# US 2014/0196874 A1 · Outdoor unit, air-conditioning apparatus, and method for manufacturing outdoor units > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0196874 A1 - Document ID: US20140196874A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/343,171 - Filed: 2011-12-26 - Published: 2014-07-17 - Earliest claimed: 2011-12-26 - Assignees: Mitsubishi Electric Corporation - Inventors: Nobuaki Miyake; Akio Murata; Hiroki Okazawa; Keisuke Hokazono; Wataru Suzuki - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140196874A1 ## CPC - F28F 3/08: Elements constructed for building-up into stacks, e.g. capable of being taken apart for cleaning - B21D 53/02: heat exchangers {or parts thereof}, e.g. radiators, condensers {fins, headers}(making finned or ribbed tubes by fixing strip material or the like to tubes B21C37/22) - F24F 1/16: Arrangement or mounting thereof - F24F 1/46: Component arrangements in separate outdoor units - F24F 1/50: with outlet air in upward direction - F28D 1/0426: {with units having particular arrangement relative to the large body of fluid, e.g. with interleaved units or with adjacent heat exchange units in common air flow or with units extending at an angle to each other or with units arranged around a central element} - F28F 1/24: and extending transversely (F28F1/38 takes precedence) - F28D 2001/0273: {having special shape, e.g. curved, annular} - F28F 2215/04: Assemblies of fins having different features, e.g. with different fin densities - Y10T 29/49384: Internally finned - F28F: DETAILS OF HEAT-EXCHANGE AND HEAT-TRANSFER APPARATUS, OF GENERAL APPLICATION (water and air traps, air venting F16) - B21D: WORKING OR PROCESSING OF SHEET METAL OR METAL TUBES, RODS OR PROFILES WITHOUT ESSENTIALLY REMOVING MATERIAL; PUNCHING METAL (working or processing of wire B21F) - F24F: AIR-CONDITIONING; AIR-HUMIDIFICATION; VENTILATION; USE OF AIR CURRENTS FOR SCREENING (removing dirt or fumes from areas where they are produced B08B15/00; vertical ducts for carrying away waste gases from buildings E04F17/02; tops for chimneys or ventilating shafts, terminals for flues F23L17/02) - F28D: HEAT-EXCHANGE APPARATUS, NOT PROVIDED FOR IN ANOTHER SUBCLASS, IN WHICH THE HEAT-EXCHANGE MEDIA DO NOT COME INTO DIRECT CONTACT (fluid heaters having heat generating means and heat transferring means F24H; furnaces F27; details of heat-exchange apparatus of general) - Y10T: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION ## Abstract Heat exchanger assemblies included in an outdoor unit each include fins each having notches provided without fin collars or notches provided with fin collars that are shorter than stacking intervals between the fins. At least some of the stacking intervals between the fins in a facing surface are larger than the stacking intervals between the fins in surfaces excluding the facing surface. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An outdoor unit comprising: a housing; at least two plate fin-tube heat exchanger assemblies arranged side by side in the housing and each being bent in an inward direction of the housing such that the heat exchanger assembly has a facing surface that faces a surface of another heat exchanger assembly in the housing; and a fan provided above the housing and causes air taken in from surfaces of the housing to be exhausted from an upper portion of the housing, wherein each of the heat exchanger assemblies includes fins each having notches provided without fin collars or notches provided with fin collars that are shorter than stacking intervals between the fins, and wherein at least some of the stacking intervals between the fins in a portion forming the facing surface are larger than the stacking intervals between the fins in portions forming surfaces excluding the facing surface. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The outdoor unit of claim 1, wherein, in a case where the heat exchanger assemblies are each bent substantially perpendicularly at least once, the stacking intervals between the fins in a portion of the facing surface that is nearer to an end are larger than the stacking intervals between the fins in another portion of the facing surface that is nearer to a bent portion. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The outdoor unit of claim 2, wherein each of the heat exchanger assemblies is bent along surfaces of the housing excluding one surface. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The outdoor unit of claim 1, wherein each of the heat exchanger assemblies includes flat tubes each having a flat cross-sectional shape are fitted in the notches provided in the fins, the flat cross-sectional shape being a shape in which long side thereof is linear while short side thereof is curved in a semicircular manner. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The outdoor unit of claim 4, wherein the fins each include a plurality of bridge-type cut-raised portions provided between the notches. ### Claim 6 (depends on 4) The outdoor unit of claim 4, wherein the fins are fixed to the flat tubes, which are fitted in the notches, by brazing or bonding. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) An air-conditioning apparatus comprising: the outdoor unit of claim 1; and an indoor unit connected to the outdoor unit. ### Claim 8 A method for manufacturing an outdoor unit including at least two fin-tube heat exchanger assemblies each being bent and having a facing surface that faces a surface of another heat exchanger assembly, the method comprising the steps of: in each of the at least two fin-tube heat exchanger assemblies, fitting fins onto a plurality of flat tubes from an open side of notches, the plurality of flat tubes being arranged side by side and capable of moving and positioning altogether in a long-axis direction, the fitting fins each having notches provided without fin collars or notches provided with fin collars that are shorter than stacking intervals between the fins; adjusting at least some of the stacking intervals between the fins in a portion forming the facing surface so as to have larger stacking intervals than the stacking intervals between the fins in portions forming surfaces excluding the facing surface; and assembling the at least two fin-tube heat exchanger assemblies by bending thereof.