Abstract:
A heat exchanger that includes a collecting tank having a collecting tank edge, a tube plate including a tube plate edge, and a seal arrangement with a seal between the collecting tank and tube plate. The heat exchanger further includes a seal support frame, and the seal is arranged on the seal support frame and the seal is inlaid together with the seal support frame between the tube plate edge and the collecting tank edge.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. 10 2009 049 483.9 filed Oct. 15, 2009, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    The invention relates to a heat exchanger having a collecting tank. The invention also relates to a seal arrangement for heat exchangers of said type. 
         [0003]    A heat exchanger is known from FR 2 614 980 A. In said document, to reinforce the collecting tank with respect to high internal pressures, receiving openings for a collecting tank insert piece to be inserted are formed on the inner sides of the opposite longitudinal walls of the collecting tank, which collecting tank insert piece can stabilize the longitudinal walls with respect to internal pressure. Said collecting tank insert piece therefore has the function of a collecting tank reinforcement piece. 
         [0004]    In the German utility model DE 201 21 112 U1, for the same purpose, stiffening ribs are formed on the longitudinal walls. An inner stiffening element was also provided. 
         [0005]    WO 06/005449A1 and WO06/077044A1 likewise provide stiffening ribs on the collecting tank walls. 
         [0006]    DE 203 07 881 U1 proposes a solution in which a collecting tank insert piece as a flow-guiding element was also formed with a fastening edge. The fastening edge was inserted, with the addition of a seal, between the collecting tank edge and the tube plate edge, thereby locking the flow-guiding element. The addition of the seal, and the common insertion with the fastening edge during the course of the manufacturing process of the heat exchanger, appear to be cumbersome. 
         [0007]    The prior art described here is in need of improvement with regard to the cost-effective manufacture of the heat exchanger, and this is considered to one of the problems addressed by the present invention. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    In some aspects a solution according to the invention is provided by the use of a seal arrangement having a seal which is arranged between a tube plate edge and a collecting tank edge, which is to be connected thereto, of a heat exchanger, with the seal being fastened to a seal support frame and with it being possible for said seal to be inlaid together with the seal support frame between the tube plate edge and the collecting tank edge. The elastic and in many cases inherently very labile seal is therefore easier to handle and can be inlaid more easily. 
         [0009]    Another aspect is that of a collecting tank insert piece and the seal support frame being combined to form a single component. The seal is, as mentioned, arranged or fastened on the seal support frame. The collecting tank insert piece or the common component can therefore, for example, be fastened to the inner sides of the walls of the collecting tank, after which the collecting tank with the insert piece can finally be placed onto the tube plate, before the fastening between the collecting tank edge and the tube plate edge is then carried out with the inclusion of the seal situated on the seal support frame. The invention opens up a number of possibilities for improved automated manufacture of such heat exchangers, because the seal, which is conventionally not particularly easy to handle, is even more dimensionally stable and also remains in its intended position on account of the fastening thereof to the seal support frame and the combination of the latter with the collecting tank insert piece. 
         [0010]    A further advantage of the design according to the proposal can be considered to be that of the invention making it possible to use tube plates which do not have an encircling seal-receiving groove, because said tube plates firstly are slightly cheaper to produce and secondly also enable the flat tubes seated in the tube plates to be formed with a slightly greater depth, such that a smaller lateral projecting length of the tube plates beyond the flat tubes is provided, which is conventionally regarded as an unnecessary spatial requirement. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTIONS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]      FIG. 1  shows an exploded perspective view of a part of the heat exchanger according to the invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 2  shows a cut-away illustration of said part in the assembled state. 
           [0013]      FIG. 3  shows a seal support frame with seal. 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  shows a fastening of the seal to the seal support frame. 
           [0015]      FIGS. 5 ,  6  and  7  show partially different seal support frames with seals. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]    The illustrated heat exchanger part is a part of a charge-air cooler, but this is not intended to restrict the present invention to a charge-air cooler. In contrast, the invention can be applied regardless of the field of use of the heat exchanger. The illustrated heat exchanger part comprises a collecting tank  1 , a collecting tank insert piece  4  and a tube plate  2 . The collecting tank  1  has, in the conventional way, an opening  13  through which, in the present case, the charge air flows in and out. The walls  10  of the collecting tank  1  have ribs  12  which run in the longitudinal and transverse direction, in order to increase the stability of said walls  10 . Arranged in the tube plate  2  are receiving openings  21  for receiving the ends of flat tubes  5 , of which only a single one has been shown in  FIG. 1 . The charge air flows through the flat tubes  5 , for example in order to be cooled by means of cooling air. The receiving openings  21  have been provided with collars  22  which, in the exemplary embodiment, point outwards. The flat tube ends are sealingly soldered or fastened in some other way to the collars  22 . An identical design may be provided at the opposite end (not shown) of the flat tubes  5 . The collecting tank edge and the tube plate edge are connected to one another in a mechanically fixed and sealed manner with the interposition of a seal  3 .  FIG. 2  shows a piece of said connection. In the exemplary embodiment ( FIGS. 1 ,  2 ) the collecting tank insert piece  4  acts so as to reinforce the collecting tank with respect to high internal pressures. In other embodiments ( FIGS. 5 ,  6 ), the insert piece  4  functions primarily as a flow-guiding piece and has be specifically adapted for this purpose. 
         [0017]    As is now shown particularly clearly in  FIG. 1 , the collecting tank insert piece  4  and a seal support frame  30  have been combined to form a single or common component. The elastic seal  3  has been fastened to the seal support frame  30 . The collecting tank insert piece  4  or the component is detachably fastened to the inner sides of the walls  10  of the collecting piece  1 . For this purpose, receptacles  11  are formed oppositely on the inner sides of the longitudinal walls  10  of the collecting tank  1 , into which receptacles  11  corresponding end pieces  40  of the collecting tank insert piece  4  can be received in a positively locking fashion. In physical terms, the collecting tank insert piece  4  can be pushed with its fitting end pieces  40  into the receptacles  11  in the longitudinal direction or in the direction of the said flat tubes  5 , until the end pieces  40  come to bear there against a stop (not shown), or can latch in. The end pieces  40  are situated at opposite ends of at least one web  41  which operatively provides the desired reinforcement. In the exemplary embodiment, there are two webs  41  and four end pieces  40 . It is self-evident that said webs  41  also have a streamlined, that is to say extremely slim form, even if this is not clearly visible from the figures. 
         [0018]    The common component has the said seal support frame  30 . In the exemplary embodiment shown, the seal support frame  30  has an approximately rectangular shape. The shape must correspond approximately to the edge of the collecting tank  1  and to that of the tube plate  2 . The seal  3  may for example be injection-molded or vulcanized onto said seal support frame  30 . 
         [0019]    As  FIG. 1  is likewise intended to show, the webs  41 , the end pieces  40  thereof and the seal support frame  30  form a single piece, which is produced for example from plastic by injection molding. Depending on the size of the seal support frame  30  or of the tube plate/collecting tank, the seal support frame  30  may have additional supports  31 , which has been indicated in  FIG. 1  by means of dashed lines. The heat exchanger of the exemplary embodiment shown does not have such supports  31 . Depending on size, the collecting tank insert piece  4  may self-evidently also have more than two webs  41  with end pieces  40 , including corresponding receptacles  11  on the wall of the collecting tank. The webs  41  are arranged between the receiving openings  21 . This also normally applies to the said supports  31 , if these are provided. 
         [0020]    When the collecting tank  1  and the tube plate  2  are joined together, the seal support frame  30  presses the seal  3  firmly against the encircling, upturned edge  20  of the tube plate  2 , without said seal being braced between the collecting tank and tube plate. The clamping is carried out, with the seal  3  coming to rest between the collecting tank edge and tube plate edge. 
         [0021]    It is advantageous for the tube plate  2  to be formed to be approximately planar aside from the collars  22  and the upturned edge; at any rate, said tube plate need not have an encircling seal-receiving groove, as a result of which it can be manufactured using simpler tools. 
         [0022]    The seal support frame  30  is positioned approximately between the edge of the collecting tank and the edge of the tube plate. Said seal support frame has a supporting action during the clamping of the tube plate edge to the collecting tank edge. 
         [0023]    A collecting tank reinforcement piece  4  has been dispensed with in the exemplary embodiments according to  FIGS. 3-7 . 
         [0024]    The embodiment shown in  FIG. 3  is advantageous for extremely small heat exchangers, in which the stiffness of the seal support frame  30  alone is adequate. To increase stiffness, struts  31  may be provided in one piece with the seal support frame  30 , which struts  31  may also have flow-deflecting properties, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . These properties are not provided in  FIG. 7 ; in said figure, the aim of the struts  31  is only to provide stiffening. The main task of the struts  31  is to support the inwardly directed forces that occur during the so-called clamping of the tube plate edge to the collecting tank edge. 
         [0025]      FIG. 4  shows, on the basis of a corner detail of the seal support frame  30  with seal  3 , an example of how the fastening of the seal  3  may take place. The seal support frame  30  is provided with a series of apertures  32  into which projections of the seal  3  engage. The seal support frame  30  has an encircling concave curvature in which the approximately round seal  3  can be partially seated. 
         [0026]    The seal  3  is for example injection molded onto, vulcanized onto, adhesively bonded onto and/or, as shown in  FIG. 4 , for example fastened in a positively locking manner to the seal support frame  30 .