Patent ID: 7196288

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: at least one flexible heating resistor element and at least two flexible supply electrodes arranged at a distance from each other and at least partly embedding the heating resistor element between them to form a layered structure, the supply electrodes being arranged to permit a flow of current directed essentially parallel to a vertical extent of the layered structure; and at least one contacting member including at least two supply conductors electrically coupled to the supply electrodes, the supply conductors spanning the heating resistor element in at least one planar direction of the layered structure, the contacting member being adapted to convey a voltage potential to the supply electrodes by way of the supply conductors, wherein the heating resistor element and the supply electrodes each include a plurality of recesses formed therein in the direction of the vertical extent of the layered structure, and wherein the plurality of recesses in the heating resistor element and supply electrodes are congruently arranged to form a plurality of webs, the webs and recesses forming a net-like layered structure.