JPH10165043A - Heater - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent fire caused by a heater even when an earthquake occurs or a water tank falls down because of the mischief of child and the heater is thrown out in the air, for example. SOLUTION: Concerning a heater 1 installed in the water tank so as to heat water reserved in the water tank, this device has a power source 2, heating parts 9a, 9b and 9c connected with the power source 2 and arranged at the almost central part of heater device 1, radiating part 4 having radiating operation and heat conducting part packed inside the radiating part 4. The heating parts 9a, 9b and 9c are composed of positive characteristic thermistor and its Curie temperature Tc is set almost lower than 320 deg.C.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heater device used for maintaining a water temperature in a water tank used for ornamental fish and aquatic plants within a desired range by heating.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, for example, when tropical fish, saltwater fish, or aquatic plants are raised in an aquarium, a heater device is required to maintain the water temperature within a desired range so that the inside of the aquarium is in an optimal environment. Is provided in the water tank. FIG. 2 illustrates a first prior art, in which reference numeral 102 denotes an aquarium body, 1
Reference numeral 01 denotes water stored in a water tank, 103 denotes gravel, 105 denotes a power source, 104 denotes a thermostat, and 1 denotes a heater device. Gravel 103 is spread on the bottom of the water tank 102 to store the water 101. Further, a heater device 1 for heating the water 101 is provided in the water tank 102 in order to appropriately maintain the water temperature in a desired range, and the heater device 1 includes a thermostat 1
04. In addition, the heater device 1,
The thermostats 104 both supply power from a power supply 105.

[0003]

However, in the first prior art, if the heater device 1 is in an environment surrounded by the water 101, it operates so as to maintain the water temperature within a desired range as appropriate. However, for example, if the water tank 102 falls down due to an earthquake or the like or a child's mischief, the heater device 1 is thrown out into the air, burning the grounded floor surface, which may cause a fire. is there.

As means for solving the problem of the first prior art, a second prior art (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-30093) is used.
No. 3) has been proposed. The content of the second prior art is that a positive temperature coefficient thermistor is used inside the heater device 1,
The Curie temperature Tc is set to 36 to 38 degrees. As a result, the water temperature falls within a range of approximately 26 degrees to 28 degrees, and even if an earthquake occurs or the child's mischief causes the water tank 102 to fall over, and even if the heater device 1 is thrown out into the air, the temperature of the heater device 1 can be reduced. Does not exceed the Curie temperature Tc. However, when such a heater device 1 is used, the heater device 1
The water temperature cannot be rapidly increased by only one of them, and a plurality of heater devices 1 must be provided in the water tank 102 to rapidly increase the water temperature, which is not practical. Further, the second prior art utilizes two positive temperature coefficient thermistors as shown in FIG. 1 of the specification and separately leads each positive temperature coefficient thermistor to arrange them at both ends of the heater device. Wires must be arranged, and electrodes are provided in addition to the power supply terminals in order to maintain a good energized state. As described above, the application has to be increased in the number of parts. As a result, when the application is commercialized, the production unit price is inevitably increased, and the production time per heater device is prolonged. Further, there is a problem that the frequency of failure increases.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the first and second prior arts, and the invention according to claim 1 is provided in a water tank. In a heater device for heating the water stored in the water tank, a power supply, a heating unit connected to the power supply, and disposed substantially in the center of the heater device, a heat radiation unit having a heat radiation effect, A heat conducting portion packed inside the heat radiating portion, wherein the heat generating portion is constituted by a positive temperature coefficient thermistor, and the Curie temperature Tc thereof is set to approximately 320 ° C. or less. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the heater device according to the first aspect, the heat generating portion is provided between at least two electrode plates arranged in parallel with a longitudinal direction of the heat radiating portion. A heating device is provided, wherein a heating element having substantially the same length is provided in a longitudinal direction of the heat radiating portion.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a heater device provided in a water tank and heating water stored in the water tank, a power supply, a power supply connected to the power supply, and a substantially central portion of the heater device. A heat-dissipating part having a heat-dissipating effect, and a heat-conducting part packed inside the heat-dissipating part. The heat-generating part is constituted by a positive temperature coefficient thermistor, and its Curie temperature Tc is substantially Since it is set to 320 degrees or less, the heater device has a heating power enough to rapidly raise the water temperature when the heater device is in water, but when the heater device is thrown out into the air,
In the case of the conventional heater device, the temperature rises to 600 to 700 degrees, but the temperature does not rise any more. Therefore, for example, in FIG. 2, even if the water tank 102 falls due to an earthquake or the like or a child's mischief and the heater device 1 is thrown into the air, the heater device 1 does not abnormally heat and the The problems of the first and second prior arts can be solved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the heater device according to the first aspect, the heat-generating portion is disposed between at least two electrode plates arranged in parallel with a longitudinal direction of the heat-radiating portion. Since the heating element having substantially the same length as that of the heat radiation portion can be provided only in the longitudinal direction, the number of components can be reduced, and the problem of the second related art can be solved.

[0009]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, a power source 2 supplies power to the heater device 1, and the power source is supplied to the main body of the heater device 1 by a power supply line AC cord 3. The sealing member 6 is water 1
01 is to prevent the heater device 1 from entering the heater device 1, and the protective caps 5.5 are provided to absorb external shocks to the heater device 1, and are formed by an elastic member such as rubber, for example. It is configured. A heating element 9 is provided substantially in the center of the heater device 1 along its longitudinal direction, and the heating element 9 is composed of a plurality of blocks 9a, 9b, and 9c arranged in parallel. The heating element 9 has a positive temperature coefficient (Positive Temper).
It is a positive temperature coefficient thermistor made of a ceramic semiconductor mainly composed of barium titanate or the like having an atmosphere coef? cient. Therefore, when a voltage is applied to the heating element 2 due to this characteristic, a large current flows at first because the resistance value is small due to low temperature, and the temperature rises sharply due to large power consumption. However, the temperature is the Curie temperature Tc
When the temperature reaches (approximately 320 degrees or less), the resistance value sharply increases, so that the heating element 2 is kept near this temperature.
Electrode plates 8.8 are provided on both sides of the heating element 2, and the electrode plates 8.8 are connected to the power supply line AC cord 3 by, for example, crimping or the like. The magnesia 7 is packed in the heat dissipating member 4 to prevent the expansion and contraction of the heat dissipating members 4 and 4 due to the high and low temperatures by removing air, but transmits the heat generated from the heating element 2 as a heat conducting material. Also has a role. The heat radiating members 4 and 4 release the heat transmitted by the magnesia 7 into water, and the material thereof may be ceramic or glass.

Next, the operation of the heater device 1 according to the present invention will be described. When power is supplied from the power supply 2, the current reaches the electrode plates 8.8 via the power supply plate AC cord 3.
The current flows from one of the electrode plates 8 to the other, and the heating element 2 is turned on. The heating element 2 is constituted by independent blocks called heating element blocks 9a, 9b and 9c, but is connected in parallel to the electrode plates 8.8. The heating element 2 is a positive temperature coefficient thermistor, and its Curie temperature is set to approximately 320 degrees or less. Therefore, when the heater device 1 is located in water, the temperature of the heater device 1 is low due to a heat radiation action. Its resistance is small,
A large amount of electricity flows and the heat generation becomes active. However, since the heater device 1 is located in the water, its heat radiation action is also active, and its own temperature does not reach the above Curie temperature.

By the way, for example, in FIG.
Is overturned, and the heater device 1 is thrown into the air. In this case, since the water surrounding the heater device 1 is removed, its heat radiation effect is reduced. As a result, the temperature of the heater device 1 itself rises sharply, but at the same time, the resistance value of the heating element 2, which is a thermistor having a positive characteristic, also rises accordingly, and the temperature is kept near the Curie temperature Tc. It does not rise.

[0013]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the heater device provided in the water tank and heating the water stored in the water tank, the power supply is connected to the power supply, In addition, the heating device has a heat-generating portion arranged at a substantially central portion of the heater device, a heat-radiating portion having a heat-radiating effect, and a heat-conducting portion packed inside the heat-radiating portion, and the heat-generating portion is constituted by a PTC thermistor. Since the Curie temperature Tc is set to approximately 320 ° C. or lower, when the heater device is in water, the heater device has a heating power capable of rapidly increasing the water temperature, but the conventional heater device has a temperature of 600 ° C. to 700 ° C. However, if the heater device is thrown into the air, the temperature will not rise any further. Therefore, for example, in FIG.
Even if the heater device 2 falls down and the heater device 1 is thrown into the air, the heater device 1 does not abnormally heat.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the heater device of the first aspect, the heat generating portion is provided between at least two electrode plates arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the heat radiating portion. It is sufficient to provide only a heating element having a length substantially the same as that of the heat radiating section in the longitudinal direction, so that the number of components can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a detailed view of a heater device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a prior art of a heater device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heater device 2 Power supply 3 Power supply line AC cord 4 Heat dissipation member 5 Protective cap 6 Sealing member 7 Magnesia 8 Electrode plate 9a Heating element block 9b Heating element block 9c Heating element block

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A heater device provided in a water tank for heating water stored in the water tank, comprising: a power source; a heating unit connected to the power source; and disposed substantially at a center of the heater device. A heat dissipating part having a heat dissipating function, and a heat conducting part packed inside the heat dissipating part, wherein the heat generating part is constituted by a positive temperature coefficient thermistor, and its Curie temperature Tc is set to approximately 320 ° C. or less. A heating device. 2. The heater device according to claim 1, wherein the heat-generating portion includes a heat-generating element having a length substantially equal to that of the electrode plate between at least two electrode plates arranged in parallel with a longitudinal direction of the heat-radiating portion. A heater device provided in a longitudinal direction of the heat radiating portion.