Honeycomb Heater with Integrated Performance Data Coating

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional electric-heating-type heaters for catalyst converters lack integrated management of heater performance information, leading to laborious record-keeping and potential misidentification or loss of data, which complicates failure detection and energization control.

Innovation Solution

An information-display-equipped electric-heating-type heater with a circumferential coating layer on the honeycomb structure displays performance metrics like resistance value, NTC characteristics, and heat generation speed, allowing direct reading and utilization of this information for failure detection, deterioration monitoring, and energization control.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of information

If heater performance information is recorded externally on paper or separate media, then the information can be stored, but misidentification and loss of information occur and management becomes laborious

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveheater performance informationVSAvoidinformation management
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent merges the heater performance information directly with the heater device by forming a coating layer on the heater surface that contains the information. This integration ensures the information cannot be lost or misidentified separately from the heater it describes, eliminating the problems of external record-keeping while maintaining easy access to the data.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

2Ease of operation

If a coating layer is formed on the honeycomb structure to display information, then information management is simplified, but the coating layer may interfere with electrode function if too close

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation managementVSAvoidelectrode function
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by positioning the coating layer containing information at a specific distance (0.1 mm or more) from the electrodes. This localized placement ensures the coating does not interfere with electrode electrical function while still being visible for information display, thus maintaining both reliability of electrode operation and ease of information management.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

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

Facilitates integrated handling and management of heater performance information, preventing misidentification and loss, and enabling effective control of energization conditions to prevent unnecessary energy consumption and structural damage.

Implementation Method 1

the honeycomb structure is energized by the electrodes to generate heat

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectJoule heating: Joule Heating

Data Source

PatentEP2833696B1Information-display-equipped electric-heating-type heater and method of using information therefor
Publication Date: 2017.07.19 NGK INSULATORS LTD
  • EP2833696B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP2833696B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

There are disclosed an information-display-equipped electric-heating-type heater in which it is possible to integrally handle the heater and information concerning a heater performance of the electric-heating-type heater, and a method of using the above information. An information-display-equipped electric-heating-type heater 100 includes a tubular honeycomb structure 4 made of a conductive material and having porous partition walls 1 to define and form a plurality of cells 2 which become through channels for a fluid and extend from one end face to the other end face, and a circumferential wall 3 positioned in an outermost circumference; and a pair of electrodes 21, 21 disposed on the circumferential wall 3 of the honeycomb structure 4, and information concerning a heater performance of the electric-heating-type heater is displayed in the honeycomb structure 4.