Heat exchanger arrangement and motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a heat exchanger arrangement (1) for the media-separated transfer of heat between a liquid and an air stream (2). The essential element of the invention is that - that a fan shroud (3) is provided with at least one fan (4), - that the fan frame (3) has two side legs (5) arranged at a parallel distance from each other, each having a guide (6a) designed as a groove for drawer-like reception of an associated heat exchanger (7), - that the heat exchanger (7) in the installed state can be traversed essentially perpendicularly by an airflow (2) generated by the at least one fan (4), - that the heat exchanger (7) can be inserted into the guide (6a) designed as a groove in such a way that a labyrinth seal (9) is created and a leakage air flow through the guide (6a) designed as a groove is at least minimized. - that the heat exchanger (7) and the fan (4) are essentially parallel to each other when installed. - that at least two heat exchangers (7, 8) are inserted into the guide (6a, 6b) from below or above.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a heat exchanger arrangement for the media-separated transfer of heat between two fluids, in particular between a liquid and air, according to the preamble of claim 1. The invention also relates to a motor vehicle with such a heat exchanger arrangement.

[0002] DE 198 31 256 A1 discloses a generic heat exchanger assembly for the media-separated transfer of heat between two fluids, in particular between a liquid and air. The heat exchanger assembly comprises a holder with a frame for heat exchangers, into which at least one heat exchanger can be inserted. The frame consists of two side legs arranged at a mutually parallel distance and two transverse legs connecting them, with the two side legs each having at least one guide for drawer-like accommodation of the heat exchanger. The two side legs and the two transverse legs form an air guide frame on the air inlet side, which extends from the heat exchanger to an air inlet opening.

[0003] DE 10 2018 214 283 B3 discloses a shroud device designed to accommodate a fan module for a main cooler and a charge air cooler of a motor vehicle. The main cooler is housed in a main shroud, while the charge air cooler is housed in a separately arranged charge air shroud. A seal is provided between the main shroud and the charge air shroud. This is intended, in particular, to prevent so-called air leakage.

[0004] DE 100 61 561 A1 discloses a module carrier for various heat exchangers of a motor vehicle engine, comprising a support frame suitable for installation in a vehicle compartment. The module carrier comprises a lower part and two side parts projecting vertically therefrom, in which compartments open to one side are formed for inserting at least one coolant cooler or air cooler and an air conditioning condenser. Additionally, an end part is provided that secures the inserted heat exchangers in their position and is designed as a stable carrier that connects the side parts to the support frame and is provided with mounting devices for an oil cooler. This is intended to create a simply constructed module carrier.

[0005] Common motor vehicles, especially those powered by internal combustion engines, but also hybrid and electric vehicles, use heat exchanger assemblies that often consist of a multitude of individual components. These components not only require significant assembly effort but also generate high storage and logistics costs for storing the individual components. Furthermore, replacing individual heat exchangers in such heat exchanger assemblies is complex and therefore expensive, especially during maintenance and repair.

[0006] The present invention therefore addresses the problem of providing an improved or at least an alternative embodiment for a heat exchanger arrangement of the generic type, which in particular enables simple maintenance or repair as well as simple assembly.

[0007] This problem is solved according to the invention by the subject matter of independent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

[0008] The present invention is based on the general idea of ​​constructing a heat exchanger arrangement with an extremely small number of individual parts and at the same time with a simple design by providing a fan shroud with at least one fan, which also offers a guide in the form of a groove for receiving a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger can be pushed into the guide in the form of a groove like a drawer, in particular from above or from below, which significantly simplifies both assembly and maintenance or repair of the heat exchanger arrangement where replacement of a heat exchanger is necessary. In addition, the drawer-like option of pushing the heat exchanger into the guide on the fan shroud side, in particular from above, requires comparatively little assembly space.Furthermore, by integrating the at least one fan into the fan frame, no further components are required to secure the fan to the heat exchanger arrangement, thereby reducing the variety of parts and, associated with this, also the storage and logistics costs as well as the assembly costs. The heat exchanger arrangement according to the invention for the media-separated transfer of heat between two fluids, in particular between a liquid and an air stream, has the aforementioned fan frame with at least one fan, preferably two fans arranged essentially horizontally next to one another in the installed state, wherein the fan frame has two side legs which, in particular in the installed state, are arranged essentially upright and at a mutual parallel distance, each of which has at least one guide designed as a groove for the drawer-like accommodation of a heat exchanger, in particular from above.Specifically, this means that the heat exchanger can preferably be inserted from above into the essentially vertically running guide. In the installed state, the heat exchanger is essentially upright and arranged and is passed through essentially vertically (horizontally) by an air flow generated by the at least one fan. The heat exchanger can be inserted into the guide designed as a groove in such a way that a labyrinth seal is created and leakage air flow through the guide designed as a groove is at least minimized, preferably even eliminated. The guide, together with the heat exchanger inserted therein, thus forms the aforementioned labyrinth seal, which at least minimizes the leakage air flow and thereby ensures a high level of efficiency of the heat exchanger arrangement.A particular advantage of the heat exchanger arrangement according to the invention is its structurally simple design, consisting essentially only of the fan shroud with the at least one fan and the heat exchanger inserted into the associated guide. Additional components, such as screws for securing the heat exchanger to the fan shroud, are not required. Furthermore, the ability to insert and remove the heat exchanger, particularly from above, like a drawer, into the fan shroud-side guide, significantly simplifies maintenance and repair.

[0009] In general, in this description, “substantially parallel”, “substantially perpendicular”, “substantially horizontal or vertical” should always be understood to include a deviation of approximately ± 10°.

[0010] In an advantageous development of the heat exchanger arrangement according to the invention, the heat exchanger and the at least one fan are aligned substantially parallel to one another in the installed state. In this way, the air flow generated by the at least one fan flows through the heat exchanger with a small or negligible flow resistance. The fan shroud can preferably have two fans. If more heat is to be transferred between the air flow and the liquid, the amount of air flowing through the heat exchanger can be increased by using additional fans.

[0011] In an advantageous development of the heat exchanger assembly according to the invention, the fan shroud has two side legs that are essentially upright and arranged at a mutually parallel distance, particularly in the installed state. The side legs each have at least two guides designed as grooves for drawer-like accommodation of a heat exchanger from above or below. Specifically, this means that the heat exchangers can be inserted from above or below into the essentially vertically extending guides.

[0012] In the installed state, the at least two heat exchangers can be arranged essentially parallel and upright to one another, and an air flow generated by the at least one fan flows through them essentially vertically (horizontally). It is, of course, clear that the heat exchangers can also be tilted by ± 10° relative to one another or to the at least one fan, which results from a corresponding alignment of the guides. The at least two heat exchangers can be inserted into the guides designed as grooves in such a way that a labyrinth seal is created and leakage air flow through the guides designed as grooves is at least minimized, and preferably even eliminated.The two guides, preferably arranged parallel and side by side, together with the heat exchangers inserted therein, form the aforementioned labyrinth seal, which at least minimizes the leakage air flow and thus ensures high efficiency of the heat exchanger arrangement. An undesirable leakage air flow would reduce the air flow through the heat exchangers and thus also the heat transfer between the liquid and the air.

[0013] In an advantageous development of the heat exchanger assembly according to the invention, the fan shroud is designed as a plastic injection-molded part. Particularly preferably, the fan shroud is designed as a one-piece plastic injection-molded part, which enables not only high-quality but also cost-effective production. The one-piece fan shroud eliminates the need to assemble it from multiple individual parts, thereby reducing assembly costs. The at least one fan can be screwed to the fan shroud or attached to the fan shroud via other connections, such as snap-in connections or clip connections.

[0014] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the heat exchanger arrangement according to the invention, at least one locking element formed integrally with the associated side leg is arranged in at least one side leg, which locking element, when the heat exchanger is inserted, locks with a counter-locking contour arranged on the heat exchanger and thereby fixes the heat exchanger. The fixation takes place in particular in the Z direction. At a lower end of the respective guides, a stop on the fan shroud side projecting into the guide or a cross leg can be provided, which prevents the heat exchanger from falling downwards out of the respective guide. Due to the locking element formed integrally with the side leg or the fan shroud, the fixation of the associated heat exchanger in the fan shroud can be comparatively easy, in particular even without additional fixing means, such as screws.It is also possible to remove the respective heat exchanger from the associated guide by simply loosening the corresponding locking element and pulling the heat exchanger out of the guide without the need for tools.

[0015] In a further advantageous embodiment of the heat exchanger assembly according to the invention, fastening contours are arranged integrally on the fan shroud for fastening the heat exchanger assembly to a vehicle body of a motor vehicle. The fan shroud thus not only enables simple, particularly form-fitting and sealed accommodation of the heat exchangers, but also simple installation on a vehicle body, for which purpose corresponding fastening points or fastening contours, for example through openings, are already formed integrally with the fan shroud. The fastening contours can be manufactured together with the fan shroud in a plastic injection molding process.

[0016] A heat exchanger is preferably arranged in the associated guide with a positive fit and no gap, or with a positive fit and a gap m of 0.5 mm ≤ m ≤ 1.0 mm. Such small gaps allow for a high level of tightness of the labyrinth seal and thus an extremely low, if any, leakage air flow, thus enabling high performance of the heat exchanger arrangement.

[0017] In a further advantageous embodiment of the inventive solution, a sealing contour is arranged on the fan shroud, which seals off an associated guide. Such a sealing contour can be designed, for example, as an elastic sealing lip or as a comparatively rigid sealing rib. Such a sealing contour further increases the tightness of the heat exchangers in the associated guides and further reduces the leakage air flow, if any. The sealing contour can, for example, be made of a plastic and molded onto the fan shroud.

[0018] In a further embodiment, at least one heat exchanger has two opposing header boxes, via which it is accommodated in a respective guide of the fan shroud. The header boxes thus form part of the labyrinth seal, whereby a connection to, for example, a coolant circuit can be made at the top or bottom. A connection at the top is particularly preferred, as it is easily accessible for maintenance and repairs. A coolant circuit is a system that serves to cool a self-heating device to an appropriate level. The device can, for example, be an at least partially electronic drive for a motor vehicle.

[0019] In a further advantageous embodiment of the heat exchanger arrangement according to the invention, at least one of the heat exchangers is designed as a coolant cooler, a condenser, or an oil cooler. This non-exhaustive list alone gives an idea of ​​the diverse design possibilities for heat exchangers. Purely theoretically, it is even conceivable that at least one of the heat exchangers does not extend over the entire height of the guides designed as grooves, so that even two heat exchangers can be inserted one above the other into the respective guides.

[0020] In a further advantageous embodiment of the heat exchanger arrangement according to the invention, a diffuser is pushed onto the at least one heat exchanger. This creates a force-locking connection. The mounting direction of the diffuser is perpendicular to the at least one heat exchanger and the diffuser is mounted from the front. This allows both the diffuser and the at least one heat exchanger to be removed essentially upwards or downwards without requiring any lateral mounting space. The air flow is supplied to the at least one heat exchanger via the diffuser. With the help of the diffuser, the air flow can be adapted to the body of a motor vehicle. And / or the air flow can be adapted to the at least one heat exchanger.Because the diffuser can slow the air flow and increase the air pressure, kinetic energy can be converted into pressure energy. A diffuser is essentially the reverse of a nozzle.

[0021] The present invention is further based on the general idea of ​​equipping a motor vehicle, in particular an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, with a heat exchanger assembly described in the preceding paragraphs, thereby transferring the advantages described with regard to the heat exchanger assembly according to the invention to the motor vehicle. Specifically, these advantages lie in a reduced and extremely easy-to-assemble and easy-to-maintain design, as well as a high efficiency of the heat exchanger assembly, which can also increase the efficiency of the motor vehicle.

[0022] Further important features and advantages of the invention emerge from the subclaims, from the drawings and from the associated description of the figures based on the drawings.

[0023] It is understood that the features mentioned above and those to be explained below can be used not only in the respective combination specified, but also in other combinations or on their own, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Components mentioned above and those to be mentioned below of a higher-level unit, such as a device, apparatus, or arrangement, which are designated separately, may form separate parts or components of this unit or be integral areas or sections of this unit, even if this is shown differently in the drawings.

[0024] Preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and are explained in more detail in the following description, wherein the same reference numerals refer to the same or similar or functionally identical components.

[0025] They show, schematically, Fig. 1 a view of a heat exchanger arrangement according to the invention, Fig. 2 a representation as in Fig. 1, but with partially removed heat exchangers, Fig. 3 the heat exchanger arrangement according to the invention in an exploded view, Fig. 4 a sectional view through the heat exchanger arrangement according to the invention in the area of ​​guides designed as grooves, Fig. 5 a sectional view through the heat exchanger arrangement according to the invention with a diffuser.

[0026] According to the Fig. 1 - 5, a heat exchanger arrangement 1 according to the invention for the media-separated transfer of heat between two fluids, in particular between a liquid and an air flow 2, has a fan frame 3 with at least one, here with two fans 4 arranged next to one another in the installed state. The fan frame 3 has two side legs 5 arranged at a mutual parallel distance, each of which has at least one, here two guides 6a, 6b designed as grooves (cf. Fig. 4) for the drawer-like accommodation of a respective heat exchanger 7, 8, wherein the at least two heat exchangers 7, 8 are arranged substantially parallel to one another and can be flowed through substantially perpendicularly by an air flow 2 generated by the at least one fan 4. It is of course clear that the heat exchangers 7, 8 can also be tilted by ± 10° relative to one another or to the at least one fan 4, provided that the guides 6a, 6b are aligned accordingly. The heat exchangers 7, 8 can be inserted into the associated guides 6a, 6b designed as grooves in such a way that a labyrinth seal 9 (cf. Fig. 4) is created and leakage air flow through the guides 6a, 6b formed as grooves is at least minimized, preferably even eliminated. The heat exchangers 7, 8 are positively received in the corresponding guides 6a, 6b.

[0027] In general, in this description of the figures, "substantially parallel", "substantially perpendicular", "substantially horizontal or vertical" should always be understood to mean a deviation of ± 10°.

[0028] The two heat exchangers 7, 8 can be arranged according to the Fig. 3 can be connected to the fan shroud 3 by simply sliding them from above into the associated guides 6a, 6b. In theory, sliding them in from below is also conceivable. This particularly facilitates both assembly and replacement of the heat exchangers 7, 8 during maintenance or repairs. A further major advantage of the drawer solution according to the invention is that no assembly space needs to be provided in front of the fan shroud 3, since the heat exchangers 7, 8 can simply be pulled out, in this case upwards, from the associated guides 6a, 6b for replacement. Furthermore, the form-fitting and preferably even gap-free accommodation of the heat exchangers 7, 8 in the associated guides 6a, 6b not only reduces but preferably even eliminates leakage air flow, whereby a high degree of efficiency and thus a high performance of the heat exchanger arrangement 1 can be achieved.

[0029] It is of course clear that the heat exchanger arrangement 1 can also have only one guide 6a and only one heat exchanger 7.

[0030] The fan shroud 3 is designed as a plastic injection-molded part, preferably as a one-piece plastic injection-molded part, and can therefore be manufactured not only with high quality but also cost-effectively and in particular without any further assembly effort.

[0031] The heat exchangers 7, 8 can be designed, for example, as coolant coolers, as condensers or as oil coolers, wherein in the shown Fig. 1 - 4 only two heat exchangers 7, 8 are provided. In fact, however, even more such heat exchangers 7, 8 can of course be arranged, for example another heat exchanger in front of the heat exchanger 7, in which case the fan shroud 3 would have another guide, not shown, designed as a groove. The two side legs 5 are connected to one another at the bottom via a cross leg 10, which at the same time prevents the heat exchangers 7, 8 from falling downwards out of the associated guides 6a, 6b. Alternatively, the two side legs 5 can also be connected to one another at the top via a cross leg, provided that the heat exchangers 7, 8 can be inserted from below into the associated guides 6a, 6b.

[0032] In at least one side leg 5, at least one locking element 11 can be arranged, which is formed integrally with the associated side leg 5 and which, when the heat exchanger 7, 8 is fully inserted into the associated guide 6a, 6b, engages with a counter-locking contour arranged on the heat exchanger 7, 8 and thereby fixes the heat exchanger 7, 8, in particular in the Z direction, i.e., in the vertical direction. As a result, the associated heat exchanger 7, 8 is fixed to the fan frame 3 in all spatial directions via the fan frame 3 and the guides 6a, 6b and the at least one locking element 11.

[0033] The fan shroud 3 can furthermore have fastening contours 12 formed integrally therewith, by means of which the heat exchanger arrangement 1 can be fixed to a vehicle body (not described in more detail) of a motor vehicle 13, in particular a motor vehicle driven by an internal combustion engine, an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

[0034] In order to keep the leakage air flow as low as possible, at least one heat exchanger 7, 8 is arranged in the associated guides 6a, 6b, which are designed as grooves, with a gap m of 0.5 mm ≤ m ≤ 1.0 mm. Preferably, a gap-free and form-fitting arrangement of the heat exchangers 7, 8 in the associated guides 6a, 6b is even conceivable, whereby certain gap dimensions can be advantageous to compensate for temperature-related expansion.

[0035] Furthermore, a sealing contour 16 can be arranged on at least one heat exchanger 7, 8 or an associated collecting tank 14, 15, which further improves the seal against the associated guide 6a, 6b. The sealing contour 16 can be designed as an elastic sealing lip or as a comparatively rigid sealing rib. The sealing contour 16 is connected to the fan shroud 4 or is formed integrally.

[0036] The heat exchanger arrangement 1 can be connected, for example, to a coolant circuit via connecting pieces 17, wherein the connecting pieces 17 are preferably arranged at the top of the associated heat exchangers 7, 8 so that they can be easily removed in the event of maintenance or repair.

[0037] Looking at the Fig.5, a diffuser 18 can be seen, which is pushed onto the heat exchanger arrangement 1, in particular onto at least the heat exchanger 7. The mounting direction is indicated by the arrow 19. This allows both the diffuser 18 and the heat exchangers 7, 8 to be removed essentially upwards, without requiring any lateral mounting space. The air flow 2 is supplied to at least the heat exchanger 7 via the diffuser 18. With the help of the diffuser 18, the air flow can be adapted to the body of a motor vehicle and the air flow can be adapted to the heat exchangers 7, 8.

[0038] All in all, the heat exchanger assembly 1 according to the invention and the motor vehicle 13 according to the invention create a heat exchanger assembly 1 that is structurally simple, easy to assemble, easy to maintain, and at the same time highly efficient. The ease of maintenance and assembly results in particular from the ability of the at least one heat exchanger 7, 8 to be easily pulled out, preferably upwards, from the associated guide 6a, 6b, as well as inserted in the opposite direction. Due to the fact that the fan shroud 3 is designed, for example, as a one-piece plastic injection-molded part, assembly costs can also be saved in this area. QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] DE 198 31 256 A1

[0002] DE 10 2018 214 283 B3

[0003] DE 100 61 561 A1

[0004]

Claims

[1] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) for the media-separated transfer of heat between two fluids, in particular between a liquid and an air stream (2), characterized by , - that a fan frame (3) with at least one fan (4) is provided, - that the fan frame (3) has two side legs (5) arranged at a mutual parallel distance, each of which has at least one guide (6a) designed as a groove for the drawer-like accommodation of an associated heat exchanger (7), - that the heat exchanger (7) in the installed state can be flowed through essentially vertically by an air flow (2) generated by the at least one fan (4), - that the heat exchanger (7) can be inserted into the guide (6a) designed as a groove in such a way that a labyrinth seal (9) is created and a leakage air flow through the guide (6a) designed as a groove is at least minimized. [2] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to claim 1, characterized by that the heat exchanger (7) and the fan (4) are aligned substantially parallel to each other when installed. [3] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , - that the side legs (5) each have at least two guides (6a, 6b) designed as grooves for the drawer-like accommodation of an associated heat exchanger (7, 8), - that the at least two heat exchangers (7, 8) are arranged substantially parallel to one another in the installed state and can be flowed through substantially perpendicularly by an air flow (2) generated by the at least one fan (4), - that the heat exchangers (7, 8) can be inserted into the guides (6a, 6b) designed as grooves in such a way that a labyrinth seal (9) is created and a leakage air flow through the guides (6a, 6b) designed as grooves is at least minimized. [4] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized by that the at least two heat exchangers (7, 8) are each inserted from below or above into the guide (6a, 6b). [5] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized by that the fan frame (3) is designed as a, in particular one-piece, plastic injection-molded part. [6] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by in that at least one locking element (11) formed in one piece with the associated side leg (5) is arranged in at least one side leg (5), which locking element (11) engages with a counter-locking contour arranged on the heat exchanger (7, 8) when the heat exchanger (7, 8) is inserted and thereby fixes the heat exchanger (7, 8). [7] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat fastening contours (12) formed integrally with the fan frame (3) are arranged on the fan frame for fastening the heat exchanger arrangement (1) to a vehicle body of a motor vehicle (13). [8] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that at least one heat exchanger (7, 8) is arranged in the associated guide (6a, 6b) in a form-fitting manner, in particular without a gap, or with a gap dimension m of 0.5 mm ≤ m ≤ 1.0 mm. [9] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that a sealing contour (16) is arranged on the fan frame (3), via which a seal is provided with respect to the associated guide (6a, 6b). [10] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to claim 9, characterized by that the sealing contour (16) is designed as an elastic sealing lip or as a sealing rib. [11] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that at least one heat exchanger (7, 8) has two opposite collecting boxes (14, 15), via which it is received in a respective associated guide (6a, 6b) of the fan frame (3). [12] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the heat exchanger arrangement has a diffuser (18), wherein the diffuser (18) is pushed onto the heat exchanger (7). [13] Heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that at least one heat exchanger (7, 8) is designed as a coolant cooler, as a condenser or as an oil cooler. [14] Motor vehicle (13), in particular an electric vehicle, with a heat exchanger arrangement (1) according to at least one of the preceding claims.

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