Patent Abstract:
A pipe retainer assembly according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a mount including one of a slot and a projection, and a pipe retainer including a latch and the other of a slot and a projection. The slot is received in the projection and the latch is engaged with the mount. The assembly further includes a fluid conduit held in place by the mount and the pipe retainer. A method is also disclosed.

Full Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/033,387, filed Aug. 5, 2014, the entirety of which is herein incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Modern vehicles include heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for improving passenger comfort. 
         [0003]    In general, vehicle air conditioning systems include an evaporator heat exchanger in communication with a compressor and a condenser. A compressor receives heated refrigerant from the evaporator and compresses it into a high pressure gas for communication to the condenser. The condenser then cools the gaseous refrigerant into a cool liquid refrigerant for communication back to the evaporator. A blower forces air across the evaporator, providing cooled air into the passenger compartment. 
         [0004]    A vehicle heating system includes a heater core that receives hot engine coolant from the engine. A blower forces air across the heater core, providing heated air to the passenger compartment. The system may also include one or more conduits, which are retained in place by a conduit retainer (or, pipe retainer), such as a bracket. The conduit retainer is typically fastened to the vehicle by way of a fastener (e.g., a screw or bolt). 
       SUMMARY 
       [0005]    A pipe retainer assembly according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a mount including one of a slot and a projection, and a pipe retainer including a latch and the other of a slot and a projection. The slot is received in the projection and the latch is engaged with the mount. The assembly further includes a fluid conduit held in place by the mount and the pipe retainer. 
         [0006]    A pipe retainer according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, a first projection for engagement with a first slot in a mount, a second projection for engagement with a second slot in the mount, and a latch for engagement with a wall of the mount. 
         [0007]    A method according to an exemplary aspect of the present disclosure includes, among other things, positioning a conduit relative to a mount such that an upset bead of the conduit is received within a groove of the mount, and sliding a pipe retainer relative to the mount to connect the pipe retainer to the mount. 
         [0008]    The embodiments, examples and alternatives of the preceding paragraphs, the claims, or the following description and drawings, including any of their various aspects or respective individual features, may be taken independently or in any combination. Features described in connection with one embodiment are applicable to all embodiments, unless such features are incompatible. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The drawings can be briefly described as follows: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  schematically illustrates a vehicle system. 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an example pipe retainer according to this disclosure. 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the pipe retainer of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  illustrates the pipe retainer in an assembled condition. 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  illustrates an example pipe according to this disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0015]      FIG. 1  illustrates a vehicle system  10  for thermally managing a heat source  12  of a vehicle  14 . The heat source  12  could be an engine, a transmission, or any other heat generating component of the vehicle  14 . The heat source  12  generates heat during operation of the vehicle  14  and therefore may need to be cooled during some conditions. 
         [0016]    In one embodiment, the vehicle system  10  includes a heat exchanger  16  and a thermal bypass valve (TBV)  18 . A TBV  18  need not be present in all examples. A supply conduit  20  and a return conduit  22  connect the components of the vehicle system  10  in a closed circuit. 
         [0017]    In one non-limiting embodiment, the heat exchanger  16  is a transmission oil cooler configured as an air/oil heat exchanger. Other types of heat exchangers are also contemplated within the scope of this disclosure, including but not limited to, engine oil coolers or hydraulic fluid oil coolers. In addition, the heat exchanger  16  may exchange heat between any two different fluid exchange medium. 
         [0018]    The TBV  18  can be actuated to bypass the heat exchanger  16  under certain temperature conditions if the heat transfer function of the heat exchanger  16  is not required. In one embodiment, the TBV  18  is a multi-port bypass valve. The vehicle system  10  may employ any suitable bypass valve for selectively bypassing the functionality of the heat exchanger  16 . 
         [0019]    The vehicle system  10  may communicate a fluid F 1  in the closed circuit. For example, the fluid F 1 , which is relatively hot, is communicated from the heat source  12  to the heat exchanger  16  via the supply conduit  20 . The fluid F 1  may circulate through the heat exchanger  16  to exchange heat with another fluid F 2 , such as airflow, to provide a cooled fluid F 3 . The fluid F 2  may be communicated across the heat exchanger  16  with or without the use of a fan to exchange heat with the fluid F 1 . After exchanging heat with the fluid F 2 , the fluid F 1  is returned to the heat source  12  as cooled fluid F 3  via a return conduit  22  to thermally manage (i.e., heat or cool) the heat source  12 . 
         [0020]      FIG. 2  illustrates an example pipe retainer assembly  24 . In this example, the pipe retainer assembly  24  includes a pipe retainer  26  configured to retain the supply and return conduits  20 ,  22  of an example system, such as the system  10  of  FIG. 1 , relative to an HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) module  28 . The pipe retainer  26  may be integrally formed as one plastic piece. This disclosure is not limited to plastic, however, and extends to other types of materials. 
         [0021]    In this example, the HVAC module  28  may be an HVAC package to be mounted on a particular vehicle. The illustrated portion of the HVAC module  28  is, in one example, mounted adjacent the front of dash (FOD) of a vehicle. This disclosure is not limited to any particular HVAC module  28 , however. Further, the pipe retainer assembly  24  could be used to connect conduits to other engine components, such as the heat source  12 . 
         [0022]    The HVAC module  28  includes a mount  30 , which in this example is integral to the HVAC module  28 , having a first platform  32  and a second platform  34  (perhaps best seen in  FIG. 3 ). The first and second platforms  32 ,  34  are spaced-apart from one another in a first direction D 1  (e.g., the side-to-side direction) and a second direction D 2  (e.g., the up-and-down, or vertical, direction) perpendicular to the first direction D 1 . 
         [0023]    The first platform  32  includes an upper surface  36  having a pipe locating feature  38  ( FIG. 3 ) and a dovetail slot  40  formed therein. The pipe locating feature  38 , in this example, is a groove corresponding to an upset bead  42  formed in the supply conduit  20  ( FIG. 5 ). In this example, the upset bead  42  projects from the outer surface of the supply conduit  20 , and extends around the entire perimeter (e.g., circumference) of the supply conduit  20 . 
         [0024]    The second platform  34  has an upper surface  43  that similarly includes a pipe locating feature  44 , in this example a groove, and a dovetail slot  46 . The pipe locating feature  44  corresponds to an upset bead  48  of the return conduit  22 . 
         [0025]    The pipe retainer  26  includes first and second dovetail projections  50 ,  52  configured to slide into the first and second dovetail slots  40 ,  46  of the platforms  32 ,  34 . The first and second dovetail projections  50 ,  52  are also spaced-apart from one another in the first and second directions D 1 , D 2 , to correspond to the locations of the dovetail slots  40 ,  46 . As is known of dovetail joints, the dovetail projections  50 ,  52  and the slots  40 ,  46  may be tapered to vertically maintain the position of the retainer  26  relative to the HVAC module  28 . While in this example the pipe retainer  26  includes the dovetail projections  50 ,  52  and the platforms  32 ,  34  include the dovetail slots  40 ,  46 , the pipe retainer  26  could include slots and the platforms  32 ,  34  could include projections. Further, this disclosure is not limited to dovetail joints, and extends to other types of joints, including joints that allow for sliding of the pipe retainer  26  relative to the mount  30  and resistance to separation in the direction perpendicular to sliding (e.g., D 2 ). 
         [0026]    As illustrated in  FIG. 4 , in order to axially (e.g., see the axial direction A) maintain the retainer  26  relative to the HVAC module  28 , the retainer  26  includes a latch  54  is configured to engage a latch surface  55  of a vertical wall  56  of the mount  30  between the first and second platforms  32 ,  34 . The vertical wall  56  connects the first and second platforms  32 ,  34  by spanning the distance between the two platforms  32 ,  34 . The latch  54  is configured to snap into place relative to the vertical wall  56 . 
         [0027]    In one example, the conduits  20 ,  22  include the upset beads  42 ,  48  and tapered ends  58 ,  60  (respectively). At the tapered ends  58 ,  60 , the diameter of the conduits  20 ,  22  gradually reduce in dimension approaching the end. For installation, the retainer  26  is provided axially between the upset beads  42 ,  48  and the tapered ends  58 ,  60 , and is then axially slid, along the length of the supply and return conduits  20 ,  22 , in the axial direction A, such that the dovetail projections  50 ,  52  are fully received in the dovetail slots  40 ,  46  and such that the latch  54  engages the wall  56 , as generally illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0028]    The conduits  20 ,  22  may include an additional upset bead for retaining additional plumbing relative to the conduits  20 ,  22 , such as under-hood plumbing. One such upset bead  57  is illustrated in  FIG. 5 . In that example, upset bead  57  is spaced-apart from upset bead  42  along the length of the conduit  20 . 
         [0029]    This disclosure allows for a secure retention between the conduits  20 ,  22  and an HVAC module  28  prior to the assembly of the HVAC module  28  relative to an vehicle instrument panel or front of dash (FOD). Further, no fasteners are required, which reduces assembly time. 
         [0030]    Although the different examples have the specific components shown in the illustrations, embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to those particular combinations. It is possible to use some of the components or features from one of the examples in combination with features or components from another one of the examples. 
         [0031]    One of ordinary skill in this art would understand that the above-described embodiments are exemplary and non-limiting. That is, modifications of this disclosure would come within the scope of the claims. Accordingly, the following claims should be studied to determine their true scope and content.

Technology Classification (CPC): 5