Battery assembly for heat exchanger and heat exchanger equipped with same

Abstract

The invention relates to a battery assembly for a heat exchanger and a heat exchanger equipped with the battery assembly. A battery assembly for a heat exchanger comprises a tube bundle provided with tubes (3) and a shoulder assembly provided with a front clamp (7) having holes (2) for the passage of the tubes (3), where the front clamp (7) is fixed to a frame (8) of the battery assembly by means of a corresponding post (9). According to the invention, the aforementioned front clamp (7) is mounted on the aforementioned battery assembly in an adjustable positioning manner in order to correct the centering error of the tube (3) with respect to the aforementioned hole (2) of the clamp (7). Compared with a battery assembly of the prior art, the battery assembly according to the invention provides the advantage that the shoulder assembly is equipped with a floating clamp, i.e., the floating clamp is slidably mounted on the frame of the battery assembly, so as to allow the centering error between the hole of the shoulder clamp and the tube passing through the hole to be corrected.

Description

Background of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a novel battery assembly for a heat exchanger and a heat exchanger equipped with the battery assembly.

[0002] The battery assembly of a heat exchanger, such as a refrigeration device, an air conditioning device, a heating device, etc., comprises a fin group consisting of a plurality of tubes and fins with a large radiation surface, the fin group being made of a material with a high thermal conductivity, such as copper and aluminum. Both the tubes and the fins of the fin group have a reduced thickness, which is not sufficient to withstand high static loads and even insufficient to withstand dynamic loads due to the deadweight of the fin group on the battery assembly. In addition, when these structures are subjected to operating thermal jumps of the heat exchanger, thermal expansion becomes the main cause of undesirable mechanical stresses on the tube bundles of the fin group.

[0003] In order to support the described set of tubes and fins, the battery assembly of the heat exchanger has a shoulder assembly consisting of a front clamp fixed to the battery assembly by suitable studs. On this front clamp are provided holes whose diameter is greater than that of the tubes passing through it and which are intended to allow for the dimensional changes caused by thermal jumps. Furthermore, in order to make full use of the free space between the outer surface of the tubes and the corresponding holes of the shoulder where they are located, the tubes must be perfectly centered relative to these holes.

[0004] However, it may happen that, for example during assembly operations of the fin pack on the battery assembly, this centering condition is lost.

[0005] In the solutions proposed in the prior art, the supporting shoulders of the fin assembly are permanently or irremovably fixed to the heat exchanger frame. For this reason, once the fin assembly is put into operation on a battery assembly, it is no longer possible to correct the centering defects of the tubes relative to the shoulder holes, since the relative position of these parts is no longer modifiable.

[0006] Patent publication number EP 1 715 277 A2 discloses a heat exchanger structure equipped with a fin group, wherein the fins are fixed by an adhesive material. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a battery assembly for heat exchangers which allows correction of errors in the centering of the tubes in the holes of the corresponding shoulder assemblies, compared with similar devices of the prior art.

[0008] This object and others are achieved by the battery assembly according to claim 1. The remaining claims contain further features of the invention.

[0009] Compared with the battery assemblies of the prior art, the battery assembly according to the present invention provides the advantage that the shoulder assembly is equipped with a floating clamp, that is, the floating clamp is slidably mounted on the frame of the battery assembly so as to allow correction of alignment errors between the hole of the shoulder clamp and the tube passing through the hole. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] These and other objects, advantages and features result from the following description of some preferred embodiments of the battery assembly of the invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting examples, according to the accompanying drawings in the accompanying pages.

[0011] in:

[0012] - Figure 1 shows an enlarged detail of a prior art shoulder assembly in which the tubes of the fin pack are arranged in a non-centered position relative to the holes of the front clamp of the shoulder assembly;

[0013] - Figure 2 A first example of a battery assembly of the present invention is shown, wherein an exploded view of a shoulder assembly is shown;

[0014] - Figure 3 Shows Figure 2 A magnified detail of the battery components;

[0015] - Figure 4 Shows Figure 3 details of which the front clamp of the shoulder assembly is assembled on the battery assembly during operation;

[0016] - Figure 5 and Figure 6 shows the correction tube relative to Figures 2 to 4 Method for measuring the centering error of the hole of the shoulder component;

[0017] - Figures 7 to 9 A second embodiment of the shoulder assembly of the present invention is shown;

[0018] - Figures 10 to 12 A third embodiment of the shoulder assembly of the present invention is shown.

[0019] Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

[0020] like Figure 1 As shown, the prior art shoulder assembly comprises a front clamp 1 provided with holes 2 for passage of tubes 3 in a tube bundle of a heat exchanger battery assembly.

[0021] As can be seen from the figure, the weight of the tube bundle has caused the tube 3 to be displaced in the hole 2 of the clamp 1 in the direction of the arrow F1 until it reaches a rest position on the clamp 1 .

[0022] However, this operating condition of the heat exchanger is detrimental to its operation, since the tubes 3 do not leave enough space to compensate for thermal expansion and since the material and thickness of the tubes do not provide the necessary mechanical strength to support the weight of the tube bundle on the clamp 1 of the shoulder assembly.

[0023] Furthermore, the known structure described does not allow correcting the undercentering of the tube relative to the bore of the shoulder assembly, since the coupling of the shoulder assembly to the battery assembly 4 of the heat exchanger is achieved by gluing the corresponding profiled metal sheet 5 to the fin pack.

[0024] To overcome this inconvenience, a Figures 2 to 6 A battery assembly 6 is provided with a shoulder assembly formed by a front clamp 7, which is provided with a hole 2 for the passage of the tube 3 and is fixed to the frame 8 of the battery assembly 6 by corresponding columns 9.

[0025] According to the invention, a slot 10 is provided on the front clamp 7 , in which a screw 11 is placed for fixing the clamp 7 itself to the column 9 of the heat exchanger battery assembly 6 .

[0026] Due to the described structure of the battery assembly of the present invention, in the case of Figure 5 In the case of a failure of the tube bundle shown, the correct centering condition of the tube 3 relative to the hole 2 of the clamp 7 can be restored by loosening the screw 11 and sliding it relative to the body of the tube 3 ( Figure 6 ), which takes advantage of the larger size of the slot 10 compared to the screw 11 that secures the clamp to the battery assembly.

[0027] because Figures 7 to 9 The embodiment shown achieves a similar result, wherein the clamp 7 is Fig. 9 The sliding in the direction of the arrow F2 is achieved by means of guides 12 fixed to the frame 8 of the battery assembly and suitable for creating a longitudinal seat 13 which positions the clamp 7 to slide frictionally on the battery assembly.

[0028] In particular, if Fig. 7A As shown, said seat 13 is produced by providing the guide 12 with a portion 12b projecting relative to its portion 12a adhering to the surface of the stud 9 , thereby producing a kind of pocket for sliding housing of the corresponding edge of the clamp 7 .

[0029] exist Figures 10 to 12 In the variation of Figures 7 to 9 The sliding guide system is integrated with a spring device 14 which is fixed to the corresponding guide 12 and whose length is controlled by a corresponding screw 15 .

[0030] In particular, and as Fig. 10A and Fig. 10B As can be seen better in the drawing, the spring 14 is coaxially mounted on the shank of a screw 15. The same screw 15 engages on one side in a sleeve 15a integral with the clamp 7 and on the other side in a threaded sleeve 15b integral with the raised portion 12b of said guide 12. The sleeve 15a of the clamp 7 is finally slidably housed in a cutout 16 also provided on the raised portion 12b of the guide 12. Thus, by acting on the screw 15, the position of the clamp 7 on the guide 12 can be adjusted in a controlled manner so as to achieve a correct centering of the tube 3 in the hole 2, as shown in FIG. Fig.11 and Fig.12 shown.

[0031] As described above and shown in the accompanying drawings, the invention can be modified to produce other variations that still fall within the scope of the appended claims. In particular, different systems suitable for allowing the front clamp 7 of the shoulder assembly to slide relative to the position of the tube 3 can be used to achieve the effects of the invention.

[0032] Furthermore, the hole 2 preferably has a diameter which is at least 0.1 mm greater than the diameter of the tube 3 .

[0033] Finally, the screws 11 may be replaced by any other means suitable for fixing the clamp to the stud of the battery assembly.

Claims

1. A battery assembly for a heat exchanger, comprising a tube bundle provided with tubes (3) and a shoulder assembly provided with a front clamp (7), the front clamp (7) having a hole (2) for the passage of the tube (3), wherein the front clamp (7) is fixed to a frame (8) of the battery assembly by means of corresponding uprights (9), wherein the front clamp (7) is mounted on the battery assembly in an adjustable positioning manner in order to correct the centering error of the tube (3) relative to the hole (2) of the clamp (7), a guide (12) is fixed to the frame (8) of the battery assembly (6) in order to produce a longitudinal seat (13) which places the clamp (7) to slide frictionally on the battery assembly itself, characterized in that The front clamp (7) has a narrow slot (10), and screws (11) and the like are placed in the narrow slot (10) for fixing the clamp (7) itself to the column (9) of the battery assembly (6). The spring device (14) is also fixed to the guide (12), and the length of the spring device (14) is controlled by a corresponding screw (15).

2. The battery assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide (12) has a portion (12b) protruding relative to a portion (12a) adhered to the column (9) of the battery assembly so as to form the longitudinal seat (13) for slidably accommodating the clamp (7).

3. The battery assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: The spring (14) and screw (15) arrangement further comprises a sleeve (15a) integral with the clamp (7) and a sleeve (15b) integral with the raised portion (12b) of the guide (12), a cutout (16) being provided on the portion (12b) itself for the sliding placement of the sleeve (15a), the screw (15) engaging with the sleeves (15a, 15b) to achieve controlled sliding of the clamp (7) on the guide (12).

4. Battery assembly according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that The diameter of the hole (2) is at least 0.1 mm larger than the diameter of the tube (3).

5. A heat exchanger, characterized in that: The heat exchanger comprises at least one battery assembly according to one or more of the preceding claims.

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