Heat Exchanger and Fin Suitable for Use in a Heat Exchanger

Abstract

A heat exchanger for a heating appliance, comprising a channel for conveying a heated gas in a longitudinal direction of said channel and a multitude of fins for conveying a liquid, said fins being provided with an inlet and an outlet, which open in a common plane, wherein the fins are provided on a wall of the channel, extending into said channel, wherein the inlets and outlets of the fins open in the plane of the wall and wherein the heat exchanger further comprises connecting elements for connecting at least one outlet to at least one inlet of separate fins.

1 . A heat exchanger for a heating appliance, comprising a channel for conveying a heated gas in a longitudinal direction of said channel and a multitude of fins for conveying a liquid, said fins being provided with an inlet and an outlet, which open in a common plane, wherein the fins are provided on a wall of the channel, extending into said channel, wherein the inlets and outlets of the fins open in the plane of the wall, and wherein the heat exchanger further comprises connecting elements for connecting at least one outlet to at least one inlet of separate fins. 
     
     
         2 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the connecting elements are provided on the wall of the channel and extend over at least one outlet and at least one inlet of separate fins. 
     
     
         3 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the connecting elements are designed for interconnecting inlets and outlets of at least two separate fins. 
     
     
         4 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein a connecting element is made of a plate-shaped element provided with upright edges, said connecting element being designed to form a watertight enclosure around at least one inlet and at least one or outlet extending in the plane of the wall. 
     
     
         5 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein a fin is plate-shaped, with the plane of the fin extending in the longitudinal direction of the channel. 
     
     
         6 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein a fin comprises an at least substantially U-shaped flow path. 
     
     
         7 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein a fin comprises a double-walled element, with a flow path being formed by interconnecting the walls along the circumferential edge, except along a connecting edge for forming the inlet and the outlet, with the walls furthermore being interconnected from the connecting edge between the inlet and the outlet in a direction transverse to the connecting edge along a predetermined length so as to form the flow path. 
     
     
         8 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 7 , wherein the fin is made of metal plate material having a thickness of between 0.4 and 1.5 mm, preferably between 0.5 and 1.0 mm, more preferably a thickness of about 0.6 mm. 
     
     
         9 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein a multitude of fins extend in a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the channel, parallel to the plane of the wall. 
     
     
         10 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein a multitude of fins extend in the longitudinal direction of the channel. 
     
     
         11 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 9 , wherein the connecting elements are designed for first connecting the fins that extend in the transverse direction in series with each other and subsequently connecting the rows of fins thus formed in series in longitudinal direction. 
     
     
         12 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 11 , wherein the connecting elements are designed for guiding the liquid first through the row downstream of the heated gas and subsequently through the row of fins upstream of the heated gas. 
     
     
         13 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 1 , wherein the channel comprises guide means for guiding the heated air in longitudinally undulating fashion through the channel. 
     
     
         14 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 13 , wherein the guide means comprise at least one baffle, which extends in the transverse direction of the channel on a wall of said channel. 
     
     
         15 . The heat exchanger according to  claim 14 , wherein at least one baffle is comb-shaped and extends between the fins extending in the transverse direction. 
     
     
         16 . (canceled)