Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim
79 words
A heat exchanger for transferring heat between the exchanger and a fluid, the heat exchanger comprising at least one surface provided with a plurality of heat exchanging fins (101, 201) positioned on a grid defined by intersecting row and column lines such that each fin lies on a row line and in longitudinal alignment with a column line, characterised in that:- no fin is aligned, in either the row or column directions, with its nearest or next nearest neighbours.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
79 words
A heat exchanger for transferring heat between the exchanger and a fluid, the heat exchanger comprising at least one surface provided with a plurality of heat exchanging fins (101, 201) positioned on a grid defined by intersecting row and column lines such that each fin lies on a row line and in longitudinal alignment with a column line, characterised in that:- no fin is aligned, in either the row or column directions, with its nearest or next nearest neighbours.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
66 words
A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1, in which the fins are arranged at uniform separation (W) transversely to their length in uniformly pitched rows and adjacent rows are staggered by an offset which is a proportion (S), other than ½, of the uniform separation (W) of the fins so that any longitudinally aligned fins must be spaced by more than twice the row pitch.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
43 words
A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 2, in which the proportion (S) defining the offset is a rational fraction (P/M) so that any longitudinally aligned fins must be spaced by a corresponding integral multiple (M), greater than two, of the row pitch.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 3, in which the numerator (P) of the fraction defining the offset is greater than one.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
17 words
A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 4, in which the fraction defining the offset is 5/13.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
22 words
A heat exchanger as claimed in any preceding claim, in which at least one column includes at least two longitudinally aligned fins.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
32 words
A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 2, in which the proportion (S) defining the offset approximates to an irrational number so that no two fins occur in the same column line.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
20 words
A heat exchanger as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the plurality of fins are parallel to each other.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
A heat exchanger as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 7, in which the columns of fins diverge radially.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
52 words
A heat exchanger as claimed in any preceding claim, in which each of the fins has a base, a tip, a leading edge and a trailing edge, each fin decreasing in both width and length from base to tip and each fin having a curved leading edge and a straight trailing edge.