JP7005831B2 - Manufacturing method of PTC heater unit and PTC heater unit - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a PTC heater unit and a method for manufacturing a PTC heater unit.

Conventionally, a PTC heater unit has been known as a kind of planar heater unit. This PTC heater unit has a self-temperature control function in which the resistance value rises sharply when it reaches a specific temperature range, and is a heater unit with a wide range of applications used in various fields. Examples of such a PTC heater unit include a ceramic-based PTC heater element such as BaTIO ₃ to which a small amount of Y ₂ O ₃ is added, and general granular carbon black powder having conductivity to a crystalline polymer typified by polyethylene. A polymer-based PTC heater element formed by kneading is generally known.

However, the conventional PTC heater unit has a complicated manufacturing method, and it has been desired to configure the conventional PTC heater unit so that it can be manufactured more easily and efficiently.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a PTC heater unit that can be efficiently manufactured, and a method for manufacturing the PTC heater unit.

The above object of the present invention is an upper electrode plate and
With the lower electrode plate,
A plate-shaped PTC heater element sandwiched between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate and in contact with the inner surfaces of the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate, and the upper electrode plate, the lower electrode plate, and the PTC heater element. A resin film that covers the periphery of the PTC heater portion to be configured and an exterior casing that houses the PTC heater portion whose circumference is covered with the resin film are provided, and the above-mentioned is provided between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate. The first insulating material and the second insulating material arranged on both sides of the PTC heater element are provided, and the thickness dimension of the first insulating material and the second insulating material is the same as the thickness dimension of the PTC heater element. Achieved by the PTC heater unit formed .

Further, in this PTC heater unit, the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate each include a terminal portion arranged on the outside of the exterior casing, and the outer casing is surrounded by the resin film. The tubular housing portion having an opening corresponding to the cross-sectional shape in the thickness direction of the PTC heater portion is provided, and the terminal portion of the upper electrode plate and the terminal portion of the lower electrode plate are tubular. It is preferably arranged on the outside of the exterior casing via each of one opening in the accommodating portion and the other opening.

Further , the first insulating material is arranged on one opening side of the accommodating portion with respect to the PTC heater element, and the second insulating material is the other of the accommodating portion with respect to the PTC heater element. It is preferably arranged on the opening side.

Further, the resin film is preferably a tubular Kapton film.

Further, the above object of the present invention is a heater portion forming step of sandwiching a plate-shaped PTC heater element between an upper electrode plate and a lower electrode plate to form a PTC heater portion, and covering the periphery of the PTC heater portion with a resin film. The resin film surrounds the housing portion of the outer casing provided with the coating step to be covered and the tubular housing portion having an opening corresponding to the thickness direction cross-sectional shape of the PTC heater portion whose circumference is covered with the resin film. It is provided with an accommodating portion inserting step for inserting the coated PTC heater portion, and a press step of pressing the exterior casing in which the PTC heater portion is accommodated to integrate the PTC heater portion and the exterior casing. In the heater portion forming step, a first insulating material and a second insulating material having the same dimensions as the thickness of the PTC heater element are provided on both sides of the PTC heater element between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate. Achieved by a method of manufacturing a PTC heater unit comprising a placement step of insulating material .

Further, in the method for manufacturing the PTC heater unit, the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate have a plate-shaped main surface portion and a terminal portion protruding from the side edge of the main surface portion along the surface direction of the main surface portion. The heater portion forming step is set so that the terminal portion of the upper electrode plate and the terminal portion of the lower electrode plate face each other in opposite directions to sandwich the PTC heater element. In the accommodating portion insertion step, the terminal portion of the upper electrode plate and the terminal portion of the lower electrode plate have one opening in the tubular accommodating portion and the other. Each terminal portion is provided with a step of arranging the outer side of the outer casing through each of the openings of the above, and the terminal portions thereof are provided with respect to the PTC heater portion whose circumference is covered with the resin film and which is accommodated in the accommodating portion. It is preferable to further include a terminal portion bending step for bending in a direction perpendicular to the main surface portion.

Further , in the insulating material arranging step, the second insulating material is attached to the PTC heater element so that the first insulating material is on the terminal portion side of the upper electrode plate with respect to the PTC heater element. On the other hand, it is preferable to provide a step of arranging the lower electrode plate so as to be on the terminal portion side.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a PTC heater unit that can be efficiently manufactured and a method for manufacturing the PTC heater unit.

It is an exploded perspective view of the PTC heater unit which concerns on this invention. It is a top view of the PTC heater unit which concerns on this invention. It is a front view of the PTC heater unit which concerns on this invention. It is a side view of the PTC heater unit which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the upper electrode plate or the lower electrode plate provided in a heater part formation step.

Hereinafter, the PTC heater unit according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Each figure is partially enlarged or reduced to facilitate understanding of the configuration. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the PTC heater unit 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the PTC heater unit 1. FIG. 3 is a front view of the PTC heater unit 1, and FIG. 4 is a side view thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the PTC heater unit 1 according to the present invention includes a PTC heater element 2, an upper electrode plate 3, a lower electrode plate 4, a first insulating material 6, and a second insulating material 7. A resin film 8 and an exterior casing 9 are provided.

The PTC heater element 2 has a plate-like shape, is a resistor whose resistance value changes with respect to a temperature change, and has a positive temperature coefficient. The PTC heater element 2 is made of, for example, a ceramic material obtained by adding a predetermined additive (for example, _Y2O3 , etc.) to barium titanate ( _{BaTIO 3} ), and is near the Curie temperature of barium titanate (for example, around 90 ° C.). It has the characteristic that the resistance value changes at (around 230 ° C). The type of the PTC heater element 2 is not particularly limited, and instead of the ceramic-based PTC heater element 2, a general granular carbon black powder having conductivity is kneaded with a crystalline polymer typified by polyethylene. A polymer-based PTC heater element molded by the above may be adopted.

The upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 have a rectangular plate-shaped main surface portion 31, 41 in a plan view, and terminal portions 32, 42 protruding outward from one side edge of the main surface portion 31, 41, respectively. And have. The main surface portions 31, 41 and the terminal portions 32, 42 constituting the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 are preferably formed of a metal material that is difficult to oxidize, such as stainless steel. Further, the terminal portions 32 and 42 are terminals that are electrically connected to the lead wire for power supply, and the surface thereof may be appropriately plated in order to facilitate the soldering process on the lead wire. .. As the plating, for example, nickel / silver plating can be preferably exemplified. Further, an insulating tube 5 for electrical insulation is inserted in each of the terminal portions 32 and 42. The insulating tube 5 is arranged so as to cover a portion other than the tip portion of each terminal portion 32, 42 with only the tip portion (connection portion connected to the lead wire) exposed. The material constituting the insulating tube 5 is not particularly limited as long as it has excellent electrical insulating properties, but it is preferably formed from, for example, a silicon material or a rubber material.

The PTC heater element 2 is sandwiched between the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 having the above configuration, and the inner surface of the upper electrode plate 3 and one surface of the plate-shaped PTC heater element 2 come into contact with each other to form a lower electrode. The inner surface of the plate 4 and the other surface of the PTC heater element 2 are configured to come into contact with each other. By applying a voltage between the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4, a current flows through the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 to the PTC heater element 2, and the electric energy is converted into heat by the PTC heater element 2. To. The converted heat is transferred to the exterior casing 9 described later, dissipated from the outer surface of the exterior casing 9, and heats the periphery of the PTC heater unit 1.

Further, between the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4, a first insulating material 6 and a second insulating material 7 arranged adjacent to the PTC heater element 2 are provided. The first insulating material 6 is arranged on the terminal portion 32 side of the upper electrode plate 3 with respect to the PTC heater element 2 (on the one opening 91a side of the accommodating portion 91 described later with respect to the PTC heater element 2). The second insulating material 7 is arranged on the terminal portion 42 side of the lower electrode plate 4 with respect to the PTC heater element 2 (the other of the accommodating portions 91 described later with respect to the PTC heater element 2). (Arranged on the side of the opening 91a). Each of the first insulating material 6 and the second insulating material 7 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the thickness thereof is formed to be the same as that of the PTC heater element 2, and has undergone a press step (caulking step) described later. In this state, it is configured to come into contact with the inner surfaces of the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4. The material constituting the first insulating material 6 and the second insulating material 7 is not particularly limited as long as it has excellent electrical insulating properties, but it is preferably formed from, for example, a silicon material or a ceramic material.

It is composed of an upper electrode plate 3, a lower electrode plate 4, a PTC heater element 2 sandwiched between the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4, a first insulating material 6, and a second insulating material 7. The laminated structure constitutes a PTC heater portion, and the periphery of the PTC heater portion is covered with a resin film 8. The resin film 8 is preferably formed in a tubular shape, and is preferably formed of a material having electrical insulation and heat resistance. For example, it is preferably formed from a tubular Kapton film. In the PTC heater portion whose periphery is covered with the resin film 8, the tips of the terminal portions 32 and 42 included in the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 are arranged outside the resin film 8. Further, both ends of the tubular resin film 8 are configured to be arranged outside the opening 91a of the accommodating portion 91 in the exterior casing 9 from the viewpoint of insulation and prevention of foreign matter contamination.

The outer casing 9 is a member that accommodates a PTC heater portion whose periphery is covered with a resin film 8, and also functions as a heat radiating member that dissipates heat from its surface. The material for forming the exterior casing 9 is not particularly limited, but it is preferably formed from a metal material having abundant heat dissipation performance, and examples thereof include aluminum and stainless steel. The exterior casing 9 includes an accommodating portion 91 and a fixing portion 92. The accommodating portion 91 has a function of inserting and accommodating the PTC heater portion whose circumference is covered with the resin film 8, and corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the PTC heater portion whose circumference is covered with the resin film 8 in the thickness direction. It is a tubular body having an opening 91a. The accommodating portion 91 has a rectangular shape in a plan view. Further, the accommodating portion 91 is configured to be as thin and flat as possible, and the height of the internal space thereof is slightly larger than the height (thickness) of the PTC heater portion whose circumference is covered with the resin film 8. It is configured in. The fixing portion 92 is configured to be connected to a pair of side walls facing each other in the accommodating portion 91 and to project outward from the side wall. The bottom surface of each fixing portion 92 and the bottom surface of the accommodating portion 91 are configured to be flush with each other. Further, each fixing portion 92 is formed with a through hole 93 through which a fixing means such as a bolt can be inserted.

In the state where the PTC heater portion is housed in the housing portion 91 of the exterior casing 9, the terminal portions 32 and 42 included in the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 are arranged outside the exterior casing 9. .. More specifically, the terminal portion 32 of the upper electrode plate 3 is arranged outside the exterior casing 9 via one opening in the tubular accommodating portion 91, and the terminal portion 42 of the lower electrode plate 4 has a terminal portion 42. , Will be disposed outside the exterior casing 9 through the other opening of the accommodating portion 91.

Next, a method for manufacturing the PTC heater unit 1 according to the present invention will be described. The method for manufacturing the PTC heater unit 1 includes a heater portion forming step, a covering step, an accommodating portion inserting step, a press step, and a terminal portion bending step.

The heater portion forming step is a step of sandwiching the plate-shaped PTC heater element 2 between the above-mentioned upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 to form the PTC heater portion. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 provided in the heater portion forming step have a plate-shaped main surface portions 31, 41 and one side edge of the main surface portions 31, 41. It is configured to include terminal portions 32 and 42 protruding from the main surface portions 31 and 41 along the surface direction, respectively. An insulating tube 5 is inserted in each of the terminal portions 32 and 42 in advance. Further, the heater portion forming step is a step of setting the terminal portion 32 of the upper electrode plate 3 and the terminal portion 42 of the lower electrode plate 4 so as to face each other and sandwiching the PTC heater element 2. I have. Further, this heater portion forming step includes an insulating material arranging step of arranging the first insulating material 6 and the second insulating material 7 between the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 adjacent to the PTC heater element 2. There is. In the insulating material arranging step, the second insulating material 7 is lower than the PTC heater element 2 so that the first insulating material 6 is on the terminal portion 32 side of the upper electrode plate 3 with respect to the PTC heater element 2. A step of arranging the electrode plate 4 so as to be on the terminal portion 42 side is provided.

Further, the covering step is formed around the PTC heater portion formed by sandwiching the plate-shaped PTC heater element 2, the first insulating material 6, and the second insulating material 7 between the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4. Is a step of covering with a resin film 8 (particularly, a tubular Kapton film). In this coating step, the terminal portions 32 and 42 included in the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 included in the PTC heater portion are coated around the PTC heater portion so as to be exposed on the outside of the resin film 8. By going through this coating step, the PTC heater element 2, the first insulating material 6, and the second insulation sandwiched between the upper electrode plate 3, the lower electrode plate 4, and the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4. The PTC heater portion made of the material 7 is integrated via the resin film 8. More specifically, the resin film is formed by inserting the upper electrode plate 3, the PTC heater element 2, and the lower electrode plate 4, which are overlapped with each other, into the resin film from one opening side of the tubular resin film. Cover (enclose) the PTC heater portion with.

The accommodating portion insertion step is a step of inserting the PTC heater portion integrated with the resin film 8 into the accommodating portion 91 provided in the outer casing 9. That is, the resin film 8 surrounds the housing portion 91 of the exterior casing 9 having the tubular housing portion 91 having the opening 91a corresponding to the cross-sectional shape in the thickness direction of the PTC heater portion whose circumference is covered with the resin film 8. Is a step of inserting a PTC heater portion covered with. In this accommodating portion insertion step, the terminal portion 32 of the upper electrode plate 3 and the terminal portion 42 of the lower electrode plate 4 have one opening and the other opening of the cylindrical accommodating portion 91, respectively. The upper electrode plate 3 (or the lower electrode plate 4) is inserted into the accommodating portion 91 with the terminal portion 32 (42) side as the tip end side so as to be arranged on the outside of the outer casing 9 via the above.

The press step is a step of pressing the outer casing 9 in which the PTC heater portion is housed, compressing and deforming the outer casing 9, and integrating the PTC heater portion and the outer casing 9. As such a press step, a so-called caulking process can be exemplified.

Further, the terminal portion bending step is surrounded by a resin film 8, and the terminal portion 32 of the upper electrode plate 3 and / or the lower electrode with respect to the PTC heater portion accommodated in the accommodating portion 91 of the outer casing 9. This is a step of bending the terminal portion 42 of the plate 4 in a direction perpendicular to the main surface portions 31 and 41 of the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4. The terminal bending step may be performed as a pre-process or a post-process of the press step.

Since the PTC heater unit 1 according to the present invention can be configured as described above, that is, each member can be configured as a laminated structure, it can be manufactured extremely easily, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the manufacturing can be performed in a short time. Is possible. In particular, the upper electrode plate 3, the lower electrode plate 4, the PTC heater element 2, the first insulating material 6 and the second insulating material 7 are integrated in advance by the resin film 8 before being inserted into the accommodating portion 91 of the exterior casing 9. Therefore, the insertion step into the accommodating portion 91 having the narrow opening 91a can be simplified, and the manufacturing efficiency can be improved.

Further, in the above embodiment, since the first insulating material 6 and the second insulating material 7 are arranged between the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4, each of these insulating materials is used. Since it functions as a spacer and a shock absorber, it is possible to suppress the action of an excessive compressive force on the PTC heater element 2 by the press in the press step and effectively prevent damage from occurring. It is possible to significantly improve the manufacturing efficiency of the PTC heater unit 1.

Further, in the PTC heater unit 1 according to the present invention, since the terminal portions 32 and 42 are configured to be arranged on the outside of the outer casing 9, the connection work with the lead wire guided from the external power supply device can be performed. It can be done easily.

Although the PTC heater unit 1 and the method for manufacturing the PTC heater unit 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention have been described above, the specific configuration of the PTC heater unit 1 and the method for manufacturing the PTC heater unit 1 is not limited to the above embodiment. In the embodiment of the PTC heater unit 1, the terminal portions 32 and 42 included in the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 are configured to bend perpendicularly to the main surface portions 31 and 41. The terminal portions 32 and 42 may be configured so as to project along the surface direction of the main surface portions 31, 41 without being particularly limited to such a configuration. That is, in the method of manufacturing the PTC heater unit 1, the terminal bending step may be omitted.

Further, in the above-mentioned manufacturing method of the PTC heater unit 1, the insulating tube 5 is configured to be inserted in advance into the terminal portions 32 and 42 of the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 provided in the heater portion forming step. However, the insertion step of the insulating tube 5 into the terminal portions 32 and 42 is not limited to the timing of the heater portion forming step, for example, the timing before and after the accommodating portion insertion step and the press step are performed. , The timing may be before or after the terminal bending step is performed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the first insulating material 6 and the second insulating material 7 are provided, but each of these insulating materials may be omitted to form the PTC heater unit 1.

Further, in the heater portion forming step provided in the method for manufacturing the PTC heater unit 1 described above, when the PTC heater element 2 is sandwiched between the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4, for example, on the surface of the PTC heater element 2 in advance. , A conductive silicon material may be thinly applied, and then the upper electrode plate 3 and the lower electrode plate 4 may be bonded to each other.

1 PTC heater unit 2 PTC heater element 3 Upper electrode plate 31 Main surface 32 Terminal 4 Lower electrode plate 41 Main surface 42 Terminal 5 Insulation tube 6 First insulation 7 Second insulation 8 Resin film 9 Exterior casing 91 Storage 91a Opening 92 Fixed part 93 Through hole

Claims (7)

With the upper electrode plate,
With the lower electrode plate,
A plate-shaped PTC heater element sandwiched between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate and in contact with the inner surface of the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate.
A resin film that covers the periphery of the PTC heater portion composed of the upper electrode plate, the lower electrode plate, and the PTC heater element.
It is provided with an exterior casing in which a PTC heater portion whose circumference is covered with the resin film is housed .
A first insulating material and a second insulating material arranged on both sides of the PTC heater element are provided between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate, respectively.
The thickness dimension of the first insulating material and the second insulating material is a PTC heater unit formed to be the same as the thickness dimension of the PTC heater element . The upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate each include a terminal portion arranged on the outside of the outer casing.
The exterior casing includes a tubular accommodating portion having an opening corresponding to the cross-sectional shape in the thickness direction of the PTC heater portion whose circumference is covered with the resin film.
The terminal portion of the upper electrode plate and the terminal portion of the lower electrode plate are located on the outside of the exterior casing via one of the openings in the tubular accommodating portion and the other opening. The PTC heater unit according to claim 1, which is arranged. The first insulating material is arranged on one opening side of the accommodating portion with respect to the PTC heater element.
The PTC heater unit according to claim 2, wherein the second insulating material is arranged on the other opening side of the accommodating portion with respect to the PTC heater element. The PTC heater unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the resin film is a tubular Kapton film. A heater portion forming step of sandwiching a plate-shaped PTC heater element between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate to form a PTC heater portion, and a heater portion forming step.
A coating step of covering the periphery of the PTC heater portion with a resin film, and
A PTC heater whose perimeter is covered with the resin film in the accommodating portion of an exterior casing provided with a tubular accommodating portion having an opening corresponding to the cross-sectional shape in the thickness direction of the PTC heater portion whose circumference is covered with the resin film. The accommodating part insertion step to insert the part and
The exterior casing in which the PTC heater unit is housed is pressed, and the PTC heater unit and the exterior casing are integrated with each other .
In the heater portion forming step, a first insulating material and a second insulating material having the same dimensions as the thickness of the PTC heater element are arranged on both sides of the PTC heater element between the upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate. A method of manufacturing a PTC heater unit including an insulating material arranging process . The upper electrode plate and the lower electrode plate each include a plate-shaped main surface portion and a terminal portion protruding from the side edge of the main surface portion along the surface direction of the main surface portion.
The heater portion forming step includes a step of setting the terminal portion of the upper electrode plate and the terminal portion of the lower electrode plate so as to face each other in opposite directions and sandwiching the PTC heater element. ,
In the accommodating portion insertion step, the terminal portion of the upper electrode plate and the terminal portion of the lower electrode plate pass through one opening and the other opening of the cylindrical accommodating portion. It is provided with a process of arranging it on the outside of the exterior casing.
A claim further comprising a terminal portion bending step in which the periphery is covered with the resin film and the terminal portions are bent in a direction perpendicular to the main surface portion with respect to the PTC heater portion accommodated in the accommodating portion. 5. The method for manufacturing a PTC heater unit according to 5. In the insulating material arranging step, the second insulating material is attached to the PTC heater element so that the first insulating material is on the terminal portion side of the upper electrode plate with respect to the PTC heater element. The method for manufacturing a PTC heater unit according to claim 6, further comprising a step of arranging the lower electrode plate so as to be on the terminal portion side.

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