Pipe joints or couplings – Pipe to discreet nipple or sleeve to plate – Pipe to nipple connection dependent on nipple to plate...
Patent
1986-11-20
1988-08-23
Arola, Dave W.
Pipe joints or couplings
Pipe to discreet nipple or sleeve to plate
Pipe to nipple connection dependent on nipple to plate...
285150, 285921, F16L 3900
Patent
active
047656581
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The invention relates to a fluid box for a heat exchanger, in particular for a motor vehicle, and to a rapid action coupling for connecting it to a fluid circuit.
PRIOR ART
A heat exchanger, in particular one intended for fitting to a motor vehicle, generally comprises at least one fluid box provided with a fluid inlet or outlet tube which is connected in sealed manner to a flexible hose (called "Durite" in France) connected to the fluid circuit, for example the liquid circuit for cooling the engine of a motor vehicle. Another fluid outlet or inlet tube, respectively, is provided on the same fluid box or on the other fluid box, depending on the type of heat exchanger, and is connected in sealed manner by another flexible hose to the fluid circuit.
Each of these flexible hoses is force-fitted at one end over the corresponding end of the tube and is held in place on the tube by means of a clamping collar which is fitted around said end of the flexible hose and which firmly clamps the tube.
These operations of fitting flexible hoses over tubes and of placing clamping collars are relatively long and inconvenient to perform on a motor vehicle assembly line. Motor vehicle manufacturers currently desire to have means available for facilitating these operations and for greatly reducing their duration.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a simple, effective and rapid solution to this problem.
To this end, the invention provides a fluid box for a heat exchanger, in particular for a motor vehicle, which comprises a fluid inlet tube and a fluid outlet tube which are integrally formed with the fluid box and characterized in that said tubes are coaxial, at least over a portion of their lengths from their free ends.
At their ends connected to the fluid box, these two tubes may be coaxial or they may each be outside the other, as the case may be.
Having the fluid box tubes coaxial at their free ends makes it possible to connect them to the flexible hoses of a fluid circuit by means of a rapid-action coupling which is characterized in that it comprises an element formed with two fluid passages which are separate from each other and which are suitable for being connected in sealed manner to the free ends of the coaxial tubes of the fluid box, with the two fluid passages of said element being constituted by two tubes which are coaxial at the connection end of the element and by two ducts which lie outside each other at the opposite end of said element, each of these two ducts being suitable for connection to a respective flexible hose for fluid feed or return.
This element is advantageously of the type for locking to the free ends of the coaxial tubes of the fluid box by a snap-fastening.
Thus, by virtue of the invention, the operations of connecting a heat exchanger to a fluid circuit on a motor vehicle assembly line are limited to a single operation of coupling the two elements of a rapid action coupling, one of which elements is formed by the coaxial tubes of the fluid box and the other by the element connected to the above-specified flexible hoses.
According to another characteristic of the invention, the coaxial tubes of the fluid box and of the said element are engaged in sealed manner in each other and are centered relative to each other at their ends.
The portions of the coaxial tubes which are engaged in each other have annular spaces provided in their respective cylindrical walls for receiving sealing rings.
The element connected to the flexible hoses includes snap-fastening locking means suitable for co-operating with complementary means provided on one of the coaxial tubes of the fluid box, said means comprising, for example, a peg or stud formed to project from the outside tube of said element and suitable for being engaged in an L-shaped notch in the free end of the outer coaxial tube of the fluid box.
Advantageously, this element is made in the form of a one-piece molding, for example of plastic material.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following description given
REFERENCES:
patent: 1651875 (1927-12-01), Ercanbrock
patent: 1871421 (1932-08-01), Muhlhauser et al.
patent: 2798745 (1957-07-01), Nelson
patent: 3177896 (1965-04-01), Mosher et al.
patent: 3211178 (1965-10-01), Kiszko
patent: 3938233 (1976-02-01), Cannon
patent: 4162041 (1979-07-01), Hane
patent: 4328859 (1982-05-01), Bouvot
patent: 4479668 (1984-10-01), Jacquet
Arola Dave W.
Valeo
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