Heating device and electric cooker
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing heating devices for electric cookers and ovens face issues with stability and thermal insulation, particularly due to the use of insulating materials that are not adequately electrically insulating or thermally stable, leading to potential tilting of heating conductors and inefficient heat distribution.
Innovation Solution
A heating device with a corrugated flat strip heating conductor and a support body made of compressed or adhesively bonded mica material, which provides improved electrical insulation, thermal stability, and mechanical strength, along with holding elements that are designed to securely engage with the support body without pre-made recesses, ensuring the heating conductor remains stable and evenly distributes heat.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a thin support body is used, then the heating device structure is simplified and material usage is reduced, but the support body becomes excessively bent due to the load of heating conductors
Solution Approach 1:
The support body is made from compressed and/or adhesively bonded mica material, creating a composite structure that combines the mechanical strength of compressed mica with the thermal and electrical insulation properties of mica. This composite material allows the support body to remain thin while maintaining sufficient structural stability to bear the heating conductors without excessive bending.
2Ease of manufacture
If holding elements are pushed into the support body without pre-made recesses, then the manufacturing process is simplified, but the heating conductor may tilt and become unstable on the support body
Solution Approach 1:
The holding elements are designed with specific dimensional parameters including a head portion with a larger cross-section than the shaft portion. This parameter change creates a mechanical stop that prevents the heating conductor from tilting while allowing straightforward pushing into the support body without pre-made recesses, thus maintaining both ease of manufacture and heating conductor stability.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional insulating materials are used, then the heating device can be manufactured with standard materials, but the materials are not sufficiently electrically insulating or thermally stable at high temperatures
Solution Approach 1:
The support body is constructed from compressed and/or adhesively bonded mica material, which provides superior electrical insulation and thermal stability compared to conventional insulating materials. The compressed mica composite maintains its structural integrity and insulation properties at the high temperatures where heating conductors glow in the visible range, resolving the contradiction between material availability and performance reliability.
4Reliability
If the heating conductor is made as a corrugated flat strip, then the holding elements can engage effectively with the support body, but the heating conductor requires additional shaping processes
Solution Approach 1:
The heating conductor is formed as a corrugated flat strip with periodic undulations. This curvature provides surface area and geometric features that allow holding elements to engage effectively with the support body through friction and mechanical interlocking, while the corrugated shape can be achieved through standard rolling or forming processes in heating conductor fabrication.
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 solution enhances the mechanical stability and heat distribution of the heating device, allowing it to operate efficiently at high temperatures while maintaining electrical and thermal insulation, reducing the risk of tilting and improving the overall performance and safety of the heating system.
Implementation Method 1
the support body is made from compressed and/or adhesively bonded mica material... which is sufficiently electrically insulating
Implementation Method 2
mica material of this kind... has sufficiently good thermal insulation properties
Implementation Method 3
heating conductor which... can glow in the visible range at temperatures of up to somewhat above 1.000° C. during operation
Implementation Method 4
the heating conductor is designed as a corrugated flat strip... The heating conductor should be stabilized or held so that it does not tilt
Data Source
AI summary
A heating device for an electric cooktop has at least one long heating conductor, one support body on the top side of which the heating conductor is arranged and fitted, and one supporting means for the support body. The heating conductor is designed as a corrugated flat strip which has, on its bottom side, holding elements which are arranged at a distance from one another and integrally project downward and are pushed into the support body. The supporting means supports the support body, at least in its outer region along an outer edge, at the bottom. The support body consists, as a thin plate, of compressed and adhesively bonded mica material, for example micanite, and is therefore electrically insulating and sufficiently stable.