Heater Glass Layer Segmentation for Film Abrasion and Heat Conductance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image heating apparatuses using a film heating system face challenges in maintaining high mass productivity while preventing film abrasion due to rubbing between the heater substrate and film inner surface, and ensuring quick start capabilities, as reducing glass thickness compromises heat conductance and increasing it delays start times.
Innovation Solution
A heater with a substrate having a glass layer on one surface and a base layer extending closer to the end than the heating element, where the glass layer has a peak portion within 1.0 mm from the end, providing protection and maintaining heat conductance without complicating the manufacturing process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If the glass layer thickness is reduced to improve heat conductance and enable quick start, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but the substrate becomes more vulnerable to abrasion and damage from film contact
Solution Approach 1:
The glass layer is segmented into two distinct regions: a first glass layer region with greater thickness for protection, and a second glass layer region with smaller thickness for heat conductance. This segmentation allows each region to fulfill its specific function optimally.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the glass layer have different thicknesses tailored to their specific functional requirements. The first glass layer region has local quality optimized for abrasion resistance, while the second glass layer region has local quality optimized for heat transfer.
2Reliability
If the glass layer thickness is increased to protect the substrate from abrasion, then substrate durability is improved, but heat conductance deteriorates and quick start capability is delayed
Solution Approach 1:
The glass layer is divided into protective and non-protective regions, allowing the protective function to be localized where it is most needed (at the edges) while maintaining efficient heat transfer in the central heating area.
Solution Approach 2:
The glass layer exhibits spatially varying thickness with local quality optimized for protection at the first glass layer region and local quality optimized for heat conduction at the second glass layer region.
3Productivity
If coating methods are simplified to maintain high mass productivity, then manufacturing efficiency is improved, but the ability to provide precise glass layer positioning and thickness control deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The coating method uses a simple dip-coating process where the heater substrate is automatically coated by immersing it in glass material and withdrawing it at a controlled speed, allowing the process itself to create the desired thickness gradient without complex masking or selective coating equipment.
Solution Approach 2:
The glass layer thickness is controlled by changing the withdrawal speed parameter during dip-coating. By adjusting this single parameter, the coating process naturally creates the desired thickness distribution with greater thickness at the edges and smaller thickness at the center.
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 configuration effectively suppresses film abrasion and enables quick start capabilities while maintaining high mass productivity by optimizing the glass layer's position and content to ensure efficient heat transfer.
Implementation Method 1
a resistance heating layer-formed surface of the substrate 501 is covered by a glass protective layer 503... A resistance heating layer (a heating element) 502 is formed and provided along a longitudinal direction of the substrate 501
Implementation Method 2
reducing the thickness of the glass 505 on the sliding surface side for the purpose of ensuring heat conductance
Data Source
AI summary
A heater being used in an image heating apparatus includes a glass layer formed on one surface of a substrate of the heater, the heater has a base layer formed so as to extend in a longitudinal direction of the substrate between another surface of the substrate and the glass layer and at a position closer to an end side of the substrate than a center position of a heating element provided on the other surface of the substrate in a transverse direction that is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the substrate, the base layer having a glass content of 10 wt % or lower, and a peak portion with a peak height from the other surface in the glass layer is positioned within 1.0 mm from an end in the transverse direction of the substrate.