Resistance adjusting type heater

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to a heater honeycomb having resistance adjusting means.

#Honeycomb heaters of the above-described type can be employed as heaters for domestic use, such as hot-air heaters, or as industrial heaters, such as preheaters used for control of automobile exhaust emissions.

#FIG. 1 is an illustration of a square cell structure between adjacent slits in a heater of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is an illustration of a cell structure in which the partition walls 10a extend in parallel with the direction of flow of the electric current;

#FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a heater catalyst A;

#The present invention provides a resistance-adjusting-type heater comprising a honeycomb structure with a large number of passages, and electrodes provided on the honeycomb structure. The honeycomb structure has slits which form a predetermined angle to the partition walls of honeycomb structure so as to enable the adjustment of resistance between the electrodes. It is possible to control heat generation by adjusting the resistance with the slits, and to effect a local or overall temperature raising characteristics as desired according to its uses.

#Preferably, the above-mentioned honeycomb structure is produced by forming a powder material into a honeycomb configuration and by sintering the shaped body. In this case, the honeycomb structure is preferably formed by a metallurgical process and extrusion. These methods are simple and can reduce the production cost.

#The heater is preferably formed as an internal honeycomb structure from a powder material so that uniform heat generation is attained without suffering from telescope phenomenon.