Evaporator

Abstract

An evaporator including a side plate formed with a number of openings each having rigidly secured therein the upper end portion of one of a number of U-shaped refrigerant tubes, a cover plate attached to the upper surface of the side plate and formed, by recessing its inner surface, with a plurality of bend sections each intercommunicating the upper end portions of the two tubes of the adjacent U-shaped refrigerant tubes forming a set, a distributor section for supplying a suitable refrigerant to refrigerant passages provided by the U-shaped tubes and the bend sections, a manifold section for collecting the refrigerant from the refrigerant passages and discharging same therefrom, and an expansion valve section extending between the distributor section and the manifold section in a manner to intercommunicate the two sections, and an expansion valve assembly mounted in the expansion valve section. In this evaporator, the refrigerant supplied through a high pressure refrigerant pipe connected to the cover plate passes through a valve section of the expansion valve assembly into the distributor section, from which the refrigerant flows through the tortuous refrigerant passages provided by the U-shaped tubes and the bend sections. The refrigerant changes into a gaseous state while flowing through the refrigerant passages, and the gaseous refrigerant is collected in the manifold section, from which it passes through a control section of the expansion valve assembly into a low pressure refrigerant pipe.