Patent ID: 7347254

Claim:
A heat exchanger for motor vehicles comprising: (a) a plurality of flat tubes through which a fluid cooling medium can flow; (b) elongated vortex generators in the form of indentations pointing inward on opposing faces on at least one of said flat tubes, and (i) wherein the ratio between a height, h, of the vortex generators and a height, H, of the flat tubes is approximately 0.05 to 0.5; (ii) wherein longitudinal axes of the vortex generators are inclined at angles of greater than approximately 10° with respect to the tube longitudinal axis; (iii) wherein vortex generators which are adjacent transversely with respect to the tube longitudinal axis are inclined in opposite directions; (iv) wherein the ratio of the distance, a, between a first flat face and a second flat face opposing the first flat face of the vortex generator rows in the direction of the tube longitudinal axis to the height, h, of the vortex generators is approximately 10 to 30; and (v) wherein vortex generators are transversely surrounded on either side by vortex generators which are inclined in opposite directions with respect to each other; and (c) corrugated fins to which environmental air or other media can be applied operably linked to said flat tubes.