Electric Heater with Side-Fill Insulating Material Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
The manufacturing of electric heaters with tubular metal jackets and coiled resistive heating elements faces challenges in achieving high process reliability due to difficulties in filling electrically insulating material and making conductive connections, especially when compact designs are required, leading to issues with excessive heating and unreliable connections.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a flat ribbon-shaped resistive wire with a tubular metal jacket, featuring unheated end sections with shaped coils and conductive pipes for parallel current flow, allowing for direct filling of insulating material and increased conductor cross-sections, which enhances process reliability and reduces heating power in the connection area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If connecting pins are inserted at the end sections of the electric heating element to maximize cross-sectional surface area, then electrical conductivity is improved, but the available filling gap becomes reduced and process reliability during filling deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from inserting connecting pins at the end sections (one-dimensional approach) to providing fill openings in the side walls of the tubular metal jacket (moving to a different spatial dimension). This allows insulating material to be introduced through the side walls rather than competing for space at the end sections, thereby maintaining both electrical conductivity and adequate filling gap.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the filling process into two separate access points: end sections for electrical connections and side walls for insulating material filling. This segmentation allows both functions to be optimized independently without interfering with each other, resolving the contradiction between maintaining filling gap and ensuring electrical conductivity.
2Volume of moving object
If the distance between the tubular metal jacket and the coils of the electric heating element is reduced to make the heater compact, then device size is reduced, but process reliability during filling and manufacturing of conductive connections deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the filling access from the end sections to the side walls of the tubular metal jacket. This allows the coils to be positioned closer to the jacket for compactness while maintaining adequate space for reliable filling operations through the side wall openings, resolving the contradiction between compact size and manufacturing reliability.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If connecting pins with large cross-sectional area are used to reduce heating power, then excessive heating is reduced, but the available filling gap is further reduced and process reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By moving the filling access to the side walls of the tubular metal jacket rather than relying on end section space, the patent enables the use of larger cross-sectional connecting pins for reduced heating power without compromising the filling gap. The two functions operate in different spatial dimensions, resolving the contradiction between reducing excessive heating and maintaining filling accessibility.
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 improves manufacturing reliability, allows for more compact and efficient electric heaters with reduced winding distances, increased heat conduction, and improved handling, while maintaining high process reliability and cost-effectiveness.
Implementation Method 1
Electric heaters for heating objects or media are widely used. In particular, electric heaters operated at low voltages, for example, in the automotive field at the on-board voltage of a passenger car, use high currents when the electric heater is in operation.
Implementation Method 2
an electric heating element which is arranged in the interior of the tubular metal jacket embedded in an electrically insulating material
Data Source
AI summary
An electric heater with a tubular metal jacket and an electric heating element, which is embedded in the interior of the tubular metal jacket in an electrically insulating material and is coiled at least in some sections. The electric heating element has at least one unheated end section, wherein the unheated end section has, on its side, one or more shaped coils of the electric heating element and at least one tubular section of a pipe made from electrically conductive material. The unheated end section has a fill opening for the electrically insulating materials and a method of making such an electric heater.