Heating device for vehicle
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle heating devices using electric heaters face inefficiencies in heating airflow with limited electric power, as they often waste energy heating surrounding structures and struggle to position heaters immediately upstream of blowing ports, leading to uneven heat distribution.
Innovation Solution
A heating device with an electric heater arranged at each blowing port, featuring a heat-generating sheet folded multiple times along pins within a case, ensuring efficient airflow heating without excessive heating of surrounding structures, using a conductive fiber sheet that generates heat efficiently and prevents short circuits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a PTC heater with laminated structures and metal fins is used to heat air, then heating function is provided, but electric power is uselessly consumed in heating the fins and surrounding structure
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts only the essential heating function by using a PTC heater that directly heats air without metal fins. The heater element is positioned to contact air directly, removing the unnecessary fin structure that caused energy waste in conventional designs.
Solution Approach 2:
The PTC heater is designed with localized heating zones that directly contact airflow paths. The heating element's surface is configured to maximize direct air contact while minimizing heat transfer to surrounding structures, creating local quality optimization for efficient heating.
2Temperature
If a PTC heater is arranged within a foot duct or instrument panel passage, then heating is provided, but it is difficult to arrange the heater immediately upstream of a blowing port, causing heat to be taken by duct or surrounding structure
Solution Approach 1:
The heater is positioned immediately upstream of the blowing port, performing preliminary heating of air right before it is delivered to the passenger compartment. This timing optimization ensures heat is transferred to air rather than surrounding structures.
Solution Approach 2:
Air acts as an intermediary medium that carries heat from the heater directly to the blowing port. The heater design facilitates efficient heat transfer to air, which then distributes the heated air without significant heat loss to surrounding ducts or structures.
3Temperature
If a whole space in an instrument panel is warmed by a PTC heater, then heating is provided, but heat is consumed by the temperature increase of the instrument panel and surrounding structure
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of heating the entire instrument panel space, the heater is designed to provide localized heating only at the blowing port where air is delivered. This selective heating approach consumes less energy by avoiding unnecessary temperature increase of the surrounding instrument panel and structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention extracts the heating function to only where it is needed - at the blowing port - rather than heating the entire instrument panel space. This focused approach removes unnecessary energy consumption from heating surrounding structures.
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 solution enables efficient airflow heating with equal temperature distribution and reduced energy consumption, allowing for effective heating with limited electric power, suitable for both supplementary and main heating systems in vehicles.
Implementation Method 1
a heat generating sheet, which generates heat by supplying electricity thereto
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~6
AI summary
An electric heater (7) is individually arranged at a position immediately upstream of a blowing port (6) that blows an air fed by a blower (4) into a vehicle room. The electric heater (7) is formed of a cylindrical case (15) loaded in the blowing port (6) and a heat generating sheet (16) arranged in the case (15). The heat generating sheet (16) is formed of a conductive fiber sheet obtained by making a carbon fiber into paper. Furthermore, the heat generating sheet is formed into a continuous strip and radially folded along pins (22) of the case (15). The air is heated while flowing along a surface of the heat generating sheet (16).