Infrared ray heater

Claim 1

An infrared ray heater comprising: an infrared ray heater unit made of a ceramic board with a zigzag-shaped continuous groove formed on one side surface thereof and a resistive heater wire disposed in the groove, said groove having a pair of narrow portions at a central part of the ceramic board so as to hold the opposite ends of the heater wire at the narrow portions of the groove; a heat-insulating material disposed on said ceramic board, said heat insulating material having a recess; a terminal insulator member disposed on said recess of heatinsulating material, which insulator member has a pair of lead wire bosses extending away from said terminal insulator member at positions aligned with the narrow portions of said groove respectively and a fastening bolt boss extending away from said terminal insulator member at an intermediate position between the two lead wire bosses, the fastening bolt boss holding securely one end of a fastening bolt, said fastening bolt having a threaded end extending in a direction away from the ceramic board; a metallic case overlying on both said terminal insulator member, said heat-insulating material and said ceramic board, said metallic case having holes through which said lead wire bosses and said fastening bolt boss extend away from said ceramic board; a first heat-resistant insulation collar for the fastening bolt boss and a second heat-resistant insulation collar for the lead wire boss placed on said metallic case so as to surround said fastening bolt boss and said lead wire bosses, respectively; a planar reflector disposed on said first and second heat-resistant insulating collars; an insulating end cap placed on said first heatresistant insulation collar so that a sidewall of the end cap surrounds said fastening bolt boss, said insulating end cap having a hole bored through a flat end portion thereof so as to allow said threaded end of the fastening bolt to extend therethrough; a nut screwed on said threaded end of the fastening bolt so as to combine said infrared ray heater unit, said terminal insulator member, and said metallic case; and a pair of lead wires which are connected to said opposite ends of the heater wire at said narrow portions of the groove and extend through the lead wire bosses respectively; and a pair of coupler caps which engage opposite ends of both said metallic case and said ceramic board respectively so as to couple tightly the ceramic board to the metallic case; whereby said ceramic board of the infrared ray unit, terminal insulator member, metallic case and planar reflector are secured together by the fastening bolt and nut together with the first and second heat-resistant insulation collars for the fastening bolt boss and for the lead wire boss respectively and the insulating end cap so as to improve the heat-resistive insulating ability.