Self regulating heater in an intermediate bulk container
AssigneeCaliente LLC
InventorsJames T. Blake, Tyler W. Ambriole, Michael R. Kelly
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method for establishing and/or maintaining a desired temperature of a material in an intermediate bulk container including the steps of positioning a heating element in at least partial contact with a material container containing the material within the intermediate bulk container; and applying an electrical power source to the heating element, wherein the heating element is at least partially made of a positive temperature coefficient resistant material, the heat from the heating element being largely transferred to the material in the material container.
Claims16
A method of establishing and/or maintaining a desired temperature of a material in an intermediate bulk container, comprising the steps of:
- positioning a heating element in at least partial contact with a material container containing the material within the intermediate bulk container, the intermediate bulk container being a multiple layer corrugated cardboard with a layer of insulation, the heating element being next to the material container inside of the intermediate bulk container;
- and
- applying an electrical power source to the heating element, wherein the heating element is at least partially made of a positive temperature coefficient resistant material, the heat from the heating element being largely transferred to the material in the material container, the heating element reacting to an unevenly distributed thermal conductivity of the material in a zone by causing an electrical resistance of the heating element to rise in the zone of the heating element thereby reducing electrical power consumption in that zone of the heating element.
A method of heating a material in an intermediate bulk container, comprising the steps of:
- positioning a first heating element beneath a material container containing the material within the intermediate bulk container, the intermediate bulk container being a multiple layer corrugated cardboard with a layer of insulation, the first heating element being next to the material container inside of the intermediate bulk container;
- and
- applying an electrical power source to the first heating element, wherein the first heating element is at least partially made of a positive temperature coefficient resistant material, the heat from the first heating element being largely transferred to the material in the material container, the first heating element reacting to an unevenly distributed thermal conductivity of the material in a zone by causing an electrical resistance of the first heating element to rise in the zone of the first heating element thereby reducing electrical power consumption in that zone of the first heating element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.