Liquid distributors and methods for their manufacture

Abstract

The present invention relates to a liquid distributor for use with a heat exchanger, comprising a distributor body with a nozzle through which a liquid can be supplied or discharged, wherein the nozzle has a lip on its perimeter, and a sealing ring designed to form a seal against the passage of liquid when the liquid distributor is in contact with a heat exchanger, wherein the sealing ring has a recess into which the lip is fitted, so that the sealing ring is attached to the distributor body by the fit.

Description

Technical area

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid distributor that can be used with a heat exchanger. It also relates to a method for manufacturing a liquid distributor. State of the art

[0002] Heat exchangers are used in many applications, such as cooling or heating homes and, in particular, vehicles. A fluid whose temperature needs to be changed is brought into thermal contact with a second fluid at a different temperature. Heat transfer between these two fluids causes the first fluid to be heated or cooled.

[0003] To transport fluids to the heat exchanger, fluid distributors are required. These are connected to the heat exchanger on an inlet or outlet side and serve to transport the fluid to or from the heat exchanger.

[0004] As is clear from the above, a seal between the liquid distributor and the heat exchanger is necessary to prevent accidental fluid leakage. According to the prior art, as described, for example, in WO 2021 / 074300 A1, a sealing ring is provided on a distributor body for this purpose. This sealing ring rests against the heat exchanger during use and prevents or reduces fluid leakage.

[0005] Furthermore, it is known in the prior art to insert a sealing ring into a groove provided on the distributor body. The sealing ring is fitted into this groove and held in place by this fit. However, inserting the sealing ring is labor-intensive, which increases the cost of such a fluid distributor due to the time required. It would therefore be desirable to be able to automate the manufacturing process. Furthermore, such a manufacturing method leads to manufacturing inaccuracies due to inaccuracies in fitting the sealing ring into the groove, which leads to increased rejects. Furthermore, there is a need to increase the tightness of the seal, particularly in a SWAAT test.

[0006] DE 34 46 007 A1 discloses features falling under the preamble of claim 1. DE 10 2017 216 481 A1 is further prior art. Description of the invention

[0007] The present invention aims to eliminate or at least alleviate the above-mentioned disadvantages.

[0008] The invention is defined by the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are defined in the dependent claims.

[0009] According to the invention, a liquid distributor for use with a heat exchanger is claimed. The liquid distributor has a nozzle. Through this nozzle, a liquid can be supplied to a heat exchanger, or removed or discharged from it. The nozzle has a lip on its edge.

[0010] According to the invention, a sealing ring is further provided as part of the liquid distributor. This sealing ring is designed to form a seal against the passage of liquid when the liquid distributor is placed against a heat exchanger. The sealing ring has a recess into which the lip is fitted. This fit secures the sealing ring to the distributor body. This tight fit secures the sealing ring to the distributor body. Fitting the sealing ring to the distributor body in this way is easier and, in particular, can be manufactured automatically, and also leads to less waste and a tighter seal.

[0011] According to one alternative, the lip surrounds the entire nozzle. In such a case, the sealing ring also extends around the entire nozzle. The fact that the lip extends around the entire nozzle significantly increases the seal.

[0012] The distributor body preferably has first fastening features on its outer surface. Likewise, the sealing ring preferably has second fastening features that engage with the first fastening features on the distributor body. Through this engagement, they contribute to the fastening of the sealing ring to the distributor body. This makes the fastening of the sealing ring to the distributor body more secure and thus makes it less likely that the sealing ring will fall off the distributor body during transport and / or storage. The first and second fastening features are preferably spaced apart by 5 to 500 mm.

[0013] Preferably, the first fastening features are provided on a portion of the distributor body that directly adjoins the sealing ring. This allows for particularly good fastening.

[0014] Furthermore, according to an alternative embodiment of the invention, attachment features are provided on the sealing ring to facilitate positioning of the sealing ring relative to the distributor body. This facilitates the automated production of the fluid distributor.

[0015] According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, at least some of the attachment features are provided on corner sections of the sealing ring, if the sealing ring is provided with corresponding corner sections. This provides support in particular for those sections of the sealing ring that are particularly critical in positioning.

[0016] Preferably, the sealing ring has one or more bridge sections extending between two points of the sealing ring. These further stabilize the shape of the sealing ring. Preferably, at least one second fastening feature is provided adjacent to each end of one, preferably all, bridge sections and engages with a corresponding first fastening feature on the distributor body. This allows the positioning of the bridge section to be particularly stabilized.

[0017] Preferably, the nozzle has two liquid line sections separated from each other by a wall section, so that a liquid can be conveyed separately through the two liquid line sections. In other words, the wall section prevents the liquids in the two liquid line sections from mixing with each other. In such a case, one of the bridge sections can rest on the wall section and, when placed against a corresponding counterpart on a heat exchanger, can thus lead to a seal at this point. The bridge section thus functions as a sealant.

[0018] Preferably, the nozzle has a substantially rectangular cross-section, optionally with rounded corners. The sealing ring also defines a substantially rectangular shape.

[0019] Furthermore, the invention provides a method for producing a liquid distributor according to one of the preceding claims. A distributor body is provided with a nozzle through which a liquid can be supplied to or removed from the heat exchanger. The nozzle has a lip on its edge. A sealing ring is also provided, which is designed to form a seal against the passage of liquid when the liquid distributor bears against a heat exchanger. The sealing ring has a recess into which the lip can be fitted. Furthermore, the sealing ring is placed on the lip, and the lip is fitted into the recess, so that the sealing ring is secured to the distributor body by the fit. This leads to the advantages mentioned above.

[0020] In this context, it is preferred that the first fastening features and the second fastening features provided on the sealing ring and the distributor body, respectively, engage with each other automatically when the lip is fitted into the recesses. Such automatic engagement is easy to implement and requires no additional work step. In this respect, such a method is particularly easy to automate.

[0021] Preferably, the attachment features position the manifold body relative to the sealing ring to facilitate fitting the lip into the recess. This makes the method easier to implement.

[0022] Preferably, the sealing ring is inserted into a mounting bracket when or before it is placed on the lip. This stabilizes the shape of the sealing ring. This facilitates the insertion of the lip into the recess and thus the production of the fluid distributor. Short description of the characters Fig. 1a) to c) show details of the liquid distributor according to the invention. Fig. 1d) shows a sealing ring for use in a liquid distributor according to the invention. Fig. 2 shows variants of a sealing ring for use in a liquid distributor according to the invention. Fig. 3 shows another liquid distributor according to the invention. Fig. Figure 4 shows the steps for manufacturing a liquid distributor according to the invention. Fig. 5 shows a variant of a manufacturing method of a liquid distributor according to the invention. Detailed description of the characters

[0023] Fig. 1a) shows a detailed view of an end section of a liquid distributor 10 according to the invention. Attachment features 34 are provided on a corner section of the sealing ring 30, which bear against an outer edge of the nozzle 21. A second fastening feature 32 is provided on a narrow side of the nozzle 21 between two such attachment features 34. Also on the longitudinal sides of the nozzle 21, second fastening features 32 engage with associated first fastening features 24 provided on the nozzle 21, thus securing the sealing ring 30 with respect to the distributor body 20.

[0024] In Fig. 1b) shows a cross-sectional view through the nozzle 21 and the sealing ring 30. As can be seen from this figure, the nozzle 21 has a lip 26 that extends toward the sealing ring 30. The lip 26 is fitted into a recess 36 of the sealing ring 30. This fit is so tight that it alone secures the sealing ring 30 to the distributor body 20. On the inside of the nozzle 21 of the sealing ring 30, a projection 38 is also provided, which extends toward the inside of the sealing ring 30.

[0025] In Fig. 1c) shows further details showing how the second fastening features 32 of the sealing ring 30 engage with the first fastening features 24 of the distributor body 20. It can be seen that on the longitudinal side of the distributor body 20 or the liquid distributor 10, more than one such pairing of first and second fastening features 24, 32 is provided, which stabilizes the sealing ring with respect to the nozzle 21.

[0026] The second fastening features 32 are provided with a resilient design and automatically engage the first fastening features 24, particularly when the nozzle 21 is placed on the sealing ring 30. A separate fastening step is therefore unnecessary, which simplifies the manufacture of the fluid distributor. The second fastening features 32 are provided on both the narrow side and the long side.

[0027] Fig. 1d) shows a detailed view of the sealing ring 30 used for the present invention. It can be seen that the recess 36 is provided in the form of a groove surrounding the sealing ring 30, which has the shape of a rectangle with rounded corners. Attachment features 34 in the form of rounded edge sections are provided at the respective corner sections of the sealing ring 30, which follow the outer contour of the sealing ring 30. These rest against the outer contour of the nozzle 21 during positioning, thus facilitating positioning.

[0028] To further facilitate positioning, outwardly widening funnel sections 35 are provided, which serve to guide corner sections of the nozzle 21 to the substantially axially extending sections 35', which have a shape that substantially corresponds to the outer contour of the nozzle 21. In this respect, the funnel sections 35 serve to facilitate the positioning of the nozzle 21.

[0029] Furthermore, a contact section 38 extends essentially between the two illustrated attachment features 34 and parallel to the narrow side, which engages a corresponding section of the nozzle 21. This contact section 38 facilitates positioning and also stabilizes the shape of the sealing ring 30.

[0030] Fig. Figure 2 shows a sealing ring 30 which can be used in a variant of the invention. The main difference to the sealing ring as shown in Fig. 1b), lies in the bridge sections 42, which extend between both longitudinal sides of the sealing ring 30. Two such bridge sections 40 are provided here, although their number is not limiting. These bridge sections 42 serve to stabilize the shape of the sealing ring 30. Fig. 4a), second fastening features 32 are provided on both sides at both ends of the bridge sections 40, which engage with first fastening features (not shown) of a nozzle 21 and thus further stabilize the bridge sections 40.

[0031] Even if in Fig. 2a) and Fig. 2c) the second fastening features 32 are provided on both sides with respect to both ends of the bridge section 40, even if offset with respect to these ends of the bridge section 40, such a bilateral attachment is not necessary. For example, it is conceivable that, as in Fig. 2b) and Fig. 2d), the second fastening features 32 are provided on opposite sides with respect to the bridge section 40, but only once per end section of the bridge section 40.

[0032] Fig. 2e) shows an embodiment in which the second fastening features 32 are provided on one side relative to the bridge section 40. Here, too, only one second fastening feature 32 is provided per end of the bridge section 40.

[0033] A further possible application of the bridge sections 40 can be seen in the variant of the invention which is Fig. 5. Here, too, a sealing ring 30 is provided on a distributor body 20. The distributor body 20, however, has two liquid line sections 42 with respective associated liquid supplies 22. The liquid line sections 42 are separated from one another by a wall section 44, so that the liquids in these two liquid line sections 42 do not mix. A bridge section 40 lies sealingly against the wall section 44. The bridge section 40 is part of the sealing ring 30. The bridge section 40 can lie against a corresponding counterpart of a heat exchanger (not shown) and thus ensure a seal there. In this respect, a corresponding arrangement, as shown in the Fig. 3, supply various fluids to a heat exchanger. A lip 26 is also provided to facilitate attachment of the fluid distributor 10 to another component.

[0034] Fig. 4 shows in Fig. 4a) and Fig. 4b) Steps for attaching a sealing ring 30 to a distributor body 20. The distributor body 20 and the sealing ring 30 are aligned with each other. Subsequently, the distributor body 20 is pressed onto the sealing ring 30. The first and second fastening features 24, 32 automatically engage or snap into each other, and the lip 26 is automatically fitted into the recess 36 of the sealing ring 30. In particular, by the fit, and secondarily by the first and second fastening features 24, 32, the sealing ring 30 is attached to the distributor body 20, thus forming the fluid distributor 10 (see Fig. 4b)).

[0035] A variant of a manufacturing method for a liquid distributor according to the present invention is described in Fig. 5 in steps a) to d).

[0036] In Fig. 5a), the sealing ring 30 is inserted into a groove 52 on a mounting bracket 50. This groove 52 stabilizes the shape of the sealing ring 30 and thus prevents it from significantly deforming during subsequent installation of the distributor body 20. In particular, this prevents the recess 36 in the sealing ring 30 from deforming.

[0037] Then ( Fig. 5b)) a distributor body 20 is aligned with respect to the sealing ring 30, which is received in the groove 52, such that its nozzle 21 is directed towards the sealing ring 30.

[0038] Then ( Fig. 5c)) the distributor body 20 is pressed onto the sealing ring 30. The sealing ring 30 is thus secured by the fit between the recess 36 and the lip 26.

[0039] The thus assembled liquid distributor 10 can then be removed from the mounting bracket 50 ( Fig. 5d)).

[0040] In this state, the sealing ring 30 is attached to the distributor body 20.

Claims

[1] Liquid distributor (10) for use with a heat exchanger comprising: - a distributor body (20) with a nozzle (21) through which a liquid can be supplied or removed, the nozzle (21) having a lip (26) on its edge, and - a sealing ring (30) which is designed to form a seal against the passage of liquid when the liquid distributor (10) is placed against a heat exchanger, characterized by , that the sealing ring (30) has a recess (36) into which the lip (26) is fitted, so that the sealing ring (30) is fastened to the distributor body (20) by the fit, wherein the lip (26) surrounds the nozzle (21) and wherein the sealing ring (30) extends around the entire nozzle (21). [2] A fluid distributor according to claim 1, wherein the distributor body (20) has first fastening features (24) on the outside and wherein the sealing ring (30) has second fastening features (32) which engage with the first fastening features (24) to thereby contribute to the fastening of the sealing ring (30) to the distributor body (20). [3] A fluid distributor according to claim 2, wherein the first fastening features (24) are provided on a portion of the distributor body (20) which is directly adjacent to the sealing ring (30). [4] Liquid distributor (10) for use with a heat exchanger comprising: - a distributor body (20) with a nozzle (21) through which a liquid can be supplied or removed, the nozzle (21) having a lip (26) on its edge, and - a sealing ring (30) which is designed to form a seal against the passage of liquid when the liquid distributor (10) is in contact with a heat exchanger, wherein the sealing ring (30) has a recess (36) into which the lip (26) is fitted, so that the sealing ring (30) is fastened to the distributor body (20) by the fit, further comprising attachment features (34) which are provided on the sealing ring (30) and facilitate the positioning of the sealing ring (30) with respect to the distributor body (20), wherein preferably at least some of the attachment features (34) are provided on corner sections of the sealing ring (30). [5] Liquid distributor (10) for use with a heat exchanger comprising: - a distributor body (20) with a nozzle (21) through which a liquid can be supplied or removed, the nozzle (21) having a lip (26) on its edge, and - a sealing ring (30) which is designed to form a seal against the passage of liquid when the liquid distributor (10) is in contact with a heat exchanger, wherein the sealing ring (30) has a recess (36) into which the lip (26) is fitted, so that the sealing ring (30) is fastened to the distributor body (20) by the fit, wherein the sealing ring (30) has one or more bridge sections (40) which extend between two points of the sealing ring (30), wherein preferably at least one second fastening feature (32) is provided adjacent to each end of at least one, preferably all, bridge sections (40) and is in engagement with an associated first fastening feature (24) on the distributor body. [6] Liquid distributor according to claim 5, wherein the nozzle has two liquid line sections (42) which are separated from each other by a wall section (44) so ​​that a liquid can be passed separately through the liquid line sections (42), wherein one of the bridge sections (40) rests on the wall section (44). [7] A liquid distributor according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the nozzle (21) has a substantially rectangular cross-section and wherein the sealing ring (30) defines a substantially rectangular shape. [8] Method for producing a liquid distributor (10) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising the following steps: - providing a distributor body (20) with a nozzle (21) through which a liquid can be supplied or removed, the nozzle (21) having a lip (26) on its edge, - providing a sealing ring (30) which is designed to form a seal against the passage of liquid when the liquid distributor is placed against a heat exchanger, wherein the sealing ring (30) has a recess (36) into which the lip (26) can be fitted, - Placing the sealing ring (30) onto the lip (26) and fitting the lip (26) into the recess (36) so that the sealing ring (30) is secured to the distributor body (20) by the fit. [9] The method of claim 8, wherein the fluid distributor (10) has the features of claim 2 and wherein the first fastening features (24) and the second fastening features (32) automatically engage with each other upon fitting the lip (26) into the recess (36). [10] The method of claim 8, wherein the fluid distributor comprises the features of claim 4, wherein the attachment features (34) position the distributor body (20) with respect to the sealing ring (30) to facilitate fitting of the lip (26) into the recess (36). [11] Method according to one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the sealing ring (30) is inserted into a mounting bracket (50) when placed on the lip (26) which stabilizes the shape of the sealing ring (30).

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