Abstract: An electric heater with insulating carrying parts and heating conductors carried by the carrying parts and with at least one tap for tapping a voltage reduced compared with the voltage at the heating conductor. The carrying parts have slots through which pass feet of a tap and through which the tap is fixed to with a carrying part, the length of the slots being greater than a width of the feet of the tap.

Abstract: An electric heater, especially for small electric appliances, such as hair roller heaters, egg boilers, or the like, and a method of making same utilizes at least one heating element having contact-making zones on opposite planar parallel surfaces thereof, electrical connection elements in the form of essentially planar contact plates, a contact plate being placed on each of the opposite surfaces, and a holding member having a heat conducting, electrical insulating layer upon a surface thereof. The holding member is bent into a U-shape so as to hold the contact plates clamped fast to the heating elements between legs of the U-shape of the holding member and with the insulating layer disposed on an inner surface of the U-shape between the plates and holding member. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the insulating layer is of a resilient material having a heat-conductive additive distributed therethrough and the heating elements are formed of PTC material.

Abstract: A continuous flow or flash electric water heater, for example for use in a coffee making machine, includes a compound heating structure made up of at least two elongated generally parallelepyred shaped massive heating bodies of a material having a high thermal conductivity, such as brass. Each body has at least one heat input face and a longitudinal passage for flow of water to be continuously heated. The bodies are positioned side-by-side with the passages parallel to each other and with a heat input face of each body facing a heat input face of the next adjacent body. At least one flat PTC electric heating element is positioned between each four of facing heat input faces and a casing made up of two elongated channel-like casing halves, each U-shaped in cross section and having two side flanges, houses the heating structure and forces the bodies together with the heating elements therebetween.

Abstract: An electrical resistance water heating device, particularly intended for use in coffee or other beverage preparation machines, includes a solid metal heating plate having planar upper and lower surfaces. A fluid throughflow duct is formed between the upper and lower surfaces and includes at least two elongated, spaced, side-by-side branches having corresponding ends interconnected by a connecting conduit to form a continuous fluid flow path from a water inlet to a water outlet. An elongated slot is formed between each pair of side-by-side branches and at least one plate-shaped planar PTC heating element is accomodated within each elongated slot with each of the opposing surfaces thereof directed toward a respective one of the pair of side-by-side branches between which the duct is formed. The spaces between the heating element and walls of the slot are filled with a hardenable electrically insulative filling of good heat conductivity.

Abstract: A combined water heating and vessel support plate for supporting the vessel of a beverage preparation device includes a heating slab having a water flow-through duct constituted by longitudinal apertures in a plurality of prismatic (preferably rectangular) heating-plate segments which are clamped together side-by-side with PTC ceramic electrical resistance heating elements interposed between them. The duct is completed by connecting the apertures externally by tubes or by duct-incorporating end caps on the heating plate to form a continuous flow path from an inlet to an outlet. Various clamping arrangements, preferably with some resilience, are described, as are the use of inter-segment filling materials and electrically insulating materials with good heat-conducting properties, also the selection and positioning of the heating elements to achieve a desired heating effect. The top surfaces of the segments are coplanar and form a flat vessel support surface for heating a vessel placed thereon.

Abstract: Electrical resistance heating element comprising at least one heating conductor in the form of an element which is provided at opposite surfaces with an electrical contacting means and is made of a material having a positive temperature coefficient of electrical resistance (PTC element), and further comprising two substantially plane contact plates, the contact plates being held together with the PTC element interposed between them to form a single unit acting as a contact arrangement, and a sleeve of electrically insulating, heat conductive material having an inner space whose internal cross-section is adapted to the cross-section of the contact arrangement, the contact arrangement being inserted into the inner space in the sleeve under a pressure perpendicular to the plane of the contact plates. The sleeve consists of elastomeric material.

Abstract: An electrical resistance heating element comprises at least one heating conductor of positive-temperature-coefficient material having contact means on opposite surfaces; if more than one, they may be arranged in a row or in a stack. Electrical connection is made to the heating conductor or the row or stack through two substantially plane contact plates adapted to the layout of the heating conductor, row or stack and placed loosely upon opposite contact surfaces thereof. The components are held together elastically by securing means holding the edges of the contact plates. Two alternative forms of securing means are described, one consisting of a series of U-shaped clips of elastic material distributed along the edges of the element, the other consisting of strips of U-shaped cross-section which are made of material with soft elastic properties and extend along respective opposite edges of the heating element.