The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 21, 2000
Filed:
Jun. 09, 1998
Richard O Rhodes, San Francisco, CA (US);
FAFCO, Incorporated, Redwood City, CA (US);
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for coupling heat exchange tubing to header pipes which include flanges are disclosed. Heat exchange tubing may generally be coupled, or bonded, to header pipe arrangements in order to produce heat exchanging devices which may be used in solar heating systems and thermal energy storage (TES) devices. According to one aspect of the present invention, a method for forming a heat exchanging device includes pretreating the ends of the heat exchange tubes used in the device. The pretreated ends are then heated to at least partially melt the pretreated ends. At the same time, heat is also applied to the header pipe arrangement included in the device to at least partially melt a flange arrangement which is a part of the overall header pipe arrangement. The pretreated ends of the heat exchange tubes are then sealed against the header pipe arrangement.