Corrugated fin for evaporator with improved condensate removal

(19)

(11)

EP 0 962 736 A3

(12)	EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88)	Date of publication A3:
	16.08.2000 Bulletin 2000/33

(43)	Date of publication A2:
	08.12.1999 Bulletin 1999/49

(21)	Application number: 99201397.9

(22)	Date of filing: 04.05.1999

(51)	International Patent Classification (IPC)⁷: F28F 1/12, F28F 13/04, F28D 1/03

(84)	Designated Contracting States:
	AT BE CH CY DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE
	Designated Extension States:
	AL LT LV MK RO SI

(30)

Priority:

01.06.1998 US 88544

(71)	Applicant: Delphi Technologies, Inc.
	Troy, MI 48007 (US)

(72)	Inventors:
	Falta, Steven R. Batavia, New York 14020 (US) Bhatti, Mohinder Singh Amherst, New York 14221 (US) Joshi, Shrikant Mukund Williamsville, New York 14221 (US)

(74)	Representative: Denton, Michael John
	Delphi Automotive Systems Centre Technique Paris 117 avenue des Nations B.P. 60059 95972 Roissy Charles de Gaulle Cedex 95972 Roissy Charles de Gaulle Cedex (FR)

(54)	Corrugated fin for evaporator with improved condensate removal

(57) An improved corrugated heat conduction fin (20) for an evaporator (10) includes an integral feature for reducing the critical width of condensed water films retained in the internal channels formed between diverging pairs of fin walls (22). Aligned pairs of notches (26) are cut through the diverging fin walls (22), localized within the channels and between adjacent pairs of louver banks (24). What would otherwise be a long, continuos water film (F) formed in the fin channel is thereby broken up into a series of discontinuous individual films (F1, F2 and F3), each located over a respective louver bank (24). The individual, shorter films drain more efficiently through the louver banks (24), thereby growing to a significantly smaller critical width within the channels and blocking less air flow over and through the fin walls (22).

Search report