Outdoor Heat Exchanger Fins With Deformable Impact-Absorbing Interfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing outdoor units for air-conditioning apparatuses face challenges in suppressing deformation of heat exchanger fins during transportation and impacts, which can lead to drainage degradation and increased manufacturing costs due to the need for fixing plates, especially when dealing with flat-shaped heat transfer tubes.
Innovation Solution
The outdoor unit design incorporates heat exchanger cores stacked in a vertical direction with deformable portions at the interfaces between adjacent fins, allowing for abutment and dispersion of impacts without the need for fixing plates, thereby reducing manufacturing costs and preventing significant deformation of the lowermost fins.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If fixing plates are provided to support heat transfer tubes, then deformation of fins is suppressed, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the support function into the fin structure itself by creating deformable portions that can elastically deform to absorb impacts. Instead of adding separate fixing plates, the fin structure is modified to inherently provide support and impact absorption, thereby maintaining structural stability while eliminating the need for additional components that increase manufacturing cost
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs deformable portions made from the same material as the fins, which can elastically deform and recover. These deformable portions act as sacrificial elements that absorb impact energy through elastic deformation, protecting the overall heat exchanger structure from damage while being simpler and cheaper to manufacture than rigid fixing plates
2Strength
If fixing plates are provided to support heat transfer tubes, then impact resistance is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support and impact absorption functions are merged into the fin structure itself through the deformable portions. This integration eliminates the need for separate fixing plates and their associated mounting structures, thereby improving impact resistance while reducing overall structural complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the local mechanical parameters of the fin structure by creating deformable portions with specific geometric features that enable elastic deformation. This parameter change allows the fins to dynamically respond to impacts, improving impact resistance without adding complex rigid support structures
3Reliability
If heat transfer tubes have flat shape, then heat exchange efficiency is improved, but fixing plate manufacturing becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the need for complex fixing plates by using deformable portions of the fins themselves to provide support. This approach is particularly beneficial for flat-shaped heat transfer tubes, as the deformable fin portions can adapt to the flat geometry without requiring specially shaped fixing plates, thereby maintaining heat exchange efficiency while simplifying manufacturing
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution effectively disperses impacts and reduces manufacturing costs by eliminating the need for fixing plates, while maintaining the structural integrity and drainage efficiency of the heat exchanger, thus preventing damage from freezing water and enhancing designability.
Implementation Method 1
each of the plurality of fins of the heat exchanger includes a deformable portion configured to be deformable by impacts applied to the deformable portion
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an outdoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus, including a heat exchanger having heat exchanger cores stacked in a plurality of stages in a vertical direction of the outdoor unit. Each of the heat exchanger cores includes: a plurality of fins arranged in parallel to each other at intervals therebetween; and heat transfer tubes provided to extend through the fins, through which refrigerant is caused to flow. Each of the fins of the heat exchanger includes a deformable portion configured to be deformable by impacts applied to the deformable portion, which is formed at a position where the fins of the upper one of the heat exchanger cores from among the vertically-adjacent heat exchanger cores comes into contact with the fins of the lower one of the heat exchanger cores from among the vertically-adjacent heat exchanger cores.