JP7736658B2 - heat exchanger - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a heat exchanger.

In a heat exchanger that uses a heat exchange medium, a configuration is known in which multiple main flow paths are formed by fins attached to a plate material, and bypass flow paths are formed by openings in the fins (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-205802 JP 2019-102505 A

In the heat exchanger described above, the bypass flow path increases the flow rate of the heat exchange medium. However, the components of the heat exchanger require at least multiple fins and two plates that sandwich the multiple fins, which inevitably increases the number of parts.

One aspect of the present disclosure aims to provide a heat exchanger that can increase the flow rate of the heat exchange medium while reducing the number of parts.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a heat exchanger comprising: a first plate; a second plate overlapping the first plate and having at least one groove recessed in a direction away from the first plate; and a medium flow path provided between the first and second plates. The medium flow path is defined by the at least one groove and has multiple main flow paths with bent portions, and at least one bypass flow path connecting the bent portions of two adjacent main flow paths among the multiple main flow paths. The at least one bypass flow path is connected to the outer region of the bend of one bent portion and the inner region of the bent portion of the other bent portion.

With this configuration, a medium flow path having a main flow path and a bypass flow path can be formed by joining the first plate and the second plate. Furthermore, by connecting the bypass flow path to the outer and inner regions of each of the two adjacent bends, the flow rate in the bypass flow path can be increased. As a result, the flow rate of the heat exchange medium can be increased, improving the efficiency of the heat exchanger while reducing the number of parts in the heat exchanger.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the cross-sectional area of at least one bypass flow path perpendicular to the flow direction of the heat exchange medium may be smaller than the cross-sectional area of the multiple main flow paths perpendicular to the flow direction of the heat exchange medium. This configuration enhances the effect of improving the flow velocity in the bypass flow path.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the media flow path may have multiple bypass flow paths as at least one bypass flow path. The multiple bypass flow paths may be connected to only one of the outer region and the inner region of a single bend. This configuration can suppress a decrease in flow velocity caused by multiple bypass flow paths being connected to both sides of a single bend.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, the second plate may have a plurality of grooves as at least one groove, and an auxiliary recess that is recessed in a direction away from the first plate and connects two adjacent grooves among the plurality of grooves. This configuration eliminates the need to provide irregularities on the first plate, thereby increasing the contact area of the first plate with the heating element.

FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view of a heat exchanger according to an embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IB-IB in FIG. 1A. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the second plate in the heat exchanger of FIG. 1A. 3A is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IIIA-IIIA in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IIIB-IIIB in FIG. 4A, 4B, and 4C are schematic plan views showing weld lines in the second plate of FIG. 2. FIG. 5A is a schematic plan view of a second plate in an embodiment different from that in FIG. 2, and FIG. 5B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line VB-VB in FIG. 5A. 6A, 6B, and 6C are schematic cross-sectional views of the second plate in an embodiment different from that in FIG. 3B.

Hereinafter, embodiments to which the present disclosure is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.
1. First embodiment
[1-1. Configuration]
1A and 1B uses a heat exchange medium such as coolant to cool a heating element 100. The heat exchanger 1 is used, for example, to cool a battery module of an automobile. The heat exchanger 1 includes a first plate 2, a second plate 3, and a medium flow path 4.

<1st board>
The first plate 2 has a heat exchange surface that comes into contact with the heating element 100 and exchanges heat with the heating element 100. The first plate 2 is made of a metal with high thermal conductivity, such as stainless steel, copper, or aluminum.

The first plate 2 has a flat plate shape with no irregularities on its surface. The heat exchange surface is formed by the plate surface opposite the second plate 3 (i.e., the plate surface opposite the medium flow path 4) of the two plate surfaces of the first plate 2, and is a flat surface. A heat exchange medium supply port 5 and a heat exchange medium discharge port 6 are connected to the first plate 2. Note that the first plate 2 may have irregularities on the heat exchange surface in areas that do not come into contact with the heating element 100.

<Second board>
The second plate 3 is overlapped in the thickness direction on the first plate 2. The second plate 3, together with the first plate 2, defines the media flow path 4. The second plate 3 is made of the same metal (e.g., stainless steel) as the first plate 2.

As shown in Figure 2, the second plate 3 has multiple grooves 31 and multiple auxiliary recesses 32. The grooves 31 are areas where the plate material constituting the second plate 3 has been deformed to protrude in the thickness direction, and are recessed in a direction away from the first plate 2.

The multiple grooves 31 each form a main flow path 41 of the media flow path 4. The side and bottom surfaces of the grooves 31 form the side and bottom surfaces of the main flow path 41, respectively. In a plan view (i.e., when viewed parallel to the thickness direction of the first plate 2), the grooves 31 are curved in a continuous S-shape.

Each of the multiple auxiliary recesses 32 constitutes a bypass flow path 42 for the media flow path 4. The auxiliary recesses 32 are recessed in a direction away from the first plate 2 and connect two adjacent grooves 31 among the multiple grooves 31.

As shown in Figures 3A and 3B, the depth of the auxiliary recess 32 (i.e., the distance from the bottom surface of the first plate 2) is smaller than the depth of the groove 31. The auxiliary recess 32 is a portion formed by offset deformation in the thickness direction of the area between the two grooves 31.

There are no restrictions on the thickness of the second plate 3, but a thickness that allows for press working is preferable. By press working, it is possible to easily form the second plate 3 having multiple grooves 31 and multiple auxiliary recesses 32.

<Medium flow path>
1B, the media flow path 4 is provided between the first plate 2 and the second plate 3. Specifically, the media flow path 4 is formed by the space existing between the first plate 2 and the second plate 3.

As shown in Figure 2, the media flow path 4 has multiple main flow paths 41, multiple bypass flow paths 42, an inlet portion 43, and an outlet portion 44.

The multiple main flow paths 41 are each connected to an inlet 43 and an outlet 44. In other words, the medium flow path 4 branches into multiple main flow paths 41 at the inlet 43, and the multiple main flow paths 41 merge at the outlet 44. A supply port 5 is connected to the inlet 43, and a discharge port 6 is connected to the outlet 44.

Each main flow path 41 has multiple arc-shaped bends 411, 412. In each main flow path 41, first bends 411 protruding to the right side of the second plate 3 in Figure 2 (i.e., in a direction intersecting the direction from the inlet 43 to the outlet 44) in a plan view and second bends 412 protruding to the left side (i.e., on the opposite side from the first bends 411) are alternately arranged along the flow direction of the heat exchange medium.

As shown in Figure 3A, the main flow passages 41 are defined by the multiple grooves 31 of the second plate 3 and the plate surface of the first plate 2. The cross-sectional areas of the multiple main flow passages 41 perpendicular to the flow direction of the heat exchange medium are equal to each other.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the multiple bypass flow paths 42 connects two adjacent main flow paths 41 among the multiple main flow paths 41. Specifically, the bypass flow path 42 connects the first bend portions 411 or the second bend portions 412 of two adjacent main flow paths 41.

The bypass flow path 42 is connected to the outer region of the bend of one first bend section 411 or second bend section 412 and the inner region of the bend of the other first bend section 411 or second bend section 412. The bypass flow path 42 connects one bend section 411, 412 to the closest bend section 411, 412 of the other main flow path 41 via the shortest distance.

Here, the "outer region of the bend" refers to the region that includes the outer edge of the two outer edges of the bent portions 411, 412 in a planar view that has the greater length along the flow of the heat exchange medium, and the "inner region of the bend" refers to the region that includes the outer edge opposite the outer region of the bend.

Furthermore, each bypass flow path 42 is connected to only one of the outer and inner regions of one of the first bend section 411 and second bend section 412. In other words, no other bypass flow path 42 is connected to the inner region of the bend section 411, 412 whose outer region has a bypass flow path 42 connected to it. Similarly, no other bypass flow path 42 is connected to the outer region of the bend section 411, 412 whose inner region has a bypass flow path 42 connected to it.

In other words, in a main flow path 41 sandwiched between two main flow paths 41 on the left and right in a plan view (for example, the second main flow path 41 from the left in Figure 2), the bypass flow paths 42 connected to the adjacent main flow path 41 on the left and the bypass flow paths 42 connected to the adjacent main flow path 41 on the right are arranged alternately in the flow direction of the heat exchange medium.

As shown in FIG. 3B , the bypass flow passage 42 is defined by the multiple auxiliary recesses 32 of the second plate 3 and the plate surface of the first plate 2. The multiple bypass flow passages 42 have the same cross-sectional area perpendicular to the flow direction of the heat exchange medium. Furthermore, the cross-sectional area of the bypass flow passage 42 perpendicular to the flow direction of the heat exchange medium is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the main flow passage 41 perpendicular to the flow direction of the heat exchange medium.

<Joining of first plate and second plate>
The first plate 2 and the second plate 3 are joined by welding, such as laser welding. As shown in Fig. 4A, the weld line W (i.e., the weld bead) is preferably provided at a position overlapping the side walls of the groove portion 31 and the auxiliary recess 32 in a plan view. In other words, welding is preferably performed along the outer edges of the groove portion 31 and the auxiliary recess 32. This improves the sealing performance of the flow path.

Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4B, it is preferable that the start and end points of the weld be located inside the area surrounded by the weld line W. This prevents deterioration of sealing performance due to cracks at the start and end points of the weld. Note that, as shown in Figure 4C, the weld line W does not necessarily have to be closed and may be, for example, linear.

Furthermore, the first plate 2 and the second plate 3 may be joined using an adhesive such as wax. When using an adhesive, the entire area of the second plate 3 other than the grooves 31 and auxiliary recesses 32 (i.e., the flat area) can be used as the joining surface, thereby increasing the rigidity of the heat exchanger 1.

[1-2. Effects]
According to the embodiment described above in detail, the following effects can be obtained.
(1a) By joining the first plate 2 and the second plate 3, a medium flow path 4 having a main flow path 41 and a bypass flow path 42 can be formed. In addition, the bypass flow path 42 is connected to the outer and inner regions of the two adjacent bends 411, 412, respectively, thereby increasing the flow rate in the bypass flow path 42. As a result, the flow rate of the heat exchange medium can be increased to improve the efficiency of the heat exchanger 1, while reducing the number of parts of the heat exchanger 1.

(1b) The cross-sectional area of the bypass flow path 42 is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the main flow path 41, which promotes the improvement of the flow velocity in the bypass flow path 42.

(1c) By connecting the bypass flow path 42 to only one of the outer and inner regions of one bend 411, 412, it is possible to suppress a decrease in flow velocity caused by multiple bypass flow paths 42 being connected to both sides of one bend 411, 412.

(1d) The second plate 3 has an auxiliary recess 32 that connects the two grooves 31, eliminating the need to provide irregularities on the first plate 2, thereby increasing the contact area between the first plate 2 and the heating element 100.

2. Other Embodiments
Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, it goes without saying that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can take on various forms.

(2a) In the heat exchanger of the above embodiment, the bypass flow path does not necessarily have to be connected to only one of the outer and inner regions of a single bend. For example, as shown in Figures 5A and 5B, the bypass flow path 42 may be connected to both the outer and inner regions of a single bend.

(2b) In the heat exchanger of the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6A, the grooves 31 and auxiliary recesses 32 of the second plate 3 may be formed by cutting or casting the plate material that constitutes the second plate 3.

Furthermore, the second plate does not necessarily have to have an auxiliary recess. For example, as shown in Figure 6B, two main flow paths 41 and a bypass flow path 42 may be defined by one groove portion 31 and one protrusion portion 21.

The convex portion 21 is a portion within the groove portion 31 that protrudes in the thickness direction of the first plate 2 from the first plate 2 toward the second plate 3. The portion of the convex portion 21 that forms the bypass flow path 42 is separated from the second plate 3. As shown in Figure 6C, the portion of the convex portion 21 that does not form the bypass flow path 42 is joined to the second plate 3, thereby isolating the two main flow paths 41.

(2c) In the heat exchanger of the above embodiment, the curved portion of the main flow path does not necessarily have to be arc-shaped. The curved portion may have a bent shape with a corner, for example.

(2d) The heat exchanger of the above embodiment can also be used to heat an object to be heated, instead of cooling a heat-generating object. In this case, a fluid having a higher temperature than the object to be heated is supplied to the heat exchanger as a heat exchange medium.

(2e) The function of one component in the above embodiments may be distributed among multiple components, or the functions of multiple components may be integrated into one component. Furthermore, part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be omitted. Furthermore, at least part of the configuration of the above embodiments may be added to or substituted for the configuration of another of the above embodiments. All aspects included within the technical concept identified by the wording of the claims are embodiments of the present disclosure.

1... Heat exchanger, 2... First plate, 3... Second plate, 4... Medium flow path, 5... Supply port, 6... Discharge port,
21... convex portion, 31... groove portion, 32... auxiliary recess portion, 41... main flow path, 42... bypass flow path,
43... inlet portion, 44... outlet portion, 100... heating element, 411... first bend portion,
412...Second bend.

Claims (4)

The first board and
a second plate overlapping the first plate and having at least one groove portion recessed in a direction away from the first plate;
a medium flow path provided between the first plate and the second plate;
Equipped with
The medium flow path is
a plurality of main flow paths defined by the at least one groove portion, the plurality of main flow paths having a first bend portion protruding in a predetermined direction and a second bend portion protruding on an opposite side to the first bend portion;
at least one bypass flow path connecting the first bent portions or the second bent portions of two adjacent main flow paths among the plurality of main flow paths;
and
a heat exchanger, wherein the at least one bypass flow path is connected to an outer region of a bend in the first bend portion or the second bend portion of one of the two main flow paths and to an inner region of a bend in the first bend portion or the second bend portion of the other of the two main flow paths . 2. The heat exchanger of claim 1,
A heat exchanger, wherein a cross-sectional area of the at least one bypass flow path perpendicular to the flow direction of the heat exchange medium is smaller than a cross-sectional area of the main flow paths perpendicular to the flow direction of the heat exchange medium. The heat exchanger according to claim 1 or 2,
The medium flow path has a plurality of bypass flow paths as the at least one bypass flow path,
a heat exchanger, wherein the plurality of bypass flow paths are connected to only one of the outer region and the inner region in one of the first bent portion or the second bent portion ; The heat exchanger according to claim 1 or 2,
The second plate is
A plurality of grooves as the at least one groove;
an auxiliary recess that is recessed in a direction away from the first plate and connects two adjacent recesses among the plurality of recesses;
A heat exchanger having: