ELECTRIC HEATING SYSTEM FOR A FLUID LINE SYSTEM

• US 20120008927A1
• Filed: 03/04/2010
• Published: 01/12/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VOSS Automotive GmbH (Park-Ohio Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: VOSS Automotive GmbH (Park-Ohio Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Borgmeier, Olav, Etscheid, Tobias, Mitterer, Reiner, Schüler, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 8,965,187 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 392/478
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2610/02 the substance being ammonia or urea
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2610/10 the substance being heated, e.g. by heating tank or supply line of the added substance
• CPC Class Codes: F01N 2610/14 Arrangements for the supply of substances, e.g. conduits
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 25/01 specially adapted for realising electrical conduction between the two pipe ends of the joint or between parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: F16L 53/38 using elongate electric heating elements, e.g. wires or ribbons
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/005 Electrical coupling combined with fluidic coupling
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 1/0244 Heating of fluids H05B1/0247 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 2203/021 Heaters specially adapted for heating liquids
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/46 heating conductor mounted on insulating base

Abstract

A heating system for a fluid pipe system in which at least one electric heating element (R_L) is assigned to at least one fluid line, said heating element, in order to apply a predetermined heating output to the fluid line, being provided with an electric operating voltage (U_B) that is reduced compared to the supply voltage (U).

Claims

1. A heating system for a fluid pipe system, in which at least one electric heating element (R_L) is assigned to at least one fluid line, said heating element being supplied with an electric operating voltage (U_B) in order to apply a specific heating output to the fluid line, wherein the operating voltage (U_B) is reduced compared to a supply voltage (U).

2. A heating system according to claim 1, wherein a series resistor (R) is connected in series with and upstream of the heating element (R_L).

3. A heating system according to claim 1, wherein the heating element (R_L) is comprised of a heating-coil material that runs helically around the fluid line, whereby at least one heating wire runs helically around a core filament of the heating-coil material.

4. A heating system according to claim 1, wherein the heating element (R_L) is comprised of at least two heating conductors (R_L1 to R_L4) that are connected in series.

5. A heating system according to claim 4, wherein at least one heating element (R_V1/R_V2) of a line-connector connected to the fluid line is connected in parallel to one of the heating conductors (R_L1/R_L4) of the fluid line.

6. A heating system according to claim 1, wherein the heating element (R_L) is actuated via a switch that is controlled in particular with constant pulse frequency.

7. A heating system according to claim 6, wherein a flip-flop is provided with a temperature-dependent resistance (R_NTC;

R_PTC) or a bimetal element.

8. A heating system according to claim 1, wherein the heating element (R_L) is actuated, in order to adjust or control its heating output, in a pulse-modulated synchronized manner, with a specific, variable duty cycle.

9. A heating system according to claim 8, wherein the heating element (R_L) assigned to the fluid line is electrically connected in series with at least one additional heating element (R_V1, R_V2), and preferably with two heating elements (R_V1, R_V1), which are each assigned to one line connector;

the controlling member controls at least a partial section of the available heating elements (R_L, R_V1, R_V2) singly, so that the controlling member adjusts or regulates their heating output.

10. A heating system according to claim 9, wherein each of the heating elements to be controlled (R_L, R_V1, R_V2) is connected in parallel to an electronic switch, and the controlling member is able to actuate the switches individually via a control bus.

11. A heating system according to claim 9, wherein the total heating output of the series connection of all of the heating elements (R_L, R_V1, R_V2) can be controlled by the controlling member by means of an electronic switch found in the series connection.

12. A heating system according to claim 9, wherein with a series connection of the line heating elements (R_L) to at least one heating element (R_V1, R_V2) of a line-connector that is connected to the fluid line, the line heating element (R_L) has a heating output per meter of line-length (L) that has a ratio of 10:

1 to the heating output of each of the connector heating elements ((R_V1, R_V2).

13. A heating system according to claim 1, wherein the fluid line is prefabricated in such a way as to have one heating-wire coil and a heating-wire reservoir, formed in at least one end-region of a line by means of narrower winding of the heating-wire, so that a certain length of the heating-wire can be drawn out of the reservoir and used to wind around a line connector that is to be connected to the fluid line.