HEAT EXCHANGER

Description

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION1. Field of Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to heat exchangers, and more particularly to a heat exchanger whose metal plates are welded and joined together with high heat.2. Description of the Related Art

[0002] In the operating process of some machine units, it is necessary to heat or cooling a fluid to adapt the operation state of the machine units accordingly. Generally, a heat exchanger is used to exchange heat. A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between two or more fluids. Therefore, a heat exchanger is required to maintain the normal operation of the machine units. Currently, the most heat exchangers available in the market are heat exchangers having plate-shaped elements.

[0003] The conventional heat exchanger having plate-shaped elements consists of highly thermally conductive corrugated sheets and a frame. The sheets are clamped between a front fixing plate and a rear fixing plate of the frame with bolts. Thus, several fluid channels can be constructed in the interior of the heat exchanger and a rubber gasket is disposed between each two of the sheets for the purpose of sealing.

[0004] The conventional heat exchanger of the art mentioned above has following defects. Firstly, the sheets of the heat exchanger must be aligned with each other in sequence at first and then screwed together with bolts, resulting in a time- und laborconsuming assembling. Secondly, it is necessary to fix a rubber gasket between two sheets for the purpose of sealing, causing high costs and making the assembling process more complicated. Thirdly, the rubber gaskets are not pressure-, acid- and alkaline-resistant, which restricts the application of the heat exchangers to a smaller range. An application of such conventional heat exchangers to technical areas with use of high pressure or chemical areas is not possible.

[0005] There is another heat exchanger, whose housing consists of sheets overlapped by laser welding. Likewise, there is a rubber gasket fixed between two sheets for avoiding leakage. However, this heat exchanger has following shortcomings. Firstly, the sheets are overlapped by laser welding, causing high manufacturing costs. Furthermore, the sheets are welded along their whole edge in the overlap welding process, which is time-consuming. Secondly, the sheets welded in the way of overlap welding are not pressure-resistant and the rubber gaskets are not acid- and alkaline-resistant, resulting in restrictions in application of the heat exchanger.

[0006] US 2015 / 0260464 A1 describes a heat exchanger including heat exchanger plates in a stacked arrangement formed by using a roll-bonding process.

[0007] A plate heat exchanger composed of a plurality of plates, preferably made from sintered ceramic material, is disclosed in US 2009 / 0151917 A1. In the plate heat exchanger fluid-flow guide channels are formed as a system of channels in such a way that a substantially meandering profile of the fluid flow is obtained over the surface area of the respective plate. The side walls of the guide channels have a plurality of apertures, which lead to turbulence of the fluid flow. The plates are joined to form a seamless monolithic block by a diffusion welding process. The plate heat exchanger is suitable for applications at high temperatures and / or with corrosive media, and also as reactors.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An objective of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger which requires low manufacturing costs and is advantageously heat-, acid- und alkali-resistant. To achieve these and other objects of the present invention, a heat exchanger comprising a multitude of metal plates according to the features of claim 1 is provided. Each of the metal plates has two front faces, on at least one of which a fluid channel is disposed. The front face with a fluid channel serves as a side which another metal plate abuts against, so that the at least two metal plates can be appropriately joined with each other by means of their front faces. The at least two joined metal plates are smelted into one piece by being sintered with high heat. Thus, the whole heat exchanger can be assembled well without an additional joining process for the metal plates, such as screwing or welding. At least one fluid inlet duct and at least one fluid outlet duct are provided and arranged on the metal plate in such a manner that they communicate with the fluid channel in the interior of the heat exchanger. Thus, a fluid can be conveyed from the fluid inlet duct to the interior of the heat exchanger, pass through the fluid channel and then be conveyed out of the heat exchanger via the fluid outlet duct. The temperature of a machine unit, for which the heat exchanger is applied, can be increased or lowered by a continuous flow of the fluid.

[0009] According to the invention, the metal plates of the heat exchanger are directly welded and joined with each other, so that neither a screwing process of screwing the metal plates together nor a slow welding is necessary. In this way, a more efficient manufacturing and a reduction of the manufacturing costs for the heat exchanger can be achieved.

[0010] According to the invention, the metal plates of the heat exchanger are welded and joined into one piece in such a way that the welded heat exchanger is seamless. Thus, a heat-, acid- und alkali-resistant heat exchanger is achieved without additional sealing rubber gaskets fixed to the interior of the heat exchanger. Thereby, the heat exchanger is applicable to a wide range of machine units.

[0011] According to the invention, it is not necessary to fix additionally rubber gaskets to the interior of the heat exchanger. By omitting rubber gaskets, no replacement of rubber gaskets is required and the problem of leakage caused by aged rubber gaskets does not exist. Thus, the heat exchanger is accordingly more durable and much less prone to failure and maintenance.

[0012] Other objects, advantages, and novel features of invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a heat exchanger according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing metal plates being joined together according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the state in which the heat exchanger is being heated and welded with high heat according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the metal plates being welded und joined together with high heat according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the state in which the fluid is being conveyed according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0014] First, please refer to FIG. 2, a heat exchanger 10 according to the invention comprises a multitude of metal plates 11. Each of the metal plates 11 has two front faces 12, on at least one of which a fluid channel 13 is disposed. The front face 12 with a fluid channel 13 serves as a side which another metal plate 11 abuts against, so that the at least two metal plates 11 can be appropriately joined with each other by means of their front faces 12. The at least two joined metal plates 11 are smelted into one piece by being sintered with high heat (see also Fig. 1, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). Thus, the whole heat exchanger can be assembled well without an additional joining process for the metal plates 11, such as screwing or welding. At least one fluid inlet duct 14 and at least one fluid outlet duct 15 are provided and arranged on the metal plate 11 in such a manner that they communicate with the fluid channel 13 in the interior of the heat exchanger 10. Thus, a fluid can be conveyed from the fluid inlet duct 14 to the interior of the heat exchanger 10, pass through the fluid channel 13 and then be conveyed out of the heat exchanger 10 via the fluid outlet duct 15 (see also Fig. 5). The temperature of a machine unit, for which the heat exchanger is applied, can be increased or lowered by a continuous flow of the fluid.

[0015] According to the invention, the heat exchanger 10 consists of two metal sheets 11 melted into one piece. The fluid channel 13 is arranged and disposed between the two metal sheets 11.

[0016] According to the invention, the heat exchanger 10 consists of three metal sheets 11 melted into one piece (see Fig. 1 to Fig. 5). The heat exchanger 10 is constructed in such a way that the fluid channel 13 is disposed at the junction of each of the metal sheets 11.

[0017] According to the invention, the heat exchanger 10 consists of several (more than three) metal sheets 11 melted into one piece. The heat exchanger 10 is constructed in such a way that the fluid channel 13 is disposed at the junction of each of the metal sheets 11.

[0018] According to the invention, the number of the metal sheets 11 is variable according to the need of the machine unit for which the heat exchanger 10 is applied.

[0019] According to the invention, the fluid inlet duct 14 and the fluid outlet duct 15 are arranged in such a way that they run from the front face 12 in the interior of the heat exchanger 10 und communicate thus with the fluid channel 13.

[0020] According to the invention, the fluid inlet duct 14 and the fluid outlet duct 15 are arranged in such a way that they run from the lateral side of the metal sheet 11 in the interior of the heat exchanger 10 und communicate thus with the fluid channel 13.

[0021] According to the invention, the fluid is a liquid fluid.

[0022] According to the invention, the fluid is a gaseous fluid.

[0023] The heat exchanger 10 according to the invention has following advantages. Firstly, the metal plates 11 of the heat exchanger 10 are directly melted into one piece, so that neither a screwing process of sequentially screwing the metal plates 11 together nor a slow welding is necessary. In this way, a more efficient manufacturing and a reduction of the manufacturing costs for the heat exchanger 10 can be achieved. Secondly, the metal plates 11 of the heat exchanger 10 are melted into one piece in such a way that the welded heat exchanger 10 is seamless. Thus, a heat-, acid- und alkali-resistant heat exchanger is achieved without additional sealing rubber gaskets fixed to the interior of the heat exchanger 10. Thereby, the heat exchanger is applicable to a wide range of machine units. Thirdly, it is not necessary to fix rubber gaskets to the interior of the heat exchanger 10. By omitting rubber gaskets, no replacement of rubber gaskets is required and the problem of leakage caused by aged rubber gaskets does not exist. Thus, the heat exchanger is accordingly more durable and much less prone to failure and maintenance.

[0024] Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims

1. A heat exchanger (10) comprising a multitude of metal plates (11), each of which has two front faces (12), on at least one of which a fluid channel (13) is disposed wherein the front face (12) with a fluid channel (13) serves as a side which another metal plate (11) abuts against, so that the at least two metal plates (11) are appropriately joined with each other by means of their front faces (12); the at least two joined metal plates (11) are smelted into one piece by being sintered with high heat so that the whole heat exchanger is assembled well without an additional joining process for the metal plates (11), such as screwing or welding; at least one fluid inlet duct (14) and at least one fluid outlet duct (15) are provided and arranged on the metal plate (11) in such a manner that they communicate with the fluid channel (13) in the interior of the heat exchanger (10) so that a fluid is conveyed from the fluid inlet duct to the interior of the heat exchanger (10), pass through the fluid channel (13) and then be conveyed out of the heat exchanger (10) via the fluid outlet duct (15); and the temperature of a machine unit, for which the heat exchanger is applied, is increased or lowered by a continuous flow of the fluid.

2. The heat exchanger (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger (10) consists of two metal sheets (11) melted into one piece.

3. The heat exchanger (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger (10) consists of three metal sheets (11) melted into one piece and is constructed in such a way that the fluid channel (13) is disposed at the junction of each of the metal sheets (11).

4. The heat exchanger (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the heat exchanger (10) consists of several metal sheets (11) melted into one piece and is constructed in such a way that the fluid channel (13) is disposed at the junction of each of the metal sheets (11).

5. The heat exchanger (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid inlet duct (14) and the fluid outlet duct (15) are arranged in such a way that they run from the front face (12) in the interior of the heat exchanger (10) und communicate thus with the fluid channel (13).

6. The heat exchanger (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid inlet duct (14) and the fluid outlet duct (15) are arranged in such a way that they run from the lateral side of the metal sheet (11) in the interior of the heat exchanger (10) und communicate thus with the fluid channel (13).

7. The heat exchanger (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid is a liquid fluid.

8. The heat exchanger (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fluid is a gaseous fluid.