Road heating device

Abstract

A road heating device disposable on a road to increase a surface temperature thereof, includes a sensor configured to convert at least one of an environmental impact and a physical impact on the road heating device to electric power, an energy storage configured to store the electric power from the sensor, a heating unit configured to generate heat using the electric power stored in the energy storage, and a switch configured to selectively power the heating unit with the electric power stored in the energy storage when the surface temperature is equal to or lower than a first temperature.

1 . A road heating device disposable on a road to increase a surface temperature thereof, comprising:
 a sensor configured to convert at least one of an environmental impact and a physical impact on the road heating device to electric power;   an energy storage configured to store the electric power from the sensor;   a heating unit configured to generate heat using the electric power stored in the energy storage; and   a switch configured to selectively power the heating unit with the electric power stored in the energy storage when the surface temperature is equal to or lower than a first temperature.   
   
   
       2 . The road heating device of  claim 1 , being micro-sized or nano-sized. 
   
   
       3 . The road heating device of  claim 1 , wherein the environmental impact comprises heat conducted from the road to the road heating device. 
   
   
       4 . The road heating device of  claim 3 , wherein the sensor comprises a thermocouple sensor. 
   
   
       5 . The road heating device of  claim 1 , wherein the physical impact comprises at least one of a pressure, a force and a strain to the road heating device. 
   
   
       6 . The road heating device of  claim 5 , wherein the sensor comprises a piezoelectric sensor. 
   
   
       7 . The road heating device of  claim 1 , wherein the energy storage comprises at least one of a battery and capacitor. 
   
   
       8 . The road heating device of  claim 1 , wherein the heating unit comprises a resistive heating element. 
   
   
       9 . The road heating device of  claim 1 , wherein the first temperature comprises a freezing point of water. 
   
   
       10 . The road heating device of  claim 1 , wherein the switch stops power from being supplied to the heating unit when the surface temperature is equal to or higher than a melting point of ice. 
   
   
       11 . The road heating device of  claim 1 , wherein the road heating device is disposed on asphalt pavement, embedded in a surface coating on asphalt, or embedded in a pavement structure. 
   
   
       12 . A method for increasing a surface temperature of a road, comprising:
 converting at least one of an environmental impact and a physical impact to the road to electric power;   storing the electric power; and   converting the stored electric power to heat when the surface temperature of the road is equal to or lower than a first temperature.   
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the environmental impact comprises heat conducted from the road, and the physical impact comprises at least one of a pressure, a force and a strain to the road. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the first temperature comprises a freezing point of water. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising stop converting the stored electric power to heat when the surface temperature is equal to or greater than a melting point of ice. 
   
   
       16 . A device for increasing a surface temperature of a road, the device comprising a plurality of road heating devices disposed on the road, each road heating device comprising:
 a first converting unit configured to convert at least one of an environmental impact and a physical impact to electric power;   an energy storage unit configured to store the electric power from the first converting unit;   a second converting unit configured to convert the electric power stored in the energy storage unit to heat; and   a switching unit configured to power the second converting unit when the surface temperature is equal to or lower than a first temperature.   
   
   
       17 . The device of  claim 16 , wherein each road heating device is micro-sized or nano-sized. 
   
   
       18 . The device of  claim 16 , wherein the environmental impact comprises heat conducted from the road to the road heating device, and
 the physical impact comprises at least one of a pressure, a force and a strain to the road heating device.   
   
   
       19 . The device of  claim 16 , wherein the first temperature comprises a freezing point of water. 
   
   
       20 . The device of  claim 19 , wherein the switching unit stops power from being supplied to the second converting unit when the surface temperature is equal to or higher than a melting point of ice.