of the air collecting pipe is connected to a plurality of air collecting pipe inlet and outlet pipes.

[0015] Furthermore, the collecting pipe is provided with a plurality of spacers for separating the collecting pipes, a cavity is formed between two adjacent spacers, a plurality of cavities are provided, and a single cavity is connected to one of the collecting pipe inlet and outlet pipes.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: since a connector is provided between the header and the flat tube, the diameter of the header can be made smaller than the width of the flat tube, thereby increasing the refrigerant flow rate in the header, slowing down the gas-liquid stratification of the refrigerant in the header when used as an evaporator, making the refrigerant entering the flat tube more evenly separated, thereby improving the performance of the heat exchanger and reducing the refrigerant charge amount. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The invention is further described using the accompanying drawings, but the embodiments in the accompanying drawings do not constitute any limitation to the invention. A person skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on the following drawings without creative work.

[0018] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the microchannel heat exchanger of the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 2 It is a front view of a microchannel heat exchanger according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the connecting piece of the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 4 It is a cross-sectional view of a connecting member according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 5 It is an assembly cross-sectional view of a connecting piece for a header and a flat tube according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the connecting piece for the header and the flat tube according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the connecting piece of the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of a connecting member according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Fig. 9 It is an assembly cross-sectional view of a connecting piece for a header and a flat tube according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Fig.10 It is a schematic diagram of the assembly of the connecting piece for the header and the flat tube according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] The figure includes: a collecting pipe 1, a liquid collecting pipe 11, a spacer 111, a liquid collecting pipe inlet and outlet pipe 112, a gas collecting pipe 12, a collecting pipe hole 13, a gas collecting pipe inlet and outlet pipe 121, a flat tube 2, a connecting piece 3, a collecting pipe slot 4, a flat tube slot 5, a connecting hole 6, a convex tube 7, a flat tube limiting slot 8, and a connecting channel 9. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The present invention is further described in conjunction with the following examples.

[0030] Embodiment 1

[0031] like Figure 1As shown, an embodiment of the present invention provides a microchannel heat exchanger, comprising two headers 1 and a plurality of flat tubes 2, wherein the plurality of flat tubes 2 are vertically connected between the two headers 1, and the two ends of the flat tubes 2 are respectively connected with a plurality of connectors 3 for connecting the two headers 1, wherein the diameter of the header 1 connected at one end of the connector 3 is smaller than the width of the flat tube 2 connected at the other end of the connector 3, and further, a header clamping groove 4 for fixing the header 1 is provided at one end of the connector 3, and a flat tube clamping groove 5 for fixing the flat tube 2 is provided at the other end, and a connection for connecting the header clamping groove 4 and the flat tube clamping groove 5 is provided between the header clamping groove 4 and the flat tube clamping groove 5 The connecting hole 6 can ensure that the header and the flat tubes are connected. At the same time, since a connecting piece 3 is provided between the header 1 and the flat tubes 2, the connecting piece 3 has a header clamping groove 4 and a flat tube clamping groove 5 that are connected to each other. The header clamping groove 4 and the header 1 are mutually engaged and assembled, and the flat tube clamping groove 5 and the flat tube 2 are mutually engaged and assembled, so that the diameter of the header 1 can be made smaller than the width of the flat tube 2, thereby increasing the refrigerant flow rate in the header 1. When used as an evaporator, the gas-liquid stratification of the refrigerant in the liquid header 11 can be slowed down, so that the refrigerant entering the flat tube 2 is more evenly separated, the heat exchanger performance is improved, and the refrigerant charge amount is reduced.

[0032] like Figure 1 As shown, in a preferred embodiment, the two collecting pipes 1 are respectively a liquid collecting pipe 11 and an air collecting pipe 12, one end of the liquid collecting pipe 11 is also connected to a plurality of liquid collecting pipe inlet and outlet pipes 112, and one end of the air collecting pipe 12 is also connected to an air collecting pipe inlet and outlet pipe 121, to ensure the normal operation of the microchannel heat exchanger.

[0033] like Figure 1 As shown, in a preferred embodiment, the collecting pipe 11 is further provided with a plurality of partitions 111 for separating the collecting pipe 11, and a cavity (not shown in the figure) is formed between two adjacent partitions 111. There are a plurality of cavities, and a single cavity is connected to a collecting pipe inlet and outlet pipe 112. When the collecting pipe 11 is long, the partitions 111 are used to separate the collecting pipe 11 into a plurality of cavities, which can effectively solve the problem of uneven flow distribution, thereby improving the performance of the heat exchanger.

[0034] like Figure 1 As shown, in a preferred embodiment, a plurality of manifold holes 13 corresponding to the connecting holes 6 are provided on the manifold 1, and the diameter of the manifold holes 13 is equal to the diameter of the connecting holes 6, which can not only position the connecting piece 3, but also ensure that the manifold 1 is connected to the flat tube 2.

[0035] like Figure 1 As shown, in a preferred embodiment, the cross-section of the manifold slot 4 is semicircular, the outer diameter of the manifold 1 is the same as the diameter of the manifold slot 4, and the diameter of the manifold slot 4 is smaller than the width of the flat tube slot 5, ensuring that the diameter of the manifold 1 is smaller than the width of the flat tube 2.

[0036] like Figure 1As shown, in a preferred embodiment, one end of the connector 3 is connected to the header 1 through the header slot 4, and the other end is connected to the flat tube 2 through the flat tube slot 5, wherein the liquid collecting pipe 11 and the gas collecting pipe 12 are assembled with the header slot 4 of the connector 3, and the flat tube 2 is assembled with the flat tube slot 5 of the connector 1, and the header holes 13 opened on the liquid collecting pipe 11 and the gas collecting pipe 12 are arranged corresponding to the connecting holes 103, so that the assembly is simple and the processing steps are reduced.

[0037] Embodiment 2

[0038] The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that: one end of the connecting piece 3 is provided with a convex tube 7 for fixing the liquid collecting pipe 11 and the gas collecting pipe 12, and the other end is provided with a flat tube limiting groove 8 for fixing the flat tube 2, and a connecting channel 9 for connecting the convex tube 7 and the flat tube limiting groove 8 is opened between the convex tube 7 and the flat tube limiting groove 8. Furthermore, one end of the connecting piece 3 is connected with the collecting pipe 1 through the convex tube 7, and the other end is connected with the flat tube 2 through the flat tube limiting groove 8, wherein the liquid collecting pipe 11 and the gas collecting pipe 12 are assembled with the convex tube 7 of the connecting piece 3, and the flat tube 2 is assembled with the flat tube limiting groove 8 of the connecting piece 3, and the convex tube 7 is inserted into the collecting pipe hole 13, so that the assembly is simple and the processing steps are reduced.

[0039] like Figure 1 As shown, in a preferred embodiment, the convex tube 7 is a cylindrical convex tube 7, the outer diameter of the convex tube 7 is smaller than the outer diameter of the collecting tube 1, and the outer diameter of the collecting tube 1 is smaller than the width of the flat tube limiting groove 8, ensuring that the diameter of the collecting tube 1 is smaller than the width of the flat tube 2.

[0040] The advantage of this embodiment is that the connector 3 in this embodiment is more convenient, simpler and faster in the assembly process of the liquid collecting pipe 11, the gas collecting pipe 12 and the flat tube 2 than in the embodiment 1.

[0041] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: since a connector is provided between the header and the flat tubes, the diameter of the header can be made smaller than the width of the flat tubes, thereby increasing the refrigerant flow rate in the header, slowing down the gas-liquid stratification of the refrigerant in the header when used as an evaporator, making the refrigerant entering the flat tubes more evenly separated, thereby improving the performance of the heat exchanger and reducing the refrigerant charge amount.

[0042] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, rather than to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solution of the present invention can be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the essence and scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A microchannel heat exchanger, comprising two headers and a plurality of flat tubes, wherein the plurality of flat tubes are vertically connected between the two headers, characterized in that: The two ends of the flat tube are also connected with a plurality of connectors for connecting the two collecting pipes, and the diameter of the collecting pipe connected at one end of the connector is smaller than the width of the flat tube connected at the other end of the connector; one end of the connector is provided with a collecting pipe clamping groove for fixing the collecting pipe, and the other end is provided with a flat tube clamping groove for fixing the flat tube, and a connecting hole for connecting the collecting pipe clamping groove and the flat tube clamping groove is provided between the collecting pipe clamping groove and the flat tube clamping groove, and the connecting hole is a cylindrical through hole; the collecting pipe is also provided with a plurality of collecting pipe holes corresponding to the connecting holes, and the diameter of the collecting pipe hole is equal to the diameter of the connecting hole; the cross section of the collecting pipe clamping groove is a semicircle The outer diameter of the collecting pipe is the same as the diameter of the collecting pipe slot, and the diameter of the collecting pipe slot is smaller than the width of the flat tube slot; one end of the connecting piece is connected to the collecting pipe through the collecting pipe slot, and the other end is connected to the flat tube through the flat tube slot; the two collecting pipes are respectively a liquid collecting pipe and a gas collecting pipe, one end of the liquid collecting pipe is also connected to a plurality of liquid collecting pipe inlet and outlet pipes, and one end of the gas collecting pipe is also connected to a gas collecting pipe inlet and outlet pipe; the liquid collecting pipe is also provided with a plurality of spacers for separating the liquid collecting pipes, a cavity is formed between two adjacent spacers, a plurality of cavities are provided, and a single cavity is connected to one of the liquid collecting pipe inlet and outlet pipes.

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