Modine Manufacturing Company

Ralf Beck

Jens Nies

Werner Nitsche

Roland Strähle

Jörg Soldner

Reinhard Wehrmann

Klaus Feldmann

Heinrich Rockenfeller

Wilfried Bittner

A frame supports heat exchangers one in front of another in the direction of flow of cooling air, and includes two vertical walls interconnected by transverse walls, cross braces between the walls, and fastening points on the walls adapted to fasten the heat exchangers to the frame. Outwardly extending bulging sections in the vertical walls include an outer portion adapted to be secured to the vehicle support members to support the frame thereon, and an inner portion defining a space between vertical wall sections above and below the bulging section for receive projecting components of at least one heat exchanger. Connectors connect each of the fastening openings to the aligned flange openings, with the connectors including a head and a stem with an expandable end opposite the head retaining the connectors in the aligned openings. Hooks support the heat exchangers in the direction of air flow, with the connector stems supporting against at least some forces transverse to the direction of air flow.

Frame for multiple vehicle heat exchangers

A vehicle radiator including inlet and outlet headers, a soldered core having a plurality of coolant flat tubes joining the inlet header and the outlet header with cooling fins on opposite sides of the coolant flat tubes, and a multifunction flat tube on at least one side of the core. The multifunction flat tube has a greater section modulus than the coolant flat tubes, and is soldered to adjacent cooling fins and the inlet and outlet headers whereby the multifunction flat tube carries coolant from the inlet header to the outlet header. The multifunction flat tubes each also have an inner flow resistance which is substantially smaller than the inner flow resistance of individual coolant flat tubes whereby more coolant flows through each multifunction flat tube than flows through an individual coolant flat tube per unit time.

Radiator with side flat tubes

A plate heat exchanger that is provided with an internal insert located between plates that form a channel. The insert takes the form of an additional plate that has guide channels with at least one inlet and one outlet which lead from one flow channel of one medium to another flow channel of the same medium. Sections of the additional plate that are free of guide channels are metallically connected to an adjacent heat exchanger plate. The guide channels are metallically connected to the other adjacent heat exchanger plate of the same channel.

Plate heat exchanger

Growing community of inventors

Reutlingen, Germany

Ralf Beck