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US 12,405,319 B2Granted
Systems and methods for direct heater diagnostics for a hot melt liquid dispensing system
AssigneeNordson Corporation
InventorsPeter W. Estelle, Michael J. Palmer
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for direct heater diagnostics for a hot melt liquid dispensing system are disclosed. At least one of a current measurement or a voltage measurement is received from a respective current and/or voltage sensor positioned at an electrical circuit that supplies electric power to a heater associated with the dispensing system. The heater can be for an applicator or heated hose attached to the dispensing system, a melter of the dispensing system, or a pump of the dispensing system. A state of the electrical circuit is determined based on the at least one of the current or voltage measurement.
Claims26
A hot melt liquid dispensing system, comprising:
- a melter comprising at least one internal heater configured to melt solid or semi-solid material into a hot melt liquid;
- at least one heater implemented by at least one or more of an adhesive applicator, an adhesive manifold, and/or a heated adhesive hose;
- an electrical circuit associated with the hot melt liquid dispensing system, the electrical circuit comprising a plurality of temperature control circuits;
- each of the plurality of temperature control circuits comprising a set of current sensors and a set of voltage sensors;
- the set of current sensors configured to measure currents of a power supplied to the at least one internal heater and/or the at least one heater;
- the set of voltage sensors configured to measure voltages of a power supplied to the at least one internal heater and/or the at least one heater;
- and
- a controller configured to:
- receive over a period of time, from the set of current sensors and the set of voltage sensors, a time series of current measurements and a time series of voltage measurements, and
- perform a diagnostic test using the time series of current measurements and the time series of voltage measurements to determine a state of the electrical circuit,
- wherein the diagnostic test includes one or more comparisons between the time series of current measurements with a predefined current threshold range of values and wherein the diagnostic test includes one or more comparisons between the time series of voltage measurements with a predefined voltage threshold range of values, and the diagnostic test determines, based on the one or more comparisons, whether the state of the electrical circuit comprises a fault condition;
- and
- wherein in response to the state of the electrical circuit comprising the fault condition, the controller is configured to apply a corrective action to at least one of the plurality of temperature control circuits.
10 more elements
A method comprising:
- receiving from a set of current sensors and a set of voltage sensors, a time series of current measurements and a time series of voltage measurements associated with an electrical circuit configured to supply electric power to at least one internal heater and at least one heater associated with a hot melt liquid dispensing system;
- performing one or more comparisons between the time series of current measurements with a predefined current threshold range of values and between the time series of voltage measurements with a predefined voltage threshold range of values;
- and
- performing, using the comparison, a diagnostic test to i) determine a condition indicative of a fault condition of the electrical circuit and ii) predict a future measurement expected to be outside of the predefined current threshold range of values and/or the predefined voltage threshold range of values based on a rate of change of measurements over time.
1 more element
A controller associated with a hot melt liquid dispensing system, the controller comprising:
- one or more processors;
- and
- a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the controller to:
- receive from a set of current sensors and a set of voltage sensors, a time series of current measurements and a time series of voltage measurements associated with an electrical circuit configured to supply electric power to at least one internal heater and at least one heater associated with a hot melt liquid dispensing system;
- and
- perform a diagnostic test using the time series of current measurements and the time series of voltage measurements to determine a heater circuit state of the electrical circuit,
- wherein the diagnostic test includes i) a first comparison between the time series of current measurements and a predefined current threshold range of values and ii) a second comparison between the time series of voltage measurements and a predefined voltage threshold range of values;
- wherein the diagnostic test determines, based on the first comparison and the second comparison, whether the heater circuit state comprises a fault condition;
- and
- wherein in response to the diagnostic test determining the fault condition, apply a corrective action to at least one temperature control circuit.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.