Modular Ceramic Heater Design to Reduce Warmup and Cooldown Times
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heaters used in appliances suffer from long warmup and cooldown times due to high thermal mass from electrical insulation materials and large metal components, which hinders their heating and cooling performance.
Innovation Solution
A modular ceramic heater design featuring a ceramic substrate with an electrically resistive trace, where the resistive trace is printed on the exterior surface using thick film technology, allowing for faster heat generation and improved thermal conductivity, and incorporating a thermistor for closed-loop temperature control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If conventional heaters use large metal components and electrical insulation materials for heat transfer, then structural strength and electrical insulation are improved, but thermal mass increases causing long warmup and cooldown times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the large metal heat transfer components and excessive electrical insulation materials from the heater design. By eliminating these high thermal mass components, the heater achieves faster warmup and cooldown times while maintaining structural integrity through the ceramic substrate and optimized heating element architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the material parameters by substituting traditional metal heat transfer components with ceramic materials that have lower thermal mass but adequate thermal conductivity. This parameter change in material selection and composition allows the heater to reduce thermal inertia while preserving structural strength and electrical insulation properties.
2Power
If conventional heaters use large metal components for heat distribution, then heat transfer capability is improved, but thermal mass increases reducing heating performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite material construction combining ceramic substrate, resistive heating elements, and thermal interface materials. This composite structure achieves effective heat transfer capability distributed across the heating surface while maintaining low overall thermal mass, thereby improving heating performance and reducing warmup time compared to traditional metal-component-based heaters.
3Manufacturing precision
If modular ceramic heaters use thick film printed resistive traces on exterior surface, then manufacturing precision and temperature control are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanically assembled heating elements with thick film printed resistive traces directly deposited on the ceramic substrate. This substitution of printing technology for mechanical assembly improves manufacturing precision and temperature uniformity while the integration of multiple functions into the printed trace pattern helps manage device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The thick film printed resistive traces serve multiple functions: they provide heating, temperature sensing through integrated thermistors, and electrical insulation. By combining these functions into a single integrated printed structure rather than separate components, the patent achieves improved manufacturing precision and temperature control while actually reducing overall device complexity through functional integration.
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 modular ceramic heater achieves rapid heating and cooling times, improved temperature uniformity, and enhanced energy efficiency, while reducing the risk of overheating, thus offering a cost-effective solution for heating applications.
Implementation Method 1
Each modular heater is configured to generate heat when an electric current is supplied to the electrically resistive trace
Implementation Method 2
at least one of the plurality of modular heaters includes a thermistor positioned on the ceramic substrate and in electrical communication with control circuitry of the modular heater for providing feedback regarding a temperature of the modular heater
Data Source
AI summary
A cooking device according to one example embodiment includes a plurality of modular heaters. Each modular heater includes a ceramic substrate and an electrically resistive trace positioned on the ceramic substrate. Each modular heater is configured to generate heat when an electric current is supplied to the electrically resistive trace. The cooking device includes a thermally conductive heating plate. The plurality of modular heaters are positioned against a bottom surface of the heating plate. The heating plate includes a top surface positioned to transfer heat provided by the plurality of modular heaters to a cooking vessel for cooking an item held by the cooking vessel.