Kenneth Michael Ritt

US Patent:

20030106677, Jun 12, 2003

Filed:

Dec 12, 2001

Appl. No.:

10/020782

Inventors:

Stephen Memory - Kenosha WI, US
C. Rogers - Racine WI, US
Gregory Hughes - Milwaukee WI, US
Frank Grippe - Kansasville WI, US
Rif Cheema - Kenosha WI, US
William Markusen - Racine WI, US
Kenneth Ritt - Racine WI, US

International Classification:

F28F013/00
F28D001/02

US Classification:

165/135000, 165/152000, 165/153000

Abstract:

The efficiency of a heat exchanger used in applications where heat conduction between rows of conduits located from front to back of the heat exchanger and provided with common fins () is increased where the fins () are abutted to adjacent tube runs () in each row and extend from the front () to the back () of the heat exchanger so each fin () is common to each of the rows (). Heat flow interrupters () are located in each fin () at locations aligned with spaces () between the runs (). Each heat flow interrupter () is defined by a slit () extending completely through the fin which is characterized by the absence of the removal of any material of which the fin () is made at the slit ().

US Patent:

20030102113, Jun 5, 2003

Filed:

Nov 30, 2001

Appl. No.:

10/013018

Inventors:

Stephen Memory - Kenosha WI, US
C. Rogers - Racine WI, US
Gregory Hughes - Milwaukee WI, US
Frank Grippe - Kansasville WI, US
William Markusen - Racine WI, US
Kenneth Ritt - Racine WI, US
Frank Vetter - Neuhausen, DE

International Classification:

F28D001/02
F28D007/06

US Classification:

165/152000, 165/176000

Abstract:

A heat exchanger () preferably provides supercritical cooling to the refrigerant of a transcritical cooling system (). The heat exchanger () includes a pair of elongated headers () having longitudinal axes () disposed substantially parallel to each other, a plurality of elongated tubes () spaced in side-by-side relation along the longitudinal axes () of the headers (), and serpentine fins () extending between adjacent pairs of the tubes. Each of the tubes () has a first end () connected to the header () and a second end () connected to the other header () to the headers (). Each of the tubes () is folded upon itself to define at least two parallel legs () of the tubes () so that the refrigerant flows serially through at least two parallel fluid passes () from the header () to the header () Each of the tubes () has a flattened cross-section, and the parallel legs () of each of the tubes () are preferably spaced from each other, with the major dimension D of each of the parallel legs lying in a common plane. Preferably, each of the serpentine fins () has a transverse width W extending across the parallel legs () of the adjacent tubes (). Each of the fins () includes a plurality of alternating tabs () and elongated separations () extending parallel to the parallel legs () and located between the parallel legs () of the adjacent tubes () to divide the width W of each fin () into two or more discrete fin elements () that are connected to each other by the tabs (). Each of the fin elements () corresponds to and extends along one of the parallel legs () of each of the adjacent tubes ().