Yarn Heater Air-Layer Insulation for Lower Power Use
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing yarn heaters for synthetic fibers in false-twist texturing machines consume high power due to heat radiation, and increasing the thickness of heat insulation materials to reduce this radiation results in increased size.
Innovation Solution
A yarn heater design with a yarn running path featuring plate members and air layers sealed by sealing members, which suppress heat radiation without increasing size, using high-density sealing and spacer members to maintain even thickness and prevent convection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the thickness of the heat insulating material is increased to reduce heat radiation, then power consumption is reduced, but the size of the yarn heater increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat insulating structure is segmented into multiple thin plate members (first plate member, second plate member, third plate member) arranged in sequence, creating multiple air layers between them. This segmentation allows the insulation function to be distributed across multiple interfaces rather than relying on a single thick insulating layer, achieving effective heat radiation suppression while maintaining a compact overall size.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses air as the insulating medium between plate members, which is freely available and requires no additional material cost. The air layers serve as effective thermal insulators due to air's low thermal conductivity, eliminating the need for thick conventional heat insulating materials while maintaining insulation performance.
2Volume of stationary object
If thin air layers are used for heat insulation, then the size is reduced, but convection may occur reducing insulation effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing members are strategically positioned at specific locations (end portions and intermediate portions) of the air layers to create localized sealing zones. This local sealing approach prevents convection currents from developing within the air layers while maintaining the thin profile of the insulation structure, thereby preserving both compact size and heat insulation effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
Sealing members are introduced as intermediary elements between the plate members to prevent direct communication between adjacent air layers. These sealing members block the path for convective air flow while maintaining the structural integrity of the thin insulation design, ensuring that heat transfer occurs primarily through conduction rather than convection.
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 reduces power consumption by enhancing heat insulation performance while maintaining compact size, suppressing heat transfer and convection, and minimizing cost increases.
Implementation Method 1
Because each air layer has a relatively-low heat conductivity, adequate performance of heat insulation is achieved even when the thickness of the air layer is small.
Implementation Method 2
Because the at least one between-plate space is sealed at at least a part of its end portion by the sealing member, air is suppressed from going inside and outside of the at least one between-plate space. This suppresses the occurrence of convection in the air layer.
Data Source
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AI summary
An object of the present invention is to reduce power consumption without increasing the size of a device. A first heater 13 is provided with a yarn running groove 56 extending in an extending direction, and includes a heating unit 50 configured to heat a yarn Y running in the yarn running groove 56, a box 60 housing the heating unit 50, plural plate members 71, 72, 73, and 74, first sealing members 82, and a second sealing member 83. The plate members 71, 72, 73, and 74 and a main body portion 61 of the box 60 oppose each other at intervals and are aligned in a direction away from the heating unit 50 on a virtual plane which is orthogonal to the extending direction and which intersects with the heating unit 50. The first sealing members 82 and the second sealing member 83 seal between-plate spaces 75 at their end portions. Each between-plate space 75 is provided between two opposing plate members or between the plate member 74 and the main body portion 61. In this regard, air layers provided at the between-plate spaces 75 are aligned in the direction away from the heating unit 50 on the virtual plane which is orthogonal to the extending direction and which intersects with the heating unit 50.