Improved heat conducting element for use with a heated conveyor pump

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Solution Overview

Problem

The existing heat conducting plate assembly in heated conveyor pumps for household appliances suffers from thermal coupling issues between heat capturing and releasing plate portions, leading to temperature measurement errors due to conductive, convective, and radiative heat transfer, which affects the accuracy of temperature sensing for both the heating unit and the medium.

Innovation Solution

A heat conducting element with a measurement portion positioned between the first and second heat capturing portions, arranged on opposite sides, reduces heat transfer by radiation and convection, and increases the distance between the capturing portions, ensuring that the temperature gradient is minimized and heat transfer does not bypass the measurement portion.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If the heat conducting plate assembly uses a compact design with heat capturing plate portions positioned close to each other, then the device complexity is reduced and manufacturing is simplified, but thermal coupling between the plate portions causes temperature measurement errors due to conductive, convective, and radiative heat transfer

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetemperature measurement accuracyVSAvoidheat conducting element structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The heat conducting element is segmented into distinct functional portions: a first heat capturing portion coupled to the heating unit, a second heat capturing portion coupled to the medium leading section, and a measurement portion positioned between them. This segmentation allows each portion to perform its specific function while minimizing thermal interference between adjacent portions, thereby improving temperature measurement accuracy without significantly increasing overall device complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The measurement portion acts as an intermediary element positioned between the first and second heat capturing portions. This intermediary structure serves as a thermal barrier that reduces conductive heat transfer between the heat capturing portions while providing a dedicated location for temperature sensing, thus improving measurement precision by isolating the thermal zones

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If the distance between the first and second heat capturing plate portions is increased to reduce thermal coupling, then temperature measurement accuracy improves, but the overall size of the heating system component increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetemperature sensing accuracyVSAvoidheating system component volume
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The heat conducting element utilizes three-dimensional spatial arrangement to optimize thermal isolation. By positioning the measurement portion between the first and second heat capturing portions in a vertical or layered configuration, the design achieves thermal zone separation without requiring a proportional increase in overall component volume, effectively using dimensional optimization to reduce thermal coupling while maintaining compact form factor

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

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 mitigates temperature measurement errors by reducing conductive and convective heat transfer, ensuring that the temperatures measured are more representative of the heating unit and medium, thereby improving the accuracy of temperature sensing.

Implementation Method 1

reduces heat transfer by radiation and convection

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectRadiation: Thermal Radiation

Implementation Method 2

reduces heat transfer by radiation and convection

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectConvection: Convection

Implementation Method 3

heat conducting element... thermally coupled to a heating unit... thermally coupled to a temperature sensing unit

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectHeat conduction: Conduction (thermal)

Data Source

PatentEP4451800A1Improved heat conducting element for use with a heated conveyor pump
Publication Date: 2024.10.23 BLECKMANN
  • EP4451800A1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4451800A1 patent drawingFigure 3~4
  • EP4451800A1 patent drawingFigure 5A~5B

AI summary

The present invention relates to a heat conducting element which comprises a first heat capturing portion configured to be thermally coupled to a heating unit of the heated conveyor pump; a second heat capturing portion configured to be thermally coupled to a medium leading section of a carrier unit of the heated conveyor pump; and at least one measurement portion positioned between the first heat capturing portion and the second heat capturing portion and configured to be thermally coupled to a temperature sensing unit. The first heat capturing portion extends from the measurement portion in a first direction and the second heat capturing portion extends from the measurement portion in a second direction such that the first and second heat capturing portions are arranged on opposite sides of the measurement portion. The present invention also relates to a method for manufacturing a heat conducting element.