Heater device

A heater device, comprising:

• a sheet shaped main body having an insulated board, a thin plate-shaped heater configured to output heat in response to receiving electrical energy, and a radiating surface configured to radiate radiant heat toward a heating object using the heat output by the thin plate-shaped heater;
• a plate shaped member arranged adjacent to the sheet shaped main body and on a side opposite to the radiating surface of the sheet shaped main body;
• an air layer forming member having a fixer part and a spacer and configured to form an air layer between the sheet shaped main body and the plate shaped member, the air layer forming member being arranged on the sheet shaped main body on the side opposite to the radiating surface of the sheet shaped main body;
• a surface member disposed on the radiating surface;
• and
• an object detection portion having (i) a plurality of conductive parts disposed to face each other inside the air layer and (ii) a controller having a processor and a voltage detection part, the controller being electrically connected to the plurality of conductive parts and the thin plate-shaped heater, wherein
• the insulated board includes a front surface oriented toward the radiating surface, and a rear surface oriented away from the radiating surface,
• the insulated board is electrically insulated and has a thermal conductivity lower than a thermal conductivity of the thin plate-shaped heater,
• the thin plate-shaped heater is disposed on the rear surface of the insulated board,
• the surface member is configured to increase a thermal resistance between the heating object and the heater device in response to the heating object contacting the heater device, and to protect the sheet shaped main body,
• the plurality of conductive parts are configured to
• contact each other in response to the heating object contacting the heater device, and
• flow an electrical current between the plurality of conducive parts in response to the plurality of conductive parts contacting each other, and
• the controller is configured to
• control an amount of energy received by the thin plate-shaped heater,
• detect a voltage corresponding to the electrical current flowing between the plurality of conductive parts,
• compare the detected voltage to a predetermined voltage value, and
• reduce the amount of electrical energy received by the thin plate-shaped heater in response to the detected voltage exceeding the predetermined voltage value.