Electronic thermostat with repetitive operation cycle

An electronic thermostat comprising:

• an electronic clock operative to generate signals representative of a repetitive, time cycle;
• a memory adapted to store a temperature program for the cycle;
• operator actuated control means for entering desired temperature state signals into the memory;
• means for storing signals from the clock representative of the time of entry of a desired temperature state with each desired temperature state entered into the memory;
• means controlled by the output of the clock for interrogating the memory to derive signals representative of the desired temperature state at a particular time;
• means for generating an electricl signal representative of the actual temperature in the environment of the thermostat;
• and
• comparator means for receiving signals representative of the actual temperature and the desired temperature and for generating output control signals.

In a thermostat having a clock operative to generate electrical signals representative of the time in a repetitive cycle, a memory adapted to retain a program of desired temperatures at particular times in the repetitive cycle;

• manually operable control means for entering desired temperatures into the memory;
• and
• circuitry for interrogating the memory with the output of the clock to generate signals representative of the desired temperature at a particular time, the improvement comprising:
• means for storing the output of the clock at the time a particular desired temperature is entered into the memory in association with the memory signals representative of the desired temperature, whereby the operator need only program the desired temperature at a particular time to allow the system to control generation of that temperature at that particular time each time it reoccurs in the repetitive time cycle.

In a process controller, in combination:

• a clock operative to generate signals representative of the time within a repetitive time cycle;
• operator control means for generating a signal representative of a set point for the process;
• a memory operative to record the signal representative of the set point in a manner dependent upon the status of the clock at the time of generation of the set point signal;
• and
• means controlled by the clock for generating output control signals for the process based on the recorded set points and the time of recordation of the set points.