Heat exchange – Side-by-side tubular structures or tube sections – With manifold type header or header plate
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-13
2001-08-07
Leo, Leonard (Department: 3743)
Heat exchange
Side-by-side tubular structures or tube sections
With manifold type header or header plate
C165S158000, C165S178000, C165S905000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06269871
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat exchanger employed for exchanging heat between two fluids, for example, one fluid, that is a strong acidic or a strong alkaline medical fluid employed in an Integrated Circuit production line (i.e., IC production line) inside a clean room, or various fluid such as a strong corrosive fluid, and another fluid, that is a heat transfer medium such as a cool medium or a heat medium. Moreover, the present invention relates to a method of producing the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, the above noted heat exchanger having a structure, for example, shown in
FIG. 8
is known. In this heat exchanger, a cylindrical shell
83
is fixed in a liquid sealing state, between fixing plates
81
and
82
made of polypropylene, arranged on either side, connectors
84
and
85
made of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) or PFA (perfluoro-alkoxyfluoro Plastics), having a two step-cylindrical shape, in a liquid sealing state, and cylindrical sheath rings
86
fused into the right and left connectors
84
and
85
so that it may be positioned inside the shell
83
. A number of fluororesin tubes
87
, concretely made of PFA, are gathered for making a bundle, thus forming a tube bundle
88
as a heat transfer pipe. Both ends arranged longitudinally of the tube bundle
88
are fixed to the sheath rings
86
by fusing. Moreover, the connectors
85
and
84
have paths
89
and
90
for medical fluid. The shell
83
is provided with a cooling water inlet
91
and a cooling water outlet
92
for circulating the cooling water as an example of the heat transfer medium (or heat-exchanging-fluids such as a cool medium or a heat medium).
In the heat exchanger, a fluid to be heat-exchanged (or a fluid to be cooled or heated) is circulated inside each fluororesin tube
87
via paths
89
and
90
inside the connectors
84
and
85
. Heat exchange is conducted between the fluid to be heat-exchanged and a cooling water circulating outside of the tube bundle
88
via the cooling water inlet
91
and the cooling water outlet
92
of the shell
83
.
At both ends in the longitudinal direction of the tube bundle
88
, respective resin tubes
87
are contacted with each other, thus being positioned in a honeycomb structure as shown in
FIGS. 9 and 10
. Gaps inevitably formed between the respective resin tubes
87
disposed in such a honeycomb structure, are closed by fusing the resin tubes
87
with each other. As a result, gaps formed inevitably between the resin tube
87
and sheath ring
86
are closed by fusing them. Therefore, in both ends in the longitudinal direction of the tube bundle
88
, the respective resin tubes
87
included by the tube bundle
88
, are contacted to be in a congested state (i.e. congestion structure) having no gap.
However, in case that both ends in the longitudinal direction of the tube bundle
88
have a congested structure having no gaps mentioned above, under the influence wherein the cooling water flows through an inside of the shell
83
, the respective resin tubes
87
forming a tube bundle
88
swing, thus applying an excess load to each fusing portion of each resin tube
87
to decrease the strength of the fusing portion with the result that there is fear that the strength of the tubes is lacking.
Furthermore, the resin tubes
87
adjacent to each other are contacted with each other and the ends of the resin tubes
87
are integrally fused into each other, thus decreasing heat emission from the sheath ring
86
and the tube bundle
88
(i.e., tube binding portion) adjacent thereto. Accordingly, there is a problem of hindering a whole of the heat exchanger from being miniaturized in view of keeping heat-exchange efficiency.
Especially, in a clean room for producing an IC circuit or others, all machines and equipment used inside the room are required to be miniaturized. However, in the above conventional heat exchanger, it has been difficult to miniaturize it, whereby there has been a problem wherein a requirement of miniaturizing all machines and equipment are hardly satisfied.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention that fusing portions for fusing a number of resin tubes forming the tube bundle into a holding plate have a non-contacted congestion structure wherein each resin tube is arranged apart without directly contacting each other. Accordingly, even if the resin tube is swingingly moved under a flow of the heat transfer medium inside a heat exchanging chamber, an excess load is not applied to the fusing portions of the resin tubes, thereby enhancing reliability on connection of the fusing portions.
Another object of the present invention is to ensure a heat emission space between the resin tubes by the non-contacted congestion structure, thereby providing a heat exchanger having an excellent heat emission property and facilitating miniaturization thereof.
A further object of the present invention is to enhance the heat emission property in the ends of the resin tubes arranged on tube holding holes of the holding plates, thereby achieving further miniaturization of a whole of the heat exchanger.
Still another object of the present invention is that all elements of the heat exchanger, such as the holding plates and the resin tubes, are made of a fluororesin.
A still further object of the present invention is to employ radiant heat emitted from a heat source, so as to integrally fuse the holding plate into the ends of the resin tubes arranged on the tube holding holes of the holding plate.
In order to achieve the above objects, a heat exchanger having plural resin tubes for mutually exchanging heat between a fluid flowing inside the heat exchanger and a fluid flowing outside it. The heat exchanger has:
a holding plate having plural independent tube holding holes; and
plural resin tubes having ends respectively arranged at the plural tube holding holes of the holding plate, the ends being integrally fused into the holding plate.
According to the present invention, heat-exchange is conducted between the fluid flowing inside the plural resin tubes and the fluid flowing outside it. As the fluid flowing inside the resin tube, for example, a fluid (or a fluid to be heat-exchanged) such as a medical fluid is cited, and as the fluid flowing outside the resin tubes, there is a heat transfer medium such as a cool medium or a heat medium.
In the present invention, the respective ends of the plural resin tubes are respectively arranged on plural independent tube holding holes formed on the holding plate, so as to be integrally fused therein. As a result, a fusing portion for fusing each resin tube into the holding plate are not contacted with the other fusing portions for fusing the other resin tubes therein. Therefore, each of the plural resin tubes has a non-contacted congestion structure wherein the holding plate is not contacted with the fusing portions. Consequently, even if a specific resin tube is slightly swung and moved under the flow of the heat transfer medium, there is no possibility wherein an excess load is not applied to each fusing portion of the other resin tube under the swinging flow of the resin tube. Therefore, reliability on connection of the fusing portions is enhanced.
Furthermore, because each resin tube has a non-congested structure at the fusing portions between the resin tubes and the holding plates, over the whole length of the each resin tube, a space therebetween for emitting heat is secured, thereby enhancing the heat emission property of the resin tube and achieving effectively miniaturization of a whole of the heat exchanger. Therefore, the heat exchanger suitable for one used inside the clean room is obtained.
In the heat exchanger, except the fusing portions between the ends of the resin tubes and the holding plates, each holding plate is preferably provided with a ring-space (or recess) positioned around a periphery of each resin tube, for emitting heat.
The heat exchanger according to the present invention having the
Fujii Makoto
Ishida Takuya
Nishio Kiyoshi
Okamoto Yutaka
Jones Tullar & Cooper P.C.
Leo Leonard
Nippon Pillar Packing Co. Ltd.
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