AIR HEATING DEVICE FOR A VEHICLE

Abstract

An electric air heating device for a vehicle, specifically a motor vehicle, preferably a private car or a heavy goods vehicle, including at least a first heating element around which the air to be heated flows, wherein the first heating element comprises a preferably electrically-insulating substrate and at least one electrically-conductive carbon-based coating, specifically a polymer coating.

Claims

1. Electric air heating device for a vehicle, comprising at least a first heating element around which the air to be heated flows, wherein the first heating element comprises an electrically-insulating substrate and at least one electrically-conductive carbon-based coating.

2. Air heating device according to claim 1, wherein at least one second heating element is provided, wherein the second heating element comprises a second substrate (11) and at least one second electrically-conductive carbon-based coating wherein an interspace is constituted between the heating elements, through which a flux of air can be directed for the heating thereof.

3. Air heating device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate or the substrates, at least in part, are produced from a polymer and/or from an electrically-insulating material and/or from a material which foams and/or melts at a temperature below 500 C.

4. Air heating device according to claim 1, wherein the carbon-based coating or the carbon-based coatings are electrically contacted by at least one metal structure.

5. Air heating device according to claim 1, wherein the carbon-based polymer coating or the carbon-based polymer coatings and/or a paste for the production of the respective carbon-based layer comprise at least one polymer, based upon at least one olefin; and/or at least one copolymer of at least one olefin and at least one monomer, which can be copolymerized therewith, e.g. ethylene/acrylic acid and/or ethylene/ethyl acrylate and/or ethylene/vinyl acetate; and/or at least one polyalkenamer (polyacetylene or polyalkenylene); and/or at least one melt-mouldable fluoropolymer.

6. Air heating device according to claim 1, wherein the carbon-based coating is imprinted onto the respective substrate or applied by blade coating, or is/are applied by spraying or immersion.

7. Air heating device according to claim 1, wherein the carbon in the carbon-based coating or in the carbon-based coatings is present in the form of particles of carbon black, and/or in the form of a carbon matrix and/or in the form of carbon black and/or graphite and/or graphene and/or carbon fibres and/or carbon nanotubes.

8. Air heating device according to claim 1, wherein the first and/or second heating element at least essentially extends along a direction of air flow and/or extends at an angle vis--vis the direction of air flow equal to or smaller than 90 and greater than 0, specifically greater than 10.

9. Air heating device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate or substrates is/are configured as a plate and/or assumes/assume a thickness of at least 0.1 mm and/or no more than 5.0 mm.

10. Air heating device according to claim 1, wherein the first and/or second carbon-based coating and/or the substrate or are configured to be at least essentially planar.

11. Air heating device according to claim 1, wherein at least three heating elements are provided, and/or a diameter of the interspace between the first and the second heating element is greater than a thickness of the first and/or second heating element.

12. Air heating device according to claim 1, wherein the carbon-based coating is in contact to a proportion of at least 20% with the substrate at a surface of said substrate which faces the carbon-based coating.

13. Method for operating an air heating device according to claim 1, wherein air at least flows past the first heating element through the at least one interspace, and is heated accordingly.

14. Method for producing an electric air heating device according to claim 1, wherein the first and/or second carbon-based coating is/are preferably imprinted onto the first or second substrate by screen-printing, and/or applied by blade coating and/or applied by spraying and/or by immersion, and/or wherein the first and/or second substrate is/are preferably injection-moulded.

15. Employment of an air heating device according to claim 1, and/or of a carbon-based coating, for the heating of air in a vehicle.

16. Vehicle comprising an air heating device according to claim 1.

17. Electric air heating device according to claim 1, wherein the at least one electrically-conductive carbon-based coating is a polymer coating.

18. Air heating device according to claim 3, wherein the polymer is a polyethylene and/or polypropylene and/or polyether ketone and/or polyamide.

19. Air heating device according to claim 4, wherein the at least one metal structure is a sheet metal, and/or metal strips and/or metal wire and/or a metal grating, and/or a metal structure which is applied by means of imprinting and/or vapour deposition, specifically a metal coating.

20. Air heating device according to claim 5, wherein the at least one melt-mouldable fluoropolymer is a polyvinylidene fluoride and/or copolymers thereof.

Description

[0057] The disclosure is described hereinafter with reference to exemplary embodiments, which are elaborated in greater detail with reference to the attached figures. In the figures:

[0058] FIG. 1 shows a schematic frontal view of an electric air heating device according to the disclosure;

[0059] FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view of the embodiment according to FIG. 1, in a cross-sectional representation; and

[0060] FIG. 3 shows a schematic side view of an alternative embodiment of an electric air heating device according to the disclosure, in a cross-sectional representation which is analogous to FIG. 2.

[0061] In the following description, identical or identically-functioning components are identified by the same reference numbers.

[0062] FIG. 1 shows a frontal view of an air heating device according to the disclosure. This comprises a plurality (specifically eleven, although this is not mandatory) of heating elements 9. Each of the heating elements 9 comprises a conductive carbon-based layer 10 and a plastic substrate 11. The respective carbon-based layer 10 is connected to electrical contacts 15a, 15b by means of sheet metal 12 (specifically: curved sheet metal, preferably sheet copper). Interspaces (fluid ducts) 16 are configured between the heating elements 9. Air flows through these interspaces 16 for the purposes of the heating thereof (in FIG. 1, into the image plane or out of the image plane). A further interspace 16a can optionally be provided outside an (edge-mounted) heating element (in FIG. 1, the bottommost heating element). This further interspace 16a can then, for example, be delimited on the other side by a wall (e.g. a housing wall).

[0063] In the cross-sectional representation according to FIG. 2, the air flow is further specifically indicated by an arrow 14.

[0064] The alternative embodiment according to FIG. 3 is distinguished from the embodiment according to FIG. 1 in that the heating elements, in this case, do not extend along the direction of air flow (see FIG. 2), but perpendicularly thereto such that, in the representation according to FIG. 3, only one heating element 9 is visible, as the remaining heating elements are concealed by this heating element. Here again, for example, a plurality of heating elements (e.g. eleven) can be present. The interspaces are also concealed by the heating element 9.

[0065] At this point, it is observed that all the above-mentioned elements, considered individually per se or in any combination, specifically the details thereof represented in the drawings, are claimed as key to the disclosure. Variations herefrom will be familiar to a person skilled in the art.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0066] 9 Heating element [0067] 10 Conductive carbon-based layer [0068] 11 Plastic substrate [0069] 12 Sheet metal [0070] 14 Arrow [0071] 15a Contact [0072] 15b Contact [0073] 16 Interspace (fluid duct) [0074] 16a Interspace (fluid duct)