US4160476A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Securement of heat exchanger surfaces to tubes by lock seaming and method of fabrication
Assignee: Raypak Inc
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Filing: 1977-02-14
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Granted: 1979-07-10
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Expires: 1997-02-14
Abstract
Abstract Securement of flat heat exchange surfaces, particularly fins to tubular conduits of a heat exchanger. The heat exchange material is formed into upper and lower, or first and second pieces having longitudinal, partially circular recesses parallel to the length of a tube for engaging opposite sides of the tube. The radii of the recesses corresponds to the outer diameter of the tube. The recesses extend through less than 180° so that the flat parts of the heat exchange surface are spaced leaving a gap prior to securement to the tubes. The two pieces are initially formed to interengage in such a way that they can be joined by lock seaming on opposite sides of the tube. Forces are applied to the interengaged pieces, forcing them together, stretching the heat exchange material at the recesses, thereby producing a tight interference fit between the heat exchange surfaces and the tube to provide minimum resistance to conduction of heat and at the same time securing the pieces together by lock seaming. The tube remains round and undeformed so the cross-sectional heat exchange area remains the same.
Inventors
- 👤 Larry J. Ashton
- 👤 Leo Block
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-04 13:31
CPC Classifications
F; F28; F28F; F28F1/00; F28F1/10; F28F1/12; F28F1/14; B; B21; B21D; B21D53/00; B21D53/02; B21D53/08; F24; F24S; F24S10/00; F24S10/70; F24S10/75; F24S10/753; Y; Y02; Y02E; Y02E10/00; Y02E10/40; Y02E10/44; Y10; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/49; Y10T29/4935; Y10T29/49355; Y10T29/49377; Y10T29/49378; Y10T29/49826; Y10T29/49908; Y10T29/49936
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
88 words
A securement between first and second pieces of material comprising in combination, a lock seam formed between portions of the first and of the second pieces of material, the lock seam being formed by a portion of one piece of material and by an intermediate portion of the second piece of material remote from edges thereof, said pieces of material being formed, adjacent said seam, to extend around a heat exchange tube whereby said second piece of material defines a continuous flow path for heat to said tube.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
88 words
A securement between first and second pieces of material comprising in combination, a lock seam formed between portions of the first and of the second pieces of material, the lock seam being formed by a portion of one piece of material and by an intermediate portion of the second piece of material remote from edges thereof, said pieces of material being formed, adjacent said seam, to extend around a heat exchange tube whereby said second piece of material defines a continuous flow path for heat to said tube.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
64 words
A securement as in claim 1, wherein the lock seam comprises folded over parts of an edge portion of said one piece of material, folded over parts of a portion of the second piece of material lying between the first mentioned parts, said one piece and a third part of the second piece of material lying adjacent to one of said first mentioned parts.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
49 words
A securement as in claim 1, wherein the said lock seam is closely adjacent to the tube, said pieces of the material engaging the tube being in a stretched condition against the tube, providing an interference fit with the tube whereby there is low contact resistance for heat transfer.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
40 words
A securement as in claim 3, there being a similar lock seam on each of opposite sides of the tube, there being sections of said second piece of material extending outwardly from a lock seam forming a heat exchange fin.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
41 words
A securement as in claim 4, including sections of material extending outwardly from lock seams on both sides of the tube forming fins, the outer edges of said sections being configurated to be adapted to form a joint between adjacent sections.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
103 words
A method of forming a joint between first and second sections of sheet material including forming a lock seam between an edge portion of a first piece of material and an intermediate portion of the second piece of material, forming the first and second pieces of material on one side of said seam to fit around a heat exchange tube, and securing the material to the tube in heat exchange relationship by forming the lock seam adjacent one side of the tube as a heat exchange surface to provide a continuous path for heat transfer along said second piece and through said seam.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
103 words
A method of forming a joint between first and second sections of sheet material including forming a lock seam between an edge portion of a first piece of material and an intermediate portion of the second piece of material, forming the first and second pieces of material on one side of said seam to fit around a heat exchange tube, and securing the material to the tube in heat exchange relationship by forming the lock seam adjacent one side of the tube as a heat exchange surface to provide a continuous path for heat transfer along said second piece and through said seam.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
70 words
A method as in claim 6, including the steps of forming the lock seam by juxtaposing parts of material in overlying relationship, initially providing a gap between certain of said parts adjacent said tube and applying pressure to force said parts together while stretching portions of the material engaging the tube to provide an interference fit, whereby to provide low contact resistance for heat transfer between the material and tube.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
80 words
A method as in claim 6, including preforming a first piece of material to provide a portion conformable to the tube, and to have a lock seam part, preforming a second piece of material to have a portion conformable to the tube and having lock seam parts, interengaging said lock seam parts and then applying bending and clamping forces to the lock seam parts of the first and second pieces to form lock seams on opposite sides of the tube.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method as in claim 8, including the step of preforming the first and second pieces of material by way of a roll forming machine.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method as in claim 9, including the step of securing the first and second pieces to a tube by way of passing the tube and pieces through a roll forming machine forming the lock seams by roll forming.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of forming a securement between first and second sections of sheet heat exchange material including forming a lock seam between an edge portion of a first piece of material and a portion of the second piece of material, which is remote from the edges of the second piece, the forming including juxtaposing said portions against each other and bending said portions into a position forming the lock seam forming said material on one side of said seam to fit around a heat exchange tube and securing the material to the tube in heat exchange relationship by forming the lock seam adjacent to the tube.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of forming a securement between first and second sections of sheet heat exchange material including forming a lock seam between an edge portion of a first piece of material and a portion of the second piece of material, which is remote from the edges of the second piece, the forming including juxtaposing said portions against each other and bending said portions into a position forming the lock seam forming said material on one side of said seam to fit around a heat exchange tube and securing the material to the tube in heat exchange relationship by forming the lock seam adjacent to the tube.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
50 words
A method as in claim 11, including the steps of forming the lock seam by juxtaposing parts of the material in overlying relationship, initially providing a gap between said parts and applying pressure to force said parts together while stretching the material engaging the tube to provide an interference fit.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
37 words
A method as in claim 11 including the step of forming the remainder of the second piece as a heat exchange fin, the said edge being at an extremity of the fin spaced from the lock seam.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as in claim 11, including the step of bending said portions so as to lie flush against a surface of one of said pieces of material.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
76 words
A method as in claim 11, including preforming the first piece of material to provide a part conformable to the tube, and to have a lock seam portion, preforming the second piece of material to have a part conformable to the tube and to have a lock seam portion and then applying bending and clamping forces to the lock seam portions of the first and second pieces to form a lock seam adjacent to the tube.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method as in claim 15, including the step of forming the first seam portion as a flange and the second seam portion as a fold to receive the flange.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
42 words
A method as in claim 16, including the steps of forming the lock seam by progressively bending the material in stages from the flat condition into the shapes in which the pieces are juxtaposed by passing the pieces between successive forming rolls.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method as in claim 17, including the step of progressively forming the lock seam by passing the juxtaposed pieces between successive forming rolls.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1982-07-09 | 1983-01-08 | 1983-07-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1986-07-09 | 1987-01-08 | 1987-07-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1990-07-09 | 1991-01-08 | 1991-07-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |