Electric heating – Heating devices – With heating unit structure
Patent
1997-12-02
1999-08-31
Walberg, Teresa
Electric heating
Heating devices
With heating unit structure
219549, H05B 316
Patent
active
059450207
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a laminated heating structure useful as a heating plate, a heating roll or the like for use in a copying machine or the like, and particularly to a laminated heating structure excellent in heat resistance, dimensional accuracy, mechanical strength, etc.
BACKGROUND ART
Many heating means are used for ink or toner fixation or for photosensitization in a copying machine and the like. For example, many heating means are used in a long substrate such as a toner fuser of a copying machine or a drying roll of an automatic developing machine. Structures such as a heating plate or a heating roll are adopted as such heating means. Further, such heating structures are usually in the form of a laminated structure.
Since heating structures such as a heating plate or a heating roll are required to have not only a high heat resistance as heating elements but also a dimensional accuracy and a surface smoothness, the conventionally used ones are in the form of a structure comprising a ceramic or like base having a high heat resistance and a good dimensional accuracy and a metallic resistor laminated on the surface of the base. However, a ceramic base is very expensive because it is produced by cutting a sintered ceramic, and involves a demerit of difficulty in handling because it is liable to crack.
Moreover, such a structure involves not only the problem of necessity of a large electric power because it has a comparatively high thermal conductivity and is hence liable to dissipate heat, but also the problem of long heating time (build-up time) required till it reaches a predetermined temperature because it has a comparatively large heat capacity.
An object of the present invention is to solve the foregoing problems of the prior art to thereby provide an inexpensive laminated heating structure excellent in heat resistance, dimensional accuracy and mechanical strength, reduced in electric power consumption, and shortened in build-up time.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1: shows a cylindrically shaped laminated heating structure according to the invention.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
As a result of extensive investigations on the foregoing problems of the ceramic heating structure, the present inventors have completed the present invention according to which the foregoing problems can be solved.
Specifically, the present invention is directed to a laminated heating structure comprising a molding layer (A) made of a thermotropic liquid crystal polymer, a conductive layer (B) for heating a protective coating layer (C) by applying an electric current therethrough, and the protective coating layer (C), provided that the layers (A), (B) and (C) are laminated in this order as shown in FIG. 1.
The present invention will now be described in more detail.
The laminated heating structure of the present invention indispensably comprises the foregoing three layers (A), (B) and (C), but the process for producing the same is not particularly limited in so far as the resulting structure is a laminated structure having the foregoing constitution. However, the laminated structure having the constitution of the present invention can be produced, for example, by using a thermotropic liquid crystal polymer to produce a columnar, laminar or like molding by an arbitrary molding method such as injection or extrusion, and then laminating the layers (B) and (C) thereon, for example, by coating or laminating.
The shape of the laminated heating structure of the present invention may be any of cylindrical and laminar ones for attaining the purpose of the present invention.
The molding layer (A) as the base is made of a thermotropic liquid crystal polymer excellent in heat resistance and dimensional accuracy, preferably a thermotropic liquid crystal polyester resin.
The thermotropic liquid crystal polymer so called in the present invention is a meltable thermoplastic polymer capable of exhibiting an optical anisotropy in a molten state. The polymer capable of exhibiting an optical anisotro
REFERENCES:
patent: 3878361 (1975-04-01), Levin et al.
patent: 5234524 (1993-08-01), Ozuet et al.
patent: 5517751 (1996-05-01), Brosset et al.
Hosomi Kazunori
Kuroda Rikio
Nogiwa Motomi
Ogawa Yoshiharu
Nippon Petrochemicals Co. Ltd.
Patel Vinod D
Walberg Teresa
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