US-12624906-B2 - Heat exchanger

US12624906B2US 12624906 B2US12624906 B2US 12624906B2US-12624906-B2

Abstract

A heat exchanger includes: a heat transfer pipe to guide a refrigerant; and a plurality of fins spaced apart from each other to allow air to pass in a first direction, the plurality of fins each having a through-hole through which the heat transfer pipe is installed, each of the plurality of fins includes a corrugated portion formed in a zigzag shape proceeding in the first direction and a sheet portion recessed from the corrugated portion around the through-hole to be parallel with the first direction, and an area of the sheet portion corresponds to 16% or more of an area of one unit among a plurality of units of the fin.

Inventors

JaeYoung Kim
Sukyoung LEE
Sangyeul Lee
Eungyul Lee

Assignees

LG ELECTRONICS INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240116
Priority Date: 20230119

Claims (12)

1 . A heat exchanger comprising: a heat transfer pipe configured to guide a refrigerant; and a plurality of fins spaced apart from each other to allow air to pass in a first direction, each the plurality of fins including: a through-hole through which the heat transfer pipe is disposed; a corrugated portion formed in a zigzag shape proceeding in the first direction; and a sheet portion recessed from the corrugated portion around the through-hole, the sheet portion being parallel with the first direction, wherein each of the plurality of fins includes a reference region, the reference region being defined by the through-hole, the corrugated portion and the sheet portion, wherein within each reference region, an area of the sheet portion corresponds to 16%-25% of an area of the reference region, wherein each sheet portion includes: a first length in the first direction; and a second length in a second direction, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the second length is greater than the first length, wherein each of the plurality of fins further includes a connecting portion to connect the corrugated portion and the sheet portion, wherein each corrugated portion includes a plurality of inclined portions having an inclination with respect to the first direction, wherein the plurality of inclined portions of each corrugated portion includes two crest portions and a trough portion, wherein for each of the plurality of fins, the corrugated portion is formed in two inner inclined portions that are disposed between the two crest portions, wherein the trough portion is positioned between the two inner inclined portions, wherein the plurality of inclined portions of each corrugated portion includes outer inclined portions that define the two crest portions outside the two inner inclined portions, wherein for each of the plurality of fins, a length of each outer inclined portion that does not overlap with the connecting portion in the first direction is less than a length of each inner inclined portion, and wherein for each of the plurality of fins, the connecting portion is arranged to surround the sheet portion and separates the corrugated portion and the sheet portion.
2 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein for each of the plurality of fins, a ratio of the second length of the sheet portion to the first length of the sheet portion is in a range of 1.2 to 1.9.
3 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein for each of the plurality of fins, the sheet portion is configured such that a distance to the through-hole in the second direction is greater than a distance to the through-hole in the first direction.
4 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of fins further includes a collar in surface contact with the heat transfer pipe, and wherein for each of the plurality of fins, the sheet portion is connected to an outer surface of the collar.
5 . The heat exchanger of claim 4 , wherein at least one of the corrugated portions of the plurality of fins is disposed between adjacent sheet portions among the plurality of fins.
6 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein for each of the plurality of fins, a center of the through-hole overlaps the trough portion in the second direction.
7 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein for each of the plurality of fins, a combined area of the two inner inclined portions corresponds to 70% or more of the area of the sheet portion.
8 . The heat exchanger of claim 7 , wherein for each of the plurality of fins, an overlapping length between each inner inclined portion and each crest portion is greater than or equal to 50% of the second length of the sheet portion in the second direction.
9 . The heat exchanger of claim 7 , wherein for each of the plurality of fins, the two crest portions do not overlap the sheet portion in the second direction.
10 . The heat exchanger of claim 7 , wherein for each of the plurality of fins, the two crest portions are positioned higher than the sheet portion in a third direction, and wherein the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and to the second direction.
11 . The heat exchanger of claim 1 , wherein for each of the plurality of fins, a collar is formed through the sheet portion and protrudes upward and downward.
12 . An air conditioner comprising: an indoor heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with indoor air; and an outdoor heat exchanger configured to exchange heat with outdoor air, wherein at least one of the indoor heat exchanger and the outdoor heat exchanger comprises: a heat transfer pipe to guide a refrigerant; and a plurality of fins spaced apart from each other to allow air to pass in a first direction, each of the plurality of fins including: a through-hole through which the heat transfer pipe passes; a corrugated portion formed in a zigzag shape proceeding in the first direction; and a sheet portion recessed from the corrugated portion around the through-hole, the sheet portion being parallel with the first direction, wherein each of the plurality of fins includes a reference region, the reference region being defined by the through-hole, the corrugated portion and the sheet portion, wherein within each reference region, an area of the sheet portion corresponds to 16%-25% of an area of the reference region, wherein each sheet portion includes: a first length in the first direction; and a second length in a second direction, the second direction being perpendicular to the first direction, wherein the second length is greater than the first length, wherein each of the plurality of fins further includes a connecting portion to connect the corrugated portion and the sheet portion, wherein each corrugated portion includes a plurality of inclined portions having an inclination with respect to the first direction, wherein the plurality of inclined portions of each corrugated portion includes two crest portions and a trough portion, wherein for each of the plurality of fins, the corrugated portion is formed in two inner inclined portions that are disposed between the two crest portions, wherein the trough portion is positioned between the two inner inclined portions, wherein the plurality of inclined portions of each corrugated portion includes outer inclined portions that define the two crest portions outside the two inner inclined portions, wherein for each of the plurality of fins, a length of each outer inclined portion that does not overlap with the connecting portion in the first direction is less than a length of each inner inclined portion, and wherein for each of the plurality of fins, the connecting portion is arranged to surround the sheet portion and separates the corrugated portion and the sheet portion.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0008148 filed in the Republic of Korea on Jan. 19, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present disclosure relates to a heat exchanger with high heat exchange efficiency and low air flow resistance. 2. Description of the Related Art In general, a heat exchanger can be used as a condenser or an evaporator in a refrigeration cycle device including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion mechanism, and an evaporator. In addition, a heat exchanger can be installed in a vehicle, a refrigerator, and the like to exchange heat between refrigerant and air. Heat exchangers can be classified into a finned tube type heat exchanger, a micro-channel type heat exchanger, etc. Recently, a heat exchanger with improved performance has been introduced by employing a corrugated fin formed by bending into a corrugated shape, which enables more efficient heat exchange between refrigerant and air through the corrugated fin. A plate fin for improving the heat transfer rate on the fin side without an increase in pressure loss on the air side is disclosed in Related Art 1, which is hereby incorporated by reference. In Related Art 1, the plate fin has a plurality of crest portions formed along a column direction, and the shape of a sheet portion around a through-hole is formed in an oval shape elongated horizontally. In the case of Related Art 1, as the fin has the horizontally elongated shape, more air can come into contact with the periphery of a collar portion to thereby increase the heat transfer efficiency. However, when the sheet portion is formed in the same direction as the air flow direction, air stagnation occurs. Related Art 1—Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. KR2019-0115907 SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE It is an objective of the present disclosure to provide a heat exchanger that is easy to manufacture, has high heat exchange efficiency, and has low air flow resistance. It is another objective of the present disclosure to provide a heat exchanger including a through-hole through which a heat transfer pipe passes, a corrugated portion formed in a zigzag shape proceeding in a first direction, which is an air flow direction, and a sheet portion configured as a flat surface adjacent to the through-hole, thereby facilitating the mixing of air in a region adjacent to the corrugated portion and the through-hole. It is yet another objective of the present disclosure to provide a heat exchanger that can allow air to be uniformly mixed in a direction perpendicular to an air flow direction by designing the optimized size and width of a sheet portion and a corrugated portion. The objectives of the present disclosure are not limited to the objectives described above, and other objectives not stated herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. According to one aspect of the subject matter described in this application, a heat exchanger includes: a heat transfer pipe to guide a refrigerant; and a plurality of fins spaced apart from each other to allow air to pass in a first direction, the plurality of fins each having a through-hole through which the heat transfer pipe is installed, wherein the plurality of fins each includes: a corrugated portion formed in a zigzag shape proceeding in the first direction, which is an air flow direction; and a sheet portion recessed from the corrugated portion around the through-hole to be parallel with the first direction, and, when dividing a fin, among the plurality of fins, into a plurality of units with respect to one sheet portion, an area of the sheet portion corresponds to 16% or more of an area of one unit. The sheet portion may have a first length in the first direction, which is an air flow direction, and a second length in a second direction perpendicular to the air flow direction, the second length being greater than the first length. The plurality of fins may each further include a collar in surface contact with the heat transfer pipe. The sheet portion may be connected to an outer surface of the collar. The collar may be formed through the sheet portion and may protrude upward and downward. The corrugated portion may be disposed between adjacent sheet portions. The corrugated portion may include a plurality of inclined portions having an inclination with respect to the first direction. The corrugated portion may include four inclined portions, two crest portions, and one trough portion, with respect to one sheet portion. A center of the through-hole may be positioned to overlap the trough portion in the second direction. The sheet portion may be formed in two inner inclined portions that are disposed between the two crest portions and define the through portion therebetween. The four i