| CPC F01N 3/2026 (2013.01) [F01N 3/2803 (2013.01); F01N 2240/16 (2013.01)] | 14 Claims |
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1. A heater body comprising:
an outer periphery;
a plurality of slots, each slot extending from the outer periphery and terminating at a terminal end within the heater body,
a plurality of core segments comprised of an electrically conductive material, each core segment defined between a different pair of adjacent slots;
a plurality of bend regions comprised of the electrically conductive material, wherein each of the bend regions is arranged around a respective one of the terminal ends of the slots, and wherein each pair of adjacent core segments is connected by a corresponding one of the bend regions; and
an auxiliary conductive feature located within each of the bend regions proximate to the respective one of the terminal ends;
wherein the plurality of slots electrically disconnect each pair of adjacent core segments from each other to create a serpentine current-carrying path that extends across the heater body through the electrically conductive material of the core segments and the bend regions, and
wherein each of the auxiliary conductive features locally reduces an electrical resistance of the heater body in the bend regions in comparison to the electrically conductive material alone,
wherein the electrically conductive material is shaped as an intersecting array of walls that define a plurality of cells in a honeycomb design,
wherein each auxiliary conductive feature comprises a continuous strip of supplemental electrically conductive material, and
wherein the strip comprises a plurality of wedges, each wedge partially filling a corresponding one of the cells.
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