Textile heater with continuous temperature sensing and hot spot detection
First Claim
1. A soft and flexible temperature sensing heater having a durable construction for incorporation into a plurality of articles, said heater comprising:
- at least one continuous melting fuse, said melting fuse comprising at least one electrically conductive textile fiber as heating means, said at least one electrically conductive textile fiber melts at the temperature above 110°
C. and below 350°
C. terminating electrical continuity in said heating means and preventing fire hazard in said temperature sensing heater, at least one electronic controller to vary power output and to control maximum heating level of said temperature sensing heater, at least one heat detection means providing an electrical feedback signal to said electronic controller by detecting a change of temperature in said heating means;
at least one NTC sensing means, placed between, and electrically connected to said heating means and said heat detection means.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A soft and flexible heater utilizes electrically conductive threads or fibers as heating media. The conductive fibers are encapsulated by negative temperature coefficient (NTC) material, forming temperature sensing heating cables. One or more heating cables can be formed into heaters of various configurations including tapes, sleeves or sheets providing simultaneous heat radiation and local overheat protection. Such heaters may be connected in different combinations, in parallel or in series. The heater may contain continuous positive temperature coefficient (PTC) temperature sensors to precisely control the temperature in the heater. Such temperature sensors can be made of electrically conductive fibers, metal wires or fiber optical filaments. When required by the heater design, the electrically conductive threads/fibers may have a polymer base, which acts as a Thermal-Cut-Off (TCO) at predetermined temperatures. Electrically conductive fibers comprised of such polymer base can melt between 110° C. and 350° C. thereby terminating electrical continuity in the heater.
173 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A soft and flexible temperature sensing heater having a durable construction for incorporation into a plurality of articles, said heater comprising:
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at least one continuous melting fuse, said melting fuse comprising at least one electrically conductive textile fiber as heating means, said at least one electrically conductive textile fiber melts at the temperature above 110°
C. and below 350°
C. terminating electrical continuity in said heating means and preventing fire hazard in said temperature sensing heater,at least one electronic controller to vary power output and to control maximum heating level of said temperature sensing heater, at least one heat detection means providing an electrical feedback signal to said electronic controller by detecting a change of temperature in said heating means;
at least one NTC sensing means, placed between, and electrically connected to said heating means and said heat detection means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification