Flame rod analysis system
AssigneeA. O. Smith Corporation
InventorsBrian T. Branecky, Brian C. Dolder, Charles J. Koehler, III
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A flame rod analysis system, methods for determining a condition of a flame and a flame rod, and circuits for determining a condition of a flame and a flame rod. The flame rod analysis system comprises energy storage connectable to a flame rod, a pulsed source connected to the energy storage and providing a voltage pulse or a current pulse, and a buffer to allow a processor to measure a buffered voltage at various time points. Flame rod analysis systems can distinguish between various flame conditions (no flame, low flame, etc.) while simultaneously characterizing the condition of the flame rod (shorted to ground, contaminated, etc.). Some flame rod analysis systems can directly measure the resistance of the flame rod.
Claims19
A system for analyzing an aspect of a flame rod, the system comprising:
- an energy storage, connected to ground, and connectable to the flame rod;
- a pulsed source connected to the energy storage and providing a first electrical pulse, the electrical pulse being either of a voltage pulse or a current pulse;
- a buffer connected to the energy storage and connectable to the flame rod, the buffer buffering a voltage on the energy storage and the flame rod;
- and
- a processor connected to the buffer, the processor configured to
- determine, within the first electrical pulse, a first buffered voltage and a second buffered voltage, and
- produce a first flag based on the first buffered voltage and a second flag based on the second buffered voltage.
A system for determining the resistance of a flame rod, the system comprising:
- a reference resistor, having a known resistance, connectable to the flame rod;
- a pulsed voltage source connected to the reference resistor and providing a voltage pulse of a known magnitude;
- a buffer connected to the reference resistor and connectable to the flame rod, the buffer buffering a voltage between the reference resistor and the flame rod;
- and
- a processor connected to the buffer, the processor determining a peak voltage between the reference resistor and the flame rod when the voltage pulse is provided by the pulsed voltage source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.