JP2015028924A - Electric heater and heating apparatus including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric heater which can be assembled easily with a simple configuration, and having a high heating efficiency, and to provide a heating apparatus including the same.SOLUTION: An electric heater includes a planar heating element 10 having a meandering current path 12, a support 20 for suspending and supporting the heating element 10 at the upper end 14 thereof, and an exterior material 30 to which the support 20 is attached. The heating element 10 has a recess 14a opening downward by bending the upper end 14 thereof. The support 20 has a protrusion 22 protruding upward from the base 21 thereof, and the heating element 10 is suspended and supported by fitting the recess 14a and the protrusion 22.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric heater and a heating device including the same. More specifically, an electric heater having a plate-like heating element having a meandering current path, a support for supporting the heating element by suspending the heating element at its upper end, and an exterior material to which the support is attached, and It is related with the heating apparatus provided with.

  Conventionally, as the above-mentioned electric heater, for example, those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known. In Document 1 (FIGS. 2 and 3) and Document 2, the upper end of the heating element is bent at approximately 90 °, and the bent portion is placed on the lower insulator and held between the upper insulator, so the number of parts is reduced. Many assembly operations were also complicated. Moreover, since it uses with a pair of upper and lower insulators, heat capacity may increase and heating efficiency may fall, and the improvement of the further heating efficiency was desired.

JP-A-2005-150101 JP 2011-134597 A

  In view of such a conventional situation, an object of the present invention is to provide an electric heater that has a simple configuration but is easy to assemble and has high heating efficiency, and a heating device including the electric heater.

  In order to achieve the above object, the electric heater according to the present invention is characterized in that a plate-like heating element having a meandering current path, a supporting body for supporting the heating element by suspending the heating element at its upper end, and the support The heating element has a concave portion that opens downward by bending the upper end portion thereof, and the support has a convex portion that protrudes upward from the base portion. Then, the heat generating element is suspended and supported by fitting the concave portion and the convex portion.

  According to the above configuration, it is only necessary to bend the upper end portion of the heating element to open the recess and the protrusion protruding upward from the base of the support body, and the heating element can be easily assembled. . In addition, the fitting between the concave portion and the convex portion can prevent the heat generating element from falling off the support and suppress the movement of the heat generating element in the front-rear direction. In addition, since the insulator for holding the heating element or pressing the upper end of the heating element downward can be omitted, not only the number of parts can be reduced but also the heating efficiency can be improved.

  In addition to the above configuration, the support has a protruding portion that protrudes more than the protruding portion, and the upper end of the heating element and the support in the other electric heater adjacent to the lower end of the exterior material below It is good to provide the accommodating part which accommodates the said convex part. Since it has the protrusion part which protrudes rather than a convex part, while being able to prevent the short circuit by the contact between the current paths of a heat generating body, the thermal deformation and movement to the longitudinal direction of a heat generating body can be suppressed. In addition, since the housing portion for housing the upper end portion of the other heating element and the convex portion of the other support member adjacent to the lower end portion of the exterior material is provided, the structure of the support member is simplified and Short circuit due to contact between heating elements adjacent in the direction can also be prevented. In such a case, the exterior material is made of an insulating material.

  The upper end portion may have a protruding portion that protrudes from the upper end and can be bent, and an insertion hole for inserting the protruding portion may be provided in the base portion. Thereby, while being able to prevent the short circuit by the contact between the current paths of a heat generating body, the thermal deformation and movement to the longitudinal direction of a heat generating body can be suppressed.

  Moreover, you may provide the through-hole which penetrates a connection member in the said upper end part and the said convex part. Thereby, a connection member suppresses the movement to the front-back direction and a longitudinal direction of a heat generating body, and a thermal deformation. In such a case, the end of the connecting member may be configured to be bendable. Thereby, a heat generating body and a support body can be connected more firmly, and movement or thermal deformation can be further suppressed. In any one of the configurations described above, the exterior material is made of a conductive material, and the support is made of an insulating material.

  The electric heater according to any one of the above can be implemented as a heating device including the electric heater.

  According to the characteristics of the electric heater according to the present invention and the heating device including the electric heater, it is possible to improve the heating efficiency with easy assembly while having a simple configuration.

  Other objects, configurations, and effects of the present invention will become apparent from the following embodiments of the present invention.

It is a schematic perspective view of the heating apparatus comprised by laminating | stacking the electric heater which concerns on this invention. It is a cross-sectional front view of FIG. It is a cross-sectional perspective view of FIG. It is a perspective view of a heat generating body. It is a figure which shows a support insulator, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a top view. It is a perspective view of a heat insulation member. It is a perspective view of a penetration member. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows the furnace inner side of an electric heater. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows the furnace outer side of an electric heater. It is a partial expansion perspective view of the lamination part of an electric heater. It is a perspective view of the electric heater which concerns on 2nd embodiment. It is a cross-sectional perspective view of FIG. It is a perspective view of a heating element, (a) is a schematic diagram, (b) is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the furnace inside (front side), and (c) is a partially enlarged perspective view showing the furnace outside (back side). . It is a perspective view of a support body. It is a partial expansion perspective view which shows the support body vicinity, (a) is a furnace outer side (insulator upper surface side), (b) is a figure which shows the furnace inner side (insulator back surface side). FIG. 15 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 14 according to a third embodiment. It is a figure equivalent to Drawing 12 (c) of a heating element concerning a third embodiment. It is a figure equivalent to Drawing 13 (a) of a support concerning a third embodiment.

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the electric heater 1 according to the present invention generally has a meandering heating element 10, an insulator 20 as a support for supporting the heating element 10, and an exterior material for attaching the insulator 20. And an insulator 30. In the first embodiment, as shown in the figure, a plurality of electric heaters 1 are stacked in the vertical direction Z to form the heating device 100. In addition, in the example of the figure, it is comprised from the two-stage electric heaters 1 and 1, but the number of stages is not limited to this.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 8 a, and 8 b, the heating element 10 is formed to be curved along the inner peripheral surface of the insulator 30. In the present embodiment, the heating element 10 includes upper open slits 11 a and lower open slits 11 b arranged alternately along the circumferential direction Y from the upper and lower ends to form a meandering current path 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 4, 8 a, and 8 b, the current path 12 includes a linear portion 13 that is parallel to the slit 11, an upper end portion 14 that connects the linear portion 13, and a lower end portion 15. The straight portion 13 is bent toward the insulator 30 side (outward) at an intermediate portion thereof to form a bent portion 13a. The bent portion 13 a is inclined with respect to the vertical direction Z so that the upper end portion 14 is located closer to the insulator 30 than the lower end portion 15.

  As shown in FIGS. 4, 8 a, and 8 b, the upper end portion 14 has a concave portion 14 a that is bent toward the insulator 30 and opens in the vertical direction Z. In the present embodiment, the upper end portion 14 is bent in an arc shape by R-bending. On the other hand, the linear portion 13 and the lower end portion 15 below the bent portion 13a do not curve in the direction intersecting the vertical direction Z, and are along the vertical direction Z so as to be positioned on substantially the same circumferential surface. It is drooping.

  As shown in FIGS. 5, 8 a, and 8 b, the insulator 20 generally includes a plate-like base portion 21 that is fixed to an upper surface 30 a of an insulator 30 to be described later, and a convex portion 22 that protrudes upward in the vertical direction Z from the base portion 21. And a projecting portion 23 projecting upward from the projecting portion 22 at an intermediate portion of the projecting portion 22. The insulator 20 is made of an insulating material such as a so-called ceramic material or silicon nitride material mainly composed of alumina, alumina silica, mullite, zircon, or cordierite.

  The upper surface 22 a of the convex portion 22 is curved in an arc shape so as to coincide with the concave portion 14 a of the upper end portion 14. Moreover, the protrusion part 23 is formed in the width | variety which can be inserted in the upper open slit 11a. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 8a, 8b, and 9, the heating element 10 can be suspended and supported simply by fitting the recess 14a of the heating element 10 and the protrusion 22 of the insulator 20, and the assembly is easy. Become. Moreover, this fitting can also prevent thermal deformation and movement in the vertical direction Z and the radial direction X. Furthermore, the thermal deformation and movement of the heating element 10 in the circumferential direction Y (longitudinal direction) are suppressed by the protrusion 23 just by fitting the upper opening slit 11 a into the protrusion 23, and a short circuit due to contact between the linear portions 13. Can also be prevented.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a stepped step portion 24 is formed on the circumferential side surface of the base portion 21. In the opposing step portions 24 and 24, the convex portions 24a and the concave portions 24b are formed so as to alternate. As shown in FIGS. 1, 8a and 8b, the stepped portion 24 is accurately and easily arranged by fitting the stepped portion 24 when the insulator 20 is arranged on the insulator 30 in the circumferential direction Y as shown in FIGS. It is possible to prevent displacement of the insulator 20 after the arrangement. In addition, the base 21 is provided with a through hole 25 through which an attaching means such as a bolt and a pin attached to the insulator 30 is passed. However, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the load of the upper electric heater 1 is applied to the plate-like base portion 21 via the annular lower convex portion 30 b located on the outer peripheral side of the insulator 30. It is not always necessary to fix the insulator 20 to the insulator 30 by the attaching means, and the through hole 25 can be omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 6, 8a, and 8b, the insulator 30 has a cylindrical shape. In this embodiment, a ceramic board is used for the insulator 30 and also functions as a heat insulating member. In addition to the material similar to the insulator 20, for example, as the heat insulating refractory, various materials such as ceramic fiber or ceramic powder mixed with organic / inorganic binder can be used for the insulator 30. It is.

  As shown in FIGS. 6, 8 a, and 8 b, the insulator 30 generally includes a housing portion 31 formed at the lower end portion and a protruding portion 32 that protrudes from the inner surface toward the furnace center in the radial direction X. As shown in FIGS. 8 a, 8 b, and 9, the accommodating portion 31 accommodates the upper end portion 14 of the heating element 10 located below and the convex portion 22 of the insulator 20. Here, the accommodating part 31 is provided so that it may be located inside a furnace, and the lower protrusion 30b is provided in the outer side. As described above, since the lower convex portion 30b is placed on the base portion 21 of the insulator 20, the load of the electric heater 1 is concentrated on the portion. When a load is applied at a high temperature, the insulator 30 may be deformed (depressed) due to thermal contraction. Therefore, by disposing the base portion 21 of the insulator 20 on the upper surface 30a of the insulator 30 facing the outside of the furnace and disposing the lower convex portion 30b of the upper electric heater 1 on the base portion 21, the risk of the above deformation can be reduced. It becomes possible to reduce.

  Moreover, the protrusion part 32 is formed in three places in this embodiment. The protrusion 32 forms a gap between the insulator 30 and the heating element 10 so that the heat from the heating element 10 is efficiently transferred into the furnace.

  The lowermost first projecting portion 32 a is provided so as to protrude from the upper portion of the housing portion 31. In addition, a slope 33 that is inclined outward is formed on the upper side of the uppermost second protrusion 32b. The slope 33 is formed so as to face the bent portion 13a of the heating element 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the insulator 30 is formed with a plurality of through holes 34 through which the penetrating member 40 for introducing a cooling gas or the like outside the furnace is introduced.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the penetrating member 40 includes a cylindrical main body 41 and an enlarged portion 42 that expands radially from the main body 41. As shown in FIGS. 8 a, 8 b, and 9, the enlarged portion 42 is provided so as to be engaged with the linear portion 13 of the heating element 10, and restricts the movement of the heating element 10 in the radial direction X. The penetrating member 40 is made of the same material as the insulator 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 a, 8 b, and 9, the lower end 15 of the upper heating element 10 is positioned in the vicinity of the first protrusion 32 a of the insulator 30 in the state where the electric heaters 1 are stacked. In order to regulate the amount of deformation of the heating element 10, the lower end 15 may be positioned between the first protrusion 32 a and the penetrating member 40. Therefore, the lower end 15 may be positioned with a gap from the first protrusion 32a, or may be in contact with the first protrusion 32a. Further, the upper end portion 14 of the lower heating element 10 is fitted in the convex portion 22 of the insulator 20 and is positioned in the accommodating portion 31. As a result, the lower heating element 10 is restricted from being thermally deformed and moved upward by the accommodating portion 31 of the upper insulator 30. And the bending part 13a of the upper part of the heat generating body 10 inclines to the insulator 30 side. Therefore, even if the lower end portion 15 hangs down due to thermal deformation, the housing portion 31 and the first projecting portion 32a can avoid contact between the heating elements 10 and 10 adjacent in the vertical direction, thereby preventing a short circuit. .

  Next, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. In the following embodiments, the same members and the like as those in the above embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the electric heater 1 ′ according to the second embodiment includes a roughly, generally, meandering heating element 10, an insulator 20 as a support for supporting the heating element 10, and an insulator 20. And an exterior material 30 to be attached. The exterior material 30 of the second embodiment is made of a conductive material instead of an insulator, and is made of a metal material such as a stainless material, for example. The heating element 10, the insulator 20, and the penetrating member 40 are made of the same material as in the above embodiment. The penetrating member 40 has the same configuration as in the above embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the heating element 10 is formed to be curved along the inner peripheral surface of the exterior member 30, and the upper open slit 11 a and the lower open slit 11 b are alternately arranged along the circumferential direction Y from the upper and lower ends. Are arranged in parallel to form a meandering current path 12.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the current path 12 includes a linear portion 13 parallel to the slit 11, an upper end portion 14 connecting the linear portion 13, and a lower end portion 15. The linear portion 13 and the lower end portion 15 are suspended along the vertical direction Z so as to be positioned on substantially the same circumferential surface. As shown in the figure, the upper end portion 14 has a concave portion 14a that is bent toward the insulator 30 side and opens in the vertical direction Z. In the present embodiment, the upper end portion 14 is bent by R-bending.

  In the second embodiment, the upper end portion 14 is provided with a protruding portion 16 protruding from the upper end 14b as shown in FIGS. The protrusion 16 is configured to be bendable.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the insulator 20 has a plate-like base portion 21, a convex portion 22 projecting upward in the vertical direction Z from the base portion 21, and a fixing portion 26 for fixing a mounting bracket 39 attached to the exterior material 30. And have. The insulator 20 ensures insulation between the heating element 10 and the exterior member 30. The base portion 21 is provided with a through hole 27 through which the protruding portion 16 of the heating element 10 passes. And as shown in FIG. 14, the front-end | tip 16a of the projection part 16 which penetrated the through-hole 27 is bend | folded in the radial direction X on the back surface side of the insulator 20, for example.

  The upper surface 22 a of the convex portion 22 is curved so as to match the concave portion 14 a of the upper end portion 14. Accordingly, the heating element 10 can be supported by being suspended only by fitting the recess 14a of the heating element 10 and the protrusion 22 of the insulator 20, and the assembly is facilitated. Moreover, this fitting can also prevent thermal deformation and movement in the vertical direction Z and the radial direction X. In addition, as shown in FIG. 14, the tip 16a of the protrusion 16 penetrating through the through hole 27 is bent in the radial direction X on the back side of the insulator 20, so that the protrusion 16 allows the heating element 10 to have a radial direction X and a circumference. Thermal deformation and movement in the direction Y and the vertical direction Z are restricted, and a short circuit due to contact between the current paths 12 can be prevented.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The electric heater according to the third embodiment has the same configuration as that of the second embodiment, but the protrusion 16 is provided on the heating element 10 in that a connecting member 50 for connecting the heating element 10 and the insulator 20 'is used. Different from the second embodiment.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15A, a substantially T-shaped pin 50 is used as a connecting member. The pin 50 includes a head 51 and a rod-shaped portion 52 that is substantially orthogonal to the head 51, and an end 52a of the rod-shaped portion 52 is configured to be bendable. The pin 50 is made of various heat-resistant metals such as SUS310S and Fe—Cr—Al alloy.

  As shown in FIG. 16, a through hole 19 is formed in the upper end portion 14 ′ of the heating element 10. Further, as shown in FIG. 17, a through hole 29 is formed in the convex portion 22 of the insulator 20 '. These through holes 19 and 29 are arranged to communicate with each other.

  As shown in FIG. 15A, the rod-like portion 52 is passed through the through holes 19 and 29 from the upper end portion 14 'side of the heating element 10, and the head portion 51 is hooked on the upper end portion 14'. Then, the end 52a is bent substantially horizontally (along the back surface of the insulator 20 '), for example, outward in the radial direction X. Thereby, the rod-shaped part 52 restrict | limits the movement to the radial direction X and the circumferential direction Y of the heat generating body 10, and the head 51 and the edge part 52a restrict | limit the movement to the vertical direction Z of the heat generating body 10. Thus, the movement of the heating element 10 due to thermal expansion or the like can be limited with a simple configuration and simple assembly.

Finally, the possibility of other embodiments is mentioned.
In each of the above embodiments, the upper end portion 14 of the heating element 10 is bent in an arc shape to form the concave portion 14a, and the convex portion 22 of the insulator 20 is formed in an arc shape. However, the shape of these members is not limited to those of the above-described embodiments, and any shape or structure that allows the heating element 10 and the support 20 to be fitted to each other may be used. The shape of the heater may be not only an arc shape but also a flat plate shape.

  Further, the shape of the insulator 20 is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the shape of the stepped portion 24 in the above embodiment is not limited to the shape in the above first embodiment, and may be any form that can arrange the insulators without deviation. Moreover, the shape of the protrusion part 23 is not restricted to said 1st embodiment, The thing of the aspect which can prevent the contact between the linear parts 13 of the heat generating body 10 should just be used. Furthermore, the shape of the fixing portion 26 in the second and third embodiments is not limited to the above example.

  In the third embodiment, the substantially T-shaped pin 50 is used as the connecting member. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Further, the pin 50 may have an enlarged portion that expands in the crossing direction of the rod-like portion 52.

  Further, although the end portion 52a can be bent, in a furnace or the like where the frequency of raising and lowering the temperature is low or the speed is low, the heating element 10 has little thermal expansion and contraction, and there is little movement and thermal deformation. There is no. In this case, for example, the T-shaped pin 50 can be made of a material equivalent to the insulator 20 such as alumina.

  Further, in the third embodiment, the pin 50 is inserted from the upper end portion 14 'side, but it is also possible to insert the pin 50 from the lever 20' side and bend the end portion 52a at the upper end portion 14 '.

  The bending direction of the protrusion 16 and the rod-shaped portion 52 is not limited to the above embodiment as long as the movement of the heating element 10 can be restricted and a short circuit due to contact can be prevented.

  The electric heater according to the present invention can be used as a heater for heat treatment of an object to be heated such as glass, ceramic, or metal. Moreover, it is applicable also to a reaction furnace and a diffusion furnace. Furthermore, the present invention provides, for example, reflow, annealing, and thermal treatment for oxidation or diffusion treatment, carrier activation or planarization after ion implantation on a substrate (semiconductor wafer) on which a semiconductor integrated circuit device (semiconductor device) is formed. It can be used for a substrate processing heating apparatus used for film formation by CVD reaction, sputtering, or the like. The substrate is not limited to a wafer such as a silicon wafer, SiC wafer, or glass, but may be a photomask, a printed wiring board, a liquid crystal panel, an optical disk, a magnetic disk, or the like. The manufactured semiconductor device is used for power semiconductors used for image sensors such as ICs, memories, LCDs, and CMOSs, inverters, and the like. Note that the present invention is not limited to batch-type heat treatment apparatuses and single-wafer-type heat treatment apparatuses, and can be applied to any semiconductor manufacturing apparatus provided with a heater unit.

1: electric heater, 10: heating element, 11: slit, 11a: upper open slit, 11b: lower open slit, 12: current path, 13: linear portion, 13a: bent portion, 14: upper end portion, 14a : Recess, 14b: upper end, 15: lower end, 16: protrusion, 16a: tip, 19: through hole, 20: insulator (support), 21: base, 22: protrusion, 22a: upper surface, 23 : Protruding part, 24: Step part, 24a: Convex part, 24b: Concave part, 25: Through hole, 26: Fixing part, 27: Through hole, 29: Through hole, 30: Exterior material, 30a: Upper surface, 30b: Bottom Side convex part, 31: accommodating part, 32: projecting part, 32a: first projecting part, 32b: second projecting part, 39: mounting bracket, 40: penetrating member, 41: main body part, 42: enlarged part, 50: Pin (connection member), 51: head, 52: rod-shaped part, 52a: end, 100: heating device , X: radial (heating body front-rear direction), Y: circumferential (heating body longitudinal direction), Z: vertical direction

Claims (8)

An electric heater having a plate-like heating element having a meandering current path, a support for supporting the heating element by suspending the heating element at its upper end, and an exterior material to which the support is attached,
The heating element has a concave portion that is bent downward at its upper end and opens downward,
The support has a convex portion that protrudes upward from its base,
An electric heater that suspends and supports the heating element by fitting the concave portion and the convex portion. The support has a protrusion that protrudes beyond the protrusion, and the upper end of the heating element and the protrusion of the support in the other electric heater adjacent to the lower end of the exterior material below the support. The electric heater according to claim 1, further comprising an accommodating portion for accommodating. The electric heater according to claim 2, wherein the exterior material is made of an insulating material. The electric heater according to claim 1, wherein the upper end portion has a protruding portion that protrudes from the upper end and can be bent, and an insertion hole for inserting the protruding portion is provided in the base portion. The electric heater according to claim 1, wherein a through hole through which a connecting member passes is provided in the upper end portion and the convex portion. The electric heater according to claim 5, wherein an end portion of the connecting member is bendable. The electric heater according to claim 4, wherein the exterior material is made of a conductive material, and the support is made of an insulating material. The heating apparatus provided with the electric heater in any one of Claims 1-7.

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