The present invention is related to a heating module, in particular, to a heating module attachable to an external object such that heat can be uniformly distributed from the heating module to the external object to maintain the surface temperature of the object and to further increase the room temperature in the surrounding.
Due to the climate changes on earth, global temperatures are of greater extremes in terms of the degree of cold and hot temperatures associated with these climate changes. In places such as tropical areas where snow falls and cold weathers are rare, it has been shown that in recent years, there have been snow stores appearing in these areas. Common heating equipment and gear designed for normal conditions are found to be insufficient, and in situations where cold weathers or currents take place and the room temperatures drop dramatically, portable heaters, electric heaters and other types of heaters become of greater importance and are being widely used to prevent cold and temperature drops.
Traditional heating equipment such as community heater utilizing the heat generated from the burning of coal tends to cause air pollution in relation to the concerns of global warming and to reduction of carbon dioxide. Geothermal heating and other replaceable energy conversion heating plants typically incur a significant amount of costs invested in the planning and constructing of the plant and machinery, which are undesirable economically. As for a known electric heater, it typically comprises a heating element and is of a structure similar to an electric fan or fireplace stove that tends to be of a large volume and is inconvenient in terms of its portability and storage for seasonal uses. Furthermore, most known heaters are built or designed to their heating elements being exposed externally, which can cause potential hazards to users, especially to children and elders, in living areas where such heaters are placed or in use.
In view of the abovementioned drawbacks of known heaters, the present invention provides a heating module comprising a heat insulation layer, at least one heat generating layer and a heat conductive layer. The heat generating layer is provided on a top surface of the heat insulation layer and is attached to a waterproof power connector box ensuring the heating material and the power being safely connected with each other and providing an insulated shell with waterproof and pressure resistance protections such that the a solid and reliable safety mechanism can still be provided for connection parts or components subject to outdoor environment or conditions of snow falling and melting. The waterproof power connector box further comprises a power controller connecting end or port attached to an external power source in addition to a temperature controller. The temperature controller is able to control the temperature and the time of usage of the heat generated by the heat generating layer. The heat conductive layer is provided on top of the heat generating layer such that the heat generating layer is arranged or positioned relatively between the heat conductive layer and the heat insulation layer. With such configuration and arrangement, the heating module attachable to an external object can be attached to a surface of the external object such that the heat from the heat generating layer thereof can be conductively transferred to the heat conductive layer and further to the external object uniformly. The heat conductive layer is able to uniformly transfer the heat and to distribute the heat over the external object such that the heat is uniformly distributed to the external object including such as floor, wall, mirror, stone, metal, plastics, silicon gels and carpets and such that the surface of the object is maintained at a certain temperature and the environmental or room temperature in the surrounding of the object can be increased.
As shown in
The heat insulation layer 1 is made of heat insulation materials and is provided or positioned at a bottom layer of the heating module of the present invention. As exemplarily demonstrated by an embodiment of the present invention, the heat insulation material consists of knitted wool fibers enclosed by an aluminum foil; or said heat insulation material can be made of any one of the following of a fabric made of glass fibers, ceramic fibers, expanded polystyrene insulation layer, asbestos, insulation paints, heat-resistance fabrics, high density foam or heat-resistance plate. Furthermore, the heat insulation material of the heat insulation layer 1 can be of a soft material, including such as fabrics of glass fibers, ceramic fibers or heat-resistance fabrics, such that the heat insulation layer 1 exhibits flexibility in the property thereof.
The heat generating layer 2 is provided or arranged on a top surface of the heat insulation layer 1 and the heat generating layer 2 comprises a heating wire port 21; said heating wire port 21 can be further attached to an external power such that the heat generating layer 2 can generate heat. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the heat generating layer 2 can be made of carbon fibers with heating wires enclosing an insulation material. Furthermore, the heat generating layer 2 can too be of flexibility and be made of a heat generating material capable of producing or generating heat upon electrical connections, including such as heating electrical wires, heating copper wires, graphite fibers with heating wires, metallic fibers or carbon fibers with heating films. The heat generating layer 2 can also be non-flexible with a heat generating material capable of producing or generating heat upon electrical connections, including such as infrared heating pipes.
The heat conductive layer 3 is provided or arranged on top of the heat generating layer 2 such that the heat generating layer 2 is relatively positioned between the heat conductive layer 3 and the heat insulation layer 1. In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the heat conductive layer 3 is made of a heat conductive material and a bottom part of the heat conductive layer 3 is coated with a heat dissipating paste or glue such that the heat conductive layer 3 can be seamlessly attached to the heat generating layer 2 to achieve the effective transferring of the heat generated by the heat generating layer 2 to the heat conductive layer 3. The abovementioned heat conductive material can be one of the following of glass fiber fabrics, heat conductive silicon glue, heat conductive carbon film, celluloid, cellulose acetate plastic, polyester fibers; said heat dissipating paste can be one of the following of a heat dissipating gel, heat conductive paints or heat conductive silicon paste.
The securing means 4 consists of an aluminum tape, heat-resistance glass fiber tape and heat-resistance paste agent. The securing means 4 is provided between the heat generating layer 2 and the heat conductive layer 3 such that the heat generating layer 2 is secured onto the top surface of the heat insulation layer 1 via the securing means 4.
The waterproof power connector box 5 is provided to overcome the drawbacks in conventional connector boxes in which the heating wire port 21 (heating fibers) and the power line connecting to conventional ports thereof tend to be snapped or broken due to external pulling, causing electrical mal-connections and without waterproof functionalities. The present invention, on the other hand, provides an improved structure by having the fragile heating wire port 21 (heating fibers) and the conductors of the power line being enclosed or covered for electrical connections, and the heating wire port 21 and the external power line 7 are secured or hold in place by utilizing the waterproof connector box 5 to secure or hold the insulation outer covering skin thereof such that an excellent securement and protection mechanism can be provided and achieved. The waterproof connector box 5 further includes the functionality of waterproof insulation such that it can be used for constant temperature heating in outdoor environments of for example, applications related to snow melting or swimming pool.
In addition to the above, the heating module of the present invention can be of a configuration of a module such that the heating module can be attached or combined with an external object 8. The heat conductive layer 3 of the heating module can be attached to a surface of the external object 8 such that the heat generated by the heat generating layer 2 can be transferred to the heat conductive layer 3 and the heat conductive layer 3 is able to uniformly distributed the heat to the external object 8 such that the heat is evenly or uniformly distributed on the object 8 including such as floor, wall, mirror or carpet, allowing the surface of the object 8 to be maintained at a certain temperature. Furthermore, the outer part of the heat insulation layer 1 can be covered or enclosed by an aluminum foil 11 such that the heat generated by the heat generating layer 2 can be reflected by the aluminum foil 11 of the heat insulation layer 1 to achieve the effect of gathering and transferring the heat generated by the heat generating layer 2 upward to the heat conductive layer 3.
Furthermore, the present invention further provides another exemplary embodiment of a heating module, as shown in
The heat insulation layer 1, heat generating layer 2 and the heat conductive layer 3 can all be of the property of being flexible. As the heating module of the present invention exhibits flexibility, it can be rolled or bent in accordance with the shape of the object 8. Furthermore, the abovementioned first to fifth exemplary embodiments of the present invention in their application of uses are provided for illustrative purposes only and shall not be treated as limitations to the present invention. The outer part of the heating module of the present invention can also be covered or enclosed by other objects 8; said objects 8 include such as calcium silicate board, concrete board, glass, metals, fabrics, papers, silicon, rubber, tile, carpet, wood, stone, bamboo and other materials. Furthermore, the heating module of the present invention can be connected in series to form a multiple of heating modules (two or more) in accordance with the size of the object 8 to be attached to. By connecting each one of the external power line 7 of each one of the heating modules connected in multiple, in either series or parallel, as well as by connecting one of the external power line 7 extended out of the object 8 to the external power 7, every one of the heat generating layers 2 of the heating modules connected in multiple can then generate heat that may be of a greater or desirable magnitude.