JP2002313536A - Plane heater and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plane heater and its manufacturing method that can improve productivity and reduce a manufacturing cost through the easy automation of a manufacturing process and the decrease of manual work by adopting the manufacturing method allowing the continuous processing of a plurality of plane heaters at least in some processes. SOLUTION: This plane heater 100 has a heater pattern 110 formed extending in meandering shape, and an insulating coat 120 formed to cover the heater pattern 110 from the front and rear. The heater pattern 110 is provided with a plurality of heating elements 110a of strip shape extending in parallel; a plurality of small conductor pieces 110b for conductively connecting the end parts of the adjacent heating elements 110a, and a pair of small terminal pieces 110c provided at both end parts of the heater pattern 110.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flat heater and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a heater structure in which a belt-like heating element is covered with an insulating coating and a technique for manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a flat heater having a structure in which a belt-shaped resistance heating element is covered with an insulating coating has been used in a wide range of fields. In such a flat heater, for example,
As a sheet heating element, a sheet using a stainless steel foil formed by an etching method, a sheet using a stainless steel foil punched out by press working or the like are known.

[0003] In the flat heater formed in this way, it has been conventionally recognized that the manufacturing difficulty is a problem. For example, in order to prevent the heater pattern from being bent, the connecting piece is left in a meandering shape. In order to prevent the connecting piece from being removed in the manufacturing process using a punched heating element (Japanese Patent No. 2586180), and to prevent bending of a thin-walled heating element and a waving phenomenon due to thermal expansion of the heating element. There is also known a tape-shaped stainless steel in which an insulating film is laminated while being heated (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-182752).

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional method of manufacturing a flat heater, each of the flat heaters is basically manufactured individually. Is difficult to automate,
Inevitably more manual work, resulting in lower productivity,
There is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to adopt a manufacturing method capable of continuously processing a plurality of flat heaters in at least some of the steps, thereby reducing the manufacturing steps. An object of the present invention is to provide a flat heater capable of facilitating automation, reducing manual operations, improving productivity and reducing manufacturing costs, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a flat heater according to the present invention is a flat heater having a heater pattern including a strip-shaped heating element and an insulating coating covering the front and back of the heater pattern. A plurality of the heating elements are arranged in parallel and extend in a predetermined direction. At both ends of the heating elements, conductor pieces for electrically connecting between the ends of the adjacent heating elements are provided, so that the heater pattern has a meandering shape. It is characterized by comprising.

[0007] According to the present invention, since a plurality of heating elements extending in a predetermined direction are arranged in parallel and conductor pieces which are conductively connected are provided at both ends of the heating elements, a meandering heater pattern is formed. Since a plurality of flat heaters can be manufactured in a continuous state in a predetermined direction, productivity can be improved and manufacturing costs can be reduced. More specifically, an insulating coating is formed in a state in which a plurality of heating elements extending in a predetermined direction are arranged in parallel, and a conductor piece is connected to an end of the heating element, or the heating element is cut and removed to cut the end. By connecting a small conductor to the
At least halfway through the manufacturing process can be performed while continuing in a predetermined direction.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a plurality of the conductor pieces having the same width are arranged on a common straight line. In this case, for example, it is possible to form a plurality of small conductor pieces by joining a common conductor piece near the end of the heating element and then partially cutting the conductor piece, so that efficient production is performed. Can be.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a terminal piece is joined to an end of the heater pattern, the conductor piece and the terminal piece are formed to have the same width, and are arranged on a common straight line. In this case, the terminal piece is joined to the end of the heater pattern, and furthermore, since this terminal piece is arranged on a common straight line with the same width as the conductor piece, the conductor piece and the terminal piece are integrated. It can be formed from a conductor piece.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a pair of terminal pieces is joined to both ends of the heater pattern, and the terminal pieces are formed to have the same width as each other, and are arranged on a common straight line. In this case, the plurality of conductor pieces may be arranged on a straight line different from the straight line on which the terminal pieces are arranged.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the insulating coating is transparent. Because the insulation coating is transparent,
Since the state of the internal heater pattern can be seen at a glance,
You can immediately know the internal state during product inspection and maintenance. In addition, as for each of the above-mentioned flat heaters, it is preferable to form a conductor layer on the outer surface of the insulating coating and connect a ground wire to this conductor layer in order to enhance the safety of the heater. It is also preferable from the viewpoint of safety to insert a safety circuit breaker in the middle of the heater pattern.

Next, the manufacturing method of the flat heater of the present invention is as follows.
A method for manufacturing a flat heater, comprising: a heater pattern including a strip-shaped heating element; and an insulating coating that covers the front and back of the heater pattern, wherein the insulation forming the insulating coating from both sides of the heating element. A film is laminated in the direction of extension of the heating element to form a heater laminate in which a plurality of unit areas to be planar heaters are continuously provided in the extension direction. A laminating step of providing a non-adhesion area where the insulating films are not adhered to each other at an end of the heating element; A conductor piece introducing step of introducing a piece; and a heater dividing step of dividing the unit area individually.

According to the present invention, since a heater laminated body having a plurality of continuous unit regions to be a flat heater is formed, the flat heater in which a conductor piece is conductively connected to an end of the heating element. In the case of manufacturing a semiconductor device, productivity can be improved as compared with a method in which planar heaters are individually formed. Here, when manufacturing the flat heater according to the invention of the above-mentioned flat heater, the conductive piece constitutes the above-mentioned conductive small piece or terminal small piece. However, the invention of this manufacturing method is not limited to such a case.

Here, as a method of forming the above-mentioned non-adhesion region, a method of interposing an anti-adhesion material between the insulating film and the heating element, or a method of partially laminating the insulating film itself is not performed. And the like.

In the present invention, in the conductor piece introducing step, a pair of the conductor pieces is introduced into the non-adhesion area between the unit regions at intervals in an extending direction of the heating element, It is preferable to remove a portion between the conductor pieces. By doing so, the heating elements between adjacent unit areas are removed, so that when the heater stack is divided into unit areas to form a planar heater, the heating elements are not exposed at the divided ends. can do. Therefore, the heating element can be completely enclosed by the insulating coating by bonding the portion of the insulating film corresponding to the non-adhesive region near the divided end.

In the present invention, it is preferable that in the laminating step, the insulating film is laminated so that a plurality of the heating elements are sandwiched in a state of being arranged side by side in the width direction.

In this case, it is preferable that in the conductor piece introducing step, the conductor piece is introduced so as to electrically connect the plurality of heating elements. By electrically connecting a plurality of parallel heating elements by conductor pieces, a plurality of heating elements are connected in parallel (for example, a ladder-like) heater pattern by the plurality of parallel heating elements and the conductor pieces. In addition, a heater pattern in which a plurality of heating elements are connected in series (for example, a meandering shape) can be formed.

In the present invention, in the conductor piece introducing step, it is preferable that the conductor piece is joined to the heating element. By joining the conductor piece to the heating element, the conductive connection state between the heating element and the conductor piece can be obtained more reliably. Here, as the joining method, any joining method capable of obtaining a conductive connection state, such as welding, welding, joining via a conductive material, and direct joining (joining by clean surface-to-surface contact) may be used. it can.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a re-laminating step of laminating the insulating film in the non-adhesion region is provided between the conductor piece introducing step and the heater dividing step. After the conductor piece introducing step, the insulating film is laminated in the non-adhesion area, and then, by performing the heater dividing step, the operation of encapsulating the heating element and the conductor piece in the insulating coating is performed on the continuous heater laminate. Since it can be applied, manufacturing efficiency can be improved. However, the relamination step may be performed after the heater division step.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the method further includes a secondary laminating step of further laminating an outer insulating film outside the heater laminate. In this secondary laminating step, a double insulating coating is realized by the insulating film and the outer insulating film, so that the insulating properties can be further improved. In particular, when a thin resin film such as a polyester film or a polyethylene film is used as an insulating film, there is a possibility that a pinhole may exist in the film. Since the possibility of existence can be extremely reduced, insulation and waterproofness can be improved.

In this case, it is preferable that the insulating film portion in the non-adhesion region is simultaneously laminated in the secondary laminating step. By simultaneously laminating the insulating film in the non-adhesion area in the secondary bonding step, a separate lamination step for the non-adhesion area can be made unnecessary.

In addition, for manufacturing the flat heater,
In a laminating apparatus for laminating two resin films, a pressing unit for pressing the resin films with each other, a heating unit for heating at least one of the resin films, and a method of temporarily heating the heating unit and the resin film. And a heat-insulating means that can be thermally shut off. Here, as the heat insulating means, a heat insulating material that can be inserted and removed between the heating means and the resin film can be used.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a method for manufacturing a flat heater according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment] First, referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a flat heater 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The structure of 0 will be described. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the flat heater of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing a state cut along the line II-II of FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing a state cut along a line III.

As shown in FIG.
The heater pattern 110 includes a heater pattern 110 extending in a meandering shape, and an insulating coating 120 formed to cover the heater pattern 110 from the front and back. The heater pattern 110 is
A plurality of strip-shaped heating elements 110a extending in parallel, and a plurality of conductor pieces 1 electrically connecting between ends of adjacent heating elements 110a
10b, and a pair of terminal small pieces 110c provided at both ends of the heater pattern 110.

The heating element 110a may be of any type as long as it generates heat by passing an electric current. For example, a ribbon-shaped conductor sheet made of stainless steel (SUS304 or the like) can be used. Also,
The conductor small piece 110b and the terminal small piece 110c only need to be conductors, but may be the same as the heating element 110a. The thickness of the heating element 110a, the conductor piece 110b, and the terminal piece 110c is, for example, preferably about 30 to 100 μm, and more preferably about 50 μm.

The conductor pieces 110b and the terminal pieces 110c are formed to have the same width as each other, and are arranged on an imaginary straight line in the horizontal direction in the figure. As a result, the integral conductor piece is connected to the heating element 1
By joining to the end of 10a and cutting and removing unnecessary portions, it is possible to form the conductor pieces 110b and the terminal pieces 110c, thereby increasing manufacturing efficiency and reducing manufacturing costs.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
No. 0 has inner insulating films 121 and 122 made of a polyester film, a polyethylene film, or the like, and outer insulating films 123 and 124 made of the same material as the inner insulating films 121 and 122. Inner insulating film 12
1 and 122 cover the heater pattern 110 from the front and back, and the outer insulating films 123 and 124 correspond to the inner insulating film 1.
21 and 122 are respectively covered from the outside. These inner insulating films 121 and 122 and outer insulating film 1
23 and 124 are laminated and integrated by a known method. In the present embodiment, the inner insulating films 121 and 122 and the outer insulating films 123 and 124 are both formed of a transparent resin material, and have a thickness of 5 mm.
It is preferably from 0 to 120 μm, preferably about 80 μm. Each of the insulating films is preferably a transparent film in order to make the insulating coating 120 transparent.

In the flat heater 100 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the external wiring conductor 130 shown in FIG. 4 is connected to a pair of terminal pieces 110c, 110c provided at both ends of the heater pattern 110. The external wiring conductor 130 is conductively connected to the terminal piece 110c via, for example, a solder SD.
It is desirable that the conductive connection between the terminal piece 110c and the external wiring 130 be covered with an insulating coating layer IS made of an insulating resin or the like.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a method of manufacturing the above-described flat heater 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the case of manufacturing the above-described flat heater 100, first, as shown in FIG. 5, the heating element 110a is pulled out from the roll 1 formed by winding the strip-shaped heating element 110a, and is pulled out from the other rolls 2 and 3, respectively. Along with the inner insulating films 121 and 122, and between the heating and pressurizing rollers 4 and 5 so as to sandwich the heating element 110a.
21 and 122 are laminated. Here, in order to sandwich the plurality of heating elements 110a arranged as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of rolls 1 shown in FIG. 5 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the paper of FIG. 110
a are drawn out in parallel with each other and introduced between the heating and pressing rollers 4 and 5 so as to be sandwiched between the inner insulating films 121 and 122. In this way, the heating element 11 is interposed between the inner insulating films 121 and 122 bonded to each other.
The heater laminate 100x in which Oa is sealed is continuously formed in the laminating direction R (that is, the direction in which the heating element 110a extends).

In the above-described laminating step (film laminating step), the heating element 110 is interposed between the heating rollers 4 and 5.
When the inner insulating films 121 and 122 are introduced so as to sandwich the anti-adhesive material 11a between the heating element 110a and the inner insulating film 122 at predetermined intervals in the laminating direction R.
5 is inserted. In this case, since the inner insulating films 121 and 122 are not bonded at the portion where the anti-adhesion material 115 is inserted, the heater laminate 100x has
The non-adhesion regions A are formed at regular intervals in the laminating direction R.

As the adhesion preventing material 115, for example,
Inner insulating film 1 such as tetrafluoroethylene
It is difficult to adhere to the heating rollers 4 and 5
Preferably, it can be easily removed even if it receives heat or pressure. It is also possible to use a so-called release paper. The insertion cycle of the anti-adhesion material 115 is made substantially equal to the length in the laminating direction R of the flat heater to be manufactured. Further, as shown in the figure, the adhesion preventing material 115 is provided in advance of the heating elements 110a before the heating rollers 4 and 5.
On the inner insulating film 122.
May be lightly adhered to the inner surface of the base. Further, the adhesion between the inner insulating film 121 and the heating element 110a can be prevented by interposing the adhesion preventing material 115 between the inner insulating film 121 and the heating element 110a.
By doing so, the inner insulating film 121 and the heating element 11
In a state where the plate-shaped member is interposed between the heat-generating member 110a and the heat-generating member 110a, the inner insulating film 122 and the heating element 110a can be cut from above as described later.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, in the non-adhesion region A of the heater laminate 100x where the anti-adhesion material 115 is inserted, the inner insulating film 1 is
22 is cut, and the cut end of the inner insulating film 122 is opened. Then, in the non-adhesion area A, the conductor pieces 110b and the terminal pieces 110 are placed on the heating element 110a.
Arrange c. Thereafter, the conductor small piece 110b and the terminal small piece 110c are fixed to the heating element 110a by spot welding using the welding tool 8. Of course, bonding may be performed using a conductive paste or solder instead of welding. In addition, without cutting the inner insulating film 122, a gap is provided between the heating element 110a and the conductor piece 11 from the side.
0b and the terminal piece 110c may be inserted and joined.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the heater laminated body 100x is cut by the cutter 9 in the non-bonded area A,
The divided heater bodies 100y are individually separated. Finally,
As shown in FIG. 8, the above-described flat heater 100 is completed by further laminating outer insulating films 123 and 124 on the front and back surfaces of the divided heater body 100y. Here, FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 are only schematic views of respective cross-sectional structures, and do not represent actual laminated structures.

Incidentally, in the divided heater body 100y,
The inner insulating films 121 and 122 are not bonded to each other in the vicinity of both ends where the conductor pieces 110b and the terminal pieces 110c are arranged, but this portion is simultaneously formed by laminating the outer insulating films 123 and 124. Can be laminated. Needless to say, prior to the secondary laminating step shown in FIG. 8, re-lamination processing may be separately performed on both ends of the inner insulating films 121 and 122.

According to this embodiment, the divided heater body 10
Immediately before setting to 0y, processing is performed in a state of the heater laminate 100x in which portions (the unit areas) to be a plurality of flat heaters 100 are continuous, so that productivity is improved and manufacturing cost is reduced. be able to.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a method of manufacturing a flat heater 100 different from the above will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 and 10 show the same heating element 110a and inner insulating films 121 and 122 as in the second embodiment.
1 schematically shows a structure of a laminating apparatus 10 for laminating a laminate to form a heater laminate 100x.

The laminating apparatus 10 includes a main body 11 and
Marking devices 13 and 14 arranged outside body 11
It has. The heating element 110a is pulled out from the roll 1 similar to the second embodiment, and the inner insulating film 121, the rolls 2 and 3 (not shown) similar to the second embodiment.
The inner insulating films 121, 122 are laminated by the pressure rollers 16, 17 arranged in the main body 11 so as to draw out the heating element 110 a and sandwich the heating element 110 a. Plate heaters 16a and 17a are arranged at positions in front of the pressure rollers 16 and 17 so as to heat the inner insulating films 121 and 122.

Heat insulation adjusting mechanisms 18 and 19 are provided in the main body 11. The heat insulation adjusting mechanisms 18 and 19 are provided between the plate heaters 16 a and 17 a and the inner insulating films 121 and 122. The members 18a and 19a can be freely inserted and removed. The plate-like heat insulators 18a and 19a are formed of a material having both good heat insulation and heat resistance, for example, a material such as tetrafluoroethylene.

An encoder 15 is attached to the main body 11. When the heater laminate 100x laminated by the pressure rollers 16 and 17 is led out by a predetermined length, the marking devices 13 and 14 are operated based on the detection signal from the encoder 15 and the inner insulating film 121 is operated. , 122 are marked. Here, the marking devices 13 and 14 are provided with the inner insulating films 121 and 12 respectively.
2 may be configured to perform perforation, or may be configured to print appropriate marks, symbols, characters, and the like. When the perforations are made by the marking devices 13 and 14, the perforations can be used as marks and also as openings for conductively connecting the wiring.

In the laminating apparatus 10, the inner insulating films 121 and 122 are usually heated by the pressure rollers 16 and 17 while the inner insulating films 121 and 122 are heated by the plate heaters 16a and 17a as shown in FIG. Film 1
21 and 122 are laminated. In this case, the heating state can be adjusted by the protruding length of the heat insulating materials 18a and 19a. Further, in the process of continuously performing the lamination in this manner, the heater laminate 1 is detected by the detection signal from the encoder 15.
When 00x is formed for a predetermined length, the heat insulation adjusting mechanisms 18 and 19 operate as shown in FIG.
9a are extruded, and the inner insulating films 121 and 122 and the plate-like heater 16 are heated by the heat insulating materials 18a and 19a.
a and 17a are thermally isolated from each other, so that the inner insulating films 121 and 122 are not heated.
7 is derived. Further, a short while after the lamination is interrupted, the heat insulating materials 18a, 18a are again displayed on the basis of the detection signal from the encoder 15 as shown in FIG.
9a is drawn into the heat insulation adjusting mechanisms 18 and 19, and the lamination of the inner insulating films 121 and 122 is restarted.

The laminating apparatus 10 described above
A heater laminate 100x similar to that of the embodiment is formed and sent to a subsequent process as it is. Although the adhesion preventing material 115 used in the second embodiment is not interposed in the heater laminate 100x, a non-adhesion region is formed by interrupting the heating of the inner insulating film. In addition, the heater laminated body 100x thus configured may be temporarily wound into a roll, and the heater laminated body 100x may be pulled out from the roll in a later process to perform a post-process described below.

FIG. 11 schematically shows the structure of a terminal processing device 20 for processing the portions corresponding to both ends of the flat heater with respect to the heater laminate 100x configured as described above. The terminal processing device 20 includes a joining head 2 with respect to a pair of support frames 21 and 21, respectively.
2 and 22 are configured to be able to move up and down in the drawing and to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. Each of the joining heads 22 has an upper electrode 23 formed in a roller shape and rotatably configured, and a detection sensor 24 that moves together with the upper electrode 23. The detection sensor 24 is configured to detect the presence or absence of the heating element 110a disposed below. Detection sensor 24
May be a contact-type sensor (for example, an electric contact-type sensor) that actually contacts the heating element 110a to detect the presence or absence thereof, or a non-contact-type sensor (for example, an optical sensor or a proximity sensor). You may.

On the other hand, a lower electrode plate 25 is provided below the support frames 21 and 21 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing and slightly movable in the vertical direction. On the upper surface of the lower electrode plate 25, two sets of rows of positioning pins 25a arranged in two rows in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG.
They are arranged at intervals in the extension direction of 10a. Further, a sharp portion 25p that is thinner toward the front end is provided at the front end (the front side in FIG. 11) of the lower electrode plate 25 as shown in FIG. A predetermined voltage required for welding is applied between the upper electrode 23 and the lower electrode plate 25.

The heater laminate 100x is connected to the terminal processor 20.
Is sent to the non-adhesion area A where the inner insulating films 121 and 122 are not adhered by a cutting mechanism (not shown) similar to the cutter 7 shown in the second embodiment.
At the approximate center of the terminal processing device 20, the inner insulating film 122 is cut over the entire width, and the cut ends thereof are expanded as shown in FIG.
Will be introduced.

Next, the lower electrode plate 25 shown in FIG.
1, the lower electrode plate 25 is inserted between the heating element 110a and the inner insulating film 121 over the entire width of the heater laminate 100x at a height indicated by a two-dot chain line. After being arranged so as to be interposed therebetween, it rises slightly and stops at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. At this time, the positioning pin 25a is
a, and projects upward from the heating element 110a.

Next, a pair of conductor pieces 110S are inserted from the side of the positioning pins 25a so as to intersect with the heating elements 110a along the arrangement of the positioning pins 25a.
The conductor pieces 110S are arranged between the rows a. Then, the joining head 22 is moved from above to the heating element 110a and the conductor piece 110S.
, And the upper electrode 23 is connected to the conductor piece 1.
Contact the surface of 10S. When the detection sensor 24 detects the heating element 110a while moving the joining head 22 in the direction orthogonal to the plane of the paper of FIG. 11, that is, the extending direction of the conductor piece 110S shown in FIG. By applying a voltage to the electrode plate 25 and not applying a voltage at any other time, the heating element 110a and the conductor piece 110S are welded only at their intersections.

As described above, the pair of conductor pieces 110S
Is connected to the plurality of heating elements 110a so as to be conductively connected thereto, and then the heating elements 110a and the conductor pieces 110S are cut on the lower electrode plate 25 by the cutters 26 and 27 shown in FIG. In this case, the upstream heating element and the downstream heating element are separated by cutting and removing the portion of the heating element 110a existing between the pair of conductor pieces 110S by the cutter 26, and the cutter 27 By cutting and removing a part of the conductor piece 110S, the plurality of conductor pieces 110b and the terminal pieces 110c shown in FIG. 1 are left.

The heater laminate 100x subjected to the terminal treatment as described above is again in a state where the inner insulating film 122 is covered in the non-adhesion area A, and becomes the heater laminate 100z shown in FIG. This heater laminate 100z
After being wound and stored as a roll, FIG.
The processing is performed by the secondary laminating apparatus 30 shown in FIG. Here, the heater lamination body 100z may be continuously fed from the terminal processing device 20 to a secondary laminating device 30 described later, that is, without being once rolled.

As shown in FIG. 14, the secondary laminating apparatus 30 includes a laminating unit 31 for supporting a roll 31R around which the heater lamination 100z is wound, and a laminating unit for laminating the laminated heater 100z. In the apparatus 10, a mark sensor 32 for detecting a perforated or printed marking (not shown) and the outer insulating film 123 pulled out from the roll 33R are marked (corresponding to the timing at which the marking is detected by the mark sensor 32). Marking device 34 for performing perforation, printing, etc.)
And the outer insulating film 12 drawn from the roll 34R
4, a marking device 35 that performs marking in accordance with the timing at which the marking is detected by the mark sensor 32, and the outer insulating film 12 that sandwiches the heater laminate 100z supplied from the material supply unit 31.
Heating and pressing roller 36 for laminating 3,124
37, and a storage section 39 for storing the heater laminate 100w after completion of lamination in a roll 39R.

The outer insulating films 123, 1 are placed on the front and back of the heater laminate 100z by the secondary laminating apparatus 30.
24 are laminated, and the inner insulating film 12
In the non-adhered area where 1,122 is not adhered,
The inner insulating films 121 and 122 are also formed by the heating and pressing roller 3.
6, 37 bonded together. In this way 2
The heavily insulated heater stack 100w is divided into individual planar heaters 100 shown in FIG.

According to the second embodiment described above, as a manufacturing process for forming the flat heater 100, the flat heater 1
Until a plurality of flat heaters 100 are formed.
Heater stack 100x in which portions to be formed are continuous,
By performing the processing in the form of 100z and 100w, it is possible to improve the productivity and reduce the manufacturing cost. In addition, labor costs can also be reduced since this embodiment requires little manual work.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment relating to the structure of the flat heater will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 15 is a plan view of the flat heater 200, and FIG. 16 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of a terminal portion of the flat heater 200.

As shown in FIG. 15, the flat heater 200 has a heater pattern 21 formed in a meandering shape as a whole.
0, and an insulating coating 220 that covers the heater pattern 210 from both sides. Heater pattern 210
Is a plurality of heating elements 210a extending in parallel in the vertical direction in the figure.
And heating element 2 adjacent at both ends of heating element 210a
Conductor pieces 2 provided to electrically connect 10a to each other
10b and a strip-shaped terminal piece 210c joined to the tip of the outermost heating element 210a.

The plurality of conductor pieces 210b have the same width as each other,
In addition, the terminal strips 210c are configured to be arranged on a common straight line, and the pair of terminal pieces 210c are configured to be arranged on a common straight line having the same width as each other and different from the above. I have.

On the other hand, the insulating coating 220 has a two-layer structure of the inner insulating films 221 and 222 and the outer insulating films 223 and 224 as in the first embodiment. As the material, polyethylene or polyester can be used in the same manner as described above, and it is preferable that the material is transparent.

The pair of terminal pieces 210c are both flat heaters 2.
10 is disposed on one side (upper end in the figure), and the tip is conductively connected to wirings 231 and 232. Further, on the outer surface of the insulating coating 220 overlapping the upper end portion of the meandering heater pattern 210, a conductive tape 234 (for example, aluminum foil only or aluminum foil laminated on a resin base material) extending over the front and back surfaces is provided. Etc.) are stuck. The conductor tape 234 includes the ground wiring 23.
3 is conductively connected.

At a substantially central portion of the heater pattern 210, a safety circuit breaker 238 is electrically connected in series to the heater pattern 210 via wirings 236 and 237. The safety circuit breaker 238 is configured to detect when the temperature of the flat heater 200 becomes higher than a predetermined temperature, open the heater circuit, and cut off the circuit. The safety circuit breaker 238 is mounted on the outer surface of the insulating coating 220 by the same conductive tape 239 as described above.

FIG. 16 shows the structure of the wiring connection portion of the above-mentioned plane pattern. For example, a part of the insulating coating 220 is removed to expose the terminal strip 210c on either the front or back, and the solder SD or the like is placed here. For example, the conductive wire 231a in the wiring coating 231b of the wiring 231 is conductively connected through the wiring. Also,
The exposed portion of the conductor in this connection portion is covered with an insulator IS made of an insulating resin such as a silicone resin. It should be noted that such a conductive connection structure is provided by the flat heater 20.
0, the connection portion between the wiring 232 and the terminal strip 210c, the wiring 2
The same can be applied to the connection portion between the heating elements 36a and 237 and the heating element 210a.

The method and apparatus for manufacturing a flat heater according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described illustrated examples, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. is there. For example, the flat heaters of the first embodiment and the fourth embodiment are covered with a thin insulating coating, and are manufactured as being basically used indoors such as floor heating. By encapsulating the heater pattern with a resin such as synthetic rubber having properties and elasticity, it is also possible to configure a snow melting heater that can be used outdoors such as on roofs, slopes, and stairs.

[0061]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A flat heater can be easily formed, and can be manufactured efficiently and at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of a flat heater according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing a cross section taken along the line III-III of FIG.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing an example of a wiring connection structure of the flat heater of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a process explanatory view showing a state of a laminating (film bonding) process in a second embodiment of the method of manufacturing a flat heater according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a process explanatory view showing a process of introducing a conductor piece in a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a process explanatory diagram showing a cutting division process in the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a process explanatory diagram showing a secondary laminating (bonding) process in the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram schematically illustrating a configuration of a laminating apparatus used in a third embodiment of the flat heater according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a different state (lamination preventing state) in the laminating apparatus shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminal processing device of a third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a partial perspective view illustrating a state of a terminal process according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the heater laminate after the terminal processing.

FIG. 14 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an outline of a secondary laminating apparatus.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a planar shape of a fourth embodiment of the planar heater according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view showing a wiring connection structure according to a fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Flat heater 110 Heater pattern 110a Heating element 110b Conductor piece 110c Terminal piece 120 Insulating coating 121, 122, 123, 124 Insulating film

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3K034 AA02 AA20 BA08 BA13 BA18 BC03 BC16 CA02 CA18 CA26 CA29 3K092 PP20 QA06 QB02 QB31 QB43 QB47 QB65 QC02 QC21 RF02 RF13 RF17 RF26 VV03

Claims (13)

[Claims] A heater pattern including a belt-like heating element;
A flat heater comprising: an insulating coating that covers the front and back surfaces of the heater pattern, wherein a plurality of the heating elements extend in a predetermined direction in parallel, and both ends of the heating element are disposed between the ends of the adjacent heating elements. Wherein the conductor pattern is conductively connected to the heater pattern, and the heater pattern is formed in a meandering shape. 2. The flat heater according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the conductor pieces having the same width are arranged on a common straight line. 3. A terminal piece is joined to an end of the heater pattern, and the conductor piece and the terminal piece are formed to have the same width as each other, and are arranged on a common straight line. 3. The flat heater according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The heater pattern according to claim 1, wherein a pair of terminal pieces are joined to both ends of the heater pattern, the terminal pieces are formed to have the same width, and are arranged on a common straight line. Item 4. The flat heater according to any one of items 3. 5. The flat heater according to claim 1, wherein the insulating coating is transparent. 6. A heater pattern including a strip-shaped heating element,
A method of manufacturing a flat heater, comprising: an insulating coating that covers the front and back surfaces of the heater pattern, wherein the insulating film forming the insulating coating is oriented in the direction in which the heating element extends from both sides of the heating element. To form a heater laminated body in which a plurality of unit regions to be planar heaters are continuously provided in the extension direction, and at this time, the insulating films are mutually attached to ends of the unit regions in the extension direction. A laminating step of providing a non-bonded non-bonded area, and a conductive piece introducing step of introducing a conductive piece so as to be conductively connected to the heating element between the heating element and the insulating film in the non-bonded area, A heater dividing step of dividing the unit region individually. 7. In the conductor piece introducing step, a pair of the conductor pieces is introduced into the non-adhesion area between the unit regions at intervals in an extending direction of the heating element, and the pair of the conductor pieces in the heating element is provided. 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein a portion between the conductor pieces is removed. 8. The flat heater according to claim 6, wherein in the laminating step, the insulating film is laminated so as to sandwich the plurality of heating elements in a state of being arranged in parallel in the width direction. Production method. 9. The method of manufacturing a flat heater according to claim 8, wherein in the conductor piece introducing step, the conductor pieces are introduced so as to electrically connect the plurality of heating elements. 10. The method of manufacturing a flat heater according to claim 6, wherein in the conductor piece introducing step, the conductor piece is joined to the heating element. 11. The method according to claim 6, further comprising a re-laminating step of laminating the insulating film in the non-adhesion region between the conductor piece introducing step and the heater dividing step. 2. The method for manufacturing a flat heater according to claim 1. 12. The method for manufacturing a flat heater according to claim 6, further comprising a secondary laminating step of further laminating an outer insulating film outside the heater laminate. . 13. The method for manufacturing a flat heater according to claim 12, wherein in the secondary laminating step, portions of the insulating film in the non-adhesion region are simultaneously laminated.