Internal heat exchanger with plates

Abstract

The invention relates to a heat exchanger with plates of a refrigerant-fluid circuit, the heat exchanger including at least one plurality of plates stacked on top of one another in a vertical stacking direction, the adjacent plates between each other delimiting a plurality of first circulation ducts for the refrigerant fluid in a low-pressure part of the circuit and a plurality of second circulation ducts for the refrigerant fluid in a high-pressure part of the circuit, at least two of the first circulation ducts being adjacent in the vertical direction.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A heat exchanged with plates of a refrigerant-fluid circuit, the heat exchanged comprising at least one plurality of plates stacked on top of one another in a vertical stacking direction, with adjacent plates between each other delimiting a plurality of first circulation ducts for the refrigerant fluid in a low-pressure part of the circuit and a plurality of second circulation ducts for the refrigerant fluid in a high-pressure part of the circuit, at least some of the plurality of plates of the heat exchanged including a plurality of openings, of which some form a first inlet manifold and others form a first outlet manifold for the low-pressure refrigerant fluid in communication with the first circulation ducts, and of which some form a second inlet manifold and others form a second outlet manifold for the high-pressure refrigerant fluid in communication with the second circulation ducts, the heat exchanged being wherein at least two of the first circulation ducts are adjacent in the vertical stacking direction. 
     
     
         2 . The heat exchanged as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the number of first circulation ducts, respectively delimited by two adjacent plates of the plurality of plates and in communication with the low-pressure part of the circuit, is greater than the number of second circulation ducts, respectively delimited by two adjacent plates of the plurality of plates and in communication with the high-pressure part of the circuit. 
     
     
         3 . The heat exchanged as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the circulation ducts delimited by the adjacent plates of the plurality of plates are arranged so that a second circulation duct extends on the two sides, in the vertical direction, of the assembly formed by the at least two first adjacent circulation ducts. 
     
     
         4 . The heat exchanged as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the first circulation ducts are arranged in assemblies of two first circulation ducts that are adjacent in the vertical direction and partially delimited respectively by one and the same plate. 
     
     
         5 . The heat exchanged as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein each of the assemblies is separated from another assembly by a single second circulation duct in the vertical direction. 
     
     
         6 . The heat exchanged as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein each of the plates has peripheral portions surrounding each of the openings, a peripheral portion of a plate ) potentially being made integral with the peripheral portion of an adjacent plate to isolate the circulation duct delimited between these adjacent plates from the manifold formed by the corresponding openings. 
     
     
         7 . The heat exchanged as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein, at the low-pressure refrigerant-fluid manifolds, the plates are distributed into primary plates, with a flat peripheral portion that extends in a plane substantially perpendicular to the vertical stacking direction, and secondary plates in which the peripheral portion is deformed to come into contact with the peripheral portion of a primary plate, the internal heat exchanger with plates being configured so that the plurality of plates includes two successive primary plates at regular intervals. 
     
     
         8 . The heat exchanged as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the thicknesses of the edges of the peripheral portions ) participating in delimiting a manifold formed by a plurality of openings differ from one edge to the other in the vertical stacking direction. 
     
     
         9 . The heat exchanged as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein each of the plates includes at least one exchange surface against which the refrigerant fluid circulates and a raised edge, the plurality of plates being stacked so that all of the raised edges of each of the plates are in contact with each other and that the at least one exchange surface is at a non-zero distance so as to form the circulation ducts. 
     
     
         10 . A refrigerant-fluid circuit comprising at least one heat exchanger with plates of a refrigerant-fluid circuit, the heat exchanger including at least one plurality of plates stacked on top of one another in a vertical stacking direction, with adjacent plates between each other delimiting a plurality of first circulation ducts for the refrigerant fluid in a low-pressure part of the circuit and a plurality of second circulation ducts for the refrigerant fluid in a high-pressure part of the circuit, at least some of the plurality of plates of the heat exchanger including a plurality of openings, of which some form a first inlet manifold and others form a first outlet manifold for the low-pressure refrigerant fluid in communication with the first circulation ducts, and of which some form a second inlet manifold and others form a second outlet manifold for the high-pressure refrigerant fluid in communication with the second circulation ducts, the heat exchanger being wherein at least two of the first circulation ducts are adjacent in the vertical stacking direction, the refrigerant-fluid circuit further comprising a high-pressure part and a low-pressure part, the heat exchanged being arranged fluidically inside the circuit to enable a heat exchange between the refrigerant fluid circulating primarily in gas form in the low-pressure part with the refrigerant fluid circulating primarily in liquid form in the high-pressure part.