Patent ID: 8847130

Claim:
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 an inside of a vehicle in order to heat blown air, the heating unit comprising: 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 aperture and a downstream side aperture as viewed in a flow direction of the blown air so as to allow the blown air to flow in and out through the casing; a support arranged in the hollow section of the casing; a plurality of microwave absorbing/heat emitting members arranged at the support at appropriate intervals, each of the plurality of microwave absorbing/heat emitting members having a hollow portion with an upstream side opening and a downstream side opening at opposite ends of the support as viewed in an air blowing direction; and a microwave outputting unit arranged in the casing to output microwaves toward the plurality of microwave absorbing/heat emitting members; wherein the blown air is heated by heat generated as a result of absorption of the microwaves by the plurality of microwave absorbing/heat emitting members at a time the blown air flows from an upstream side to a downstream side in the hollow portions of the plurality of microwave absorbing/heat emitting members.