US-12624900-B2 - Heat exchanger

US12624900B2US 12624900 B2US12624900 B2US 12624900B2US-12624900-B2

Abstract

A heat exchanger is disclosed. A first heat-exchanging plate, in which plural kinds of cooling water are circulated, and a second heat-exchanging plate, in which refrigerant is circulated, have respective independent flow channels to prevent mixing between the cooling water and the refrigerant. The first and second heat-exchanging plates have respective guides, which are layered so as to form an overlapping structure, thereby improving coupling capability and durability when the first and second heat-exchanging plates are welded to each other in the state of being layered.

Inventors

Hyeong Gi LEE
Sang Min Lee
Won Sang Lee
Do Gyu Kim

Assignees

Hyundai Wia Corporation
Korens Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230626
Priority Date: 20220701

Claims (14)

1 . A heat exchanger comprising: a housing comprising first and second cooling water inlet ports and first and second cooling water outlet ports, through which cooling water is circulated, and a refrigerant inlet port and a refrigerant outlet port, through which refrigerant is circulated; a plurality of first heat-exchanging plates, each of which is connected to the first and second cooling water inlet ports and the first and second cooling water outlet ports and comprises a first guide configured to define a cooling water channel; and a plurality of second heat-exchanging plates, each of which is connected to the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port and comprises a second guide configured to define a refrigerant channel, wherein the plurality of first heat-exchanging plates and the plurality of second heat-exchanging plates are alternately layered, and wherein the first guide and the second guide form an overlapping structure such that one of the first guide and the second guide is inserted into the other of the first guide and the second guide when the first heat-exchanging plates and the second heat-exchanging plates are layered, wherein the first guide comprises a first central partition wall, which extends at a central area on the first heat-exchanging plate to divide the first heat-exchanging plate into a first side and a second side, a first side partition wall, which extends toward the second side from the first side of the first heat-exchanging plate to define a cooling water channel between the first cooling inlet and the first cooling water outlet port, and a second side partition wall, which extends toward the first side from the second side of the first heat-exchanging plate to define a cooling water channel between the second cooling water inlet port and the second cooling water outlet port, wherein the second guide comprises a second central partition wall disposed between the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port, a third side partition wall, which extends toward the first side from the second central partition wall, and a fourth side partition wall, which extends toward the second side from the second central partition wall, wherein the first side partition wall and the third side partition wall are positioned so as to correspond to each other in a vertical direction and to be partially engaged with each other, and one of the engaging portions of the first side partition wall and the third side partition wall is inserted into another of the first side partition wall and the third side partition wall, and wherein the second side partition wall and the fourth side partition wall are positioned so as to correspond to each other in a vertical direction and to be partially engaged with each other, and one of the engaging portions of the second side partition wall and the fourth side partition wall is inserted into another of the second side partition wall and the fourth side partition wall.
2 . The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the first cooling water inlet port and the first cooling water outlet port are provided at a first side of an upper portion of the housing, and the second cooling water inlet port and the second cooling water outlet port are provided at a second side of the upper portion of the housing, and wherein the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port are provided at portions of the housing which do not overlap the first cooling water inlet port or the second cooling water inlet port.
3 . The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein each first heat-exchanging plate is provided at a first side and a second side thereof with cooling water holes, which are respectively in communication with the first cooling water inlet port, the first cooling water outlet port, the second cooling water inlet port, and the second cooling water outlet port so as to allow cooling water to be circulated therethrough, and each first heat-exchanging plate is provided in a central area thereof with first through holes, through which the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port extend.
4 . The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the second heat-exchanging plate is provided at a first side and a second side thereof with second through holes, through which the first cooling water inlet port, the first cooling water outlet port, the second cooling water inlet port, and the second cooling water outlet port extend, and the second heat-exchanging plate is provided in a central area thereof with refrigerant holes, which are in communication with the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port.
5 . The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the first central partition wall and the second central partition wall are positioned so as to correspond to each other in a vertical direction and to be partially engaged with each other, and one of engaging portions of the first central partition wall and the second central partition wall is inserted into another of the first central partition wall and the second central partition wall.
6 . The heat exchanger according to claim 5 , wherein the engaging portion of the first central partition wall that is engaged with the second central partition wall projects so as to be inserted into the second central partition wall, and a remaining portion of the first central partition wall projects so as to be in contact with a lower surface of the second heat-exchanging plate, and wherein the second central partition wall projects so as to be inserted into the first central partition wall.
7 . The heat exchanger according to claim 6 , wherein the first heat-exchanging plate comprises a first insertion portion, which is formed at a location at which the engaging portion of the first central partition wall meets the remaining portion of the first central partition wall and which gradually decreases in width moving upwards, and the second heat-exchanging plate comprises a second insertion portion, which is formed at a location on the second central partition wall corresponding to the first insertion portion and which is identical in shape to the first insertion portion.
8 . The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the engaging portion of the first side partition wall that is engaged with the third side partition wall projects so as to be inserted into the third side partition wall, and a remaining portion of the first side partition wall projects so as to be in contact with the second heat-exchanging plate, and wherein the engaging portion of the third side partition wall that is engaged with the first side partition wall projects so as to be inserted into the first side partition wall, and a remaining portion of the third side partition wall projects so as to be in contact with the first heat-exchanging plate.
9 . The heat exchanger according to claim 8 , wherein the first heat-exchanging plate comprises first insertion portions, which are formed at a location at which the engaging portion of the first side partition wall meets the remaining portion of the first side partition wall and at an end of the first side partition wall and each of which gradually decreases in width moving upwards, and the second heat-exchanging plate comprises second insertion portions, which are formed at locations on the third side partition wall corresponding to the first insertion portions and each of which is identical in shape to a corresponding one of the first insertion portions.
10 . The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein the engaging portion of the second side partition wall that is engaged with the fourth side partition wall projects so as to be inserted into the fourth side partition wall, and a remaining portion of the second side partition wall projects so as to be in contact with the second heat-exchanging plate, and wherein the engaging portion of the fourth side partition wall that is engaged with the second side partition wall projects so as to be inserted into the second side partition wall, and a remaining portion of the fourth side partition wall projects so as to be in contact with the first heat-exchanging plate.
11 . The heat exchanger according to claim 10 , wherein the first heat-exchanging plate comprises first insertion portions, which are formed at a location at which the engaging portion of the second side partition wall meets the remaining portion of the second side partition wall and at an end of the second side partition wall and each of which gradually decreases in width moving upwards, and the second heat-exchanging plate comprises second insertion portions, which are formed at locations on the fourth side partition wall corresponding to the first insertion portions and each of which is identical in shape to a corresponding one of the first insertion portions.
12 . The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein each of a portion of the first guide, which abuts a peripheral edge of the first heat-exchanging plate, and a portion of the second guide, which abuts a peripheral edge of the second heat-exchanging plate, gradually increases in width moving outwards.
13 . The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first heat-exchanging plate and the second heat-exchanging plate comprises a plurality of protrusions formed thereon.
14 . The heat exchanger according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first heat-exchanging plate and the second heat-exchanging plate comprises an extension, which extends obliquely upwards or downwards from a peripheral edge thereof, and the extension of the first heat-exchanging plate and the extension of the second heat-exchanging plate are in contact with each other when the first heat-exchanging plates and the second heat-exchanging plates are layered.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0081389, filed on Jul. 1, 2022 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND 1. Field The present disclosure relates to a heat exchanger capable of performing heat exchange between cooling water and refrigerant. 2. Description of the Related Art In general, a heat exchanger is an apparatus configured to perform heat exchange in such a manner that one of different heat-exchanging media discharges heat to the other and the other of the different heat-exchanging media absorbs the heat. The heat exchangers are variously manufactured so as to be applied to a condenser and an evaporator which use refrigerant as a heat-exchanging medium, a radiator and a heater core which use cooling water as a heat-exchanging medium, and an oil cooler which uses oil, which has been used in an engine, a transmission or the like, as a heat-exchanging medium, depending on the intended use. Details described as the background art are intended merely for the purpose of promoting an understanding of the background of the present disclosure and should not be construed as an acknowledgment of the prior art that is already known to those of ordinary skill in the art. SUMMARY Aspects of the present disclosure provide a heat exchanger in which plural kinds of cooling water and refrigerant are circulated in respective independent flow channels and which assures coupling capability and durability of a first heat-exchanging plate in which cooling water is circulated and a second heat-exchanging plate in which refrigerant is circulated and prevents mixing between heat-exchanging media. In accordance with the present disclosure, the above and other aspects can be accomplished by the provision of a heat exchanger including a housing including first and second cooling water inlet ports and first and second cooling water outlet ports, through which cooling water is circulated, and a refrigerant inlet port and a refrigerant outlet port, through which refrigerant is circulated, a first heat-exchanging plate to which the first and second cooling water inlet ports and the first and second cooling water outlet ports are connected and which includes a first guide configured to define a cooling water channel, and a second heat-exchanging plate to which the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port are connected and which includes a second guide configured to define a refrigerant channel, wherein each of the first heat-exchanging plate and the second heat-exchanging plate includes a plurality of heat-exchanging plates, and the plurality of first heat-exchanging plates and the plurality of second heat-exchanging plates are alternately layered, and wherein the first guide and the second guide form an overlapping structure such that one of the first guide and the second guide is inserted into the other of the first guide and the second guide when the first heat-exchanging plate and the second heat-exchanging plate are layered. The first cooling water inlet port and the first cooling water outlet port may be provided at a first side of an upper portion of the housing and the second cooling water inlet port and the second cooling water outlet port may be provided at a second side of the upper portion of the housing, and the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port may be provided at portions of the housing which do not overlap the first cooling water inlet port or the second cooling water inlet port. The first heat-exchanging plate may be provided at the first and second sides thereof with cooling water holes, which respectively communicate with the first cooling water inlet portion, the first cooling water outlet port, the second cooling water inlet port, and the second cooling water outlet port so as to allow cooling water to be circulated therethrough, and the first heat-exchanging plate may be provided in a central area thereof with first through holes, through which the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port extend. The second heat-exchanging plate may be provided at the first and second sides thereof with second through holes, through which the first cooling water inlet port, the first cooling water outlet port, the second cooling water inlet port, and the second cooling water outlet port extend, and the second heat-exchanging plate may be provided in a central area thereof with refrigerant holes, which communicate with the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port. The first guide may include a first central partition wall, which extends at a central area on the first heat-exchanging plate to divide the first heat-exchanging plate into a first side and a second side, a first side partition wall, which extends toward the second side from the first side of the first heat-exchanging plate to define a coo