Patent ID: 6874572

Claim:
A heat exchanger comprising: (a) a plurality of tubes having opposite ends and being spaced apart according to a predetermined inter-tube spacing amount, each said end being in contact with a tubesheet; (b) a support structure for supporting said tubes, said support structure further comprising a plurality of support coils, said support coils comprising helically wound material wherein at least a portion of the length of each of said tubes is contained within the interior circumference of one said support coil wherein the diameter of the wire forming each said support coil is essentially equal to the predetermined inter-tube spacing wherein said support coils partially overlap with each other to share the inter-tube space between each of said tubes and each coil is wound in either a clockwise or counterclockwise orientation with coils containing adjacent tubes wrapped in an orientation that is different from the adjacent coil with adjacent support coils contact with one another being welded together.