US1875639A - Heat exchange device - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 6, 1932..

, A. B. MODINE mm EXCHANGE DEVICE Filed Oct. 21 1929 s Sheets-Sheet 1 uq i' hurfi, Madine HM d-M P 6, 1932- A. a. MODINE' 1,875,639

HEAT EXCHANGE DEVICE r1194 Oct. 21, 1929 SSheetk-Sheet 2 6773 van wd%e 5,- I eflTi/IHTB. Madvre Sept. 6, 1932. A. B. MODINE HEAT EXCHANGE DEVICE Filed Oct. 21 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 vices and has as its Patented Sept. 6, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE A RTHUR B. MODINE, OF RACTNE, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO MODINE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF RACINE, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN HEAT EXCHANGE DEVICE Application filed October 21, 1929. Serial No. 401,204.

The invention relates to heat exchange deprincipal object the production of a heat exchange device of sheet material which is pressed or otherwise formed in a manner capable of providing a fluid inlet and outlet and a plurality of fluid passages which communicate with the inlet and outlet passages.

The invention contemplates the production of a heat exchange device of one or more sheets of material formed in the manner above referred to which, by virtue of the manner in which the sheet is pressed, is capable of producing a heat exchange device having the above mentioned fluid passages, when the sheets are arranged in a certain relation to...

each other.

It is another principal object of the inven- 7 connects and forms a communication between fluid passages formed by the ridges provided between the recesses.

A further object of the invention is to provide, a heat exchange device constructed as above outlined having a portion extended in a manner to provide a grille.

Another object of the invention is to provide a heat exchange device formed of relatively thin material which is pressed as above referred to and to provide said structure with means for heating air by either heated fluid or liquid, said means being designed toallow air to flow between elements thereof and he come heated by contact with said means.

The invention has as an additional object arranging this heating means preferably at the lower portion of the device so that the heatedair may be discharged into a duct located above said heating means from which duct the heated air is discharged into the room to be heated.

Another object of the invention is to encase a portion of the structure in a manner,

between said walls and be employed;

to employ one wall of the structure for heating the air by direct contact therewith, with. a space provided between said Wall and another wall of the case so that air may pass thereby heat the air by direct contact and have another portion of the air heated and casing by convection.

The invention has these and other objects, all of which will be explained in detail and more readily understood when read in con junction with the accompanying drawings in which severaliembodiments of which the invention is susceptible are illustrated, it being obvious that other changes and modifications may be resorted to without departingfrom the spirit of the appended claims forming a part thereof.

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a heat exchange device constructed according to one embodiment of this invention;

' Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2-2 of F i 1 Fig.1) is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing a slightly modified arrangement which may Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4.- of Fig. 2

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a sheet formed in a manner to be employed to produce a heater element such as shown in Figs. 1 to 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of aheat exchange device constructed according to the invention;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6, certain parts being broken away for the purpose of illustration Fig. 8 is a front view of a modified construction;

Figs. 9 and 10 are sectional views respectivelydtaken on lines 99 and 1010 of Fig. 8; an

Fig. 11 is a section taken on line 11--11 of Fig. 10.

As before stated, it is contemplated to form a heat exchange device of sheet mate rial which is pressed or otherwise formed to provide a plurality of recesses and ridges and parallely arranged longitudinally extending inlet and outlet passages which are arranged discharged from the transversely to the first mentioned fluid passages and communicate therewith. It is understood that it is contemplated to form a bent upon itself to form the unit, or by arranging similarly shaped separate sheets relative- "portions of the further resist pressures applied by the heat- E to each other in a manner to provide the uid assages, the elements of the structure thus ormed being secured together so as to complete and form a leak-proof construction which will withstand pressures applied by the heating medium.

To produce a heat exchange unit as above referred to, a sheet is pressed or otherwise acted upon to form a plurality of parallelly arranged recesses 10, each recess being divided or separated from an adjacent recess through means of a ridge such as 11 which is formed upon the formation of the recesses 10. It will be noted that the recesses 10 all project in one direction from one face or plane of the sheet such' as 12 and that said recesses terminate a suitable distance from the longitudinal edges of the sheet to thus provide "the portions 13 and 14. It will be noted that the portions such as 13 and 14 are in the. same plane as the terminations of the ridges 11 and each of these portions are bent at the edges thereof to produce the side and edge flanges such as 15 and 16. A sheet formed in the manner just referred to may be readily arranged with respect to another similarly shaped sheet so that the recessed portions 10 of one sheet abut or contact with the recessed portions 10 of another sheet which is placed in parallel abutting relation to the first mentioned sheet. The flanges such as 15 and 16 of each of the sheets are then brazed,'welded or otherwise secured to each other which produces a unit having the parallel longitudinally extending inlet and outlet passages respectively designated 17 and 18 which communicate with the transversely arranged'passages such as 19 formed by and between the recesses 10 which are also welded at certain points throughout their length as indicated at 20 to secure these structure. to each other to ing fluid. It willbe noted that by forming the sheetsso as to produce the ridges 11 a longitudinally extending cavity such as 21 is formed between the recesses 10, and therefore, when the recessed portions of the separate sheets are brought into engagement with each other as shown in Fig. 4, a pluralit of parallel passages 19 are formed throng hich water may circulate from the inlet he outlet.

By referring to Fig. 2 it will be noted that the recessed portionslO of one sheet are secured to the recessed portions of another sheet and that the terminations such as 22 of the recesses form part of a passage or connection are formed by between one of the passages such as 19 to another adjacent or similar passage and that the inlet and outlet passages 17 and 18 thus formed are in direct communication with the transverse passages such as 19 which will thus allow the heating medium to freely circulate from one passage such as 17 through the transverse passages 19 and-into the passsage 18. When it is desired to construct a radiator of a single sheet instead of a plu-,

rality of sheets the structure shown in Fig. 5, may be employed. To this end the blank from which this last mentioned structure is formed will-include a web 23 which connects the two sections of the sheet together. It is understood that the sections such as 24 and 25 of this sheet are provided with ridges and recesses and flanges such as those referred to in the explanation of the structure disclosed in Fig. 4.

It is also contemplated to provide a heat exchange device which is formed of relatively thin gauged material with a grille 26, the material of the sheet being bent and pressed in a manner to form the heating fluid-passages above referred to. To provide the grille, the material of one edge of the sheet may be extended a suitable distance beyond the terminations of the recesses and be provided with a plurality of openings 28. To fabricate a heat exchange unit having a grille, a relatively fiat sheet having the above mentioned recesses and ridges formed therein may have another sheet associated therewith, the latter of which has a circumferential flange such as 29 extending substantially around the periphery of the sheet such as 30, it being understood that this last mentioned sheet'is provided with recesses and ridges respectively designated 31 and 32 and is arranged relatively to the sheet 27 so that the flange 29 may be welded to the sheet 27, it being understood that the recesses and ridges of the respective sheets 27 and 30 of this construction are arranged with respect to each other so as to form inlet and outlet passages and the communicating transversely arranged passages. Another method of providing the grille is shown in Fig. 2; in this latter construction the heater is formed in a manner similar to that previously described and a separate strip 33 having apertures 34 is welded or otherwise secured to an edge of the heater. The invention also contemplates a structure such as that above referred to having auxiliary heat exchange means combined therewith. This means may be in fins, fluid passages or fluid passages having fins. The structure disclosed in Fig. 2, contemplates the use of fins which are secured near the lowermost end of the heater unit and corrugating a strip of metal and securing said strip to one side of the heat exchange device, thus providing a plurality of air passages the'form of heat radiating 34"between which air may pass, be heated and be discharged through the openings such as 28 provided in the grille. If desired, this structure may be encased. said structure and the casing therefor providing a stack, the wall 35 of the stack having the arcuate wall 36 arranged adjacent the grille in a manner to direct the heated air through the grille. The wall 35 is extended beyond the connection therewith of the arcuate member 36to thus provide a water chamber 37 which is closed by a cover plate 38 and provides a humidifier for humidifying the air contained in the room. If so desired, a damper 39 may be interposed between the grille and the fins 34 to control the passage of heated air through the grille. It is, of course, understood that the heat exchange device formed of the relatively thin sheetwill be provided with collars or nipples such as 40 which are brazed or otherwise secured in place to thus provide means for connecting the fluid supply and discharge pipes respectively designated 42 and 43.

-As before stated, the invention contemplates the utilization of means whereby fluid contained in said heat exchange device may be circulated through an auxiliary heater element to further increase the heating capacity of the structure. A means for accomplishing this is illustrated in Figs. 9 and 11.

Referring now to Figs. 8 to 11, inclusive, there is shown here a heat exchange device 50 which is arranged in a recess 51 of a wall 52 in substantially the same manner as in the other embodiment. This device comprises a hollow member 55 which comprises a plurality of substantially vertical tubular members 56 connected'by means of webs 57. In its preferred embodiment, the member 55 is formed from a pair of similar corrugated plates 58 and 58 which are secured together around their periphery as by welding or the like, as indicated at 59 (Fig. 10) The plates 58 and 58'are formed andjoined in such a manner as to provide channels 60 and 61 at the top and bottom, respectively, of the unit.

Secured to'the lower portion of the device, so as to project laterally therefrom and communicating with the channel 61 by means of tubes 63 are a pair of oppositely disposed tanks 65 communicating with each otherby means of tubes 66, these tubes being preferably formed of a heat conducting metal. A plurality of plates or vanes 68 are attached to the tubes 66 as by means of soldering, welding, or the like, so as to be in effective heat conducting engagement therewith, these plates being also of. heat conducting material.

Conduits 69 and 70 are provided for the inlet and outlet respectively of heating fluid and spaces are provided in the top and bottom of the heating unit as in the previous embodiment. In the operation of the device when it is heated, a current of air is induced to flow through the space at the bottom of the heatin unit 50, passing upwardly between the tu es 66 and plates 68 so as to make effective heat exchanging contact therewith. Continuing its flow upwardly the air will pass in contact with the corrugated rear surface of the plate 58' where a further heat transfer will take place. The air will then flow out of the recess in the wall through the space provided between the end of the recess and the top of the heat exchange unit 50 and into the room.

The plates 58 and 58 may or may not be secured to each other along the webs 57. If not secured along these points, obviously free circulation of the heat exchange fluid between the tubes 56 is permitted. The channel 61 serves to drain water of condensation from the pockets 56, tubes 66 and tanks 65.

From the foregoing description, it'is manifest that the structure employed provides transverse passages which communicate with the inlet and outlet passages, which by virtue of the relatively thin material employed produces a heat exchange unit which is relatively light in weight and which will readily compensate for expansion and contraction.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A heat exchange device comprised of sheet material, said sheet having a plurality of parallel longitudinally extending outwardly facing depressions having parallel edges defining said depressions, the material of said sheet at one edge of the depressions'being bent at said edge to provide an edge of an adjacent depression and provide a hollow ridge, the hollow of which faces in a direction opposite to the depression, the hollow of the ridge being arranged opposite the hollow of another ridge andthus providing a passage, the material of the sheet at the terminations of the depressions being in the plane of the sheet and having a flange extending in the direction of the depression to provide an element of passages respectively arranged transversely of and which communicate with said passages formed by said ridges and having a flange and opposed edges extending in the direction of said recess providing an element of a side wall of said radiator.

2 A heat exchange device comprised of sheet material, the material of the sheet being between said recesses,

the recesses being extended from one face of the sheet with the ridges in the plane of the sheet having flanges at the edges thereof, the terminations of said depressions being spaced from the opposite ends of the sheet and said last mentioned portions of the sheet having a wall which is in the plane of said ridges, the hollow ridges and said recesses being respectively arranged opposite each other to provide tubular passages at said ridges which communicate with said transverse passages, adjacent walls of a pair of said recesses providing one wall of the passages provided by the hollow ridges, said flanges provided at the edges of the sheet providing walls at said edges respectively providing end walls of said radiator and walls of said transverse passage.

3. A heat exchange sheet of material, the marginal edges of which are formed to providea flange at said edges, said sheet being of said flanges to provide a plurality of longitudinally extending recesses, which face in a direction opposite to the direction of said flanges, ranged in spaced relation to the marginal edges of said sheet, the depressed portions of an adjacent pair of said recesses providing walls of a passage arranged between said depressed portions.

4. A radiator comprised of sections, each of which has a plurality of parallel depressions spaced from each other to provide hollow ridges between said depressions, said depressions terminating a distance from opposite edges of said sections to provide a portion at said ends which is in the lane of said sheet, said sections having a ange provided at the edges thereof extending in the direction of said depressions to provide top, bottom and side walls, the material of the sheet at the terminations of said depressions defining openings leading to the hollow ridges and providing one wall of passages respectively arranged at the opposite another wall of ends of said. depressions, which is formed by that portion of the sheet which is located at the opposite ends of said depressions and is in the plane of said sheet.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 2nd day of October-A. 1).,

ARTHUR B. MODINE.

being formed to provide passages transverse of said depressions and device formed of a.

depressed in the direction the ends of said recesses being ar-'

Images