Patent ID: 7594327

Claim:
A side plate for use with a heat exchanger, the heat exchanger including a pair of spaced, generally parallel headers, a plurality of spaced, generally parallel tubes extending between and in fluid communication with an interior of said headers and fins extending between the tubes, the side plate comprising: first and second ends, at least one of the ends contoured to provide at least one localized contact bonded to one of the headers and the at least one contoured end being bonded to only an exterior of one of the headers; and an intermediate portion having a width and extending between the ends, wherein each localized contact has a contact width that is less than ⅕ the width of the intermediate portion, and wherein only the each localized contact engages the header to form a break point adjacent the header for separating the side plate and header as a result of thermal expansion and contraction of the heat exchanger.