HEAT EXCHANGER

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger in which a connection flange for connecting a refrigerant manifold may be provided to performance in easily assembling the heat exchanger and the refrigerant manifold.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, an air conditioning device for a vehicle refers to a device for cooling or heating a vehicle interior by introducing air existing outside a vehicle into the vehicle interior or heating or cooling air during a process in which the air circulates in the vehicle interior. In an air conditioning casing, an evaporator is used to perform a cooling operation, a heater core is used to perform a heating operation, and a blowing mode switching door is used to selectively blow air, which is cooled or heated by the evaporator or the heater core, to parts in the vehicle interior.

Korean Patent No. 10-1151758, which was previously filed, discloses a plate-type heat exchanger. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a water-cooled heat exchanger in the related art, and FIG. 2 is a view schematically illustrating a configuration of the water-cooled heat exchanger in the related art.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a water-cooled heat exchanger 9 in the related art is configured by stacking a plurality of plates 1. A refrigerant inlet port 2, through which a refrigerant is introduced, and a refrigerant outlet port 3, through which the refrigerant is discharged, are provided at one side of the water-cooled heat exchanger 9. Further, a coolant inlet port 4, through which a coolant is introduced, and a coolant outlet port 5, through which the coolant is discharged, is provided in the water-cooled heat exchanger 9. The plurality of plates 1 are stacked to define a refrigerant flow path and a coolant flow path therein.

The refrigerant introduced into the refrigerant inlet port 2 flows along the refrigerant flow path formed by the plates 1 and is discharged through the refrigerant outlet port 3, such that a refrigerant flow path 7 is formed, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Further, the coolant introduced into the coolant inlet port 4 flows along the coolant flow path formed by the plates 1 and is discharged through the coolant outlet port 5, such that a coolant flow path 8 is formed, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The refrigerant in the refrigerant flow path 7 and the coolant in the coolant flow path 8 exchange heat with each other.

Meanwhile, the plate-type heat exchanger in the related art has a structure in which inlets and outlets for the refrigerant and the coolant are separately configured and separately assembled to counterpart components (e.g., AC pipes, coolant hoses, and the like). FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an assembled structure of the plate-type heat exchanger in the related art. As illustrated, an AC pipe P1, a coolant hose P2, and the like are assembled to the plate-type heat exchanger 9.

In this regard, recently, the refrigerant/coolant modularization has been performed, and thus there has been proposed an integrated structure several AC pipes are integrated into a single manifold and assembled to the plate-type heat exchanger. The integrated cooling module has a structure in which heat exchange components including the heat exchanger, e.g., a chiller, an accumulator, and the like are mounted and assembled onto a refrigerant manifold at a central portion to define a single integrated cooling module.

In this case, there is no great difficulty in assembling the AC pipes to the plate-type heat exchanger in the related art. However, in case that the recent manifold structure is applied, component processing tolerance, core manufacturing tolerance, and the like make it difficult to assemble the heat exchanger to the manifold.

As a related document, there is Korean Patent No. 10-1151758 (registered on May 24, 2012).

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger in which a connection flange for connecting a refrigerant manifold is provided to ensure performance in easily assembling the heat exchanger and the refrigerant manifold.

Technical Solution

A heat exchanger according to one example of the present invention includes: a core configured by stacking a plurality of plates and configured to allow a heat exchange medium to exchange heat; a top plate disposed above the core; and a connection flange provided on the top plate, in which the connection flange includes: a body; an inlet pipe formed at one side of the body and configured such that a refrigerant introduced through the inlet pipe; and an outlet pipe formed at the other side of the body and configured such that the refrigerant is discharged through the outlet pipe, in which the core is configured such that the refrigerant introduced into the core through the inlet pipe of the connection flange flows in the core and then is discharged through the outlet pipe of the connection flange, in which a first refrigerant flow path, which is vertically formed at one side of the core and allows the refrigerant to flow therethrough in a plate stacking direction, a second refrigerant flow path, which is vertically formed at another side of the core and allows the refrigerant to flow therethrough in the plate stacking direction, and a third refrigerant flow path, which is vertically formed at the other side of the core and allows the refrigerant to flow therethrough in the plate stacking direction, are formed in the core, and in which a blocking structure is provided in the first refrigerant flow path and prevents the refrigerant between the first refrigerant flow path and the third refrigerant flow path from being introduced into the opposite flow paths through a space between the two adjacent plates.

The blocking structure may be configured as a structure in which cup parts having burring shapes are formed on peripheries of through-holes for forming the first refrigerant flow path in some of the plurality of plates, and the cup parts are stacked to define a sidewall of the first refrigerant flow path.

The cup parts of some of the plates may be brazed.

The cup part of each of some of the plates may be formed in a downward direction, and a height of the cup part of each of some of the plates may be larger than an interval between the two adjacent plates.

When the two adjacent plates, among some of the plates, are referred to as a first plate and a second plate, the cup part of the first plate may be inserted into the cup part of the second plate, and a portion where an outer surface of the cup part of the first plate and an inner surface of the second plate meet together may be brazed.

Some of the plates having the cup parts may be positioned at an upper side of the core in a height direction.

The inlet pipe and the outlet pipe of the connection flange may be configured to be adjacent to each other while being biased toward one side based on a longitudinal center of the top plate.

The first refrigerant flow path and the second refrigerant flow path may each extend from an upper end to a lower end of the core, and the third refrigerant flow path may extend from the upper end of the core to a middle portion in a height direction of the core.

An upper end of the third refrigerant flow path may be connected to the inlet pipe of the connection flange, an upper end of the first refrigerant flow path may be connected to the outlet pipe of the connection flange, the refrigerant introduced into the third refrigerant flow path through the inlet pipe of the connection flange may flow in a vertically downward direction along the third refrigerant flow path, flow in one horizontal direction through a space between the two adjacent plates, and flow into the second refrigerant flow path, the refrigerant introduced into the second refrigerant flow path may flow in the vertically downward direction along the second refrigerant flow path, flow in the other horizontal direction through the space between the two adjacent plates, and flow into the first refrigerant flow path, and the refrigerant introduced into the first refrigerant flow path may flow in a vertically upward direction along the first refrigerant flow path and be discharged through the outlet pipe of the connection flange.

The blocking structure may be formed from an upper end of the first refrigerant flow path to a middle portion in a height direction of the first refrigerant flow path, and the blocking structure may be configured to be longer than the third refrigerant flow path, such that a lower end of the blocking structure may further extend downward than a lower end of the third refrigerant flow path.

The first refrigerant flow path may be positioned at one longitudinal end of the core, the second refrigerant flow path may be positioned at the other longitudinal end of the core, and the third refrigerant flow path may be positioned between the first refrigerant flow path and the second refrigerant flow path and positioned to be adjacent to the first refrigerant flow path.

The inlet pipe of the connection flange and the first refrigerant flow path may be positioned on the same line, and the outlet pipe of the connection flange and the third refrigerant flow path may be positioned on the same line.

The top plate may include: a refrigerant inlet port connected to the inlet pipe of the connection flange and configured such that the refrigerant is introduced through the refrigerant inlet port; and a refrigerant outlet port connected to the outlet pipe of the connection flange and configured such that the refrigerant is discharged through the refrigerant outlet port.

The refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port of the top plate may have structures burred upward, an end of the inlet pipe of the connection flange may be inserted into the refrigerant inlet port with the burred structure and brazed, and an end of the outlet pipe of the connection flange may be inserted into the refrigerant outlet port with the burred structure and brazed.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present invention, the connection flange for connecting the refrigerant manifold may be provided to ensure the performance in easily assembling the heat exchanger and the refrigerant manifold.

In addition, the inlet and outlet pipes of the connection flange may be configured to be adjacent to each other, thereby preventing bending deflection of the connection flange, reducing the size of the connection flange, and minimizing processing and manufacturing tolerance.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a water-cooled heat exchanger in the related art.

FIG. 2 is a view schematically illustrating a configuration of the water-cooled heat exchanger in the related art.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an assembled structure of a plate-type heat exchanger in the related art.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger according to an example of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the heat exchanger in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a cross-section of the heat exchanger.

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of a top plate.

FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of the top plate.

FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of a connection flange.

FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of the connection flange.

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating FIG. 6 again.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the connection flange in FIG. 11.

FIGS. 13 and 14 are perspective views illustrating a plate of an upper side core when viewed from the lower side.

FIGS. 15 and 16 are perspective views illustrating a plate of a lower side core when viewed from the lower side.

FIG. 17 is a view illustrating a blocking pipe according to the example of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a view illustrating a brazing structure of the blocking pipe according to the example of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a view illustrating a brazing structure of a blocking pipe according to another example of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a view illustrating a cross-section of a heat exchanger according to another example of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a blocking structure in FIG. 20.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

• • 10: Heat exchanger
  • 100: Core
  • 110: Plate
  • RC1: First refrigerant flow path
  • RC2: Second refrigerant flow path
  • RC3: Third refrigerant flow path
  • 120: Blocking structure
  • 130: Blocking pipe
  • 140: Sidewall of first refrigerant flow path
  • 200: Top plate
  • 210: Refrigerant inlet port
  • 220: Refrigerant outlet port
  • 300: Connection flange
  • 310: Body
  • 320: Inlet pipe
  • 330: Outlet pipe

Mode for Invention

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a heat exchanger according to an example of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the heat exchanger in FIG. 4. The heat exchanger of the present invention broadly includes a core 100, a top plate 200, and a connection flange 300.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating a cross-section of the heat exchanger according to the example of the present invention. As illustrated, the core 100 is configured by stacking a plurality of plates 110 and configured to allow heat with heat exchange media to exchange heat with each other. The heat exchange medium may be a refrigerant or a coolant. The core 100 is configured such that the refrigerant and the coolant alternately flow between the stacked plates, such that the refrigerant and the coolant exchange heat with each other.

FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of the top plate, and FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of the top plate. The top plate 200 is a plate different from the plates 110 of the core 100 and corresponds to a kind of cover provided above the core 100.

The top plate 200 may have a refrigerant inlet port 210 through which the refrigerant is introduced into the core 100 from the outside, and a refrigerant outlet port 220 through which the refrigerant is discharged to the outside from the core 100. In addition, in addition to the refrigerant inlet port 210 and the refrigerant outlet port 220, the top plate 200 may have a coolant inlet port 230 through which the coolant is introduced, and a coolant outlet port 240 through which the coolant is discharged. A coolant inlet pipe 231 may be coupled to the coolant inlet port 230, and a coolant outlet pipe 241 may be coupled to the coolant outlet port 240. The arrangement structures of the refrigerant inlet port 210, the refrigerant outlet port 220, the coolant inlet port 230, and the coolant outlet port 240 of the top plate 200 may be freely modified and designed, and the positions of the inlet and the outlet may be opposite to each other.

FIG. 9 is a top perspective view of the connection flange, and FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view of the connection flange. The connection flange 300 is provided on an upper portion of the top plate 200 and configured to be fastened to external components. The external component may be a refrigerant manifold through which the refrigerant flows, as described above.

That is, the connection flange 300 refers to an assembling structure that serves as a medium when the heat exchanger is mounted on the refrigerant manifold. Bolt fastening grooves 390 may be formed in the connection flange 300, and the connection flange 300 may be coupled to the refrigerant manifold by bolting by using the bolt fastening grooves 390. As described above, the heat exchanger has the connection flange 300, which may ensure performance in easily assembling the heat exchanger and the refrigerant manifold.

The connection flange 300 includes a body 310, an inlet pipe 320 provided at one side of the body 310 and configured to allow the refrigerant to be introduced therethrough, and an outlet pipe 330 provided at the other side of the body 310 and configured to allow the refrigerant to be discharged therethrough. The inlet pipe 320 and the outlet pipe 330 may each have a tubular structure configured to penetrate the body 310, and a pipe structure protruding outward from the tubular structure.

In this case, in the present invention, the inlet pipe 320 and the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300 are configured to be adjacent to each other. More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the inlet pipe 320 and the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300 are configured to be adjacent to each other and biased toward one side (left side based on the drawings) based on a longitudinal center of the top plate 200.

As described above, the heat exchanger is mounted on the refrigerant manifold and brazed by means of the connection flange 300. In case that the inlet pipe 320 and the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300 are disposed to be spaced apart from each other and distant from each other, there is a problem in that the connection flange 300 may be bent and deflected by being pressed during the brazing process, the connection flange 300 increases in size, and it is difficult to adjust an assembling level difference. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce a distance between the inlet pipe 320 and the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300. Based on these points, in the present invention, the inlet pipe 320 and the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300 are configured to be adjacent to each other, which may solve the above-mentioned problem.

Meanwhile, in the general plate-type heat exchanger, the refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port of the top plate are provided at two opposite longitudinal ends of the top plate. The refrigerant inlet port and the refrigerant outlet port of the top plate need to be configured to be adjacent to each other in consideration of the configuration in which the inlet pipe 320 of the connection flange 300 is connected to the refrigerant inlet port and the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300 is coupled to the refrigerant outlet port. To this end, for example, a return flow path is required to guide the refrigerant inlet port, which is positioned adjacent to a longitudinal end of the top plate 200, to the refrigerant outlet port positioned at an end opposite to the refrigerant inlet port. The present invention copes with the requirement by using the refrigerant flow path, which is formed in advance in the core 100, as the return flow path. Hereinafter, the above-mentioned structure will be described in more detail.

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating FIG. 6 again, and FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the connection flange in FIG. 11. First, a plurality of refrigerant flow paths RC, through which the refrigerant flows, are formed in the core 100 and formed between the plurality of adjacent plates 110 stacked, and coolant flow paths CC are formed alternately with the refrigerant flow path RC. However, because the connection flange 300 of the present invention is a component related to the refrigerant, only the refrigerant or refrigerant flow path will be described below concentratedly.

First, the core 100 is configured such that the refrigerant, which is introduced into the core 100 through the inlet pipe 320 of the connection flange 300, flows in the core 100 and then is discharged through the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300.

To this end, as illustrated in FIG. 11, in the core 100, a first refrigerant flow path RC-1 is vertically formed at one side of the core 100 and allows the refrigerant to flow in the vertical direction, a second refrigerant flow path RC-2 is vertically formed at another side of the core 100 and allows the refrigerant to flow in the vertical direction, and a third refrigerant flow path RC-3 is vertically formed at the other side of the core 100 and allows the refrigerant to flow in the vertical direction. In this case, the vertical direction refers to a plate stacking direction in which the plates 110 of the core 100 are stacked. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, this direction will be referred to as the vertical direction.

More specifically, the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 may be positioned at one longitudinal end of the core 100, i.e., the left end based on the drawings, the second refrigerant flow path RC-2 may be positioned at the other longitudinal end of the core 100, i.e., the right end based on the drawings, and the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 may be positioned between the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 and the second refrigerant flow path RC-2 and positioned to be closer to the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 than the second refrigerant flow path RC-2. Further, the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 and the second refrigerant flow path RC-2 may each be formed to extend from the upper end to the lower end of the core 100, and the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 may be formed to extend from the upper end of the core 100 to a middle portion of the core 100 in a height direction.

The first, second, and third refrigerant flow paths RC-1, RC-2, and RC-3 are configured by through-holes formed through the plates 110 of the core 100. The through-holes for forming the first, second, and third refrigerant flow paths RC-1, RC-2, and RC-3 are formed at an approximately center upper side of the core 100 in the height direction, i.e., formed in plates 110U of an upper side core 100U. The through-holes for forming the first and second refrigerant flow paths RC-1 and RC-2 are formed at a center lower side in the height direction, i.e., formed in plates 110L of a lower side core 100L. The through-holes for forming the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 are not formed in the plates 110L of the lower side core 100L.

FIGS. 13 and 14 are perspective views illustrating the plate of the upper side core when viewed from the lower side, and FIGS. 15 and 16 are perspective views illustrating the plate of the lower side core when viewed from the lower side. The plates 110U in FIG. 13 are provided as a plurality of plates 110U, and the plates 110U in FIG. 14 are provided as a plurality of plates 110U. The plates 110U are alternately stacked, and the refrigerant and the coolant alternately flow between the two adjacent plates. The plates 110L in FIG. 15 are provided as a plurality of plates 110L, and the plates 110L in FIG. 16 are provided as a plurality of plates 110L. The plates 110L are alternately stacked, and the refrigerant and the coolant alternately flow between the two adjacent plates.

That is, the plate 110U in FIG. 13 corresponds to a refrigerant side plate 110U-R of the upper side core 100U, the plate 110U in FIG. 14 corresponds to a coolant side plate 110U-C of the upper side core 100U, the plate 110L in FIG. 15 corresponds to a refrigerant side plate 110L-R of the lower side core 100L, and the plate 110L in FIG. 16 corresponds to a coolant side plate 110-C of the lower side core 100L. The core 100 has a structure in which the refrigerant side plates and the coolant side plates are alternately stacked.

In this case, in the plate 110U in FIGS. 13 and 14, a through-hole RC-3_h for forming the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 is further formed in addition to a through-hole RC-1_h for forming the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 and a through-hole RC-2_h for forming the second refrigerant flow path RC-2, as described above. In the plate 110L in FIGS. 15 and 16, the through-hole RC-1_h for forming the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 and the through-hole RC-2_h for forming the second refrigerant flow path RC-2 are formed, but the through-hole RC-3_h for forming the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 is not formed. Further, coolant through-holes CC_h1 and CC_h2, through which the coolant passes, may be formed in the plates 110. However, a detailed description of the coolant through-hole will be omitted.

With reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, an upper end of the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 is connected to the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300, and an upper end of the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 is connected to the inlet pipe 320 of the connection flange 300. Further, as illustrated, the inlet pipe 320 of the connection flange 300 and the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 may be configured to be positioned on the same line, and the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300 and the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 may be configured to be positioned on the same line.

In this case, a blocking structure 120 is provided in the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 to prevent the refrigerants between the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 and the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 from flowing in a horizontal direction through the space between the two adjacent plates and flowing directly into the opposite flow paths. As illustrated, the blocking structure 120 is formed from the upper end of the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 to the middle portion in the height direction of the first refrigerant flow path RC-1.

Therefore, the refrigerant, which is introduced the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 through the inlet pipe 320 of the connection flange 300 and flows in a vertically downward direction based on the drawings along the third refrigerant flow path RC-3, is not introduced into the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 while flowing in a horizontally leftward direction based on the drawings through the space between the two adjacent plates, but the refrigerant is introduced into the second refrigerant flow path RC-2 while flowing in a horizontally rightward direction based on the drawings. The refrigerant introduced into the second refrigerant flow path RC-2 flows in the vertically downward direction based on the drawings along the second refrigerant flow path RC-2 and then is introduced into the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 while flowing in the horizontally leftward direction based on the drawings through the space between the two adjacent plates. The refrigerant introduced into the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 flows in a vertically upward direction based on the drawings along the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 and then is discharged to the outside through the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300.

That is, in a general plate-shaped heat exchanger in the related art, a refrigerant flows in one direction from one side to the other side of the core 100, such that a refrigerant side flow path constitutes one pass. However, in the plate-shaped heat exchanger of the present invention, the refrigerant flows in one direction from one side to the other side of the core 100 at the upper side of the core 100, and the refrigerant flows in a direction opposite to one direction from the other side to one side of the core 100 at the lower side of the core 100, such that the refrigerant side flow path constitutes two passes. In the present invention, any one of the two passes of the refrigerant side flow path is used as a return flow path as described above, such that the refrigerant inlet port and the discharge port may be configured to be adjacent to each other.

Further, in order to constitute the two passes, the blocking structure 120 is provided in the core 100 of the present invention and prevents the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 and the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 from being connected directly to each other. Hereinafter, the blocking structure 120 of the present invention will be described more specifically.

With reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, as illustrated, a blocking pipe 130 may be installed in the first refrigerant flow path RC-1. The blocking pipe 130 is a component provided separately from the plates 110 of the core 100. The blocking pipe 130 has an approximately cylindrical structure. FIG. 17 is a view illustrating the blocking pipe according to the example of the present invention. The blocking pipe 130 is inserted and installed into the first refrigerant flow path RC-1, and a part of a lateral surface of the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 is closed by a sidewall of the blocking pipe 130.

The blocking pipe 130 is disposed to be positioned from the upper end of the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 to the middle portion in the height direction of the first refrigerant flow path RC-1. The blocking pipe 130 is configured by longer than a vertical length of the third refrigerant flow path RC-3, such that a lower end of the blocking pipe 130 further extends downward than the lower end of the third refrigerant flow path RC-3, i.e., the lower end of the blocking pipe 130 further protrudes downward to a predetermined degree than the third refrigerant flow path RC-3.

Further, the blocking pipe 130 may be integrated with the plurality of plates 110 of the core 100 by brazing. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the blocking pipe 130 may be brazed with all the plates 110 that meet the blocking pipe 130. However, particularly, it may be advantageous in terms of manufacturing when the two points, i.e., the upper and lower ends of the blocking pipe 130 are brazed with a part of the plate 110.

With reference to FIG. 17, a flange portion 131 having an enlarged pipe structure is formed at the upper end of the blocking pipe 130, and the flange portion 131 may be brazed with the plate 110T positioned at an uppermost portion among the plurality of plates 110 of the core 100. As illustrated in FIG. 11, the flange portion 131 of the blocking pipe 130 may be seated on an upper portion of the uppermost plate 110T, and the portions of the flange portion 131 and the uppermost plate 110T, which meet together, may be brazed, such that the upper end of the blocking pipe 130 may be fixedly installed on the core.

Next, a structure in which the lower end of the blocking pipe 130 is fixedly installed on the core 100 will be described. FIG. 18 is a view illustrating a brazing structure of the blocking pipe according to the example of the present invention. As illustrated, the two plates, which meet together at a lower end point of the blocking pipe 130, may be formed to have burring structures and brazed with the lateral surface of the lower end of the blocking pipe 130.

More specifically, when among the plurality of plates, the plate disposed immediately below the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 is referred to as a first plate 110-1 and the plate disposed immediately below the first plate 110-1 is referred to as a second plate 110-2, burring parts 110-1_B and 110-2_B are respectively formed on a periphery of the through-hole RC-1_h for forming the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 in the first plate 110-1 and a periphery of the through-hole RC-1_h for forming the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 in the second plate 110-2, and the burring parts 110-1_B and 110-2_B of the first and second plates may be brazed with the lateral surface of the blocking pipe 130. In consideration of the spatial utilization, the burring part 110-1_B of the first plate and the burring part 110-2_B of the second plate may be burred in opposite directions.

In this case, the first plate 110-1 may correspond to the refrigerant side plate, and the second plate 110-2 may correspond to the coolant side plate. The refrigerant side plate and the coolant side plate may be brazed with the blocking pipe 130.

In this case, the coolant flows between the first plate 110-1 and the second plate 110-2. Therefore, when a brazing defect occurs between the blocking pipe 130 and the plate 110, the brazing defect may be detected. For example, only the coolant needs to flow in the space between the first plate 110-1 and the second plate 110-2, and the refrigerant does not need to flow in the space between the first plate 110-1 and the second plate 110-2. When a brazing defect occurs between the blocking pipe 130 and the burring part 110-1_B of the first plate 110-1, the refrigerant may be introduced into a gap between the blocking pipe 130 and the burring part 110-1_B of the first plate 110-1 and leaks between the first plate 110-1 and the second plate 110-2. On the basis of this principle, the plate-shaped heat exchanger may be manufactured, and whether the refrigerant is discharged to the coolant outlet port of the core may be determined by introducing only the refrigerant into the core 100, such that a manufacturing defect may be detected in advance.

FIG. 19 is a view illustrating a brazing structure of a blocking pipe according to another example of the present invention. As illustrated, any one of the plates, which meet together at the lower end point of the blocking pipe 130, may be formed to have a burring structure and brazed with the lateral surface of the lower end of the blocking pipe 130.

In a more specific example, as illustrated, when the plate disposed immediately below the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 is referred to as the first plate 110-1, the plate disposed immediately below the first plate 110-1 is referred to as the second plate 110-2, and the plate disposed immediately below the second plate 110-2 is referred to as a third plate 110-3, the burring part 110-2_B may be formed on the periphery of the through-hole RC-1_h for forming the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 in the second plate 110-2, and the burring part 110-2_B of the second plate may be brazed with the lateral surface of the blocking pipe 130.

In this case, a space between the second plate 110-2 and the third plate 110-3 is configured as a dead zone in which no heat exchange medium flows, a leak detection hole 119 is formed in the lateral surface of the core 100 while being formed through the lateral surface of the core 100 to allow the space between the second plate 110-2 and the third plate 110-3 configured to communicate with the outside of the core 100. Whether the refrigerant leaks through the leak detection hole 119 may be determined to determine a brazing defect.

That is, in the present example, the second plate 110-2 may correspond to the coolant side plate, and the third plate 110-3 may correspond to the refrigerant side plate. In this case, originally, the refrigerant needs to flow between the second plate 110-2 and the third plate 110-3. However, in the present example, the space between the second plate 110-2 and the third plate 110-3 is configured as the dead zone 118 so that no heat exchange medium flows. In this case, as described above, when a brazing defect occurs between the blocking pipe 130 and the second plate 110-2, the refrigerant may be introduced into the gap between the blocking pipe 130 and the second plate 110-2, the refrigerant leaks to the space between the second plate 110-2 and the third plate 110-3, and the refrigerant may be discharged to the outside through the leak detection hole 119. Therefore, whether the refrigerant is discharged to the leak detection hole 119 may be determined to detect a brazing defect. In comparison with the previous example, the present example is advantageous in detecting a brazing defect even in case that both the refrigerant and the coolant flow in the core 100. In this case, the design modification may be implemented to configure the space between the first plate 110-1 and the second plate 110-2 as the dead zone instead of, simultaneously with, or separately from the space between the second plate 110-2 and the third plate 110-3.

The embodiment has been described in which the blocking pipe 130 is applied as the blocking structure 120. Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described in which a burring structure is applied to the plate as the blocking structure 120.

FIG. 20 is a view illustrating a cross-section of a heat exchanger according to another example of the present invention, and FIG. 21 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a blocking structure in FIG. 20. As illustrated, the blocking structure 120 of the present example may be configured as a structure in which cup parts having burring structures are formed on the plate 110 and stacked.

That is, according to the present example, among some of the plurality of plates 110 of the core 100, the cup parts having the burring shapes are formed on the peripheries of the through-holes RC-1_h for forming the first refrigerant flow path RC-1, and the cup parts of some of the plates 110 are stacked to define a sidewall 140 of the first refrigerant flow path RC-1. Therefore, a part of the lateral surface of the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 may be closed to prevent the first refrigerant flow path RC-1 and the third refrigerant flow path RC-3 from being connected directly to each other. In this case, some of the plates 110 include the plates 110U of the upper side core 100U and include the plates having the through-holes for forming the third refrigerant flow path RC-3, and at least one plate disposed immediately below the plates having the through-holes.

More specifically, all the cup parts of some of the plates are formed in the downward direction. In this case, a height of the cup part is larger than an interval between the two adjacent plates. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 21, among some of the plates, the two adjacent plates are referred to as the first plate 110-1 and the second plate 110-2 and the first plate 110-1 is a plate positioned above the second plate 110-2, a cup part 110-1_C of the first plate 110-1 is formed to be larger than an interval 110-s between the first plate and the second plate and inserted into a cup part 110-2_C of the second plate 110-2. Therefore, an outer surface of the cup part 110-1_C of the first plate and an inner surface of the cup part 110-2_C of the second plate are opposite to each other. Further, in this state, the portion where the outer surface of the cup part 110-1_C of the first plate and the inner surface of the cup part 110-2_C of the second plate meet together is brazed, such that the blocking structure 120 of the present example may be completely implemented.

Unlike the previous example in which the blocking pipe 130 is required as a separate component, the present example differs from the previous example in that the cup parts are formed directly on the plates, and the cup parts are integrated by brazing, which may provide an advantage of reducing manufacturing costs.

Meanwhile, the present invention has been described above with reference to the structure in which the refrigerant is introduced through the return flow path. On the contrary, the heat exchanger may, of course, be designed to have a structure in which the refrigerant is discharged through the return flow path. For example, the inlet pipe 320 of the connection flange 300 may be configured to be connected to the upper end of the first refrigerant flow path, and the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300 may be configured to be connected to the upper end of the second refrigerant flow path. The remaining detailed configurations based on the above-mentioned configuration may be designed and modified in the opposite way to the above-mentioned configuration.

With reference back to FIGS. 6 to 8, as described above, the top plate 200 has the refrigerant inlet port 210 connected to the inlet pipe 320 of the connection flange 300 and configured to allow the refrigerant to be introduced therethrough, and the refrigerant outlet port 220 connected to the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300 and configured to allow the refrigerant to be discharged therethrough. In this case, the refrigerant inlet port 210 and the refrigerant outlet port 220 of the top plate 200 are disposed adjacent to each other and biased toward one side on the basis of a longitudinal center of the top plate 200. This is the same reason why the inlet pipe 320 and the outlet pipe 330 of the above-mentioned connection flange 300 are configured to be adjacent to each other.

Further, as illustrated, the refrigerant inlet port 210 and the refrigerant outlet port 220 of the top plate 200 may have structures burred upward, an end of the inlet pipe 320 of the connection flange 300 may be inserted into the refrigerant inlet port 210 with the burred structure and then brazed, and an end of the outlet pipe 330 of the connection flange 300 may be inserted into the refrigerant outlet port 220 with the burred structure and then brazed. The connection flange 300 may be securely fixed to the top plate 200 by means of the fastening structure, such that the top plate 200 and the connection flange 300 may be integrated.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will understand that the present invention may be carried out in any other specific form without changing the technical spirit or an essential feature thereof. Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and do not limit the present invention.