20120285949 | HEATING UNIT OF VEHICLE HEATING SYSTEM - A heating unit can reduce the rate of power consumption rate for heating a vehicle, so that the running distance of the vehicle is increased and hence the battery charging cycle of the vehicle is prolonged. A heating unit of a vehicle heating system arranged in a blown air flow path for either internal air or external air to be blown into the inside of a vehicle in order to heat blown air includes a casing made of a metal material capable of electromagnetically shielding microwaves and arranged in the blown air flow path, the casing having a hollow section with an upstream side opening and a downstream side opening as viewed in the flow direction of blown air so as to allow blown air to flow in and out therethrough, a support arranged in the hollow section of the casing, a large number of microwave absorbing/heat emitting members arranged at the support at appropriate intervals, each having a hollow section with an upstream side opening and a downstream side opening at the opposite ends of the support as viewed in the air blowing direction and a microwave outputting means arranged in the casing to output microwaves toward respective microwave absorbing/heat emitting members, blown air being heated by heat generated as a result of absorption of microwaves by the microwave absorbing/heat emitting members at the time for blown air to flow from the upstream side to the downstream side in the hollow sections of the microwave absorbing/heat emitting members. | 11-15-2012 |