Heat Exchanger Fin Insertion Guide and Compression Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heat exchanger core manufacturing apparatuses face inefficiencies in assembling heat exchanger fins and flattened tubes, leading to deformation issues due to uneven compressing forces, resulting in defective structures.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus comprising a fin stack arranging unit, a flattened tube arranging unit, a driving unit for inserting tubes into cutaway portions, a compressing plate for uniform force application, and a guide removal unit to prevent deformation and ensure proper alignment, allowing for efficient and damage-free insertion of flattened tubes into heat exchanger fins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If compressing plates are used to compress heat exchanger fins at different spots, then the fins can be aligned in the stacking direction, but uneven compressing forces cause out-of-plane deformation of the fins
Solution Approach 1:
The compressing plate is divided into multiple compression units, each independently compressing specific heat exchanger fins. This segmentation allows uniform distribution of compressing forces across different fins, preventing out-of-plane deformation while maintaining alignment of cutaway portions in the stacking direction.
2Manufacturing precision
If multiple compression units are used to compress heat exchanger fins uniformly, then out-of-plane deformation is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Each compression unit is designed with multi-functionality, serving both to compress heat exchanger fins uniformly and to align cutaway portions in the stacking direction. This universal design reduces the need for separate alignment mechanisms, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving uniform compression.
3Productivity
If flattened tubes are inserted into cutaway portions without proper alignment, then assembly speed may be maintained, but deformation and defects occur
Solution Approach 1:
Heat exchanger fins are compressed and aligned in the stacking direction before flattened tubes are inserted into cutaway portions. This preliminary alignment action ensures that cutaway portions are properly positioned, preventing deformation during tube insertion while maintaining high assembly speed through a streamlined process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus effectively prevents out-of-plane deformation of heat exchanger fins and ensures high-yield assembly by uniformly compressing and guiding the insertion of flattened tubes into cutaway portions, enhancing the manufacturing efficiency and quality of heat exchanger cores.
Implementation Method 1
a compressing means for compressing the heat exchanger fins in the stacking direction using the pressing plate
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for inserting flattened tubes into heat exchanger fins includes a guide inserted into at least one out of a plurality of cutaway portions for holding heat exchanger fins in the thickness direction. A guide holding unit holds the heat exchanger fins and the guide with a flattened tube holding unit in which flattened tubes are held in an intermittent arrangement with respect to the cutaway portions into which the guide has not been inserted. A flattened tube insertion driving unit inserts the flattened tubes held on the flattened tube holding unit into the cutaway portion with a platen that is caused to contact another edge in a width direction of the heat exchanger fins when the flattened tubes are inserted into the cutaway portions. Thereafter a compressing unit compresses the heat exchanger fins in the stacking direction.