Heater unit
A heater unit for heating equipment is provided which includes: a heater housing disposed on a bottom portion of the equipment in such a manner as to firmly stick thereto and having a heat source; a buffer space portion formed between the bottom portion of the equipment and an upper portion of the heater housing for equalizing heat generated in the heater housing; and a plurality of heating modules disposed in a dispersed fashion within the heater housing.
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The present disclosure relates to a heater unit for heating equipment.
RELATED ARTIn association with the advent of multi-function control equipment, while control equipment has found various applications other than conventional ones, places where such control unit is placed are now diversified as control targets are dispersed over a wide area. In association with this trend, the number of cases is increasing where the control unit is places in sites where conditions are severe. As an example of such cases, there can be raised a pipeline control in a dry region where the temperature changes drastically within a day or a high-latitude region where it is extremely cold.
There are many cases where it is difficult for all electronic components ranging from their housings to constituent electronic components to satisfy required temperature specifications. In such cases, a method has been adopted in which a heater for heating the whole of the interior of an enclosure is placed together with control equipment within the enclosure so as to satisfy a temperature specification for the control equipment.
A temperature sensor 14 is mounted on a rear edge of an upper guide rail plate 12, and a heater control unit 16 is mounted on a side plate 15 which switches on and off each heater so as to hold the temperature within a predetermined range based on a temperature detected by the temperature sensor 14. Each panel is heated mainly by virtue of thermal conduction from the heater 13 via the metallic guide rail plates 12 and side plates 15, and the fan unit 11 equalizes the temperature inside the housing.
The following problems are caused by the related-art heater unit.
(1) Since the heaters are disposed in the dispersed fashion together with the heating targets within the housing, the construction of the housing becomes complex, and this interrupts the standardization of equipment and constitutes a main cause for cost increase.
The number of heaters dispersed within the housing needs to be increased in order to equalize the temperature therein. Furthermore, the fan unit needs to be provided within the housing to equalize the temperature therein, which constitutes another main cause for cost increase.
SUMMARYEmbodiments of the present invention provide a heater unit which is constructed separately from equipment to be heated and which uses a temperature distribution equalizing means having an extremely simplified construction.
One or more embodiments of the invention will be configured as follows.
(1) A heater unit for heating equipment comprising:
a heater housing disposed on a bottom portion of the equipment in such a manner as to firmly stick thereto and having a heat source;
a buffer space portion formed between the bottom portion of the equipment and an upper portion of the heater housing for equalizing heat generated in the heater housing; and
a plurality of heating modules disposed in a dispersed fashion within the heater housing.
(2) A heater unit as set forth under (1), wherein the heating module includes a printed substrate on which a heating component is installed.
(3) A heater unit as set forth under (2), wherein the printed substrate is connected to a base substrate disposed on an inner circumferential wall of the heater housing via a connector.
(4) A heater unit as set forth under (3), wherein a heat insulating member is disposed on the inner circumferential wall of the heater housing which faces the base substrate.
(5) A heater unit as set forth under any of (2) to (4), wherein the printed substrates are disposed in a dispersed fashion in order to adjust a heat distribution within the heater housing.
(6) A heater unit as set forth under any of (1) to (5), wherein vent holes are formed in the upper portion and the bottom portion of the heater housing.
Various implementations may include one or more the following advantages. For example, the following advantages are provided.
(1) By disposing the heater housing immediately under the equipment separately from the equipment in such a manner as to firmly stick thereto, the construction is made simple and the standardization of equipment is not interrupted, compared to the related-art construction in which the heaters are disposed in the dispersed fashion together with the equipment to be heated thereby within the equipment housing.
(2) By forming the buffer space portion between the equipment to be heated and the heater housing, the construction of the housing is made simple, compared to the related-art construction in which the special fan unit is provided to equalize the temperature distribution, and this can contribute to reduction in cost.
(3) By making the heat sources which are disposed in the dispersed fashion within the heater housing into the modules and making, in turn, the heating modules into the form of printed substrates which are connected to the base substrate via the connecter means, not only the amount of heat for heating can be adjusted by exchanging printed substrates having different heat amounts but also the difference in supply voltage in an environment where the heater unit is used can be dealt with, thereby making it possible to develop many variations.
(4) Since the connecting position where the printed substrate is connected to the base substrate with the connector can be disposed in the dispersed fashion in an arbitrary pattern, the equalization in temperature distribution within the heater housing can easily be realized, and a synergetic effect with the equalization attained by the buffer space portion can be expected.
(5) By disposing the base substrate, the printed substrates and, furthermore, the heat insulating member in the form of a substrate in such a manner as to surround the inner circumferential wall of the heater housing, the amount of heat that escapes from side surfaces of the heater housing can be reduced, the energy can be saved, and the waiting time from the initiation of heating until the equipment can be activated can be reduced.
Other features and advantages may be apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings and the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Hereinafter, the invention will be described in detail by reference to the accompanying drawings.
In
In addition to the purpose for equalizing the temperature distribution, in the event that a specific area of equipment, above all, a specific component or location of the equipment which does not operate at low temperatures is desired to be heated, or in the event that a specific portion of the equipment needs to be heated further while the whole of the equipment is being heated, a temperature distribution of specific pattern can be realized in which the dispersion of heat sources is made unequal intentionally.
Thus, on one hand, a heating distribution according to a necessary degree can be realized by disposing the heat sources at unequal intervals, and on the other hand, the energy utilizing efficiency can be increased by reducing the temperature of a location where no intensive heating is required.
In the embodiment as shown in
In this invention, by disposing the base substrate and the printed substrates which make up the heating modules 4 in such a manner as to surround the inner circumferential walls of the heater housing 2, the amount of heat which escapes from the side surfaces of the heating housing can be reduced, so that the energy can be saved and the waiting time from the initiation of heating until the equipment can be activated can be reduced.
Furthermore, by disposing the heat insulating member which is similar to the printed substrate on the inner circumferential surface of the heater housing 2 which faces the base substrate 5, the four inner circumferential walls are surrounded by the heat insulating members including the base substrate 5 and the heating modules 4, so that the energy utilization efficiency can be increased further.
Claims
1. A heater unit for heating equipment comprising:
- a heater housing disposed on a bottom portion of the equipment in such a manner as to firmly stick thereto and having a heat source;
- a buffer space portion formed between the bottom portion of the equipment and an upper portion of the heater housing for equalizing heat generated in the heater housing; and
- a plurality of heating modules disposed in a dispersed fashion within the heater housing.
2. A heater unit as set forth in claim 1, wherein the heating module includes a printed substrate on which at least one heating component is installed.
3. A heater unit as set forth in claim 2, wherein the printed substrate is connected to a base substrate disposed on an inner circumferential wall of the heater housing via a connector.
4. A heater unit as set forth in claim 3, wherein a heat insulating member is disposed on the inner circumferential wall of the heater housing which faces the base substrate.
5. A heater unit as set forth in claim 2, wherein the printed substrates are disposed in a dispersed fashion in order to adjust a heat distribution within the heater housing.
6. A heater unit as set forth in claim 1, wherein vent holes are formed in the upper portion and the bottom portion of the heater housing.
7. A heater unit as set forth in claim 5, wherein locations of the printed substrates are not at equal intervals but are made coarse at center and dense at both ends of the heater housing.
8. A heater unit as set forth in claim 5, wherein the number of the heating components installed in each of the printed substrates located at center of the heater housing is made smaller than that of the heating components installed in each of the printed substrates located at both ends of the heater housing.
9. A heater unit as set forth in claim 1, wherein the buffer space portion is a space which is surrounded by upper side walls of the heater housing.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 26, 2006
Publication Date: May 17, 2007
Applicant: Yokogawa Electric Corporation (Tokyo)
Inventor: Mitsuaki Fujimori (Tokyo)
Application Number: 11/588,491
International Classification: F24D 1/00 (20060101);