# US 12,004,272 B2 · Low-power electro-thermal film devices and methods for making the same

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- Number: US 12,004,272 B2
- Document ID: US12004272B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/820,410
- Filed: 2020-03-16
- Published: 2020-07-09
- Granted: 2024-06-04
- Earliest claimed: 2015-04-24
- Assignees: Guanping Feng; Wuxi Graphene Film Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Guanping Feng; Wuxi Graphene Film Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Guanping Feng; Huabing Tan; Haibin Liu; Huizhong Zhu
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12004272B2

## CPC

- H05B 3/84: Heating arrangements specially adapted for transparent or reflecting areas, e.g. for demisting or de-icing windows, mirrors or vehicle windshields
- C23F 1/14: Aqueous compositions
- H05B 2203/006: using interdigitated electrodes
- H05B 2203/011: Heaters using laterally extending conductive material as connecting means
- H05B 2203/013: Heaters using resistive films or coatings
- H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
- C23F: NON-MECHANICAL REMOVAL OF METALLIC MATERIAL FROM SURFACE (working metal by laser beams B23K26/00; desurfacing by applying flames B23K7/00; working of metal by electro-erosion B23H; producing decorative effects by removing surface material, e.g. by engraving, by etching, B44C1/22; electrolytic etching or polishing C25F); INHIBITING CORROSION OF METALLIC MATERIAL OR INCRUSTATION IN GENERAL; MULTI-STEP PROCESSES FOR SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL INVOLVING AT LEAST ONE PROCESS PROVIDED FOR IN CLASS C23 AND AT LEAST ONE PROCESS COVERED BY SUBCLASS C21D OR C22F OR CLASS C25

## Abstract

A low-power transparent electro-thermal film device is provided. The device includes a transparent substrate, a transparent conductor layer disposed at least one side of the transparent substrate, and a plurality of inner electrodes disposed on the transparent conductor layer and including a first plurality of inner electrodes extending in a comb shape from a first electrode bus bar and a second plurality of inner electrodes extending in the comb shape from a second electrode bus bar. The first plurality of inner electrodes inter-lock with the second plurality of inner electrodes.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A low-power transparent electro-thermal film device, comprising:
a transparent substrate;
a transparent conductor layer disposed on a surface of the transparent substrate; and
inner electrodes disposed on the transparent conductor layer and including first inner electrodes extending from a first electrode bus bar and second inner electrodes extending from a second electrode bus bar, the first inner electrodes inter-locking with the second inner electrodes, wherein each of the first inner electrodes and the second inner electrodes disposed in an interior of the device comprises a pair of spaced-apart sub inner electrodes disposed in parallel with each other, and each of the first inner electrodes disposed in an edge of the device comprises a single sub inner electrode, wherein the transparent conductor layer is continuous between the pair of spaced-apart sub inner electrodes and between the first electrode bus bar and the second electrode bus bar.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein each of the first inner electrodes and the second inner electrodes has a constant width.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein each of the sub inner electrodes have an equal width, the equal width being determined based on a current carrying capacity of each of the sub inner electrodes.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein each of the pairs of sub inner electrodes are evenly spaced apart from an adjacent pair of sub inner electrodes.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the first electrode bus bar comprises first holes and the second electrode bus bar comprises second holes.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The device of claim 5, wherein each of the first holes is evenly spaced apart by a distance, and each of the second holes is evenly spaced apart by the distance.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The device of claim 5, wherein each of the first holes is positioned to face a corresponding pair of sub inner electrodes of the second inner electrodes, and each of the second holes is positioned to face a corresponding pair of sub inner electrodes of the first inner electrodes.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The device of claim 7, wherein each of the first holes comprise a capsule with flattened sides and rounded ends, each of the flattened sides being equal in length.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein a distance between a second inner electrode disposed in the edge of the device and an adjacent second inner electrode disposed in the interior of the device is equal to a distance between adjacent second inner electrodes disposed in the interior of the device.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein each of the first inner electrodes extends from the first electrode bus bar toward the second electrode bus bar, and the device comprises gaps between an end of each of the first inner electrodes and the second electrode bus bar, each of the gaps being equal.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The device of claim 10, wherein each of the second inner electrodes extends from the second electrode bus bar toward the first electrode bus bar, and the device comprises gaps between an end of each of the second inner electrodes and the first electrode bus bar, each of the gaps between the end of each of the second inner electrodes and the first electrode bus bar being equal in distance with each of the gaps between the end of each of the first inner electrodes and the second electrode bus bar.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein:
the first electrode bus bar connects the first inner electrodes to a positive power input;
the second electrode bus bar connects the second inner electrodes to a negative power input; and
a current, when the first electrode bus bar is connected with the positive power input and the second electrode bus bar is connected with the negative power input, sequentially flows from the first electrode bus bar, to the first inner electrodes, to the second inner electrodes, then to the second electrode bus bar.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the pair of spaced-apart sub inner electrodes is line-shaped, zigzag-shaped, or curve-shaped.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein each one of the first inner electrodes is separated from a neighboring inter-locking second inner electrode of the second inner electrodes by the transparent conductor layer.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the transparent conductor layer comprises at least one of graphene, carbon nanotube, Indium tin oxide (ITO), Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), or Aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO);
the inner electrodes comprise at least one of silver, silver paste, copper, copper paste, aluminum, ITO, or graphene;
the transparent substrate comprises at least one of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyethylene (PE), polycarbonate (PC), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyaniline (PANI), or multi-layer graphene.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The device of claim 15, wherein the transparent conductor layer comprises a single layer graphene.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The device of claim 15, wherein the transparent conductor layer comprises graphene doped with an inorganic or organic dopant; and
the device further comprises a protective layer over the inner electrodes and the transparent conductor layer, the protection layer comprising at least one of PET, PVC, PE, or PC separate from the at least one of PET, PVC, PE, PC, PMMA, PVDF, PANI, or multi-layer graphene of the transparent substrate.

### Claim 18 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the first inner electrodes or the second inner electrodes are line-shaped, wave-shaped, or saw-tooth shaped.

### Claim 19 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein all of the second inner electrodes are disposed in the interior of the device.