# US 2018/0320901 A1 · Fan control system with charging controller for gas fireplace

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- Number: US 2018/0320901 A1
- Document ID: US20180320901A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 15/731,187
- Filed: 2017-05-02
- Published: 2018-11-08
- Earliest claimed: 2017-05-02
- Inventors: Gerard R. Campeau
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180320901A1

## CPC

- F24B 1/185: with air-handling means, heat exchange means, or additional provisions for convection heating (with additional provisions for heating water F24B1/183; component parts or accessories having air-handling means, heat exchange means, or additional provisions for convection heating F24B1/191); Controlling combustion
- F24B 1/191: Component parts; Accessories
- H02J 7/00: Circuit arrangements for charging or discharging batteries or for supplying loads from batteries
- H04L 12/2816: {Controlling appliance services of a home automation network by calling their functionalities (arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station; in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00)}
- H04W 4/14: Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
- H02P 2201/11: Buck converter, i.e. DC-DC step down converter decreasing the voltage between the supply and the inverter driving the motor
- Y02B 70/30: Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
- Y02D 30/70: in wireless communication networks
- Y04S 20/20: End-user application control systems
- F24B: DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES FOR SOLID FUELS (for solid fuels in combination with gaseous fuels, liquid fuels or other kinds of energy supply F24C1/02); IMPLEMENTS FOR USE IN CONNECTION WITH STOVES OR RANGES
- H02J: ELECTRIC POWER NETWORKS; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS OR SYSTEMS FOR SUPPLYING OR DISTRIBUTING ELECTRIC POWER; SYSTEMS FOR STORING ELECTRIC ENERGY
- H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M)
- H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72)
- H02P: CONTROL OR REGULATION OF ELECTRIC MOTORS, ELECTRIC GENERATORS OR DYNAMO-ELECTRIC CONVERTERS; CONTROLLING TRANSFORMERS, REACTORS OR CHOKE COILS
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
- Y02D: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES [ICT], I.E. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AIMING AT THE REDUCTION OF THEIR OWN ENERGY USE
- Y04S: SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS

## Abstract

A Direct Current (D.C.) fan motor control system for an air cooled thermoelectric power generator. This electronic control system addresses the unique challenges that exist when thermoelectric generator (TEG) modules are used in a gas fireplace appliance to use D.C. fans as the primary air circulation element. Ideally, it is necessary to generate sufficient voltage for a fan motor while maximizing the efficiency of the overall system to permit the surplus energy generated above that required for the fan motor to be used to charge batteries, including a cellular phone handset battery. DC to DC switching converter techniques are used to manage the surplus energy available. A microcontroller based supervisor will monitor the TEG output voltage and determine when an electromechanical latching relay supplying power to the fan motor should be switched to the output of the DC to DC step down (buck) converter for maximum efficiency. The microcontroller also supervises a DC to DC step down converter assigned to charging a cellular phone by disabling the cellular handset charging function when the TEG output voltage is insufficient to maintain the fan and the cellular handset charger, thus prioritizing the fan motor function as the highest priority for the best reliability.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A system and method for managing and controlling a Direct Current (D.C.) fan motor providing cold side air convection with thermoelectric generator (TEG) arrays for hearth devices providing a combustion site, comprising:
a) a printed circuit board with a microcontroller to direct the sequence and operation of the circuit elements contained therein;
b) an electromechanical latching relay, responsive to operation by said microcontroller coupled to at least one D.C. fan motor;
c) at least one wireless communications means for SMS text message control, responsive to said microcontroller;
d) at least one electromechanical ignition relay means responsive to operation by said microcontroller;
e) at least one charging means to connect to any compatible cellular phone handset with a suitable charging port;
f) at least one standard Wi-Fi switching router apparatus;
g) at least one battery charging means to support the connection and charging of any compatible battery of any electrochemical construction;
h) a plurality of electronic DC to DC step down switching converters with at least one DC to DC converter for each fan motor, at least one DC to DC converter for the cellular handset charging port, and at least one DC to DC converter for external battery charging;

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

A system and method as defined in claim 1 wherein said fan motor receives an electrical energizing voltage through a first contact of said electromechanical latching relay, responsive to a first signal from said microcontroller which monitors the output voltage from the thermoelectric generator (TEG), using an integral Analog to Digital conversion means as part of said microcontroller, causing the fan motor to receive the energizing voltage directly from the TEG when the output voltage is less than the rated voltage of said fan motor, further causing the fan motor to receive the energizing voltage from the output of a DC to DC step-down switching converter through a second contact of said electromechanical latching relay in response to a second signal from said microcontroller when the output voltage from the TEG is at or above the rated voltage for the fan motor, thereby allowing said fan motor to operate at the rated voltage specified by the manufacturer of said fan motor, through said DC to DC step-down switching converter, establishing the appropriate conditions for an energy surplus to be achieved in proportion to the potential difference between the maximum TEG 10 voltage and the rated voltage of the fan motor.

### Claim 3

A system and method as defined in clam 1 wherein said communication means for a preferred embodiment of this controller is implemented using the Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications protocol standard compatible with cellular telephone handset devices, responsive to control and operation signals from said microcontroller, capable of monitoring voltage and temperature conditions and reporting the data by means of Short Message Service (SMS) text message transmissions to and from the cellular handset means.

### Claim 4

A system and method as defined in clam 1 wherein said communication means is implemented using the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) communications protocol standard compatible with cellular telephone handset devices, responsive to control and operation signals from said microcontroller, capable of monitoring voltage and temperature conditions and reporting the data by means of Short Message Service (SMS) text message transmissions to and from the cellular handset means.

### Claim 5

A system and method as defined in clam 1 wherein the cellular charging means is implemented using a DC to DC step-down switching converter means with at least a fixed 5 Volt D.C. output, capable of facilitating a connection means using a suitable cable for charging the cellular handset, responsive to a signal from said microcontroller monitoring the TEG output voltage to enable or disable the 5 Volt charging potential energy output, said microcontroller using an integral Analog to Digital conversion means to measure the TEG output voltage to determine the threshold voltage at which said microcontroller enables or disables the charging means.

### Claim 6

A system and method as defined in clam 5 wherein the cellular charging means is implemented using a DC to DC step-down switching converter means with at least a fixed 5 Volt D.C. output, with at least one battery of any electrochemical construction to absorb short term variations in the output of the 5V D.C. output while charging said battery.

### Claim 7

A system and method as defined in clam 5 wherein the cellular charging means is implemented using a DC to DC step-down switching converter means with at least a fixed 5 Volt D.C. output, with at least one battery of any electrochemical construction to absorb short term variations in the output of the 5V D.C. output while charging said battery, and including a double layer super capacitor array whereby said super capacitor array is used to allow said battery to be connected by an isolation means such that said battery is isolated from the charging circuit, thereby allowing said battery to be charged while it is isolated from said super capacitor array, responsive to a signal from said microcontroller which controls the period and duration of the isolation means.

### Claim 8

A system and method as defined in clam 1 wherein the battery charging means is implemented using a DC to DC step-down switching converter with a at least a fixed 13.8 Volt D.C. output, capable of charging at least a 12 Volt battery.

### Claim 9

A system and method as defined in clam 1 wherein said ignition relay means is responsive to a signal from said microcontroller, which is further responsive through firmware to an SMS text message through said communication means requesting that said ignition relay contacts should be closed for a minimum time duration deemed sufficient to cause the gas to be ignited.

### Claim 10

A system and method as defined in clam 1 wherein said communications means is optionally implemented as a wireless network communications node, specifically referred to as an Internet Of Things (IOT) node, responsive to a signal from said microcontroller, which is further responsive through firmware in receipt of a message from another node within range through said communication means requesting that said ignition relay contacts should be closed for a minimum time duration deemed sufficient to cause the gas to be ignited.