Heat exchanger for a motor vehicle

1. A heat exchanger suitable for use in a motor vehicle, consisting essentially of:

at least one generally cylindrical manifold; and

at least one additional part fastened to the at least one manifold, the at least one additional part having a fork-shaped profile piece, which has a size and configuration with respect to the circumference of the manifold, such that the profile piece lies against the circumference of the manifold and can be fixed thereto by a form locking and frictional connection, wherein the profile piece comprises two legs, which have a size and configuration sufficient to lie with elastic pretensioning against the circumference of the manifold, wherein the profile piece encloses the manifold up to a circumferential angle α of at least 180°, wherein the profile piece forms a U-profile, comprising legs which include essentially straight intermediate portions that are arranged substantially parallel to each other, wherein the parallel running legs comprise distal converging arcuate pieces that form lips which grip behind the manifold with a form locking, and wherein the inner surfaces of the legs that engage the manifold are essentially smooth.

2. A heat exchanger as claimed in 1 , wherein the manifold comprises a welded tube.

3. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the manifold is formed of two pieces comprising a cover part and a base part.

4. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the heat exchanger comprises a condenser of an air-conditioning system for a motor vehicle and has two manifolds.

5. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the at least one additional part comprises at least one connector for connecting a refrigerant line.

6. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the condenser further comprises at least one refrigerant connection pipe connecting between the refrigerant connector and the manifold.

7. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 6 , wherein the condenser is brazed to the at least one additional part and to the at least one connection pipe.

8. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the brazing is conducted in a single brazing step.

9. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the at least one additional part comprises a holder for mounting of the condenser in the vehicle.

10. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the at least one additional part comprises an extruded part.

11. A motor vehicle comprising at least one heat exchanger, wherein the heat exchanger is a heat exchanger as claimed in claim 1 .

12. A heat exchanger, suitable for use in a motor vehicle, comprising:

at least one generally cylindrical manifold; and

at least one additional part fastened to the at least one manifold, the at least one additional part having a fork-shaped profile piece, which has a size and configuration with respect to the circumference of the manifold, such that the profile piece lies against the circumference of the manifold and can be fixed thereto by a form locking and frictional connection, wherein the profile piece comprises two legs, which have a size and configuration sufficient to lie with elastic pretensioning against the circumference of the manifold, wherein the profile piece encloses the manifold up to a circumferential angle α of at least 180°, wherein the profile piece forms a U-profile, comprising legs which are arranged substantially parallel to each other, wherein the parallel running legs comprise distal converging arcuate pieces that form lips which grip behind the manifold with a form locking, and wherein the inner surfaces of the legs that engage the manifold are essentially smooth, wherein the angle α is from about 200 to 210°.

13. A heat exchanger suitable for use in a motor vehicle, comprising:

at least one generally cylindrical manifold; and

at least one additional part fastened to the at least one manifold, the at least one additional part having a fork-shaped profile piece, which has a size and configuration with respect to the circumference of the manifold, such that the profile piece lies against the circumference of the manifold and can be fixed thereto by a form locking and frictional connection, wherein the profile piece comprises two legs, which have a size and configuration sufficient to lie with elastic pretensioning against the circumference of the manifold, wherein the profile piece encloses the manifold up to a circumferential angle α of at least 180°, wherein the profile piece forms a U-profile, comprising legs which are arranged substantially parallel to each other and wherein the parallel running legs comprise distal converging arcuate pieces that form lips which grip behind the manifold with a form locking, wherein the manifold is formed of two pieces comprising a cover part and a base part, wherein the base part comprises two edges, running in the longitudinal direction, and the profile piece comprises inwardly directed offsets, which form stops with respect to the edges.

14. A method for mounting a heat exchanger in a motor vehicle, comprising:

applying to at least one substantially cylindrical manifold of a heat exchanger at least one mounting part that consists essentially of a fork-shaped profile piece, which has a size and configuration with respect to the circumference of the manifold, such that the profile piece lies against the circumference of the manifold and can be fixed thereto by a form locking and frictional connection, wherein the profile piece includes two legs, which have a size and configuration sufficient to lie with elastic pretensioning against the circumference of the manifold, wherein the profile piece encloses the manifold up to a circumferential angle α of at least 180°, wherein the profile piece forms a U-profile, comprising legs which include essentially straight intermediate portions that are arranged substantially parallel to each other, wherein the parallel running legs comprise distal converging arcuate pieces that form lips which grip behind the manifold with a form locking, and wherein the inner surfaces of the legs that engage the manifold are essentially smooth, to form a preliminary assembly; and subsequently subjecting the preliminary assembly to a brazing operation to braze together the at least one mounting part and the at least one manifold.