Appeal No. 2000-1332
Application No. 08/793,242
similar manner. After header pipes 130 and 140
are assembled, the remaining parts of the
condenser including tubes 21 . . . are fixed to
the header pipes by brazing [column 6, line 51,
through column 7, line 12].
Cribari is similar to Yamaguchi in that it discloses
a heat exchanger 2 in the form of a condenser having a
pair of opposed tubular manifolds or headers 4, a
plurality of end partitions 6 and intermediate partitions
8 dividing the manifolds into separate fluid chambers,
and a plurality of heat exchange tubes 10 extending
between the manifolds and communicating with respective
chambers. Each of the manifolds comprises a header part
16 and a tank part 18 which together define a tube, with
the header part including apertures for receiving the
heat exchange tubes 10. The partitions 6, 8 are disc-
shaped elements positioned in the tank part 18 before its
assembly with the header part 16 and held in place by
localized deformed regions or "dimples" 24 formed
symmetrically in the tank part 18 by a punch tool 32 (see
Figures 3 through 5 and column 4, lines 8 through 27).
Cribari teaches that the dimples 24 "provide a
particularly simple yet effective means of maintaining
6
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