The present invention relates generally to a heater assembly and more particularly to a self-regulating heater assembly which comprises a positive temperature coefficient heating device and is adapted for use in hostile environments.
Self-regulating heater assemblies are well known in the art. A positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heating device is a semiconductor which has an electrical resistance that is temperature sensitive. The electrical resistance of the PTC device varies proportionately with temperature. PTC devices are generally available as ceramics or polymers and are well known for use in temperature sensors, current limiters and heaters. Their usefulness as a heater is particularly attractive due to the fact that a self regulating heater can be constructed. When a current is passed through a PTC device, it produces heat by virtue of the internal resistance of the PTC device and the resultant current is similar to that of other resistance heaters except that at a certain predetermined temperature (curie point or autostabilizing temperature), the resistance begins to increase virtually exponentially, causing the power to decrease. Thus, the PTC device autostabilizes at a particular predetermined temperature. The temperature at which the PTC device autostabilizes will vary depending upon the specific PTC device. The autostabilizing temperature feature of the PTC device is useful because it can be established at a temperature which is below the ignition temperature of the heater environment or the melt point of a chemically resistant fluoropolymer coating.
PTC self-regulating heaters have not been particularly successful in the prior art when used in hostile environments such as in the chemical processing industry. In such hostile environments, strong oxidizers, free halogen ions and strong reducing acids contribute to the degradation of PTC heater assemblies.
An elongated self-regulating PTC heater assembly which includes a single heating section comprising a plurality of PTC heating elements located between a pair of electrodes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,067. However, this design employs a heat shrink tube, to hold the electrodes in contact with the surfaces of the PTC heating element, inside a metallic sheath together with an outer polymeric sheath. As a result, the thickness of the plastic layers may produce sufficient thermal resistance to increase the temperature of the PTC heater assembly above its autostabilizing temperature, rendering it ineffective as a heating device. Also, this design employs only a single column of PTC elements between a pair of electrodes that run the entire length of the PTC heater assembly, thus limiting the amount of heat which can be generated.
Accordingly, it has been considered desirable to develop an improved self-regulating heater assembly which would overcome the foregoing difficulties and others while providing better and more advantageous overall results.
In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, a self-regulating heater assembly is provided.
More particularly, in accordance with this aspect of the present invention, a self-regulating heater assembly comprises at least one positive temperature coefficient (PTC) heating element and a pair of spaced electrodes. Each electrode includes a first side, the first sides of the pair of electrodes being spaced from one another, wherein the at least one PTC element is located between, supported by and energized by the pair of electrodes. The at least one PTC element is oriented approximately transverse to a longitudinal axis of the pair of spaced electrodes. An electrically insulative and thermally conductive interface pad is interposed between and contiguous to the first side of at least one of the pair of electrodes and a wall of the PTC element. A pair of power leads, one being connected to each of the pair of electrodes, energizes the pair of electrodes.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a self-regulating heater assembly comprises a plurality of spaced heating sections. Each heating section comprises at least one PTC heating element and a pair of spaced apart electrodes which supports and energizes the at least one PTC element. Each electrode has a generally planar first side and a second side. An electrically and thermally conductive interface pad is in contact with a surface of the at least one PTC element and is disposed between the at least one PTC element and each of the pair of electrodes. An electrically insulative and thermally conductive segment spacing member is positioned between adjacent ones of the plurality of heating sections. A pair of power leads, one being connected to each of the pair of electrodes of each of the plurality of spaced heating sections, energizes each of the heating sections.
In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, an elongated heater assembly comprises a plurality of longitudinally spaced heating sections. Each heating section comprises a pair of spaced electrodes and a plurality of PTC elements secured between the pair of spaced electrodes. Each PTC element is smaller in height than is a height of the pair of spaced electrodes and is in electrical and thermal contact with the pair of electrodes. An electrically insulative and thermally conductive segment spacing member is positioned between adjacent ones of the plurality of spaced heating sections. A metallic sheath encases the plurality of spaced heating sections. An electrically insulative and thermally conductive fill material is located between the metallic sheath and each of the plurality of heating sections. The heating section further includes a pair of spaced power leads, wherein a respective one of the pair of power leads is connected to a respective one of the pair of spaced electrodes of each heating section.
In accordance with still yet another aspect of the present invention, a self-regulating heater assembly comprises a plurality PTC heating elements and a plurality of electrodes which energizes the plurality of PTC elements. Each of the plurality of PTC elements is mounted between and connected to a pair of spaced electrodes of the plurality of electrodes. A plurality of electrically insulative spacer members is secured to at least some of the plurality of electrodes. A metallic sheath surrounds the plurality of electrodes. The metallic sheath compresses the plurality of insulative spacer members toward at least some of the plurality of electrodes.
In accordance with still yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of manufacturing a self-regulating heater comprises the steps of providing a plurality of PTC heating elements and a plurality of electrodes which energizes the plurality of PTC elements. Each electrode includes at least one bore that receives at least one associated power lead which energizes the electrode. At least one PTC element is positioned between each pair of the plurality of electrodes at an angle to a longitudinal axis of the pair of electrodes. The pair of electrodes is compressed against the at least one PTC element to establish and maintain substantially uniform electrical contact therebetween.
Still other aspects of the invention will become apparent from a reading and understanding of the detailed description of the embodiments hereinbelow.
The present invention may take physical form in certain parts and arrangements of parts, embodiments of which will be described in detail in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a part of the invention.
Referring now to the drawings, wherein the showings illustrate the preferred embodiments of the invention only and are not intended to limit same,
The self-regulating heater assembly 10 comprises a plurality of spaced heating sections 12. With reference to
The heating section 12 also includes a pair of low electrical resistance current conducting electrodes 20 and 22 for energizing the PTC element. As is evident from
Generally, the pair of electrodes 20, 22 has a length of approximately two inches. Electrodes of approximately this length typically do not warp excessively as the temperature of the PTC elements increases to a predetermined autostabilizing temperature. Of course, the electrodes can be longer or shorter if desired. However, if the electrodes are too long, they can warp upon heating by the PTC elements to the extent that the PTC elements can separate from the electrodes. On the other hand, if less PTC elements are employed to prevent excessive warpage on longer electrodes in a heating section, the section will generate only a lesser amount of heat. Thus, electrodes on the order of about two inches (5.1 cm) in length have been found useful for providing a good amount of heat without excessive warpage, that might lead to failure of the heating section.
As shown in
With continued reference to
The pair of electrodes 20 and 22 is preferably made from a suitable metallic material. Two such materials are an electrical grade copper and aluminum alloys. Each electrode includes an upper surface 26, a lower surface 28, a first side 30 and a second side 32. The first side can be generally planar and the second side can have a general arcuate contour. However, it can be appreciated by one skilled in the art that the second side of each electrode can have other configurations depending on the end use of the self-regulating heater assembly 10. The first side 30 of each electrode is contiguous with a portion of at least one of the interface pad 24 and one of the planar surfaces 16 and 18 of each PTC element 14. As shown in
With continued reference to
As shown in
With continued reference to
The second sides 32 of the pair of electrodes 20 and 22 further include at least one threaded aperture 50 for receiving a set screw 52. As shown in
To assemble the self-regulating heater 10, the PTC elements 14 are first secured to the pair of electrodes 20 and 22 in such a manner that the electrically and thermally conductive interface pads 24 are interposed between and contiguous to the PTC elements and the pair of electrodes. Specifically, the interface pads 24 are adhered to the first sides 30 of each electrode 20, 22. The PTC elements 14 are then adhered to the interface pads. Particularly, the planar surface 16 of the PTC element is adhered to the interface pad secured to the first electrode 20 and the planar surface 18 of the same PTC element is adhered to a corresponding interface pad secured to the second electrode 22. In one embodiment, a known silicon based adhesive is used to secure the interface pads 24 to the electrodes 20, 22 and the PTC elements 14 to the interface pads. PTC heating elements are known and are available from Advanced Thermal Products, Inc. of St. Mary's, Pa., PTC Ceramics of Krems, Austria and Hiel Corporation of Kyoungki-Do, Korea.
The spacer member 40 is then inserted into the cavity 36 disposed about each second side 32 of the pair of electrodes 20, 22. With reference again to
The assembled heating sections 12 are then inserted in a sheath 70 which holds the pair of electrodes 20 and 22 in contact with the interface pad 24 and the planar surfaces 16 and 18 of the PTC element 14. The sheath 70 simplifies the construction of the self-regulating heater assembly 10 by exerting pressure on the spacer members 40 which in turn positively locate the pair of electrodes 20, 22, the interface pads 24 and the PTC element 14.
Not only does sheath 70 maintain substantially uniform contact pressure between the PTC element 14 and the pair of electrodes 20, 22, it also acts to enhance the thermal characteristics of the self-regulating heater assembly 10. The sheath transfers heat from the PTC element 14 to the environment when the PTC element is energized. The sheath 70 further protects the PTC element from hostile environments and physical damage. Moreover, the sheath 70 serves as an electrical conductor and ground path circuit for the self-regulating heater assembly 10 if short-circuiting occurs. To this end, a ground conductor (not shown) can be connected to sheath 70 to serve as a ground path circuit to protect operating personnel in the event of an electrical fault condition.
With reference to
If desired, the sheath 70 can be filled with an electrically insulative and thermally conductive fill member 72 to fill any remaining voids. The fill member 72 can be formed of magnesium or zirconium oxide, though any suitable electrically insulative and thermally conductive material could be used. The fill member 72 is disposed about at least a portion of the second sides 32 of the pair of electrodes 20 and 22, a portion of the first sides 30 thereof, and the side edges and end edges of each PTC element 14. The fill member also protects the PTC element and radiates heat away from the PTC element when the PTC element is energized.
With continued reference to
The power leads 46 are fed through the bores 44 extending longitudinally through each of the pair of electrodes 20 and 22. The power leads energize the pair of electrodes. As shown in
With reference to
Similar to the aforementioned embodiment, two additional embodiments are shown in
With reference to
With reference to
To assemble the self-regulating heater of
With reference to
The present invention provides a self-regulating heater assembly 10 which is particularly suited for use in hostile environments where the self-regulating effect of the PTC element 14 occurs at a temperature which is below the ignition temperature of the hostile environment. In the present construction, the PTC element was permitted a maximum temperature of 500° F. The combination of the electrically conductive interface pad 24, the pair of electrodes 20, 22, the fill member 72, the sheath 70 and the protective sleeve 80 minimizes temperature build-up at the PTC element while providing good heat conductivity from the PTC element to the environment such as liquid 210.
From the foregoing, it should be apparent that a new and improved self-regulating heater assembly 10 and a method of manufacturing the self-regulating heater assembly have been disclosed. The self-regulating heater assembly includes at least one PTC element 14, and the pair of electrodes 20, 22 for energizing the PTC element. The first side 30 of each electrode is contiguous to and in contact with at least one of the interface pads 24 and one of the planar surfaces 16, 18 of the PTC element 14. Further, the first side of each electrode can include at least one slot 200 for releasably securing a portion of each PTC element. Electrically insulative spacer members 40 are disposed on the second sides 32 of the pair of electrodes 20, 22. The spacer members 40 assist in the assembly of the self-regulated heater 10 by holding the PTC element 14, interface pads 24 and pair of electrodes 20, 22 in place while being inserted in the sheath 70. The pressure from the spacer members 40 on the sheath provides uniform and substantial electrical and thermal contact between the pair of electrodes, interface pad and the PTC element. A protective heat resistant and preferably a chemical and heat resistant sleeve 80 can surround the sheath 70 to provide further protection to the self-regulated heater assembly 10. The sheath 70 can be filled with an electrically insulative and thermally conductive fill member 72 to fill any remaining voids.
The exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to several preferred embodiments. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description. It is intended that the invention not be limited to the embodiments described. Rather, the present invention should be construed as including all modifications and alterations which come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
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