KR100450116B1 - PTC Heater - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a PTC heater, the main object of the invention is that it can be used for vehicles because it can produce a high calorific value even under low voltage of low applied voltage, the structure is simple and competitive in price, PTC element 12 and the metal heat sink It is to provide a PTC heater having a high thermal conductivity between (10, 11).

In order to achieve the above object, the configuration of the present invention has a lower metal heat dissipation part 11 having corrosion resistance and heat resistance and a groove 11a of a predetermined shape on the inner surface, and the inside of the lower metal heat dissipation part 11. The lower PTC element 12b is provided in the groove 11a. In addition, the packing part 16 is installed on the inner area of the lower metal heat dissipating part 11 except for the groove 11a. In addition, the electrode plate 14 is installed on the upper end of the packing part 16, and a part of the portion in which the insulating film 18 of the electrode plate 14 is wound is the lower end of the packing part 16. It is inserted into the hole 16a, and both sides of the head portion 14a of the electrode plate are provided in contact with the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b. In addition, the upper metal heat dissipation portion 10 having the same shape and material as the lower metal heat dissipation portion 11 is installed on the upper PTC element, and the upper and lower metal heat dissipation portions 10 and 11 are at least one bolt 30. ) And the nut 32 are fastened facing each other. 2, the lower end hole 14b of the electrode plate 14 protruding from the upper and lower metal heat radiating parts 10 and 11, and the electrical connection terminal 24 connected to the power source. ) Is firmly fixed by the terminal fixing bolt (22).

Description

PT Heater

The present invention relates to a PTC heater, and more particularly to a heater in which a ceramic PTC material (electric heating material) is disposed therein to heat a surrounding medium in water or in air.

A conventional plug heater (Plug Heater), as shown in Figure 10a and 10b, is usually composed of three plugs 80, NiCr coil inside the heat generating portion 82 serves as a heating element, in particular automotive When 12V voltage is applied, it shows heating performance of about 900W, but even if the uniformity of NiCr coil material used as a heating element is slightly reduced, it may cause the operation to stop immediately, and the low voltage of 12V and about 70A to 80A It is difficult to be used as a pre-heater for automobiles where high current must flow.

Further, another conventional technique is Patent Publication No. 1999-0015033. This ceramic submersible heater uses ceramic PTC as a heat generating element, and is shown in FIG. As can be seen in FIG. 11, the heat generating unit 108, which is a PTC element, is provided in the hole of the insulating unit 101, and is in contact with the upper and lower electrode portions 106, so that the amount of heat generated by the heat generating unit 108 is measured. It is transmitted to the heat dissipation unit 100 through the 104 and the spacer portion 102 to be discharged to the outside.

Since the heat generation amount of the heat generating unit 108 is inversely proportional to the resistance when the supplied voltage is constant, the lower resistance of the heat generating unit becomes an important factor in increasing the heat generation amount. The resistance of ceramic PTCs is about 1 kW, while a resistance of about 1 kW is required to produce about 1 kW of heat in an automotive electric environment of 12V (or 24 V). Therefore, the PTC element with the lowest resistance should be used, but the structural resistance should be low.

However, the above-described prior art has a structure in which the PTC elements, which are the heating units 108, are connected in series, as can be seen from the configuration, and due to the characteristics of the ceramic PTC elements as described above, it is difficult to reduce the resistance of the PTC elements. At high voltages such as 110V or 220V, heat generation can be maintained to some degree, but under low voltage (12V), such as a vehicle, it is difficult to manufacture a small and high capacity heater.In this case, it is inevitable to use a large number of PTC elements, which increases the price. It is becoming.

In addition, the structure of the prior art is not a heat is transferred directly from the heat generating portion 108 to the heat dissipation portion 100, the spacer having a predetermined space with the insulating film 104 due to the structural characteristics requiring electrical insulation with the external heat sink. Since heat is transferred to the heat dissipation unit 100 after passing through the unit 102, its heat transfer efficiency is lowered.

In order to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, an object of the present invention is to connect the PTC element and the electrode of the semiconductor ceramic material in parallel to realize a low resistance, thereby not only high voltage but also 12V used in vehicles The present invention provides a PTC heater that can generate a sufficiently high heat generation even under low voltage conditions.

Another object of the present invention is the RT switching effect of a PTC ceramic device using a PTC device, which is a semiconductor ceramic material (as can be seen from the RTC characteristic curve of FIG. 6, when the temperature of the device is too high and overheated, the resistance of the device is rapidly increased and applied. It is to provide a PTC heater that prevents overheating by using the phenomenon that the amount of heat generated at a given voltage is reduced and the temperature of the PTC element stays at a certain temperature level.

Another object of the present invention is to use a ceramic PTC material excellent in corrosion resistance, heat resistance, shock resistance, etc., can be used as automotive parts requiring sufficient durability, and to secure a price competitiveness by minimizing the component parts compared to the conventional heater The present invention provides a PTC heater capable of maximizing a heat dissipation effect by allowing heat transfer by directly contacting a heat generator (PTC element) and a heat dissipation unit.

The PTC heater according to the present invention includes upper and lower metal heat dissipating portions 10 and 11 having corrosion resistance and heat resistance and having grooves 11a on the inner surface of each other, and the upper and lower metal heat dissipating portions 10 described above. 11) upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b installed in the inner groove 11a and having at least two conductive electrodes printed thereon, and the upper and lower metal radiators 10 and 11 described above; The insulating film 18 is wound around the lower end so as not to come into contact with each other, and the electroconductive electrode plate 14 installed inside the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b and the above-mentioned in order to prevent the penetration of the cooling water. A packing part 16 inserted into the pair of metal heat dissipating parts 10, at least one fixing bolt 30 and a nut 32 for fixing the upper and lower metal heat dissipating parts 10 and 11; An electrical connection terminal 24 provided below the electrode plate 14 for energizing the electrically conductive electrode plate 14, and the electrical connection described above. It is composed of a terminal fixing bolt 22 for fixing the terminal 24, the electricity is transferred to the electrically conductive electrode plate 14 through the above-described electrical connection terminal 24, the electrode plate 14 The upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b in contact with both surfaces of the heat generating body generate heat, and the above-described heat generating amount is transferred to the surrounding fluid through the upper and lower metal radiating parts 10 and 11. do.

In addition, at least two or more of the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b of the PTC heater 12 and 12b of the PTC heater according to the present invention serve as a positive electrode. (14) and the upper and lower metal radiators 10 and 11 used as negative electric terminals are electrically connected in parallel.

In addition, the PTC heater according to the present invention is characterized in that the PTC element 12a, 12b of the PTC element 12a, 12b is increased in order to increase the heat transfer efficiency from the heat generated in the PTC elements 12a, 12b to the metal heat radiating portions 10, 11 above. It is characterized in that a certain amount of thermally conductive adhesive is applied between one surface and the contact surfaces of the metal heat dissipating parts 10 and 11.

In the PTC heater according to the present invention, a certain amount of the thermally conductive adhesive applied between one surface of the PTC elements 12a and 12b and the contact surface of the metal heat radiating portions 10 and 11 is used per square cm. It is characterized in that the thermal grease (thermal grease) is applied from 0.1g to 0.6g.

In addition, the PTC heater according to the present invention has a sanding in order to enhance the heat transfer effect between the PTC element (12a, 12b) and the metal heat-dissipating portion (10, 11) and at the same time to smoothly pass electricity. It is characterized in that the irregularities to the inner surface of the metal heat-dissipating portion (10, 11) by a work or the like.

In addition, the above-mentioned elastic material having good electrical conductivity of the PTC heater according to the present invention is characterized by being a multi plate type electrode plate 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e.

In addition, the above-mentioned elastic material having good electrical conductivity of the PTC heater according to the present invention is characterized in that the mono plate type electrode plates 5a and 5b.

In addition, the PTC heater according to the present invention, in order to improve the heat dissipation performance of the metal heat-dissipating portion (10, 11) in direct contact with the fluid, the outer surface of the metal heat-dissipating portion (10, 11) is a grid pattern, It is characterized by consisting of heat dissipation fins such as wave pattern, embossed form.

1 is an exploded perspective view showing a PTC heater according to the present invention,

2 is a rear view showing a PTC heater according to the present invention;

3 is an enlarged view of part “A” of FIG.

4 and 5 are side views showing the electrically conductive electrode plate of the PTC heater according to the present invention;

6 is an RTC characteristic curve showing the R-T switching effect of the PTC device according to the present invention;

7 is a front view and a side sectional view showing a plug heater according to the present invention;

8 is an exploded perspective view showing a ceramic PTC type heater of the related art.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: upper metal heat shield 13: fin

11: lower metal radiating part 14: electroconductive electrode plate

12a: top PTC element 16: packing

12b: Bottom PTC device 17: Silicon-rubber plate

18: insulation film

22: Terminal Fixing Bolts

24: Terminal for electrical connection

26: thermally conductive adhesive

28: unevenness

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the PTC heater according to the present invention as described in detail.

1 and 2 show an exploded perspective view and a rear view showing a PTC heater of the present invention. As can be seen in Figures 1 and 2, the configuration has a lower metal heat-dissipating portion (11) having corrosion resistance and heat resistance and a groove 11a of a predetermined shape on the inner surface, the lower metal heat-dissipating portion (11) The lower PTC element 12b is provided in the inner groove 11a. In addition, the packing part 16 is installed on the inner area of the lower metal heat dissipating part 11 except for the groove 11a. In addition, the electrode plate 14 is installed on the upper end of the packing part 16, and a part of the portion in which the insulating film 18 of the electrode plate 14 is wound is the lower end of the packing part 16. It is inserted into the hole 16a, and both sides of the head portion 14a of the electrode plate are provided in contact with the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b. In addition, the upper metal heat dissipation portion 10 having the same shape and material as the lower metal heat dissipation portion 11 is installed on the upper PTC element, and the upper and lower metal heat dissipation portions 10 and 11 are at least one bolt 30. ) And the nut 32 are fastened facing each other. 2, the lower end hole 14b of the electrode plate 14 protruding from the upper and lower metal heat radiating parts 10 and 11, and the electrical connection terminal 24 connected to the power source. ) Is firmly fixed by the terminal fixing bolt 22.

Looking at the operation of the present invention, the current flows to the electrode plate 14 through the electrical connection terminal 24 is connected to a power source, in the electrode plate 14 serving as a positive electrode Again, electricity flows into the upper and lower ceramic PTC elements 12a and 12b which are heating elements. In the PTC elements 12a and 12b to which electricity is applied, heat is generated and the generated heat and current are directly in contact with the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b. 11), and transfer heat to the external fluid in contact with it. Here, the metal heat radiating parts 10 and 11 serve as negative terminals.

This configuration and operation can minimize the components compared to the conventional PTC heater to increase the cost competitiveness, as well as the heat transfer effect is in direct contact with the PTC element 12 and the metal radiator (10,11). Greatly improved.

In addition, by using a PTC element that is excellent in heat resistance, corrosion resistance, and vibration resistance, it can have sufficient durability to be provided as an automotive part, and if the PTC heater is exposed to air by cooling water leakage or the like, the temperature of the PTC element itself is about 200 ° C. Even in the case of overheating, overheating can be prevented by using the RT switching effect of the PTC device as shown in the graph of FIG. 6.

In addition, the outer surface of the upper and lower metal heat-dissipating portion (10, 11) of the PTC heater component of the present invention comprises a plurality of lattice pattern or wave pattern, embossed heat dissipation fins 13 to form the metal heat dissipation portion ( 10,11) can improve the heat dissipation performance.

In addition, the electrical connection between the electrode plate 14 serving as a positive electrode and the metal heat radiating portions 10 and 11 serving as a negative electrode with the PTC element 12a.12b serving as a heating element (resistance) interposed therebetween. In this case, the resistance value of the entire PTC elements 12a and 12b is reduced, so that the low resistance can be achieved.

With this configuration, even when a low voltage of 12 V is used as in a vehicle, it is possible to generate heat of sufficiently high heat.

3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of "A" in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a predetermined amount of thermally conductive adhesive 26 may be applied between the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b of the PTC heater and the upper and lower metal radiators 10 and 11. The thermally conductive adhesive 26 is typically a thermal grease (Thermal grease), in this case the amount of the adhesive may be 0.6g / ㎠ at 0.1g / ㎠ showing the optimal thermal and electrical conductivity.

In addition, the thermally conductive adhesive 26 mainly includes aluminum foil tape, graphite foil tape, and thermally conductive paste (aluminum, silver, palladium, platinum, etc.), and is heat-treated at a constant temperature. Fixation).

By applying the thermally conductive adhesive 26 as described above, the heat generated from the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b is transferred to the upper and lower metal radiators 10 through the thermally conductive adhesive 26. By transmitting to (11), it is possible to increase the thermal conductivity efficiency.

In addition, as can be seen in Figure 3, the surface of the grooves 11a of the upper and lower metal heat-dissipating portions 10 and 11 to which the thermally conductive adhesive 26 is applied is finely roughened by sanding or the like. 28), the adhesive 26 is effectively applied into the curved surface of the unevenness 28 so that the thermal conductivity from the PTC elements 12a and 12b to the metal heat radiating portions 10 and 11 can be further increased.

As the electroconductive electrode plate 14 of the PTC heater, an elastic material having good electrical conductivity may be used. 4A to 5B show another embodiment of the electrically conductive electrode plate 14 using an elastic material.

As shown in Figs. 4A to 4E, a multi plate type electrode plate may be used. As shown in FIG. 4A, an elastic electrode plate 14a having a round shape or an angular shape as shown in FIG. 4C may be used, and a silicon-rubber plate 17 may be provided inside each of them as shown in FIG. 4B or 4D. When inserted and pressed in the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b, the silicon-rubber plate 17 elastically supports the electrode to be crimped so that the compression ratio is constant so that the PTC Damage to the device can be prevented. In addition, the electrode 14 may have a simple shape 14e in which the Si-rubber plate 17 is inserted as shown in FIG. 4E. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the electroconductive electrode plate 14 may be a mono plate type 14f and 14g.

As described above, by using an elastic material as the electrode plate 14, the electrical conductivity is better than that of a simple plate-shaped electrode, and the PTC element 12a, when pressed in the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b. 12b) can be prevented from being damaged.

The PTC heater of the present invention has the following effects.

First, the electrode arrangement between the electroconductive electrode 14, the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b, and the upper and lower metal radiators 10 and 11 are connected in parallel to each other. By lowering the resistance, high heat generation effects such as 110V, 220V and the like, as well as low voltages such as 12V used in a vehicle can be obtained.

Second, compared to the conventional PTC heater structure, the configuration can be simplified and the components can be minimized to secure cost competitiveness, and the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b, which are heating elements, are directly connected to the metal radiator 10 and 11. It can be contacted with to improve the thermal conductivity.

Third, by using the ceramic PTC elements 12a and 12b which are excellent in corrosion resistance, heat resistance, and earthquake resistance, it can be used as an automotive part which requires particularly high durability.

Fourth, by using the R-T switching effect of the PTC device can prevent overheating without a separate safety device.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims. Anyone with knowledge will be able to implement various variations.

Claims (9)

In a PTC heater using a ceramic PTC thermistor ceramic element, Upper and lower metal heat dissipation parts 10 and 11 having corrosion resistance and heat resistance and having a predetermined groove on an inner surface thereof; Upper and lower PTC elements 12 installed in the upper and lower metal radiators 10 and 11 and having conductive electrodes printed on at least two surfaces thereof; Insulating film 18 is wound around the lower end of the upper and lower metal heat dissipating parts 10 and 11 so as to be in contact with the upper and lower metal heat dissipating parts 10 and 11, and is formed in the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b. 14); A packing part 16 inserted into the upper and lower metal heat dissipating parts 10 to prevent penetration of the cooling water; At least one fixing bolt 30 and a nut 32 for fixing the upper and lower metal heat dissipating parts 10 and 11; An electrical connection terminal 24 provided below the electrode plate 14 to conduct electricity to the electrically conductive electrode plate 14; A terminal fixing bolt 22 for fixing the terminal 24 for electrical connection; The above-mentioned upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b in which electricity is transferred to the electroconductive electrode plate 14 through the electrical connection terminal 24 and are in contact with both surfaces of the electrode plate 14. Is heated, PTC heating, characterized in that the heat generation is transferred to the surrounding fluid through the metal heat radiating portion (10,11). The method according to claim 1, In order to reduce the overall resistance of the upper and lower PTC elements, at least two or more of the upper and lower PTC elements 12a and 12b may be formed by the above-mentioned conductive electrode plate 14 and the negative electrical terminal. PTC heater, characterized in that to be electrically connected in parallel with the upper, lower metal heat dissipation (10, 11) used. The method according to claim 1 or 2, In order to improve the heat dissipation performance of the metal heat dissipation unit 10 and 11 directly in contact with the fluid, the outer surface of the metal heat dissipation unit 10 and 11 may be radiated in a lattice pattern, a wave pattern, or an embossed form. PTC element comprising a pin. The method according to claim 1 or 2, In order to increase the heat transfer efficiency from the amount of heat generated by the PTC element 12 to the metal heat dissipation unit 10, the contact surface between the one surface of the PTC element 12 and the metal heat dissipation unit 10, 11. PTC element characterized in that a predetermined amount of thermally conductive adhesive is applied therebetween. The method according to claim 4, A certain amount of thermally conductive adhesive applied between one surface of the PTC element 12 and the metal heat dissipating portions 10 and 11 and the contact surface is thermally conductive grease applied from 0.1 g to 0.6 g per square cm. grease). The method according to claim 1 or 2, In order to enhance the heat transfer effect between the PTC element 12 and the metal heat dissipation unit 10 and 11 and to allow electricity to flow smoothly, the metal heat dissipation unit 10 may be formed by sanding or the like. And (11) a PTC device characterized by finely giving irregularities to the inner surface. The method according to claim 1 or 2, PTC element, characterized in that the electroconductive electrode plate (14) provided inside the PTC element (12) uses an elastic material having good electrical conductivity. The method according to claim 7, The above-mentioned elastic material having good electrical conductivity is a PTC element, characterized in that a multi plate type electrode plate (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, 4e). The method according to claim 7, The above-mentioned elastic material having good electrical conductivity is a PTC element, which is a mono plate type electrode plate (5a, 5b).