Redundant thermocouple

An interface between an output device and at least one thermocouple pair, comprising:

• a microprocessor receiving input signals from the thermocouple pair and providing an output signal to the output device in response to the input signals;
• and
• a memory connected to the microprocessor, the memory storing a threshold value for each thermocouple pair, the memory further storing previous input signals from the thermocouple pairs as historical data,
• wherein the microprocessor references at least one of the threshold values and the historical data in the memory as part of the analysis of the input signals to produce the output signal, and
• wherein the microprocessor receives, for each thermocouple pair, an input signal from each of a first thermocouple and a second thermocouple, the microprocessor compares a difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal to the corresponding threshold value, and the microprocessor outputs an average of the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal to at least one of a furnace controller and a display if the difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal is less than the corresponding threshold value.

An interface between an output device and at least one thermocouple pair, comprising:

• a microprocessor receiving input signals from the thermocouple pair and providing an output signal to the output device in response to the input signals;
• and
• a memory connected to the microprocessor, the memory storing a threshold value for each thermocouple pair, the memory further storing previous input signals from the thermocouple pairs as historical data,
• wherein the microprocessor references at least one of the threshold values and the historical data in the memory as part of the analysis of the input signals to produce the output signal, and
• wherein the microprocessor receives, for each thermocouple pair, an input signal from each of a first thermocouple and a second thermocouple, the microprocessor compares a difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal to the corresponding threshold value, and the microprocessor consults the historical data to project a value for each of the first and second thermocouples and identify which of the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal is closest in value to its corresponding projected value if the difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal is greater than the corresponding threshold value, the input signal from the identified thermocouple being output to at least one of a furnace controller and a display.

An interface between an output device and at least one thermocouple pair, comprising:

• a microprocessor receiving input signals from the thermocouple pair and providing an output signal to the output device in response to the input signals;
• and
• a memory connected to the microprocessor, the memory storing a threshold value for each thermocouple pair, the memory further storing previous input signals from the thermocouple pairs as historical data,
• wherein the microprocessor references at least one of the threshold values and the historical data in the memory as part of the analysis of the input signals to produce the output signal, and
• wherein the microprocessor receives, for each thermocouple pair, an input signal from each of a first thermocouple and a second thermocouple, the microprocessor compares a difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal to the corresponding threshold value, and the microprocessor consults the historical data to project a value for each of the first and second thermocouples and identify which of the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal is furthest in value from its corresponding projected value if the difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal is greater than the corresponding threshold value, the output signal being an alarm identifying the thermocouple furthest in value from its corresponding projected value.

A temperature sensing system comprising:

• at least one thermocouple pair including a first thermocouple and a second thermocouple located within a corresponding zone of a temperature sensing area;
• a microprocessor receiving input signals from the thermocouple pair and producing an output signal in response to the input signals;
• a memory connected to the microprocessor, the memory storing a threshold value for the thermocouple pair;
• and
• an output device connected to the microprocessor, the output device receiving the output signal from the microprocessor,
• wherein the microprocessor receives a first input signal from a first thermocouple of the thermocouple pair, a second input signal from a second thermocouple of the thermocouple pair, and the threshold value from the memory, the microprocessor compares a difference between the first input signal and the second input signal to the threshold value, and the microprocessor outputs, as the output signal, an average of the first input signal and the second input signal if the difference between the first input signal and the second input signal is less than the threshold value.

A temperature sensing system comprising:

• a plurality of thermocouple pairs, each including a first thermocouple and a second thermocouple, distributed within a temperature sensing area, each thermocouple pair being within a corresponding zone in the temperature sensing area;
• a microprocessor receiving input signals from the thermocouple pairs and producing an output signal based on an analysis of the input signals;
• a memory connected to the microprocessor, the memory storing a threshold value for each thermocouple pair, the memory further storing previous input signals from the thermocouple pairs as historical data;
• and
• an output device connected to the microprocessor, the output device receiving the output signal from the microprocessor,
• wherein the microprocessor consults at least one of the threshold values and the historical data in the memory as part of the analysis of the input signals to produce the output signal,
• wherein the microprocessor receives, for each thermocouple pair, an input signal from each of the first thermocouple and the second thermocouple, the microprocessor compares a difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal to the corresponding threshold value, and the microprocessor outputs an average of the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal to at least one of a furnace controller and a display if the difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal is less than the corresponding threshold value.

A temperature sensing system comprising:

• a plurality of thermocouple pairs, each including a first thermocouple and a second thermocouple, distributed within a temperature sensing area, each thermocouple pair being within a corresponding zone in the temperature sensing area;
• a microprocessor receiving input signals from the thermocouple pairs and producing an output signal based on an analysis of the input signals;
• a memory connected to the microprocessor, the memory storing a threshold value for each thermocouple pair, the memory further storing previous input signals from the thermocouple pairs as historical data;
• and
• an output device connected to the microprocessor, the output device receiving the output signal from the microprocessor,
• wherein the microprocessor consults at least one of the threshold values and the historical data in the memory as part of the analysis of the input signals to produce the output signal,
• wherein the microprocessor receives, for each thermocouple pair, an input signal from each of the first thermocouple and the second thermocouple, the microprocessor compares a difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal to the corresponding threshold value, and the microprocessor consults the historical data to project a value for each of the first and second thermocouples and identify which of the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal is closest in value to its corresponding projected value if the difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal is greater than the corresponding threshold value, the input signal from the identified thermocouple being output to at least one of a furnace controller and a display.

A temperature sensing system comprising:

• a plurality of thermocouple pairs, each including a first thermocouple and a second thermocouple, distributed within a temperature sensing area, each thermocouple pair being within a corresponding zone in the temperature sensing area;
• a microprocessor receiving input signals from the thermocouple pairs and producing an output signal based on an analysis of the input signals;
• a memory connected to the microprocessor, the memory storing a threshold value for each thermocouple pair, the memory further storing previous input signals from the thermocouple pairs as historical data;
• and
• an output device connected to the microprocessor, the output device receiving the output signal from the microprocessor,
• wherein the microprocessor consults at least one of the threshold values and the historical data in the memory as part of the analysis of the input signals to produce the output signal,
• wherein the microprocessor receives, for each thermocouple pair, an input signal from each of the first thermocouple and the second thermocouple, the microprocessor compares a difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal to the corresponding threshold value, and the microprocessor consults the historical data to project a value for each of the first and second thermocouples and identify which of the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal is furthest in value from its corresponding projected value if the difference between the first thermocouple input signal and the second thermocouple input signal is greater than the corresponding threshold value, the output signal being an alarm identifying the thermocouple furthest in value from its corresponding projected value.

A method of sensing and reporting a temperature value in a redundant thermocouple system, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) inputting a first temperature input signal from a first thermocouple and a second temperature input signal from a second thermocouple into a microprocessor;
• (b) determining in the microprocessor a difference between the first temperature input signal and the second temperature input signal;
• (c) comparing the difference determined in step (b) with a predetermined threshold value stored in a memory;
• and
• (d) averaging in the microprocessor the first temperature input signal and the second temperature input signal and outputting the average as the temperature value if the result of step (c) is that the difference is less than or equal to the threshold value.