Gm Global Technolgoy Operations, Inc.

Shrikant M Joshi

Gary A Halstead

Richard P Ryan

Lee Curtis Whitehead

Frederick Vincent Oddi

David M Smith

Glenn W Shaffer

Brian L Barten

Ralph John Honey

An automotive heat exchanger manifold (56) is formed entirely integrally by starting with a cylindrical blank (10) and integrally forming its ends variously into lower end closures or upper end connectors. Specifically, the lower end of blank (10) is impact extruded into a reduced diameter pin (30) which is not only leak tight and seamless, but inserts into a lower resilient mount (16). The upper end of the blank (10) is cold headed into a line connector (54).

Method of making a heat exchanger manifold

A vestibule for part entry or exit from a flow through type of braze furnace in which no substantial physical barrier is necessary to prevent air exchange between the vestibule and the outside. A controller burner within the vestibule continually burns oxygen that does leak in, sensing whether combustion is complete trough the use of an analyzer in an exhaust stack. In addition, a neutral gas injector within the vestibule chamber maintains a near net zero pressure balance in order to minimize, though not prevent, ingress leakage. Parts can therefore enter the door freely without dragging through the impediment of a physical barrier.

Controlled atmosphere braze furnace with free part entry

A heat exchanger apparatus includes a pair of tank units for containing a fluid, such as an engine coolant, or freon, each including a header having a plurality of slots for receiving a plurality of parallel fluid flow tubes in fluid communication between the tanks. Air centers are connected between the parallel fluid flow tubes for directing an inlet air stream of the vehicle. Side plates are secured between the ends of the headers to protect and provide rigidity to the heat exchanger. Interlocking members are provided between the headers and sideplates for interlocking same to one another during the brazing process.

Heat exchanger sideplate interlocked with header

An inlet air passage in the aerodynamically configured front end of a motor vehicle directs an inlet air stream at an inclination upwardly from the bottom of the front end of the vehicle and across a radiator for cooling engine coolant and wherein the radiator has coolant tubes and air centers for forming air flow passages through the radiator between spaced headers. The tubes are inclined with respect to the vertical headers at an angle selected to locate the air flow passages parallel to an inlet air stream for aligning the inlet air stream with the air flow passages for reducing air pressure drop across the radiator.

Inclined tube radiator

A condenser having two piece die formed condenser tube parts that are joined along a beveled outer edge. The tube material is braze cladded on both sides for corrosion resistance and for high quality internal braze bonding of (1) longitudinal tube webs for optimizing burst strength, and (2) the tubes to associated air centers which are not cladded for an economical unit. The tubes can be readily made in a multiport or single port design by die forming the longitudinal webs in each tube part, and at discreet lengths along the tube length to provide a cut off area for sizing the tube and a smooth circumferential area where the tube parts with a beveled outer edge enter the header providing a close fit and high quality brazed joints. This tube design provides material and cost advantages over the conventional extruded tubes or roll formed condenser tubes and is readily fabricated using corrosion resistant alloys providing long service life. The number and spacing of the webs in this construction can be readily made by changing the spacing of the dies for forming the tube parts. The method provided by this invention provides increased output with higher machine speeds as compared to extrusion type processes.

Method of manufacturing a tube for a heat exchanger

Heat exchanger with double row tubes with each tube being substantially identical and made by a sequence of roll forming operations from a single piece blank so that it has a centralized vertical connector web of the thickness of the blank connecting and supporting opposite side walls of the tubes to separate each tube into separate flow passes for augmenting tube burst strength from high internal pressures. Also, the vertical connector web effectively eliminates tube crushing from compression loads exerted onto a core of tubes and corrugated air centers by retainer bands used to hold these components together for their subsequent brazing together in a high temperature oven to form a core. With these tubes employed, heat exchanger efficiency is improved since the apices of the air centers have extensive direct contact with the flat sides of the roll formed tubes thoughout their widths. The tubes of this invention are formed with effective and efficient usage of all material of the blank and have continuous and even peripheries for improved brazing to header plates or end tanks facilitating the manufacture of high capacity heat exchangers with reduced weight. After being brazed and employed in a heat exchanger, heat energy is transferred by conduction from the heat exchanger fluid to the tubes and then directly to the air centers.

Roll formed heat exchanger tubing with double row flow passes

A combination radiator and condenser apparatus has a pair of extruded tank and header assemblies adapted to be connected in both a coolant systsem for liquid cooled engine and a refrigerant system of an automobile air conditioning system. The assemblies each include an extruded tank with two compartments separated by an internal partition which extends the full height of the tank and each extruded tank further includes a slotted wall for receiving the ends of a plurality of unitary extruded fluid flow tubes extending between each extruded tank. Each of the unitary extruded fluid flow tubes have first and second passages therein connected respectively to the coolant chamber and the high pressure refrigerant chamber of each of the extruded tanks. The extruded tubes of the coolant passage and the refrigerant passage are separated by a connecting member for preventing the heat conduction from the coolant to the refrigerant. The connecting member may be a thin web or two web connection forming an air space.

Tube design for integral radiator/condenser

A condenser having single piece roll formed condenser tubes that are seam welded along an interfacing edge. The tube material is braze cladded on both sides for corrosion resistance and for high quality internal braze bonding of (1) longitudinal tube webs for optimizing burst strength, and (2) the tubes to associated air centers which are not cladded for an economical unit. The tubes can be readily made in a multiport or single port design by roll forming the longitudinal webs in each tube, and at discreet lengths along the tube length to provide a cut off area for sizing the tube and a smooth circumferential area where the tube enters the header providing a close fit and high quality brazed joints. This tube design provides material and cost advantage over the conventional extruded tubes and is readily fabricated using corrosion resistant alloys providing long service life. The number and spacing of the webs in this construction can be readily made by changing the number and spacing of the web forming rolls. The method provided by this invention provides increased output with higher machine speeds as compared to extrusion type processes.

Method of manufacturing heat exchanger tubing

A combination radiator and condenser apparatus has a pair of extruded tank and header assemblies adapted to be connected in both a coolant system for liquid cooled engine and a refrigerant system of an automobile air conditioning system. The assemblies each include an extruded tank with two compartments separated by an internal partition which extends the full height of the tank. Each extruded tank further includes a slotted wall for receiving the ends of a plurality of unitary extruded fluid flow tubes extending between each extruded tank. Each of the unitary extruded fluid flow tubes have first and second passages therein connected respectively to the coolant chamber and the high pressure refrigerant chamber of each of the extruded tanks. The partition includes an air space or alternatively a plurality of slits forming air spaces extending the length of the tank for reducing heat conduction between the coolant and refrigerant.

Tank partition design for integral radiator/condenser

Baffles are arranged relative to an oil cooler mounted in one of the tanks of a motor vehicle radiator so as to force coolant through the oil cooler rather than allow coolant to bypass same for enhanced heat transfer.

Radiator tank oil cooler

A heat exchanger assembly has a pair of spaced extruded tanks and a tube and header subassembly including a pair of header plates on opposite ends of a plurality of spaced parallel tubes. The extruded tanks include stop surfaces thereon for locating the subassembly within the extruded tanks and the extruded tanks further include a pair of seal ribs and a pair of deformable side flanges defining a pocket for receiving flux material to secure the subassembly to the extruded tanks without exposing the flux material to the interior of the extruded tanks.

Heat exchanger with an extruded tank

A transmission oil cooler has spaced elongated plates secured at the margins and ports at either end to define an oil flow channel. A center disposed between the plates for creating turbulence in the oil and enhancing heat transfer comprises a metal sheet folded to form generally planar fins in side-by-side relationship and the fins having louvers extending over most of their area. The center is disposed in the flow channel with the planes of the fins transverse to the oil flow or alternatively with the planes of the fins parallel to the oil flow.

Oil cooler

A one-piece combination radiator tank and oil cooler for an automotive vehicle comprises a molded polymer structure of double wall construction such that the space between the walls is an oil cooler reservoir which shares a common wall with the coolant reservoir of the radiator tank. The heat from the oil reservoir is transferred to the coolant reservoir. Heat transfer across the common wall is enhanced by using high surface area shapes and by using surface features that promote good heat transfer. The inlet and outlet fittings are also molded polymer. The whole assembly is molded as one piece or as a very few pieces which are bonded together.

Integral oil cooler and radiator tank

An oil cooler and a radiator hose are combined in an all polymer structure. Generally concentric hoses provide two coolant paths with the wall of the inner hose providing heat transfer from one fluid to the other. The hoses are flexible or can be formed to conform to desired radiator hose routing. The hoses have deflectable vanes extending from their walls into the fluids to flex according to flow rate. The vanes induce turbulence to improve the thermal transfer especially at low flow rates but deflect at high flow rates to minimize pressure drop due to the vanes.

Growing community of inventors

Getzville, NY, United States of America

Shrikant M Joshi