Heating device for fluid
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heating devices for vehicles and vessels are not compact, easy to produce, or assemble efficiently, and lack efficiency in heating fluids.
Innovation Solution
A compact heating device with a housing featuring separate fluid channels separated by heat-conducting walls and a recessed bottom portion, incorporating a PTC heating element and support profiles for enhanced heat transfer, and allowing for easy assembly and replacement without disassembling the fluid hoses.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If traditional heating devices are used with separate housing components, then assembly is straightforward, but the device is not compact and production efficiency is low
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed as a single integrated component formed from a sheet metal blank through deep drawing and forming operations. The housing includes integrated fluid channels, chamber formations, and mounting features that would traditionally require multiple separate parts, thereby reducing part count and assembly steps while improving compactness
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is formed from a blank with defined zones for different functional areas (fluid channels, heating chamber, mounting regions). These zones are segmented during the forming process to create distinct functional regions within the single integrated housing structure, enabling compact design while maintaining manufacturing efficiency
2Ease of operation
If complex housing structures with multiple components are used, then assembly flexibility is improved, but assembly time increases and production efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple housing components (housing walls, fluid channel enclosures, chamber boundaries) are merged into a single deep-drawn housing piece. This integration eliminates the need to assemble multiple housing parts, reducing assembly time and steps while maintaining all necessary functional features
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is pre-formed with integrated fluid channels, chamber geometries, and mounting features during the deep drawing process. This preliminary formation of complex geometries in the blank stage eliminates the need for subsequent assembly operations to create these features, improving both assembly ease and production efficiency
3Reliability
If heating elements are fixed in complex housing structures, then heating efficiency is improved, but replacement becomes difficult and requires disassembling fluid hoses
Solution Approach 1:
The heating element is extracted as a separate, independently replaceable component from the housing structure. The housing includes dedicated mounting features that allow the heating element to be removed and replaced without disassembling the housing or fluid hose connections, facilitating easy maintenance while maintaining heating efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The housing acts as an intermediary structure with integrated mounting features that facilitate heating element replacement. The housing's designed mounting points and clearances allow the heating element to be accessed and replaced independently, decoupling the replacement process from fluid hose disassembly while maintaining reliable thermal contact
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
The device provides efficient fluid heating with improved assembly and production efficiency, allowing for easy replacement of heating elements without disrupting the fluid circuit, and enhanced heat transfer through the use of heat-conductive materials like aluminum.
Implementation Method 1
The heating device comprises at least one heating element received in the chamber... the heating plate contains a number of PTC elements ('Positive Temperature Coefficient')
Implementation Method 2
said walls comprising a heat conducting material... enhanced heat transfer through the use of heat-conductive materials like aluminum
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 5~9
Figure 10~14
AI summary
A heating device for heating of a fluid, particularly in a vehicle or vessel, comprising at least one heating element (7; 7') in a housing (1) with a house wall (11) and a fluid inlet (4a) and a fluid outlet (4b). The wall or a part of this or a part of the house wall is a heat conductor for conducting heat between the heating element and at least one of the fluid channels. At least one chamber (13; 13a,b) is defined by the at least one wall and a portion of the housing wall, or by walls (12a,b) in pairs between the fluid channels. The heating element is mountable in the chamber, which has an opening (16) towards the outside of the housing. The opening is not fluidly connected to the fluid channels. The heating element can be a PTC element.