Breathing Tube Heating Element With Parallel Wires
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing breathing tube systems face issues with heat distribution, as heating wires often overheat due to high temperatures, leading to potential melting and flammability risks, and cause turbulence and flow resistance in the gas flow, while also being difficult to insert without damaging the tube.
Innovation Solution
The breathing tube system incorporates multiple parallel heating wires guided by spreading elements along the hose length, preventing overheating and contact crossings, ensuring efficient heat transfer and easy insertion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a single heating wire runs back and forth once in the tube, then the wire surface temperature becomes too high, but the required heat output is not emitted in the hose
Solution Approach 1:
The single heating wire is divided into multiple parallel heating wires (at least two) that run simultaneously through the breathing tube. This segmentation distributes the total heat output requirement across multiple wires, reducing the temperature and power load on each individual wire while maintaining the required total heat emission to the breathing gas.
2Area of stationary object
If the heating wire is designed as a helix or double helix to increase wire surface area, then a multiple of the tube length can be introduced into the tube, but crossing points occur where strong temperature increases develop
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a helical configuration that causes wire crossings, the patent segments the heating function into multiple parallel straight wires. This eliminates the crossing points where temperature would concentrate, while still providing sufficient total heating surface area through the parallel arrangement of multiple wires.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single wire arranged in a helix (one-dimensional path folded in space) to multiple parallel wires arranged side-by-side (utilizing the cross-sectional dimension of the tube). This dimensional change eliminates wire crossings while maintaining adequate heating surface area contact with the tube wall and breathing gas.
3Power
If the heating wire runs perpendicular to the respiratory gas flow in a helix, then heat transfer is provided, but highly turbulent flows occur with high flow resistance
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of running the heating wire perpendicular to the gas flow direction (as in a helix), the patent inverts the arrangement by running the heating wires parallel to the gas flow direction. This inversion reduces flow disturbance and turbulence while still providing effective heat transfer from the wire surface to the breathing gas through conduction and convection.
4Stability of the object's composition
If the heating wire is held by a tensioning element to remain evenly distributed, then the wire stays in position, but the freedom of movement of the hose in the longitudinal axial direction is restricted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the heating function into multiple separate parallel wires instead of a single continuous helical wire. This segmentation allows each wire to be independently positioned and secured, providing stable distribution without requiring a tensioning element that would restrict hose movement. The parallel wires can be individually anchored or spaced along the tube length.
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 design allows for uniform heat emission to the breathing gas with lower heating wire temperatures, reducing the risk of overheating, maintaining low flow resistance, and facilitating easy manual insertion of the heating wires.
Implementation Method 1
heating elements into the hose, which generate thermal output by impressing an electric current on one or more resistance wires
Implementation Method 2
The heat generated is given off to the respiratory gas flowing through, in particular by convection
Data Source
Figure 1~2
AI summary
The invention relates to a breathing tube system comprising a heating element, wherein a heating wire (1) comprising wire leads extends repeatedly along the longitudinal direction of the tube and back and is held at one end in a tube in parallel by means of a plurality of expansion elements (2), interspaced in the longitudinal direction of the tube, said expansion elements (2) comprising guide elements for receiving the heating wire (1) on the inner tube wall (3).