Heating system

Abstract

A traffic light with a housing, a light assembly mounted to the housing, a visor extending from the housing surrounding the light assembly. The traffic light further including a heater element having multiple layers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A heating system for a traffic light, the heating system comprising:
 a heater element having multiple layers including an interface layer for connection with a portion of the traffic light and a resistive layer for regulating a current.   
     
     
         2 . The heating system of  claim 1 , further comprising a control module for controlling a supply of power from a power source to the heater element. 
     
     
         3 . The heating system of  claim 2 , wherein the resistive layer maintains a high electrical resistance when connected to the power source. 
     
     
         4 . The heating system of  claim 3 , wherein a reduced amperage is required to maintain a steady state temperature for the resistive layer. 
     
     
         5 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the heater element further comprises a carrier layer and the resistive layer is located between the interface layer and the carrier layer. 
     
     
         6 . The heating system of  claim 5 , wherein the heater element further comprises a polymer base layer and the resistive layer is located between the polymer base layer and the carrier layer. 
     
     
         7 . The heating system of  claim 6 , wherein the carrier layer is made of an electrically insulating material. 
     
     
         8 . The heating system of  claim 7 , wherein the polymer base layer is made of a conductive material. 
     
     
         9 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the portion of the traffic light is a visor surrounding a lens of the traffic light and the interface layer is mounted to the visor. 
     
     
         10 . The heating system of  claim 9 , wherein at least a portion of the heater element is screen printed directly onto the visor. 
     
     
         11 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the interface layer seals the heater element. 
     
     
         12 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the interface layer is an adhesive layer. 
     
     
         13 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the heater element is a composite. 
     
     
         14 . The heating system of  claim 2 , further comprising a circuit board having a series of connectors, wherein the control module is connected to the power source via at least one connector in the series of connectors and the control module is connected to the heater element via another at least one connector in the series of connectors. 
     
     
         15 . The heating system of  claim 14 , further comprising at least one sensor for determining when the heater element should be energized, the at least one sensor connected to the control module via yet another at least one connector in the series of connectors. 
     
     
         16 . The heating system of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one sensor is a temperature sensor. 
     
     
         17 . The heating system of  claim 15 , wherein the at least one sensor is a humidity sensor. 
     
     
         18 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the resistive layer experiences a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) effect when heated by current. 
     
     
         19 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the heater element is a fixed wattage heater element. 
     
     
         20 . The heating system of  claim 1 , wherein the heater element includes a connector tail on which electrical terminals are mounted.