COLD STORAGE HEAT EXCHANGER

Provided is a cold storage heat exchanger, and more particularly, a cold storage heat exchanger capable of increasing cooling comfort for a user and minimizing energy and time consumed upon performing a re-cooling by discharging cooled air stored in a cold storage tube upon operating an air conditioner of a vehicle even in the case in which an engine is stopped because the cold storage tube is provided between refrigerant tubes in an evaporator used in an air conditioner apparatus of the vehicle to thereby prevent a rapid increase in an interior temperature of the vehicle.

Skip to: Description  ·  Claims  · Patent History  ·  Patent History
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cold storage heat exchanger, and more particularly, to a cold storage heat exchanger capable of increasing cooling comfort for a user and minimizing energy and time consumed upon performing a re-cooling by discharging cooled air stored in a cold storage tube upon operating an air conditioner of a vehicle even in the case in which an engine is stopped because the cold storage tube is provided between refrigerant tubes in an evaporator used in an air conditioner apparatus of the vehicle to thereby prevent a rapid increase in an interior temperature of the vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

An air conditioner system, which is an apparatus absorbing interior heat of a vehicle and discharging it to the exterior of the vehicle between two environments having a temperature difference, generally includes an evaporator absorbing heat from a surrounding, a compressor compressing a refrigerant, a condenser discharging the heat to the surrounding, and an expansion valve expanding the refrigerant.

In addition, in an air conditioner, an actual cooling operation occurs by the evaporator in which the refrigerant in a liquid state is evaporated by absorbing an amount of heat as much as evaporation heat from the surrounding. The refrigerant in a gas state introduced from the evaporator to the compressor is compressed to high temperature and high pressure by the compressor, heat of liquefaction is discharged to the surrounding during a process in which the compressed refrigerant in the gas state passes through the condenser and is liquefied, and the liquefied refrigerant becomes wet saturated steam of low temperature and low pressure by being again passed through the expansion valve and is then again introduced into the evaporator and evaporated, such that a cycle is performed.

However, since the air conditioner apparatus of the vehicle is based on driving force of an engine, a cooling operation is not performed in the case in which the vehicle is idling or is parked for a short time. In addition, in the case in which a temperature of an exterior environment of the vehicle is very high, if the air conditioner apparatus is not operated even for a short time as described above, the interior temperature of the vehicle is very rapidly increased and when the vehicle is again driven, the operation of the air conditioner apparatus is resumed. As a result, a cooled wind does not rapidly rise, thereby significantly decreasing comfort for a user.

In a recent vehicle industry, as an interest in an environment and energy is globally increased, a research into fuel efficiency improvement has been conducted and a research and development into lightness, miniaturization, and high functionalization has been continuously conducted to satisfy various consumer desires.

Particularly, a research and development into a hybrid vehicle simultaneously using power of the engine and electricity energy has been increased due to the fuel efficiency improvement and emission regulation of exhaust, or the like, and the hybrid vehicle mainly adopts an idle stop and go system allowing the engine to be automatically stopped when the vehicle is stopped such as waiting for a signal and to be restarted by again manipulating a transmission.

However, since the air conditioner apparatus of the hybrid vehicle is also operated by the engine, in the case in which the engine is stopped, the compressor is also stopped, such that the temperature of the evaporator is rapidly increased, thereby decreasing comfort for the user.

In addition, since the refrigerant in the evaporator is easily evaporated even at room temperature, even in the case in which the refrigerant is evaporated for a short time in which the compressor is not operated and the engine is again operated to thereby operate the compressor and the evaporator, the evaporated refrigerant needs to be compressed and liquefied. Therefore, it takes a long time to supply the cooled wind to the interior and a total amount of energy consumption may be increased.

In order to solve the problem as described above, a variety of forms of heat exchangers using a cold storage material storing cooled air have been suggested.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are views showing a heat exchanger having a cold storage material stored therein according to the related art.

The heat exchanger having the cold storage material stored therein according to the relate art as shown in FIG. 1 includes a pair of tanks formed to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and in parallel with each other, where the tank includes a first tank 21 and a second tank 31. In addition, the first tank 21 is coupled to a first header 20 and the second tank 31 is coupled to a second header 30, such that independent channels are respectively formed.

In addition, several refrigerant tubes 40 and cold storage tubes 50 having both ends fixed and forming a heat exchanging medium channel are coupled to the first header 20 and the second header 30, respectively.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, since the refrigerant tube 40 is configured in the cold storage tube 50, channels of the heat exchanging medium and the cold storage material are respectively formed independently from each other.

Therefore, since it is difficult to form independent spaces of the cold storage material and the heat exchanging medium, a structure thereof is complex and production efficiency is decreased.

In addition, a cold storage heat exchanger of a stacked plate type according to the related art disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2009-0108380 has tubes configured by three columns in which the refrigerant is introduced into two tubes of both sides and the cold storage material is introduced into a middle tube. However, since it is difficult to secure an internal space in which the cold storage material is present and an amount of introduced cold storage material is small, it is difficult to obtain adequate cold storage performance.

In addition, in the heat exchanger having the cold storage material stored therein according to the related art, since there is high probability of the cold storage material interrupting a flow of the heat exchanging medium or the cold storage material and the heat exchanging medium being mixed with each other, other problems may be caused.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a cold storage heat exchanger capable of having a low probability of a cold storage material interrupting a flow of a heat exchanging medium or the cold storage material and the heat exchanging medium being mixed with each other since refrigerant tubes of two columns and a cold storage tube configured therebetween are provided to secure independent spaces of the cold storage material and the heat exchanging medium and improving production efficiency due to a simple structure.

In one general aspect, a cold storage heat exchanger, includes: a pair of header tanks 100 which are partitioned by partition walls and formed in three columns so that refrigerant header tanks 110 having a refrigerant flowing therein are formed in a first column and a third column and a cold storage header tank 120 having a cold storage material stored therein is formed in a second column between the first column and the third column, and are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and formed to be in parallel with each other; an inlet manifold 160 and an outlet manifold 170 formed at both ends of the header tank 100 and being in communication with the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the first column and the third column, the inlet manifold 160 being introduced with a refrigerant and the outlet manifold 170 discharging the refrigerant; a plurality of refrigerant tubes 200 having both ends connected to the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the first column and the third column formed to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance and having the refrigerant flowing therein; and a plurality of cold storage tubes 300 having both ends connected to the cold storage header tank 120 of the second column formed to be spaced apart from a pair of cold storage header tanks 120 by the predetermined distance and having the cold storage material stored therein.

The refrigerant tubes 200 and the cold storage tube 300 are formed in an integral tube 500, such that the cold storage tube 300 may be formed between the refrigerant tubes 200 of the two columns, and the integral tube 500 may have cut grooves 510 formed in both ends thereof so as to be inserted into communication holes 140 formed in the header tank 100.

The cold storage heat exchanger may further include a pump 600 and a reservoir 700 connected to the cold storage header tank 120, wherein the cold storage material may be circulated along the cold storage header tank 120 and the cold storage tube 300.

In another general aspect, a cold storage heat exchanger includes: a pair of header tanks 100 having refrigerant header tanks 110 formed in two columns to allow a refrigerant to flow and formed to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and be in parallel with each other; an inlet manifold 160 and an outlet manifold 170 formed at both ends of the header tank 100 and being in communication with the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns, the inlet manifold 160 being introduced with a refrigerant and the outlet manifold 170 discharging the refrigerant; a plurality of refrigerant tubes 200 having both ends connected to the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns formed to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance and having the refrigerant flowing therein; and a cold storage tube 300 provided between the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns to have a cold storage material stored therein.

The refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns may be formed to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance.

The refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns formed on an upper portion among the pair of header tanks 100 are formed to be larger than the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns formed on a lower portion, such that the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns formed on the lower portion may be formed to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance.

The cold storage heat exchanger may further include a cold storage material storing vessel 310 coupled to lower sides of the refrigerant header tank 110 of the two columns formed on the lower portion and connected to a lower end of the cold storage tube 300, wherein the cold storage material storing vessel 310 may be provided with a condensate water discharging hole 311 vertically penetrating through thereof.

An opposing header tank 100 in which the manifolds 160 and 170 are formed may have an integral end cap 150 coupled to an end portion thereof.

The manifolds 160 and 170 or the end cap 150 may be provided with a cold storage tube supporter 320 coupled to the cold storage tube 300.

The cold storage heat exchanger according to the present invention may have a low probability of a cold storage material interrupting a flow of a heat exchanging medium or the cold storage material and the heat exchanging medium being mixed with each other since refrigerant tubes of two columns and a cold storage tube configured therebetween are provided to secure independent spaces of the cold storage material and the heat exchanging medium and may improve production efficiency due to a simple structure.

In addition, since there is no refrigerant communication passage structure connecting the refrigerant tubes of two columns, the refrigerant channel of the heat exchanger may be easily configured.

In addition, since the refrigerant channel is configured by the two columns to decrease an amount of flow of the refrigerant passing through the header tank of each column, a pressure drop of the refrigerant may be decreased.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view showing a cold storage heat exchanger according to the related art.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a direction A-A′ of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a cold storage heat exchanger according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an assembly perspective view of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing another example of inlet and outlet manifolds according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a refrigerant tube and a cold storage tube of FIG. 5.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are cross-sectional views showing an integral tube and a header tank according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a configuration view showing a cycle structure of a cold storage material according to the present invention.

FIGS. 10 to 14 are perspective views and cross-sectional views showing another example according to the present invention.

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, a cold storage heat exchanger according to the present invention having a configuration as described above will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are an exploded perspective view and an assembly perspective view showing the cold storage heat exchanger according to the present invention.

As shown, the cold storage heat exchanger according to the present invention is configured to include a pair of header tanks 100 which are partitioned by partition walls and formed in three columns so that refrigerant header tanks 110 having a refrigerant flowing therein are formed in a first column and a third column and a cold storage header tank 120 having a cold storage material stored therein is formed in a second column between the first column and the third column, and are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and formed to be in parallel with each other; an inlet manifold 160 and an outlet manifold 170 formed at both ends of the header tank 100 and being in communication with the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the first column and the third column, the inlet manifold 160 being introduced with a refrigerant and the outlet manifold 170 discharging the refrigerant; a plurality of refrigerant tubes 200 having both ends connected to the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the first column and the third column formed to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance and having the refrigerant flowing therein; and a plurality of cold storage tubes 300 having both ends connected to the cold storage header tank 120 of the second column formed to be spaced apart from a pair of cold storage header tanks 120 by the predetermined distance and having the cold storage material stored therein.

First, the pair of header tanks 100 are formed to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance and to be in parallel with each other in a vertical direction. In this case, the respective header tanks 100 have the refrigerant header tanks 110 formed in the two columns along a length direction thereof and the cold storage header tank 120 formed between the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns. That is, the header tank 100 are formed in the three columns and have the cold storage header tank 120 formed in the middle column so as to enable the cold storage material to be stored or flown.

As such, the header tanks 100 are formed in the three columns to be disposed at upper and lower portions, respectively, and have the refrigerant tubes 200 and the cold storage tube 300 coupled thereto. In this case, the refrigerant tubes 200 and the cold storage tube 300 are connected to each other so that both ends thereof are connected between the pair of header tanks 100 disposed on an upper portion and a lower portion, where the refrigerant tubes 200 are configured so that both ends thereof are connected to the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns of the header tanks 100 to enable a heat exchanging medium to be flown and the cold storage tube 300 is configured so that both ends thereof are connected to the cold storage header tank 120 to enable the cold storage material to be flown and stored.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the refrigerant tubes 200 are formed in the two columns at both sides and the cold storage tube 300 is formed in one column at the middle, thereby configuring the tubes of the three columns.

In addition, fins 400 are coupled to the refrigerant tubes 200 and the cold storage tube 300 to be in contact with each other and are formed in a plate having a zig-zag form and a corrugated form, thereby serving to improve heat exchanging efficiency with the heat exchanging medium or the cold storage material passing through interiors of the tubes 200 and 300.

In summary, the cold storage heat exchanger 1000 according to the present invention has a structure in which a cold storage unit of one layer is configured between heat exchangers of two layers.

Here, baffles 130 partitioning an internal space of the refrigerant header tank 110 may be formed in the refrigerant header tank 110 of the header tank 100 so as to control a flow of the heat exchanging medium. In this case, the baffles 130 may be formed in the refrigerant header tank 110 and a plurality of baffles 130 may be formed at various positions, thereby making it possible to control the flow of the refrigerant.

In addition, the header tank 100 may have the inlet manifold 160 introduced with the heat exchanging medium and the outlet manifold 170 discharging the heat exchanging medium, which are coupled thereto, and the inlet manifold 160 and the outlet manifold 170 are connected to both ends of the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns of the header tanks 100, thereby making it possible to form two channels in which the heat exchanging medium may flow.

In addition, a cold storage material injecting part 151 is formed in one side of the cold storage header tank 120, which may be configured to inject the cold storage material into the cold storage header tanks 120 and the cold storage tube 300. In this case, the cold storage injecting part 151 may be in communication with the cold storage header tank 120 by forming an opening in an end cap 150 coupled to the ends of the header tanks 110 and 120 and may prevent a leakage of the cold storage material by blocking the cold storage material injecting part 151 by a plug, a blocking bolt, or the like after the cold storage material is injected.

As such, since the cold storage heat exchanger according to the present invention has two channels of the heat exchanging medium formed therein and the cold storage header tank 120 and the cold storage tube 300, which are separate cold storage material storing parts, formed therebetween, the cold storage material and the heat exchanging medium may secure independent spaces, there is a low probability of the cold storage material interrupting the flow of the heat exchanging medium or the cold storage material and the heat exchanging medium being mixed with each other, and production efficiency may be improved due to a simplified structure.

In addition, since there is no a refrigerant communication passage structure connecting the refrigerant tubes of the two columns, the refrigerant channel may be easily configured and since the refrigerant channel is configured by the two columns to decrease an amount of flow of the heat exchanging medium passing through the refrigerant header tank and the refrigerant tube of each column, a pressure drop of the heat exchanging medium may be decreased

In addition, the cold storage heat exchanger according to the present invention has the two refrigerant channels formed therein as shown in FIG. 5, where flow directions of the refrigerant flowing along the two refrigerant channels may be formed to be different from each other by forming shapes of the inlet manifold 160 and the outlet manifold 170 to allow the two channels to be formed in one manifold.

In addition, the refrigerant tubes 200 and the cold storage tube 300 are formed in an integral tube 500, such that the cold storage tube 300 may be formed between the refrigerant tubes 200 of the two columns and the integral tube 500 may have cut grooves 510 formed in both ends thereof to be inserted into communication holes 140 formed in the header tank 100.

As shown in FIG. 7, the integral tube 500 is formed so that the cold storage tube 300 is disposed between the refrigerant tubes 200 of the two columns and has the cut grooves 510 respectively formed in both ends thereof, such that the refrigerant tubes 200 and the cold storage tube 300 are formed to be respectively inserted into the communication hole 140 of the refrigerant header tank 110 and the communication hole 140 of the cold storage header tank 120, thereby making it possible to couple the integral tube 500 between the pair of header tanks 100 disposed vertically in one column.

Therefore, as compared to the case in which the refrigerant tubes 200 of the two columns and the cold storage tube 300 of one column are respectively coupled to the header tank 100, when the refrigerant tubes 200 and the cold storage tube 300 are manufactured in the integral tube 500, the integral tube 500 may be very easily coupled to the header tank 100.

In this case, the integral tube 500 may be manufactured by performing an extrusion molding for the refrigerant tubes 200 and the cold storage tube 300 in an integral type and the integral tube 500 inserts both ends thereof into the pair of header tanks 100 and is then coupled thereto by a brazing, thereby preventing an occurrence of a leakage of the heat exchanging medium and the cold storage material.

In addition, the refrigerant header tanks 110 and the cold storage header tank 120 may be formed to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance as shown in FIG. 8.

In addition, as the cold storage heat exchanger 1000 formed as described above is configured to further include a pump 600 and a reservoir 700 which are connected to the cold storage header tank 120, it may be configured so that the cold storage material is circulated along the cold storage header tank 120 and the cold storage tube 300.

As shown in FIG. 9, the above-mentioned configuration is a configuration in which the pump 600 capable of circulating the cold storage material and the reservoir 700 in which the cold storage material is stored are separately provided outside the cold storage heat exchanger 1000, such that the pump 600 is connected to one side of one cold storage header tank 120 by a pipe 900 and the reservoir 700 is connected to one side of another cold storage header tank 120 by the pipe 900. Thus, since the cold storage heat exchanger 1000 is configured so that the cold storage material is circulated through the reservoir 700, the pump 600, the cold storage header tank 120, the cold storage tube 300, and the reservoir 700, the amount of cold storage material is increased, thereby making it possible to cool interior air of a vehicle for a long time even in the case in which an engine of the vehicle is stopped.

In this case, the pump 600 may be connected to a controller 800, thereby controlling the circulation of the cold storage material by the controller 800. That is, the controller 800 may control the pump 600 to be operated when the interior temperature of the vehicle is maintained at a proper temperature to circulate the cold storage material and store cooled air in a large amount of cold storage material stored in the reservoir 700 and may control the pump 600 not to be operated when the interior temperature of the vehicle needs to be decreased to prevent the circulation of the cold storage material so that the cold storage material does not absorb the cooled air of the refrigerant tube 200 and the interior temperature of the vehicle may be decreased in a short time.

In addition, a cold storage heat exchanger 1000 according to the present invention is configured to include a pair of header tanks 100 having refrigerant header tanks 110 formed in two columns to allow a refrigerant to flow and formed to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and be in parallel with each other; an inlet manifold 160 and an outlet manifold 170 formed at both ends of the header tank 100 and being in communication with the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns, the inlet manifold 160 being introduced with a refrigerant and the outlet manifold 170 discharging the refrigerant; a plurality of refrigerant tubes 200 having both ends connected to the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns formed to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance and having the refrigerant flowing therein; and a cold storage tube 300 provided between the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns to have a cold storage material stored therein.

The above-mentioned configuration is the similar configuration as the embodiment as described above, but as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the header tank 100 does not have the cold storage header tank 120 formed therein and is configured by only the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns, such that the refrigerant tubes 200 of the two columns are coupled to the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns. In addition, the cold storage tank 300 is provided between the refrigerant tubes 200 of the two columns, such that the cold storage material is stored in the cold storage tube 300. In this case, the cold storage tube 300 is configured to have both sides coupled to be in contact with the refrigerant tubes 200 of the two columns, thereby making it possible to absorb cooled air. That is, the refrigerant tube 200 has both ends connected to the refrigerant header tank 110 so as to allow the heat exchanging medium to flow therein, while the cold storage tube 300 is formed in a pack form in which both ends thereof are blocked, thereby storing the cold storage material therein

Thus, since the cold storage tube 300 in which the cold storage material is stored is formed in the pack form, there is no need to form the cold storage header tank 120 in the header tank 100 and connect the cold storage tube 300 to the header tank 100, such that the configuration may be simple and the cold storage tube 300 may be easily assembled and replaced.

In this case, the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns may be formed to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance. This means that the respective refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns are configured to be separately formed and spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance in a width direction, where the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns may be fixed and in communication with each other by having an integral end cap 150 or the manifolds 160 and 170 coupled to ends of the refrigerant header tanks 110.

Thus, since the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns are configured to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance, the heat exchanger of two layers is manufactured, such that the cold storage tube 300 of the pack form is assembled to be coupled between the refrigerant tubes 200 and the integral end cap 150 or the manifolds 160 and 170 are coupled to both ends of the refrigerant header tank 110, thereby making it possible to manufacture one cold storage heat exchanger. In addition, since the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns are configured to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance, condensate water generated on surfaces of the refrigerant tube 200 and the cold storage tube 300 upon being heat-exchanged may be discharged between the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns configured on a lower portion, thereby easily discharging the condensate water.

In addition, the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns formed on an upper portion among the pair of header tanks 100 are formed to be larger than the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns formed on a lower portion, such that the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns formed on the lower portion may be formed to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance in the width direction.

Thus, since the generated condensate water is discharged toward the refrigerant header tanks 110 configured on the lower portion as shown in FIG. 12, the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns configured on the upper portion are formed in an integral type and are formed to be large, thereby making it possible to increase an amount of heat exchanging medium stored and flowing therein. As a result, flow resistivity of the heat exchanging medium flowing in the refrigerant header tanks 110 may be decreased. In addition, since the refrigerant header tanks 110 configured on the lower portion are formed to be spaced apart from each other by the predetermined distance, the cold storage tube 300 formed in the pack form between the refrigerant header tanks 110 may be replaced and assembled.

In addition, the cold storage heat exchanger is configured to further include a cold storage material storing vessel 310 coupled to lower sides of the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns formed on the lower portion and connected to a lower end of the cold storage tube 300, where the cold storage material storing vessel 310 may be provided with a condensate water discharging hole 311 vertically penetrating through thereof. That is, as shown in FIG. 13, the cold storage material storing vessel 310 is formed in a length direction so that both sides are coupled to the lower sides of the refrigerant header tanks 110 of the two columns configured on the lower portion and the lower end of the cold storage tube 300 is connected to the cold storage material storing vessel 310, and a plurality of discharging holes 311 are formed in the cold storage material storing vessel 310 to vertically penetrate through thereof in order to discharge the generated condensate water. Thus, since a large amount of cold storage material may be stored in the cold storage material storing vessel 310, a large amount of cooled air may be stored. In addition, since the cold storage material may be cooled by the condensate water flowing around the cold storage material storing tank 310, efficiency in cold storage may be further improved.

In addition, the manifolds 160 and 170 or the end cap 150 may be provided with a cold storage tube supporter 320 coupled to the cold storage tube 300.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 14, the cold storage tube supporter 320 may be formed to be long so that both ends thereof are coupled to the inlet manifold 160 and the outlet manifold 170 formed at both ends of the header tank 100 of the upper side, or the cold storage tube supporter 320 may be formed to be long so that both ends thereof are coupled to a pair of integral end caps 150 formed at both ends of the header tank 100 of the lower side, and the cold storage tube supporter 320 may be coupled to the cold storage tubes 300 to serve to support the cold storage tubes 300.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments but may be variously applied, and may be variously modified by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims.

LISTING OF THE ELEMENTS 1000: cold storage heat exchanger according to present invention 100: header tank 110: refrigerant header tank 120: cold storage header tank 130: baffle 140: communication hole 150: end cap 151: cold storage material injecting part 160: inlet manifold 170: outlet manifold 200: refrigerant tube 300: cold storage tube 310: cold storage material 311: discharging hole storing vessel 320: cold storage tube supporter 400: fin 500: integral tube 510: cut groove 600: pump 700: reservoir 800: controller 900: pipe

Claims

1-9. (canceled)

10. A cold storage heat exchanger, comprising:

a pair of header tanks spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and formed in parallel with each other, each of the pair of header tanks partitioned by partition walls forming a first column, a second column, and a third column, each of the first column and the third column forming a refrigerant header tank having a refrigerant flowing therein, the second column disposed between the first column and the third column and forming a cold storage header tank having a cold storage material disposed therein;
an inlet manifold formed at one end of one of the header tanks;
an outlet manifold formed at an opposing end of the one of the header tanks, each of the inlet manifold and the outlet manifold in fluid communication with the refrigerant header tanks formed by the first column of each of the header tanks and the refrigerant header tanks formed by the third column of each of the header tanks;
a plurality of first refrigerant tubes extending between the refrigerant header tanks formed by the first column of each of the header tanks;
a plurality of second refrigerant tubes extending between the refrigerant header tanks formed by the third column of each of the header tanks, each of the first refrigerant tubes and the second refrigerant tubes having the refrigerant flowing therein; and
a plurality of cold storage tubes extending between the cold storage header tanks formed by the second column of each the header tanks, the cold storage tubes having the cold storage material disposed therein.

11. The cold storage heat exchanger of claim 10, wherein the first refrigerant tubes, the second refrigerant tubes, and the cold storage tubes form a plurality of integral tubes, each of the integral tubes having one of the cold storage tubes formed between and integral with one of the first refrigerant tubes and one of the second refrigerant tubes, and each of the integral tubes having a plurality of cut grooves formed in opposing ends thereof, the cut grooves facilitating insertion of the first refrigerant tubes and the second refrigerant tubes into a plurality of communication holes formed in the header tanks.

12. The cold storage heat exchanger of claim 10, further comprising a pump and a reservoir connected to the cold storage header tank, wherein the cold storage material is circulated through the cold storage header tank and each of the cold storage tubes.

13. A cold storage heat exchanger, comprising:

a pair of header tanks each having a pair of refrigerant header tanks forming two columns and conveying a flow of a refrigerant, the header tanks spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance and in parallel with each other;
an inlet manifold formed at one end of one of the header tanks;
an outlet manifold formed at an opposing end of the one of the header tanks, each of the inlet manifold and the outlet manifold in fluid communication with the refrigerant header tanks of each of the header tanks;
a plurality of first refrigerant tubes extending between the refrigerant header tanks forming one of the columns of each of the header tanks;
a plurality of second refrigerant tubes extending between the refrigerant header tanks forming an other of the columns of each of the header tanks, each of the first refrigerant tubes and the second refrigerant tubes having the refrigerant flowing therein; and
a plurality of cold storage tubes disposed between the first refrigerant tubes and the second refrigerant tubes, the cold storage tubes having a cold storage material stored therein.

14. The cold storage heat exchanger of claim 13, wherein the refrigerant header tanks of each of the header tanks are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in a width direction.

15. The cold storage heat exchanger of claim 13, wherein the refrigerant header tanks of an upper one of the header tanks is larger than the refrigerant header tanks of a lower one of the header tanks, wherein the refrigerant header tanks of the lower one of the header tanks are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance in a width direction.

16. The cold storage heat exchanger of claim 13, further comprising a cold storage material storing vessel coupled to a lower side of each of the refrigerant header tanks of a lower one of the header tanks and connected to a lower end of the cold storage tubes, wherein the cold storage material storing vessel includes a condensate water discharging hole vertically penetrating therethrough.

17. The cold storage heat exchanger of claim 16, wherein the lower one of the header tanks includes an integral end cap coupled to an end thereof.

18. The cold storage heat exchanger of claim 17, wherein at least one of the inlet manifold, the outlet manifold, and the end cap includes a cold storage tube supporter coupled to the cold storage tubes.

Patent History
Publication number: 20150007971
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 6, 2012
Publication Date: Jan 8, 2015
Applicant: Halla Visteon Climate Control Corp. (Daejeon)
Inventors: Duck-Ho Lee (Daejeon), Kwang Hun Oh (Daejeon)
Application Number: 14/380,478
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: With Manifold Type Header Or Header Plate (165/173)
International Classification: F28F 9/02 (20060101); F28F 1/00 (20060101);