One of the technology challenges in winter when temperatures in many countries can be below freezing; -300C to 00C. Ice quickly forms on the exterior mirrors and unlike windshield or rear glass not easy to scratch off.
Heated mirrors are now available on most cars but with the power restriction of 70W these are not very efficient. In most cases it can take 8 minutes or more for the rear view mirror to defrost sufficiently for safe driving. The problem is more acute it frequent starts and stops are involved requiring multiple defrosting cycles within a short period.
Recently developed & Patented Nano Heating Technology from AME is a good solution for this. The target is to have a heating element that can defrost the mirror in < 4 minutes with potential of partially defrosted in < 2 minutes so as to reduce the risk to driver.
- NanoHeat® is a new generation of heating element in Nano-thickness (1 m = 109 nm) applied on glass or other suitable materials, with fast heating response and is able to provide high efficiency heating functions in cold weather.
- NanoHeat® is built with ultra-low electrical resistance, capable to be driven with simple direct connection to D.C. power source, car battery and even super-capacitor for fasting warming, ice melting and defrosting.
- NanoHeat® produces no magnetic emission and interference for environmental improvement, and thus removes hazards & interference to surrounding equipment and devices, currently the technology is applied in products for laboratory uses.
- NanoHeat® is reliable and tested fully at high voltage and high wattage uses by major electronic consumer product companies in the past four years in innovative product development.
There are two installation options using the Nano Heater as shown below – one with heater behind the mirror and other with the translucent Nano Heater optically bonder to the front of the mirror.:
Preliminary tests were done on glass which showed that the ice melted in < 2 minutes. However this test was done on normal glass primarily to demonstrate the technology capability of the Nano Heater on glass.
Conclusion:
Further testing with automotive mirrors has demonstrated capability of Nano Heater to defrost and melt the ice in < 4 minutes. This is without integrating a super-capacitor. With a Super Cap the ice melting time can be reduced to < 1.5 minute subject to capability of the mirror to withstand the fast temperature difference.
A few more attributes on Nano Heating Technology:
- With AME proprietary process, the heating film is built in nm, the bond strength to substrate is extremely high and durable.
- NanoHeat can work for extreme operation conditions and subject to thermal shock without damage.
- The conversion of electricity energy into heat energy is immediate and efficient, and for the same amount of electricity energy input, the heat energy density in such a Nano Thickness material volume is much higher than the conventional heaters.
- Heating rate of Nano Heater can reach temperature rise over 20oC in less than a minute (over an area of 100 mm x 100mm) with low energy consumption (only 337 J by super capacitor) produces uniform heating over large area
- No magnetic emission & interference to surrounding equipment and devices, most suitable for vehicle operation.
- Nano Heater has even been tested in a MRI of government hospital, proven with no sign of interference or artifact in the image.
