Patents Examined by Leonard Leo
  • Patent number: 6263960
    Abstract: An oil cooler has a tube disposed in a cooling water passage and defining an oil passage therein, an oil side inner fin brazed to an inside wall of the tube in the oil passage, and a water side inner fin brazed to an outside wall of the tube in the cooling water passage. The thickness Tw of the water side inner fin is thicker than the thickness To of the oil side inner fin. The water side and oil side inner fins are corrugated fins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 5, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2001
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventors: Yasutoshi Yamanaka, Shuji Komoda, Shinichi Hamada
  • Patent number: 6263570
    Abstract: A heat exchanger for vehicles comprises firstly a heat-exchanger assembly consisting of flat liquid-conveying tubes and surface-enlarging means, secondly an inlet tank, and thirdly an outlet tank. The inlet tank and the outlet tank have a connection plate with a number of connection holes for the tubes. At each hole, the plate has a projecting connecting sleeve element. Each tube has at its ends a widened main portion which is accommodated on said connecting sleeve element. A rounded transitional area is formed between the connection plate and each connecting sleeve element, and the main portion is inserted in the conecting sleeve element and is applied with its outside against the inside of the connecting sleeve element. Each tube has at its ends an end portion which is widened in relation to the main portion, merges with the main portion and is applied against the transitional area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 27, 1997
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2001
    Assignee: Valeo Engine Cooling Aktiebolag
    Inventor: Daniela Cazacu
  • Patent number: 6263955
    Abstract: A heat exchanger is disclosed for dissipating heat from a heat generating component. The heat exchanger comprises a thermally conductive base in thermal communication with the component, a plurality of thermally conductive plate fins affixed to the base wherein the plate fins define a fin field and channels, and fluid control for controlling the fluid flow within the fin field. Fluid flow enters the fin field at an inlet region and flows through the channels to an outlet region, i.e. from left to right across the figures illustrated. The heat exchanger of the present invention comprises a fin field having an open region formed by the novel configuration and layout of the individual fins forming the fin field. The open region may be formed in various sections of the heat exchanger for achieving the desired results. The open region reduces friction on fluid passing through the channels of the fin field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2001
    Inventor: Kaveh Azar
  • Patent number: 6260612
    Abstract: In a “stacked” type heat exchanger having a stack of elements through the interior of which a first fluid flows and having a core support arranged at the end of the stack in the stacked direction, the core support includes slits that extend from its edges up to the central portion, the slits capable of slightly deforming when subjected to a thermal stress. It is thus possible to reduce the thermal stress which may be applied to both the core support and the elements when there arises a difference of thermal expansion therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2000
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2001
    Assignee: Toyo Radiator Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Youichi Nakamura, Kimiaki Nakano
  • Patent number: 6257325
    Abstract: A heat exchanger includes a heat exchanger body having a heat exchanger core and header tanks, and a side tank provided at a side of the heat exchanger body for forming fluid introduction/discharge paths. The side tank comprises a first side tank forming plate provided at a heat exchanger body side, and a second side tank forming plate provided at an opposite side. At least one of the first and second side tank forming plates is divided into two parts in a thickness direction of the heat exchanger core. Drawn projecting portions for forming fluid paths from the side tank to the header tanks, and protruding portions for forming the fluid introduction/discharge paths in the side tank, may be formed without generation of cracks or too thin portions when the side tank forming. plates are processed. Consequently, a side tank having a desired structure may be formed, thereby achieving a high-performance heat exchanger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2001
    Assignee: Sanden Corporation
    Inventors: Akimichi Watanabe, Kazuki Hosoya
  • Patent number: 6253840
    Abstract: A refrigerant passage of an evaporator, in which refrigerant flows, is divided into plural sub-passages by partition wall portions of inner fins. The partition wall portions have plural louvers for flowing the refrigerant from an air flow downstream side sub-passage to an ajdacent air flow upstream side sub-passage. The louvers are alternately arranged on the partition wall portions with specific intervals in a refrigerant flow direction. Accordingly, refrigerant distributed amounts into the plural sub-passages can be adjusted to correspond to variations in thermal load on an air side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2001
    Assignee: Denso Corporation
    Inventor: Isao Kuroyanagi
  • Patent number: 6250374
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for cooling substrates is disclosed wherein the apparatus contains a cooling mechanism having a cooling plate, components for circulating a cooling fluid through the cooling plate, a positioning mechanism which positions the substrate relative to the cooling plate during operation of the apparatus and a housing for containing the cooling mechanism, the positioning components and the circulating components. The cooling plate has a non-planar top surface which provides an enlarged surface area used to cool the substrate. The cooling apparatus may be used in conjunction with a larger processing apparatus to fabricate an information storage disk.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2001
    Assignee: Anelva Corporation
    Inventors: Naoto Fujino, Naoki Watanabe
  • Patent number: 6250379
    Abstract: For the sterilization of liquids (43) containing harmful microorganisms, or for the conditioning of mixtures of substances, a process and a heat exchanger (1) in the form of a tubular heat exchanger are used. The tube bundle (3) between the intake flange (2) and the outlet flange (4) is comprised of a number of tubes (18, 20) that are equal in length and that possess a narrow flow area and thin walls. These tubes, characterized as capillary tubes, are connected via distribution canals (15, 16) that are equal in length and similar in cross-section, to the central tube (12, 13) in the intake flange and in the outlet flange (2, 4). This causes the residence time distribution in the heat exchanger (1) to be held within very narrow limits, and causes the medium to be heated within fractions of a second to, for example, 140° C. or more, or less. This ensures a sterilization with the best possible preservation of thermolabile components, such as vitamins and proteins.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2001
    Assignee: hde Metallwerk GmbH
    Inventors: Stefan Geissler, Karl Heinz Schweitzer, Helmut Beykirch, Gert Langer, Udo Werner
  • Patent number: 6250381
    Abstract: The present invention provides a radiator achieving a structure that enables integrated brazing, facilitates mounting of an automatic oil cooler and repair on areas with defective brazing and realizes good mountability and recyclability. A tank portion 4 at which tubes 2 of the radiator are inserted is constituted of a first L-shaped tank member 30 and a second L-shaped tank member 40. Prior to the process for assembling the tank portion 4, intake/outlet pipes 9 and 10 are mounted at the first L-shaped tank member 30 and an A/T oil cooler 46 is mounted at the second L-shaped tank member 40 to facilitate mounting of the A/T oil cooler 46 inside the tank portions 4. In addition, since at least the tank portion 4, the tubes 2, the fins 3 and the side plate 11 are brazed together as an integrated unit in a furnace, the production of the radiator is facilitated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2000
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2001
    Assignees: Zexel Corporation, Toyo Radiator Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kunihiko Nishishita
  • Patent number: 6247528
    Abstract: The present invention concerns a plate heat exchanger for at least two heat exchanging fluids. The heat exchanger is permanently joined and includes at least one core of plates with corrugated heat exchanging plates (1-4) creating plate interspaces between one another, at least two end plates (5) as well as inlet devices (6) and outlet devices (6) for the heat exchanging fluids. At least one of the end plates (5) is equipped with at least one port hole communicating with an inlet channel or an outlet channel. At least one of the mentioned inlet devices (6) and outlet devices (6) has both a connection part (7) equipped with a channel and a transition part (8) with an envelope surface and equipped with a channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 19, 2001
    Assignee: Alfa Laval AB
    Inventors: Ralf Blomgren, Anders B Knutsson
  • Patent number: 6244330
    Abstract: A method of reducing vibration in a bank of tubes due to fluid crossflow, the tubes having substantially parallel longitudinal axes. The method includes the steps of selecting a plurality of tubes from the bank of tubes and interconnecting the selected tubes so as to restrain motion of the selected tubes relative to one another in at least one direction, transverse to the longitudinal axes of the tubes, while permitting each of the selected tubes to rotate on its longitudinal axis and expand and contract in a region adjacent to the interconnection. Also disclosed are various apparatus for reducing vibration in a bank of tubes due to fluid crossflow.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1998
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2001
    Assignee: Foster Wheeler Corporation
    Inventors: Frantisek L. Eisinger, Madhava M. Rao
  • Patent number: 6241010
    Abstract: The invention relates to a heat exchange element (1) which is made up of a bag of a film material, such as plastic film, and to a heat exchanger made up of such heat exchange elements, the heat exchanger being suitable, for example, for the evaporation of effluents which contain solid matter, such as effluents from bleaching. The transfer of heat takes place in the bags (1) from a vapor condensing in the interior (3) of the bags to a liquid evaporating on their exterior surfaces (2). The forming evaporated vapor may be recycled via a compressor to the interior of the bags as heating vapor so that the heat exchanger will function as a distillation apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2001
    Assignee: Hadwaco Ltd Oy
    Inventors: Leif Ramm-Schmidt, Hemmo Eriksson, Petri Janhunen
  • Patent number: 6237677
    Abstract: An air conditioning system refrigerant condenser (24) has opposed, parallel, vertical header tanks header tanks (12′, 14′) with a substantially uniform internal cross sectional area. The inlet tank (12′) and return tank (14′) are connected by a plurality of generally parallel flow tubes (16′), each of which is identical in size and shape with unrestricted ends opening into each header tank (12′, 14′). The refrigerant inlet (20′) into the inlet tank (12′) is located relatively high up, as is the outlet (22′) on the other tank, creating both a vapor deficit in the lower flow tubes (16′) that are farthest from the inlet (20′), as well as liquid pooling in the lower flow tubes (16′) that are below the outlet (22′).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2001
    Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Scott Edward Kent, David A. Southwick, Mohinder Singh Bhatti
  • Patent number: 6233824
    Abstract: Cylindrical heat exchangers are typically constructed of a plurality of spiral passageways created by multiple concentric annuluses, with increasing diameters, overlaying one another. Each passageway, however, typically includes a corrugated sheet between such circular layers, and the corrugated sheet acts as an obstruction, thereby decreasing the pressure of an air stream as it passes therethough. The present invention is a cylindrical heat exchanger having a plurality of spiral passageways created by a spirally wound rectangular sheet, wherein the overlapping spiral layers, that are formed by the winding the rectangular sheet, are spaced apart by a plurality of radially aligned dividers. The dividers, along with an open interface layer that is interposed between the spiral layers, maintain the constant gap between the spirals. Therefore, manufacturing the cylindrical heat exchanger with spiral rather than concentric layers improves the process of manufacturing such devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2001
    Assignee: Carrier Corporation
    Inventors: Gregory M. Dobbs, James D. Freihaut
  • Patent number: 6234239
    Abstract: A heat exchanger and a method of manufacturing the heat exchanger is disclosed for dissipating heat from a heat generating component. The heat exchanger comprises a thermally conductive base in thermal communication with the component, a plurality of thermally conductive plate fins affixed to the base wherein the plate fins define a fin field and channels, and fluid control for controlling the fluid flow within the fin field. The individual fins of the heat exchanger comprise a plurality of vertical segments extending from the base to the top area of the heat exchanger. The vertical segments are spaced apart by apertures. In an alternative embodiment, the horizontal width of the segments may vary to adjust the fluid flow through the heat exchanger. In conjunction with the above-outlined embodiments, the heat exchanger may comprise a fluid control feature for substantially preventing premature egress of fluid from a top region of the fin field caused by the high pressure region within the fin field.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2001
    Inventor: Kaveh Azar
  • Patent number: 6234245
    Abstract: A new type of segmented fin 12 for use on a finned tube 18, the unique type of finned tube 18 that is created with the new type of segmented fin 12, specialized serrating wheels 14 and 16 for creating the new type of segmented fin 12, and the process 10 for employing the specialized serrating wheels 14 and 16 to create the new type of segmented fin 12. Each of the segments 26 of the new type of segmented fin 12 is permanently curved, and the segments 26 are coined to increase surface area of the segments 26 and to further shape the sheared edges 42 and 44 of the segments 26 into a more pointed configuration in order to make them more aerodynamic.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2001
    Assignee: Fintube Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Don R. Reid, Hartman Mitchell, Robert C. Weierman
  • Patent number: 6234241
    Abstract: Interior surfaces of an air handler unit are coated with a dense, non-porous material, which discourages and prohibits growth of mold, spores, algae, bacteria, germs, viruses and other organisms and microorganisms and allergens. Air is drawn into the air handler unit through a return duct and one or more filters, through a heat exchanger and into a blower within the air handler unit. The blower draws and discharges air through highly reflective, interiorly coated chambers, where the air is bathed with direct and reflected ultraviolet light. The clean, conditioned air is then delivered through main distribution and supply ducts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2001
    Inventor: Robert L. Elmore
  • Patent number: 6234238
    Abstract: Tanks are respectively structured such that seat plates are combined with tank main bodies, and the two end openings thereof are respectively closed by end plates. The direction in which the end plates are combined with the seat plate and tank main body is defined in an only-one-meaning manner in accordance with the engagement between engagement projecting pieces and engagement holes. The seat plates and end plate are respectively clad members structured such that brazing material is cladded only on the outer surface side of the tanks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2001
    Assignee: Calsonic Kansei Corporation
    Inventors: Sachio Koyama, Toru Takai
  • Patent number: 6230787
    Abstract: A stack type evaporator for use in an automotive air conditioner comprises generally a first mass which includes first heat exchanging elements, each first heat exchanging element having mutually independent first and second passages; and a second mass which includes second heat exchanging elements, each second heat exchanging element having a generally U-shaped third passage which has first and second ends. The second mass is arranged beside the first mass in such a manner that the first and second heat exchanging elements are aligned on a common axis. An inlet tank passage connects to upper ends of the first passages. An upstream tank passage connects to lower ends of the first passages and the first ends of the third passages. A downstream tank passage connects to lower ends of the second passages and the second ends of the third passages. An outlet tank passage connects to upper ends of the second passages. An inlet pipe connects to the inlet tank passage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2001
    Assignee: Calsonic Kansei Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Koga, Mitsunari Narahara, Toru Asanuma
  • Patent number: 6230793
    Abstract: In an integral type heat exchanger, first and second radiator tanks is opposed to each other, and first and second condenser tanks opposed to each other. The first radiator tank is adjacent to the first condenser tank, and the second radiator tank is adjacent to the second condenser tank. A core section is arranged between the first and second radiator tanks and between the first and second condenser tanks so as to be common between the radiator tanks and condenser tanks. A cooling water flows from the first radiator tank into the second radiator tank through the core section in one direction, and a refrigerant flows between the first and second condenser tanks through the core section repeatedly. And a final flowing direction of the refrigerant conforms with a flowing direction of the cooling water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 3, 1998
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2001
    Assignee: Calsonic Kansei Corporation
    Inventor: Michitake Sumida