Heat exchanger

Abstract

The present invention relates to a heat exchanger provided in consideration of cooling/heating performance. An object of the present invention provides a heat exchanger that adopts a variable path in consideration of cooling/heating performance to solve a problem in which cooling performance and heating performance vary depending on the number of paths. More specifically, another object of the present invention is to provide a heat exchanger that is designed to change the number of paths in consideration of cooling/heating performance so as to be optimized for performance in a cooling mode and performance in a heating mode.

1 . A heat exchanger comprising:
 a plurality of tubes disposed in parallel with one another and configured to define a core region in which a refrigerant flows;   a pair of header tanks provided at two opposite ends of the tubes; and   a plurality of baffles provided in the header tanks,   wherein a plurality of paths is sequentially disposed in the core region by the plurality of baffles, and a bypass valve, which selectively bypasses some of the plurality of paths, communicates with one side or two sides of the pair of header tanks.   
     
     
         2 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a receiver dryer,   wherein the bypass valve is opened or closed depending on a temperature.   
     
     
         3 . The heat exchanger of  claim 2 , wherein one receiver side bypass valve is provided as the bypass valve, the refrigerant does not pass through the receiver dryer when the receiver side bypass valve is closed, and the refrigerant passes through the receiver dryer when the receiver side bypass valve is opened. 
     
     
         4 . The heat exchanger of  claim 3 , wherein the receiver side bypass valve is provided above the receiver dryer. 
     
     
         5 . The heat exchanger of  claim 2 , wherein a receiver side bypass valve and a flow port side bypass valve are provided as the two bypass valves, the refrigerant does not pass through the receiver dryer when the receiver side bypass valve and the flow port side bypass valve are closed, and a part of the refrigerant passes through the receiver dryer and the remaining part of the refrigerant passes only through a part of the heat exchanger when the receiver side bypass valve and the flow port side bypass valve are opened. 
     
     
         6 . The heat exchanger of  claim 5 , wherein the receiver side bypass valve is provided above the receiver dryer, and the flow port side bypass valve is provided between an inlet port and an outlet port formed in the header tank. 
     
     
         7 . The heat exchanger of  claim 1 , comprising:
 first and second header tanks;   an inlet port provided in the first header tank so that the refrigerant is introduced through the inlet port;   an outlet port provided in the first header tank so that the refrigerant is discharged through the outlet port;   a first baffle provided in the first header tank at a position between the inlet port and the outlet port;   a second baffle provided in the second header tank at a position between the first baffle and the outlet port;   a third baffle provided in the first header tank at a position between the second baffle and the outlet port;   a fourth baffle provided in the second header tank at the same position as the third baffle,   wherein a region separated by the first baffle defines the first path,   wherein a region between the first baffle and the second baffle defines the second path,   wherein a region between the second baffle and the third and fourth baffles defines the third path,   wherein a region separated by the third and fourth baffles defines the fourth path,   wherein the inlet port is formed at a position that communicates with the first path, and   wherein the outlet port is formed at a position that communicates with the fourth path.   
     
     
         8 . The heat exchanger of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a receiver dryer connected to any one header tank and configured to receive the refrigerant having passed through the first, second, and third paths, separate the refrigerant into a gaseous refrigerant and a liquid refrigerant, and discharge the liquid refrigerant to the fourth path,   wherein the bypass valve is configured to be opened or closed depending on a refrigerant temperature,   wherein the bypass valve is closed as a temperature of the refrigerant becomes a relatively high temperature in a cooling mode, and   wherein the bypass valve is opened as a temperature of the refrigerant becomes a relatively low temperature in a heating mode.   
     
     
         9 . The heat exchanger of  claim 8 , wherein one receiver side bypass valve is provided as the bypass valve, or a receiver side bypass valve and a flow port side bypass valve are provided as the two bypass valves,
 wherein when the receiver side bypass valve is provided, the heat exchanger comprises:   a receiver side bypass port provided in the second header tank; and   a receiver side bypass path connected to the receiver side bypass valve and configured to allow the refrigerant to bypass the path when the receiver side bypass path is opened, and   wherein when the flow port side bypass valve is further provided, the heat exchanger comprises:   a flow port side bypass port provided in the first header tank; and   a flow port side bypass path connected to the flow port side bypass valve and configured to allow the refrigerant to bypass the path when the flow port side bypass path is opened.   
     
     
         10 . The heat exchanger of  claim 9 , wherein one receiver side bypass valve is provided as the bypass valve, the receiver side bypass valve is provided above the receiver dryer, and the refrigerant passing through the first path is supplied to flow to the receiver dryer and pass through the fourth path when the receiver side bypass valve is opened. 
     
     
         11 . The heat exchanger of  claim 10 , wherein the receiver side bypass port is formed at a position that communicates with the first path on the second header tank, and the receiver side bypass path connects the receiver side bypass valve and the receiver dryer. 
     
     
         12 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11 , wherein the heat exchanger operates as a condenser in the cooling mode, and the receiver side bypass valve is closed, such that the refrigerant passes through all the first, second, third, and fourth paths, and
 wherein the heat exchanger operates as an evaporator in the heating mode, the receiver side bypass valve is opened, and the refrigerant bypasses the second and third paths and passes through the receiver dryer, such that the refrigerant passes only through the first and fourth paths.   
     
     
         13 . The heat exchanger of  claim 8 , wherein a receiver side bypass valve and a flow port side bypass valve are provided as the two bypass valves,
 wherein the receiver side bypass valve is provided above the receiver dryer,   wherein the flow port side bypass valve is provided between the inlet port and the outlet port,   wherein a part of the refrigerant having passed through the first path flows to the receiver dryer and passes through the fourth path when the receiver side bypass valve is opened, and   wherein the remaining part of the refrigerant having passed through the first path is supplied to pass through the second path and be discharged through the flow port side bypass valve when the flow port side bypass valve is opened.   
     
     
         14 . The heat exchanger of  claim 13 , wherein the flow port side bypass port is formed at a position that communicates with the second path on the first header tank,
 wherein the flow port side bypass path connects the flow port side bypass valve and the outlet port,   wherein the receiver side bypass port is positioned at a position that communicates with the first path on the second header tank, and   wherein the receiver side bypass path connects the receiver side bypass valve and the receiver dryer.   
     
     
         15 . The heat exchanger of  claim 11 , wherein in the cooling mode, the heat exchanger operates as a condenser, and the receiver side bypass valve and the flow port side bypass valve are closed, such that the refrigerant passes through all the first, second, third, and fourth paths, and
 wherein in the heating mode, the heat exchanger operates as an evaporator, the receiver side bypass valve is opened, and a part of the refrigerant bypasses the second and third paths and passes through the receiver dryer, such that a part of the refrigerant passes only through the first and fourth paths, and the flow port side bypass valve is opened, such that the remaining part of the refrigerant is discharged immediately after passing through the first and second paths.