Liquid heating device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Liquid heating devices with ceramic heaters face challenges in downsizing, leading to difficulties in passing water through the inner hole, which can result in overheating and thermal deformation or leakage due to inadequate cooling of the inner hole and container components.
Innovation Solution
A liquid heating device design that incorporates a ceramic heater extending through a container opening with a fixation member sealing the gap, allowing liquid to pass through a flow path from outside to inside, ensuring the fixation member and container are cooled, preventing overheating and leakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the ceramic heater is downsized (diameter reduced), then the device size is reduced, but the inner hole diameter is also reduced making it difficult to pass water through
Solution Approach 1:
The water passage function is segmented from the heater's inner hole to a separate flow path through the fixation member. This allows the heater to be downsized without compromising water flow capability, as the fixation member's flow path provides an alternative route for water to reach the heating zone.
2Device complexity
If water is heated by only the outer surface of the heater without passing through the inner hole, then the heater structure is simplified, but the inner hole part is not cooled by water causing overheating
Solution Approach 1:
The fixation member acts as an intermediary component that introduces a flow path for water to pass through. This mediator structure enables cooling water to reach the heater's inner hole area without requiring the heater itself to have a complex dual-path structure, thus simplifying the heater while maintaining cooling functionality.
3Power
If the heater operates at high temperature without adequate cooling, then heating efficiency is improved, but thermal deformation or water leakage occurs at the container-heater interface
Solution Approach 1:
The flow path is preliminarily established through the fixation member before the heater operates at high temperature. This preliminary arrangement ensures that cooling water can immediately reach the heater's inner hole area when heating begins, preventing thermal deformation and maintaining seal integrity throughout the heating process.
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 design effectively suppresses liquid leakage and thermal deformation by cooling the fixation member and container, even when heating is conducted solely by the outer surface of the ceramic heater, maintaining device integrity and performance.
Implementation Method 1
a rod-shaped ceramic heater having a heat generation portion embedded in a ceramic sheet wrapped around the outer circumference of an elongated ceramic base is used
Implementation Method 2
water to be heated is introduced into the container through the inner hole from the base-end side exposed to outside and is heated by the inner surface and the outer surface of the ceramic heater
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid heating device (200) including: a container surrounding an internal space (101i) and having an opening (107m1-107m3); a ceramic heater (171-173) extending in a front-rear direction L and penetrating through the opening, such that a distal-end portion (17T) of the ceramic heater is located in the internal space and a base-end portion (17R) thereof is located outside the internal space, the ceramic heater having a heat generation portion (17a) at the distal-end portion; and a fixation member (180) sealing a gap between the opening and the ceramic heater, and fixing the ceramic heater to the container, wherein a liquid W in the internal space is heated by the ceramic heater, and the liquid passes through a flow path (103i) penetrating from outside through inside of the fixation member, so as to be introduced into the internal space.