KR20090104764A - Tape heater and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A tape heater is provided to perform excellent flexibility and elongation, and to be easily wound in a circumference of a pipe. CONSTITUTION: A tape heater(10) is formed by a heat resistance thread. The thread includes an inorganic fiber of heat resistance. The tape heater includes one or more flexible fabric bases and a heater member(12). The flexible fabric bases have a first fabric base part and a second fabric base part. The heater member is interposed between the first fabric base part and the second fabric base part. The heater member is formed by covering a heating wire with an electrical insulation sleeve.

Description

Tape heater and its manufacturing method {TAPE HEATER AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a tape heater and a manufacturing method thereof.

Until now, tape heaters have been used wound around a pipe or the like to thermally insulate or heat the pipe in a wrapped fashion to prevent freezing of the pipe or to prevent the formation of by-products. Otherwise, freezing of these pipes or the production of by-products results in the cooling of the exhaust gases emitted in the various processes of manufacturing semiconductors in the semiconductor industry (eg, JP-A-2004-303580 and JP-A-63- 24582).

In the tape heater disclosed in JP-A-2004-303580, the heating wire is disposed on a strip-shaped flexible base material having electrical insulation and heat resistance, stitched at predetermined intervals, and thus fastened. Subsequently, the heat resistant resin sheet is surrounded by the whole heating wire.

In the tape heater disclosed in JP-A-63-24582, carbon fibers coated with an electrically insulating synthetic resin are employed as the heat generating element, and the heat generating element is woven into the strip shape together with the normal fiber.

However, in the tape heater disclosed in JP-A-2004-303580, since the entire heating wire is surrounded by a heat resistant resin sheet after the heating wire is fastened onto the substrate, the heater cannot be manufactured continuously, and thus productivity This becomes poor.

In the tape heater disclosed in JP-A-63-24582, since the heat generating element is woven together with the other fibers, the heater can be continuously produced, whereby the productivity is more excellent. However, the heat generating element is exposed through the outer surface of the tape heater. Therefore, when the tape heater is damaged, electrical insulation may be lost, thereby causing a short circuit.

The present invention was developed in view of these disadvantages, and an object thereof is to continuously manufacture a tape heater that reliably protects the heater member, exhibits excellent flexibility and extensibility, and is excellent in easily winding around a pipe.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following tape heater and method for producing a tape heater.

(1) one or more flexible fabric bases formed of a heat resistant thread and having a first fabric base portion and a second fabric base portion,

And a heater member, wherein the heater member is interposed between the first fabric base portion and the second fabric base portion.

(2) a flexible fabric base formed by weaving a heat resistant thread,

And a heater member, wherein the heater member is disposed in the fabric base.

(3) The tape heater according to (1), wherein the fabric base is a woven or braided tubular fabric.

(4) The tape heater according to (1), wherein the thread includes heat resistant inorganic fibers.

(5) The tape heater according to (2), wherein the thread includes heat resistant inorganic fibers.

(6) The tape heater according to (1), wherein the heater member is formed by covering a heating wire with an electrically insulating sleeve.

(7) The tape heater according to (2), wherein the heater member is formed by covering a heating wire with an electrically insulating sleeve.

(8) As a manufacturing method of manufacturing a tape heater,

By braiding or weaving a heat resistant thread to form at least one flexible fabric base having a first fabric base portion and a second fabric base,

Interposing a heater member between the first fabric base portion and the second fabric base portion;

Method of manufacturing a tape heater comprising the step of bonding the fabric base.

(9) Weaving a heat resistant thread and enclosing the heater member therein to form a flexible fabric base.

(10) The method according to (8), wherein the fabric base is a woven or braided tubular fabric.

(11) The method for producing a tape heater according to (8), wherein the steps of braiding or weaving the fabric base are performed in a state where the heater member is disposed by executing each step continuously.

(12) The method for producing a tape heater according to the above (10), wherein the fabric base is braided or woven in a state where the heater member is disposed by executing each step continuously.

Since the heater member is interposed between the first fabric base portion and the second fabric base portion, the tape heater of the present invention exhibits excellent flexibility and extensibility, and is excellent in that it is easily wound around a pipe. To reliably protect the heater member. In addition, as long as the weaving or knitting of the fabric base is performed while the heater member is interposed between the fabric bases, and the fabric bases are joined, the tape heater can be continuously produced. Accordingly, it is possible to achieve improvement in production efficiency and suppression of increase in production cost.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

First embodiment

FIG. 1A is a plan view showing a first embodiment of the tape heater of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 1A.

As shown, the tape heater 10 of the first embodiment of the present invention is made of a heat resistant thread 13 and has a long fabric having a first fabric base portion 11a and a second fabric base portion 11b. The base 11 and the heater member 12 interposed between the 1st fabric base part 11a and the 2nd fabric base part 11b are provided. The area between both edges and the edges of the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b with the heater member 12 interposed therebetween is predetermined along the longitudinal direction of the tape heater (see reference numeral L1 in FIG. 1B). Stitched at intervals, thereby joining the fabric base. Contact between the parts of the heater member 12 that may be caused in the width direction by the movement of the heater member is prevented by executing the stitch. In addition, lead wires 14 and 14 connected to an external power source are drawn out from the end of the heater member 12. Further, the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b may be formed by braiding operations of conventional braiding devices or weaving operations of conventional weaving machines.

In addition to having heat resistance, the glass fiber is preferred as the thread 13 because the glass fiber is easy to weave, has high strength, can be purchased at a low cost in the market, and contains no volatile components. However, the thread may be formed of heat resistant inorganic fibers such as ceramic fibers, silica fibers and alumina fibers, or may be formed of heat resistant resins such as fluorine resins. In a semiconductor manufacturing system, it is particularly important that the thread does not contain volatile components that cause degassing contamination. The weaving pattern is not limited to any particular pattern, and any pattern such as a plain weave pattern or a twill pattern can be used. Further, the width W1 of the fabric base 11 is not limited to any limiting value, and may be set to about 20 mm to 30 mm in consideration of ease of handling.

The heater member 12 is preferably covered with an electrically insulating sleeve. For example, a sleeve formed by braiding a heating wire such as nichrome wire with heat resistant inorganic fibers such as ceramic fiber, silica fiber, alumina fiber and glass fiber, or an element formed by covering the heating wire with an electrically insulating resin as a heater member. It is used. It is particularly preferred that the sheath made of a sleeve woven from heat resistant inorganic fibers has a two-ply structure. Even if the tape heater 10 is bent or twisted when the operator winds the tape heater around the pipe, the double covering of the heating wire with the sleeve eliminates the potential risk of the heating wire protruding from the mesh of the sleeve, without failure. Electrical insulation can be ensured.

In this invention, as long as both ends of the heater member 12 are connected to the lead wire 14, there is no restriction | limiting in particular about the layout of the heater member 12. As shown in FIG. However, from the viewpoint of operability and productivity, it is preferable that two lead wires 14 are arranged at one end of the tape heater 10. For this reason, it is preferable that the heater member 12 is arranged at the other end of the tape heater 10 in a bent form, and the entire heater member is positioned in the shape of the letter "U". In this case, the spacing W2 between the portions of the heater member 12 is appropriately determined according to the width W1 of the fabric base 11. In the case of the width W1 described previously, the spacing W2 can be set at or near 10 mm to 20 mm. A plurality of heater members 12 may be disposed in a single tape heater 10.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of the tape heater 10 taken along the line B-B shown in FIG. 1A, showing only an enlarged longitudinal end of the tape heater. FIG. 2B is a plan view of the tape heater as seen in direction B of FIG. 2A. FIG. 2C is a plan view of the tape heater as seen in direction C of FIG. 2A. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, in the tape heater 10, the end portion 10a of the U-shaped portion 12a of the heater member 12 is bent along its edge, and the bent portion thus bent. 11d is stitched (L2), thereby preventing the heater member 12 from being exposed from the end of the tape heater. If necessary, a heat resistant tape may be wound around the entire bent portion 11d.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2C, the other end 10b of the tape heater 10 has a crimp portion 15 to which the heater member 12 and the lead wire 14 are connected. In the crimp portion 15, each of the ends 12b of the heater member 12 is exposed to the outside through the first fabric base portion 11a, and is connected to the crimp terminal 16, respectively. . The lead wire 14 is connected to the end via the crimp terminal 16. The area with a connection to the crimp terminal 16 is covered and protected by a heat shrinkable tube 17, such as a silicone vanish glass tube.

In addition, the fabric base 11 is bent to a predetermined length so as to surround the crimp portion 15 inside. The bent portion 11e is stitched (L3), and the extreme end 11f of the bent portion 11e is bent inward and stitched (L4). Thereby, the crimp part 15 is reliably protected. In addition, the lead wire 14 is pulled outward from both sides of the bent portion 11b. However, the lead wire is fixed by a thread 18 so that no force is transmitted to the crimp terminal 16 when a tension force is applied to the lead wire 14. If necessary, the entire bent portion 11e may be surrounded by a heat resistant tape.

In order to manufacture the tape heater 10, a conventional braiding or weaving device can be used. For example, the apparatus 30 shown schematically in FIG. 3 is preferably used. The device 30 shown is a first that weaves the first fabric base portion 11a (forming the fabric base) by feeding the threads 13 from the warp supply unit 31a and the weft supply unit 32a. Second weaving (weaving the fabric base) by weaving the second fabric base portion 11b by feeding the thread 13 from the weaving device 33a and the warp feed unit 31b and the weft feed unit 32b. The apparatus 33b is provided. A heater member supply unit 34 for supplying the heater member 12 is located downstream between the weaving devices 33a and 33b, and the U-shaped portion 12a of the heater member 12 is directed to the weaving direction F. FIG. Facing away (from left to right in the drawing). Further, the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b are sewn in the longitudinal direction with the heater member 12 interposed between the first and second fabric bases 11a and 11b (bonding the fabric bases). The sewing apparatus 35 is located downstream of the heater member supply unit 34 (positioning the heater member). In the present invention, forming the fabric base, arranging the heater member, and joining the fabric base may be performed continuously.

In the apparatus 30, the heater member 12 is formed by the first fabric base portion 11a and the second weaving apparatus 33b formed by the first weaving apparatus 33a from the heater member supply unit 34. It is supplied to a position between the second fabric base portions 11b. The sewing device 35 sews the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b with the heater member 12 interposed between the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b. Thus, the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b are continuously woven, and the heater member 12 is intermittently supplied. This produces an elongated tape heater precursor 10A in which the heater member 12 is interposed at predetermined intervals between the first and second fabric base portions 11a, 11b as shown in FIG.

The tape heater precursor 10A is cut along the intermediate point K between one heater member 12 and the other heater member 12. Each precursor thus separated is subjected to the edge machining shown in FIG. 2, thereby producing a tape heater 10 as shown in FIG. 1.

Second embodiment

In the first embodiment, the fabric base 11 is formed of two portions of the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b. As shown in FIG. 5 (a view corresponding to FIG. 1B), the heater member 12 between the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b formed by bending a single fabric base 11B of double width. There is a tape heater 10B interposed therebetween. In the tape heater 10B, it is not necessary to sew the bent portion.

In order to manufacture the tape heater 10B, a conventional braiding or weaving device can be used. For example, the apparatus 30B schematically shown in FIG. 6 is preferably used. As shown, the apparatus 30B weaves a single double width fabric base 11B by feeding the threads 13 from the warp feed unit 31 and the weft feed unit 32 (single Forming a fabric base). The heater member supply unit 34 which supplies the heater member 12 to the area | region (region which becomes the 2nd fabric base part 11b later) corresponding to 1/2 of the width | variety of the fabric base 11B is a weaving apparatus 33 Located downstream). Fabric base bending by bending the fabric base 11B to form the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b and interposing the heater member 12 between the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b. The apparatus 36 is located downstream of the heater member supply unit 34 (bending the fabric base to surround the heater member 12 therein). Further, a sewing device 35 is provided downstream of the fabric base bending device 36 to sew the fabric base portions 11a and 11b thus bent in the longitudinal direction (joining the fabric base). In the present invention, forming a single fabric base, bending the fabric base to surround the heater member 12 therein, and joining the fabric bases may be performed continuously.

Also in this embodiment, a long tape heater precursor 10A as shown in FIG. 4 is obtained. The tape heater precursor obtained as described above is cut and edge processing shown in FIG. 2 is performed on the sub-divisions separated in this manner, so that the tape heater 10B can be continuously produced.

Third embodiment

As shown in FIG. 7 (sectional view corresponding to FIG. 1B), there is a tape heater 10C with the heater member 12 interposed by a braided or woven tubular fabric base 11C. In the tape heater 10C, it is not necessary to sew both ends of the fabric base 11C.

In order to manufacture the tape heater 10C, a conventional braiding or weaving device can be used. For example, the apparatus 30C schematically shown in FIG. 8 is preferably used. As shown, the apparatus 30C is configured to weave the tubular fabric base 11B by forming a thread 13 from the warp supply unit 31 and the weft supply unit 32 (to form a tubular fabric base). Step) A tubular weaving device 37 is provided. The heater member 12 is supplied to the tubular weaving device 37 from the heater member supply unit 34, and the heater member 12 is disposed inside the woven tubular fabric base 11C (tubular textile fabric). Disposing the heater member inside the base). The fabric base 11C is made flat to form the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b, and the heater member 12 is interposed between the first and second fabric base portions 11a and 11b. A sewing device 35 is located downstream of the tubular weaving device 37 for sewing the fabric base portions 11a, 11b in the longitudinal direction of the furnace (step of sewing the mutually opposite sides of the tubular fabric base). In the present invention, forming the tubular fabric base, placing the heater member inside the tubular fabric base, and joining mutually opposing sides of the tubular fabric base may be performed continuously.

Also in this embodiment, a long tape heater precursor 10A as shown in FIG. 4 is obtained. The tape heater precursor obtained as described above is cut and edge processing shown in FIG. 2 is performed on the unit divided body thus separated, whereby the tape heater 10C can be continuously produced.

Fourth embodiment

As shown in FIG. 9 (cross section corresponding to FIG. 1B), a tape heater 10D is provided in which a heater member 12 is disposed on a flexible fabric base 11D formed by weaving a heat resistant thread. In the tape heater 10D, there is no need to sew both ends of the fabric base 11D and the heater member 12 (for example, see L1 in FIG. 1). In order to fabricate the tape heater 10D, a conventional weaving apparatus can be used, and an essential requirement is to form a flexible fabric base while braiding the heat resistant thread and surrounding the heater member 12 therein. will be.

Fifth Embodiment

In the tape heater 10D of the fourth embodiment, the fabric base 11D is woven to have a triple width, and the heater member 12 is the middle fabric base 11Da among the three divided fabric bases. Is placed on. Both fabric bases 11Db and 11Dc on both sides of the center fabric base 11Da are bent to contact both sides of the center fabric base 11Da, thereby forming a three-layer structure. The fabric base thus bent is sewn over its entire thickness (L5), thereby producing a tape heater 10E.

In each embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11 (corresponding to FIG. 4), a long tape heater line in which two heater elements 12A, 12B are arranged in parallel over the entire length of the fabric base 11. It is also possible to produce spheres 10A '. The tape heater precursor 10A 'is cut to the required length (cutting position L). In each of the separated members 10 ', 10', the heater members 12A, 12B are pulled from one end of the fabric base 11 and connected together. The heater member thus connected is then embedded in the fabric base 11 and the end 11A is sealed as shown in FIG. 2B. In addition, a lead wire is connected to the other end of the fabric base 11, as shown in Figure 2c, to produce a tape heater. By the long tape heater precursor 10A ', the length of the tape heater can be freely designed, and further improvement in production efficiency and further reduction in manufacturing cost can be achieved.

The present invention has been described in detail with reference to specific examples. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit of the invention.

 This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-090706, filed March 31, 2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

In addition, all references cited herein are incorporated by reference.

1A is a plan view showing a first embodiment of the tape heater of the present invention,

FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 1A,

FIG. 2A is a sectional view taken along line B-B of the tape heater shown in FIG. 1A,

FIG. 2B is a plan view taken in the direction B shown in FIG. 2A,

FIG. 2C is a plan view taken in the direction C of FIG. 2A,

3 is a schematic diagram showing an apparatus for manufacturing the tape heater of the first embodiment,

4 is a plan view showing a tape heater precursor produced by the apparatus shown in FIG.

5 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the tape heater of the present invention, as in FIG. 1B,

6 is a schematic diagram showing an apparatus for manufacturing the tape heater of the second embodiment,

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a third embodiment of the tape heater of the present invention, as in FIG. 1B;

8 is a schematic diagram showing an apparatus for manufacturing the tape heater of the third embodiment,

9 is a sectional view showing the tape heater of the fourth embodiment;

10A and 10B are sectional views showing the tape heater of the fifth embodiment,

11 is a schematic view for explaining another method for manufacturing the tape heater of the present invention.

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

10, 10B, 10C, 10D and 10E: Tape Heaters

10 A and 10 A ': Tape heater precursor

11B: double-width fabric base

11C: Tubular Fabric Base

11a: first fabric base portion

11b: second fabric base portion

12, 12A and 12B: heater member

13: thread

Claims (12)

At least one flexible fabric base formed of a heat resistant thread and having a first fabric base portion and a second fabric base portion, A heater member, And the heater member is interposed between the first fabric base portion and the second fabric base portion. A flexible fabric base formed by weaving a heat resistant thread, A heater member, And the heater member is disposed in the fabric base. The tape heater of claim 1, wherein the fabric base is a woven or braided tubular fabric. The tape heater of claim 1, wherein the thread comprises heat resistant inorganic fibers. The tape heater of claim 2, wherein the thread comprises heat resistant inorganic fibers. The tape heater of claim 1, wherein the heater member is formed by covering a heating wire with an electrically insulating sleeve. 3. The tape heater of claim 2, wherein the heater member is formed by covering the heating wire with an electrically insulating sleeve. As a production method for manufacturing a tape heater, By braiding or weaving a heat resistant thread to form at least one flexible fabric base having a first fabric base portion and a second fabric base, Interposing a heater member between the first fabric base portion and the second fabric base portion; Bonding the fabric base Method of producing a tape heater comprising a. Weaving a heat resistant thread and enclosing the heater member therein to form a flexible fabric base. The method of claim 8 wherein the fabric base is a woven or braided tubular fabric. The manufacturing method of the tape heater of Claim 8 which performs braiding or weaving of a fabric base with the heater member arrange | positioned by performing each step continuously. The manufacturing method of the tape heater of Claim 10 which implements braiding or weaving of a fabric base with a heater member arrange | positioned by performing each step continuously.

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