CN100386585C - Thin Fin Heat Exchanger - Google Patents

Abstract

A low profile heat exchanger (10) includes a finned plate (5) having opposing first and second sides (40, 42), and also includes a plurality of spaced apart elongated fins (44), wherein the fins extend from The first side extends outwardly and defines a plurality of open channels (50) on the second side; the flat container has a spaced-apart cover plate and gasket sealingly connected about the peripheral edge and defining a flow-inducing cavity (24) plates (18, 14), the container having an inlet (28) and an outlet (30) in communication with the flow chamber (24) to allow fluid to flow into, through and out of the flow chamber, wherein the first side (40) of the cover plate Mounted to a backing plate (14) such that heat is conducted between them and the second side (42) is exposed.

Description

Thin Fin Heat Exchanger

technical field

The invention relates to a thin fin heat exchanger for cooling fluid.

Background technique

Low profile heat exchangers are often used in applications with very low headroom, such as mud box coolers for snowmobiles, and underbody fuel coolers for automobiles. One type of known low-profile heat exchanger includes louvered panels exposed to air flow, snow and general debris, with serpentine tubes mounted to the panels and threaded back and forth through the panels. The fluid to be cooled flows through this serpentine. Another known type of low-profile heat exchanger comprises transversely extending fins integrally pressed with top and bottom walls of the walls, the walls joined along opposite side edges to define on opposite ends after pressing The closed cavity is welded closed to form a fluid cooling container.

Known thin heat exchangers are heavy and relatively expensive to manufacture. Accordingly, there is a need for a low profile heat exchanger that is lightweight and relatively inexpensive to manufacture. It would also be desirable for such a low profile heat exchanger to have improved fluid cooling performance relative to its size.

Contents of the invention

The low-profile heat exchanger includes a finned plate including first and second sides facing oppositely, a first end and a second end, and a plurality of spaced apart elongated fins extending from the second side Extending, and defining a plurality of elongated air passages outwardly from the second side and passing from the first end to the second end; each fin is a longitudinal row having a U-shaped transverse fold, the fin arranged on finned plates with at least some of the convolutions in each row offset laterally along the row relative to other convolutions in the row; and thin containers having cover panels and The backing plate, the cover plate and the backing plate define a flow guide cavity, the container has an inlet and an outlet communicating with the cavity, wherein the second side of the finned plate and the fins are exposed to the outside, so that when using the exchange In the process of making the air flow through the second side and the fins, the cover plate is equipped with an integral side edge around its peripheral edge, the side edge extends towards the backing plate and is hermetically brazed to the a backing plate; wherein the finned plate first side is brazed to the backing plate for heat exchange between the thin container and the finned plate.

Description of drawings

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below by way of examples with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a heat exchanger according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the heat exchanger in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing a turbulence enhancing plate in the heat exchanger of FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged view of the part marked by circle 5 in FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the turbulence enhancing plate in FIG. 4 .

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the heat exchanger of Figure 1 .

Figure 8 is a top plan view of a backing plate used in an embodiment of the heat exchanger.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. 8 .

Figure 10 is a top plan view of a frame barrier panel used in an embodiment of the heat exchanger.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XI-XI in FIG. 10 .

Figure 12 is a top plan view of a heat exchanger according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in Figure 12.

FIG. 14 is a bottom plan view of the heat exchanger of FIG. 12 .

Figure 15 is a bottom plan view of another finned plate for use with the heat exchanger embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a side view of the fin plate in FIG. 15 .

Figure 17 is a bottom plan view of yet another finned plate.

Figure 18 is a top plan view of another cover plate for use with the heat exchanger of the present invention.

Figure 19 is a top plan view of another embodiment of a heat exchanger according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX-XX in FIG. 19 .

FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of another embodiment of a heat exchanger according to the present invention, and FIG. 21A is a partial cross-sectional view of an assembled portion of the heat exchanger taken along line IA-XXIA in FIG. 21 .

Figure 22 is a top plan view of a heat exchanger according to another embodiment of the present invention.

23A-23C are cross-sectional views taken along line XXIII-XXIII in FIG. 22, each of which shows several different possible combinations of cover and backing plates according to the present invention.

Figure 24 is a top plan view of a heat exchanger according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XXV-XXV in FIG. 24 .

FIG. 26 is a side view of the heat exchanger in FIG. 24 .

Detailed ways

Please refer to FIG. 1 below. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 shows an exploded view of a heat exchanger mainly indicated by reference numeral 10 . The heat exchanger 10 includes a bottom finned plate 12 , a backing plate 14 , a turbulence enhancing plate 16 and a cover plate 18 . Figure 1 shows the plates in a vertical arrangement, however this is for illustration purposes only. The heat exchangers can also be arranged in any desired orientation.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , the cover plate 18 together with the backing plate 14 define a flat, thin container including an internal flow chamber 24 . Cover plate 18 includes a central planar portion 20 that is substantially rectangular in the illustrated embodiment. The side edges 22 are provided around all four peripheral edges of the central planar portion 20 . The side edge 22 extends toward the backing plate 14 to provide a continuous side wall surrounding the flow guiding cavity 24 defined between the cover plate 18 and the backing plate 14 . A preferably outwardly extending connecting flange 26 is arranged on the bottom edge of at least one pair of opposing wall portions along the side edge 22 . Each connection flange 26 has a flat surface 27 adjoining the backing plate 14 and secured thereto.

A pair of fluid openings 28 and 30 are provided penetrating the central planar portion 20 and communicating with the lumen 24, one serving as a fluid inlet and the other serving as a fluid outlet. In one embodiment, openings 28 and 30 are provided with cartridge fittings 32 and 34 having fluid passages. Fittings 32 and 34 include annular flanges 36 that sealingly connect the fittings to cover plate 18 .

In a preferred embodiment, cover plate 18 is of uniform construction consisting of roll formed or stamped copper-clad aluminum alloy.

The backing plate 14 is simply a flat plate comprising two planar sides, of which one is towards the inside of the central planar portion 20 of the cover plate 18 and the opposite planar side 37 is towards and connected to the fin plate 12 superior. Backing plate 14 is substantially rectangular in the illustrated embodiment and has a footprint approximately equal to that of cover plate 18 . In a preferred embodiment, the backing plate 14 is made of copper-plated aluminum or aluminum alloy.

In a preferred embodiment, the fin plate 12 has a uniform structure formed by pressing aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The finned plate 12 comprises a flat support wall 38 having two planar sides, wherein one planar side 40 faces the backing plate 14 and is fastened thereto, while the opposite planar side 42 is provided with a plurality of parallel elongated Fin44. Mounting flanges 46 having fastening openings 48 therethrough may be disposed along opposite side edges of the support wall 38 to allow the heat exchanger to be mounted to a surface.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 , each fin 44 runs substantially from one end of the support wall 38 to the other, defining an elongated passage 50 therebetween. One side of the finned plate 12 facing away from the backing plate 14 is open, so that the fins 44 and channels 50 are exposed to the outside, so air can flow through the channels 50 and through the fins 44 in use. In other applications, other substances such as water, snow, and other debris can be thrown onto exposed fins and channels. In the heat exchanger shown in Figures 1-3, the fins 44 are straight pieces that each extend the same distance at a perpendicular angle from the outer planar side 42 of the fin support wall 38, and the fins extend from the heat exchanger extending from one end to the opposite end.

The turbulence enhancing plate 16 is located in the guide cavity 24 to enhance the flow of the fluid therein, thereby improving the heat dissipation efficiency of the fluid. Referring to Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7, in a preferred embodiment, the turbulence enhancing plate 16 is formed from expanded metal, ie aluminum which has undergone a roll forming or stamping operation. Staggered or displaced transverse folds 64 are provided on the turbulence enhancer 16 . The convolutions have flat bottoms and tops 66 to provide a good fit with the cover plate 18 and backing plate 14; however, they could also have rounded tops or a sinusoidal configuration if desired. A portion of one of the transverse folds 64 is formed by compression or roll forming or crimping together to form the transverse curls 68 and 69 (crimping as used herein shall include crimping, stamping, roll forming or other means of gathering the turbulence enhancer 16 curling method). The crimps 68 and 69 form a barrier 62 for inhibiting short-circuit flow within the lumen 24 . Barrier 62 is shown in dashed lines in FIG. 7 and is positioned between fluid openings 28 and 30 so that fluid entering from one of openings 28 or 30 cannot simply pass through convolution 64 in a straight line to From the other fluid opening 30 or 28, a more circuitous path must be taken instead. In the illustrated embodiment where the two openings 28 and 30 are positioned adjacent the common end 60, the barrier 62 extends from adjacent the common end 60 to a point 72 from the opposite end 58 of the heat exchanger 10, whereby A substantial portion of the fluid flowing into chamber 24 from opening 28 must flow in a U-shaped path around point 72 represented by arrow 74 before exiting chamber 24 through opening 30 (in this case opening 28 is inlet, and opening 30 is the outlet). In a preferred embodiment, the cover plate 18 and the backing plate 14 are formed of copper-clad aluminum, and the heat exchanger 10 is formed in the order of assembling the parts in FIG. The assembled components are heated to hermetically braze the lower end of the cover plate side wall flange 22 around its lower end to the backing plate 14 with the turbulence enhancing plate 16 sandwiched between the cover plate 18 and the backing plate 14, and The cover plate 14 is also brazed to the support wall 38 of the fin plate 12 . In some applications, welding may be used instead of brazing to join components together. For certain embodiments, other metallic materials such as steel and non-metallic polymeric materials may also be used to form some or all components of the heat exchanger. Parts of polymeric material may be bonded together thermally, ultrasonically, by adhesive, or otherwise.

The heat exchanger 10 can conveniently serve as a low-profile device for cooling the fluid passing through the flow guide cavity defined by the cover plate 18 and the backing plate 14, wherein the heat of the fluid is transferred to the exposed fins 44, and the fins 44 is cooled by the air flowing through it. In some applications, other substances such as snow and water thrown onto the fins are also used to help cool the exposed fins 44 . For example, the heat exchanger 10 could also be used as an engine coolant cooler for a snowmobile, or as an underbody mounted fuel cooler in an automobile, although these examples are not exhaustive of possible applications.

Heat exchangers 10 having different dimensions can be manufactured relatively easily by extruding longer fin plates 12 and roll forming correspondingly longer backing plates 14 and cover plates 18 . Although the cover plate 18 described above has been described as having integrally formed side edges 22, separate side walls may also be used in certain embodiments. In addition, in some embodiments, the backing plate 14 can be omitted, and the upper side of the support wall 38 is at the position of the backing plate to serve as the bottom wall of the flow guide cavity 24 . Although the heat exchanger 10 is shown as rectangular, it may have other different shapes, for example it may be a circular disk-like structure in some embodiments.

Various types of turbulence enhancers or flow enhancement devices may be used in the flow guide chamber 24, and the turbulence enhancer plate 16 may also be omitted in some embodiments. Shorting barriers other than crimped barriers 62 may also be used in certain embodiments. In this regard, FIGS. 8 and 9 show an alternative backing plate 78 that may replace backing plate 14 in heat exchanger 10 . Backing plate 78 has an elongated central divider wall 80 extending laterally upward from backing plate 78 to cover plate 18 (not shown in FIG. 8 ). Divider wall 80 is located between the locations where fluid openings 28 and 30 penetrate cover plate 18 (both locations are shown by dotted lines 28', 30' in FIG. Flow follows a non-straight U-shaped path indicated by arrow 82 . Preferably the splitter wall 80 is formed from a portion of the backing plate 78 by swaging first along three side edges and then turning up the fourth side edge which remains connected to the rest of the backing plate 78, leaving finally a hole through the backing plate. The plate 78 and the blocked rectangular opening 84 are sealed by the support wall 38 . Separate turbulence enhancers may be placed on opposite sides of the divider wall 80 .

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 , in another embodiment of the heat exchanger 10 , the frame divider plate 86 may replace the turbulence enhancing plate 16 between the backing plate 15 and the cover plate 18 . The location of fluid openings 28 and 30 relative to frame divider plate 86 is shown by dashed lines 28 ′, 30 ′ in FIG. 10 . Frame splitter plate 86 includes an outer rectangular frame 88 , wherein frame 88 is sized to fit snugly within side edge 22 of cover plate 18 . The frame divider plate 86 includes a height H (see FIG. 11 ) that coincides with the height of the flow guide cavity 24 and also includes alternating and substantially parallel divider walls 90 , 92 . The splitter wall 90 extends from a first end wall 94 proximate the openings 28 , 30 to proximate an opposite end wall 96 . Alternate flow divider walls 92 extend from opposite end walls 96 to the vicinity of first end wall 94, such that flow divider walls 90, 92 collectively define a serpentine flow path through flow guide cavity 24, as indicated by flow direction arrow 98 in FIG. shown (assuming opening 28 is a high pressure opening). In another embodiment, the divider walls such as provided by the frame divider plate 86 may also be provided by raised ribs formed on the backing plate 14 or on the cover plate 18 or both, in many applications the cover plate and And/or the protruding ribs on the backing plate are preferably separate splitter plates, as this reduces the number of parts that need to be assembled. Various examples of raised cover plate configurations suitable for use with heat exchanger 10 are shown below.

In some applications, it may be desirable to use a finned plate that is lighter than the pressed finned plate 12 . Referring to FIGS. 12-14 , another embodiment of a low-profile heat exchanger according to other preferred embodiments of the present invention is shown, wherein the heat exchanger is generally indicated by reference numeral 100 . Heat exchanger 100 is similar to heat exchanger 10 except for a few differences that will become apparent from the description below. Heat exchanger 100 has a substantially rectangular footprint and, as best seen in FIG. 13 , is similar to heat exchanger 10 in that it is a stack of finned plates 102 , backing plates 104 and cover plates 106 . In the illustrated embodiment, the cover plate 106 includes a rectangular central planar ribbed portion 108 formed from roll-formed or stamped copper-clad aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The side edge 110 extends to the backing plate 104 around the outer peripheral edge of the central planar portion 108 , wherein the turned-out edge 112 of the side edge 110 has a planar portion facing the backing plate 104 and sealingly connected thereto. The backing plate 104 and the cover plate 106 of the heat exchanger 100 jointly define a flow guide cavity 113 between them, and the flow guide cavity 113 includes a fluid path between the first fluid opening 114 and the second fluid opening 116, two of which The openings penetrating the cover plate 106 are arranged at two opposite corners on a diagonal line of the cover plate 106 . One of the fluid openings 114 and 1116 is the inlet into the guide cavity 113 , and the other is the fluid outlet. In the illustrated embodiment, each opening 114, 116 is provided with a corresponding fitting 122, wherein the fitting is brazed to the cover plate 106 and has a fluid passage parallel to the plane of the central portion 108 and through the cover plate.

Alternately protruding splitter ribs 118 and 120 formed in the central portion 108 of the cover plate 106 divide the fluid path between the openings 114, 116 into a serpentine back and forth path. In particular, spaced apart parallel ribs 118 extend from a first end 124 of the cover plate 106 to adjacent an opposite end 126 of the cover plate at a distance from end 126 . Alternating parallel ribs 120 extend from end 126 to adjacent first end 124 at a distance from first end 124 . As best seen in FIG. 13, each rib 118, 120 includes a pair of opposed elongated side walls 128, wherein the pair of side walls 128 are connected along an edge edge away from the axis by a planar portion 130, the planar portion 130 Has a planar surface for forming a good bond with backing plate 104.

Brackets 132 may be brazed to cover plate 108 so that heat exchanger 100 may be held in place. The brackets 132 shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 both have a substantially rectangular central body with a mounting hole 134 therethrough at the portion of the central body that extends beyond the cover plate. The bracket center body 132 on the cover plate 108 is sized to extend between two adjacent ribs 120 and 118, preferably the bracket center body 132 includes opposed wings 136 extending into the rib 120 and 118 thereby helping to secure the bracket 132 in place. In some applications, due to the lightweight construction of the heat exchanger, the heat exchanger can be well supported by using tubes connected to the inlet and outlet fittings, thus eliminating the need for additional brackets.

Backing plate 112 is simply a flat rectangular plate formed of copper-clad aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The finned plate 102 is mounted on the side of the backing plate 112 opposite to the flow guide cavity 113 for absorbing heat from the flow guide cavity, and the fins are substantially rectangular and cover substantially the entire backing plate. One side of the fin plate 102 is mounted to the backing plate 104, and the opposite side is exposed to the outside. As best seen in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 13 and the bottom plan view of FIG. The length of the sheet is equal to the length of the backing plate, and each fin 138 is formed by a substantially U-shaped wall. The fins 138 define a plurality of open air passages 140 separated by closed passages 142 in each fin 138 . The transverse ends of the finned plates 102 are openable so that the closed channels 142 are openable at their opposite ends. Each U-shaped fin 138 is connected to an adjacent fin by a planar connection wall 144 brazed to the backing plate 104 . In effect, the U-shaped fin plate 38 and the connecting wall 144 together form a square wave. As can be seen in Figure 14, the fins 138 are of the same size, but have a gently undulating curve along their length to help break up the boundary layer of all air flowing therethrough. The fins 138 are preferably lightweight and are roll formed or stamped from aluminum or an aluminum alloy. In the illustrated embodiment, the alternating open and closed air passages 140, 142 having substantially the same cross-sectional area may also have different relative areas depending on the application. Furthermore, fins with other sides may also be used, for example fins with V-shaped sides may be used.

FIG. 15 shows another example of a finned plate structure 146 that may be used on the underside of the backing plate 14 , 104 of the heat exchanger 10 , 100 . The fin plate 146 is brazed to the backing plate on the first side 146 and on the other side 150 which is exposed. A plurality of open air channels 152 extend from a first end 154 to the other end 156 of the fin 146 between an elongated fin structure formed of staggered or displaced transverse convolutions 158 . The convolutions have flat tops 160 for a good bond with the backing plates 14, 104; but they could also have rounded tops or a sinusoidal configuration if desired. In a preferred embodiment, the fin plate 146 is formed from expanded metal, ie, aluminum that has undergone a roll forming or stamping operation.

Figure 17 shows a bottom view of another possible finned plate configuration. The finned plates 162 of FIG. 17 are arranged in a back-and-forth herringbone pattern, wherein the finned plates 162 are identical to the finned plates 102 except for the hollow U-shaped fins 164 (which are used to define spaced open channels 166) .

In addition to the panels 18 and 106 described above, there are many other planar panel configurations. FIG. 18 illustrates by way of example another possible cover plate 168 according to the invention, which is identical to cover plate 18 except for the following difference, namely that the alternating protruding ribs 170, 172 are along the ribs 118 perpendicular to the cover plate 106. , 120, and the ribs 118, 120 are formed as undulating curves along their length, thereby defining a transverse serpentine flow path between the openings 114, 116 as indicated by arrow 174. Here, however, protruding splitter ribs may be formed not on the cover plate but on the backing plate, in which case the backing plate may have a plan view similar to that shown in Figure 18, but without the fluid openings formed through the backing plate . Alternatively, the cover plate and backing plate may have raised ribs formed thereon that sealingly abut together to define a fluid passage through the flow chamber, in which case the top and bottom of the cover plate and backing plate The plan view is similar to that of Fig. 18 respectively (the backing plate has no fluid openings through it), with each cover and backing plate having protruding ribs 170, 172 with a height approximately equal to half the height of the flow guide cavity. It should be understood that many different patterns of raised ribs and other types of raised jets or barriers may be provided on the cover or backing plate.

19 and 20 show by way of example another heat exchanger 190 which is substantially the same as heat exchanger 100 except that a plurality of indentations 194 are stamped into its cover plate 192 . The indentation 194 extends to and engages the backing plate 104 to provide a fluid enhancer in the flow guide cavity 113 .

The exploded view in FIG. 21 also shows another heat exchanger, generally indicated by reference numeral 200 . The heat exchanger 200 is substantially the same as the heat exchanger 100, except for a few points which can be seen from the figures and become apparent from the description below. That is, the cover plate 202 of the heat exchanger 200 does not include protruding ribs for defining the fluid path in the flow guide cavity 113, but a wave shunt is installed in the flow guide cavity 113 between the cover plate 202 and the backing plate 104. Plate 204 (formed from aluminum or other suitable metal). The wave splitter 204 includes a plurality of substantially parallel first and second barrier wall pairs 206A, 206B, wherein the barrier wall pairs extend from one end 208 of the flow guide chamber 113 to the opposite end 210 . The barrier walls 206A, 206B in each pair are connected along their upper first longitudinal edges by planar walls that abut and fit inside the cover plate 202 . (The directional words "upward," "horizontal," etc. are used for illustrative purposes only, as the heat exchanger may be in any orientation when in use.) The barrier wall pairs are adjoined by the other along their lower edges and mounted to The walls 214 on the backing plate 104 are connected, specifically, the lower edge of the barrier wall 206B of one barrier wall pair is connected with the lower edge of the barrier wall 206A of the adjacent barrier wall pair. Lateral fluid openings 216 are provided at the end 208 of each barrier wall 206A near the end 208 of the heat exchanger, and lateral fluid openings 218 are provided at the opposite end 210 of each barrier wall 206B near the end 210 of the heat exchanger 200 . Therefore, parallel and alternate fluid passages are defined by the barrier walls 206A, 206B in the diversion chamber 113, and the barrier wall openings 216, 218 allow serpentine fluid to flow back and forth from one fluid opening 116 to the other fluid opening 114 (or which in turn flows from port 114 to port 116, depending on which is the high pressure port).

21A, in one embodiment, the corrugated barrier panel 204 includes a planar transverse portion 220 for forming its outer longitudinal edge, and the transverse portion 220 is sandwiched between the lower connecting flange 26 of the cover plate 202 and the backing plate 104. between.

Referring to Figures 22-23C, another cover and backing configuration for the heat exchanger 200 will be discussed. Referring first to Figures 22 and 23A, in one embodiment the cover plate 230 is disc-shaped and includes a central planar portion 240 having an integral flange 242 extending downwardly from the periphery, wherein the flange 242 is opposite to the The inner surface of the central planar portion 240 defines an angle slightly greater than 90°. The backing plate 236 is the same as the cover plate 230 except that the backing plate 236 has no openings 116, 114 formed through it, and the lower extension flange 244 of the backing plate 236 is nested on the cover plate 240. In and supported by the flange 242 , wherein the guide cavity 113 is defined between the planar central portion of the cover plate 240 and the backing plate 236 . The finned plate 102 (the fins are shown as circular waves rather than square waves) is mounted to the lower surface of the central planar portion of the backing plate 244 . Backer flange 244 may be cut off just at or below the bottom edge of cover plate side edge 242 to minimize adverse effects of flow through fin plate 102 .

Figure 23B shows a similar structure, except that the backing plate 238 has an upwardly curved peripheral flange 246 extending opposite the cover flange 242, the peripheral flange 246 being nested within the cover flange 242 into and brazed to the inner surface of the The structure shown in Figures 23A and 23B can be easily "turned over" by placing the finned plates on the opposite side, as shown by dashed line 102' in Figure 23B. Additionally, finned plates may be used on both sides of the heat exchanger in certain embodiments.

Figure 23C shows another configuration in which the cover plate 234 and backing plate 248 are identical (except that there are no fluid openings on the backing plate), each having support flanges 250, 252 around their central planar portion.

Figure 24 shows another heat exchanger 260 identical to heat exchanger 100, except for a few differences which will be noted below. Cover plate 262 of heat exchanger 260 includes a plurality of air flow openings 264 punched therein. Each opening 264 is respectively aligned with a hole 268 penetrating through the backing plate 266 . The air flow opening 264 in each cover plate is surrounded by a wall 265 around the outer periphery of the air flow opening 264, wherein the outer periphery of the wall extends from the cover plate to the backing plate to seal the flow guide chamber 113 from the air opening. The wall 265 is preferably pressed from the cover material when the opening 264 is punched out. The aligned holes 264 , 268 are located where the fin plate 102 does not make contact with the backing plate so that the aligned holes are not completely blocked by the fin plate 102 . In some embodiments, corresponding openings may be punched through the fin plate 102 . As shown in Figure 26, in use air may flow through the openings 268, 264, thereby allowing air to flow through the sealed section in the fluid cavity defined by the backing plate and cover plate. As indicated in Figure 26, in some applications the heat exchanger can be tilted relative to the direction of flow (arrow 270), which can improve its performance by increasing the angle of attack of the air impinging on the finned plates 102.

While many of the components in the heat exchanger of the present invention have been described as being composed of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, it should be understood that other metals are suitable for use in forming these components, and that non-metallic materials may also be used in certain applications, such as by thermal bonding. Polymers bonded, ultrasonically bonded, or bonded using adhesives. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention can have many changes and modifications in actual use without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is to be construed according to the substance of the following claims.

Claims (9)

1. A thin heat exchanger for exchanging heat between liquid and air flowing through said heat exchanger, said heat exchanger comprising: A finned plate comprising oppositely facing first and second sides, a first end and a second end, further comprising a plurality of spaced apart elongated fins extending from the second side and defined by A plurality of elongated air passages from the second side outward and leading from the first end to the second end; each fin is a longitudinal row with a U-shaped transverse fold, and the fins are arranged on the fin plate , at least some of the convolutions in each row are offset laterally along the row relative to other convolutions in the row; and Thin containers having cover and backing plates joined around their peripheral edges, the cover and backing plates defining a diversion cavity, the container having an inlet and an outlet communicating with said cavity, wherein the first finned plate The two sides and the fins are exposed so that during use of the heat exchanger, air flows over the second side and the fins, the cover plate is equipped with an integral side edges extending towards said backing plate and hermetically brazed to the backing plate; Wherein the finned plate first side is brazed to the backing plate for heat exchange between the thin container and the finned plate. 2. The heat exchanger of claim 1, wherein the backing plate is a planar plate, the cover plate has a planar central portion, and the integral side edges extend around the peripheral edge of the central portion. 3. The heat exchanger according to claim 2, wherein the transverse connection flange is provided on the outer periphery of the side edge and has a planar surface contacting and connected to the backing plate. 4. The heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein an intensifier is provided in the flow guide cavity, and the enhancer has multiple rows of fluid circulation enhancing convolutions located in the flow guide cavity. 5. The heat exchanger of claim 3, wherein at least one of the cover plate and the backing plate has a plurality of protruding ribs formed thereon, the protruding ribs extending into the flow guide cavity to provide passage through the guide plate. The flow chamber is located in the serpentine flow path between the inlet and outlet. 6. A heat exchanger as claimed in any one of claims 1-3 and 5, wherein the inlets and openings are formed through a cover plate opposite the backing plate. 7. The heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of air flow passages extending through the backing plate, flow guide chambers and cover plates are provided by a thin container, between each air flow passage and the flow guide chamber sealed. 8. The heat exchanger of claim 7, wherein the air flow passages defined by the fins are in fluid communication with air flow passages through the thin heat exchanger 9. The heat exchanger according to any one of claims 1-3 and 5, wherein the backing plate is made of copper-clad aluminum or copper-clad aluminum alloy.

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