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US 5,690,093 AGranted
Ventilator controller with variably adjustable fan and light
AssigneeNuTone Inc.
InventorsAnthony L. Schrank, Robert Voosen, Chris Hentschel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A range hood having a sleek, modern appearance has a keypad and control circuit which enable adjustment of fan speed and light intensity. The range hood includes a keypad having a linear array of keys which may be individually or collectively used to energize the fan at one of a variety of speeds. A control circuit responds to depression of one or a group of two of the keys and in response selects one of a plurality of possible fan speeds. The array of keys is also used in conjunction with a separate night light key to program the intensity of the light for use as a night light. An automatic shutoff key is used to gradually reduce the fan speed until, ultimately, the fan is deenergized.
Claims22
A ventilator for a human-habitable structure, comprising
- a fan motor,
- a fan driven by said fan motor,
- a control circuit electrically connected to said fan motor for providing electrical power to said fan motor,
- a keypad including a plurality of adjustment keys electrically coupled to said control circuit,
- said control circuit responding to simultaneous depression of a group of at least two of said adjustment keys and in response causing said fan motor to drive said fan at one of a plurality of possible fan speeds.
2 more elements
A ventilator for a human-habitable structure, comprising
- a fan motor,
- a fan driven by said fan motor,
- a control circuit electrically connected to said fan motor for providing electrical power to said fan motor,
- a keypad including a plurality of adjustment keys electrically coupled to said control circuit, said adjustment keys being arranged in an array, respective keys in said array being associated with respective monotonically increasing fan speeds, whereby depressing a key at any position in the array will produce a fan speed related to the position of the depressed key in the array,
- wherein said control circuit responds to depression of two adjacent keys in said array by causing said fan motor to drive said fan at a speed intermediate the speeds associated with the two keys when pressed separately.
2 more elements
A ventilator for a human-habitable structure, comprising
- a fan motor,
- a fan driven by said fan motor,
- a control circuit electrically connected to said fan motor for providing electrical power to said fan motor,
- a keypad including a plurality of keys electrically coupled to said control circuit, said control circuit responding to depression of one or more of said keys to cause said fan motor to drive said fan at a fan speed,
- wherein said plurality of keys of said keypad includes an automatic fan control key,
- said control circuit responding to depression of said automatic fan control key and in response causing said fan motor to drive said fan at a progression of two or more different fan speeds over time in accordance with a preprogrammed schedule.
3 more elements
A range hood, comprising
- a light,
- a control circuit electrically connected to said light for providing electrical power to said light,
- a keypad including a plurality of adjustment keys electrically coupled to said control circuit,
- said control circuit responding to depression of a group of at least two of said adjustment keys and in response causing said light to energize at one of a plurality of possible intensities.
1 more element
A range hood, comprising
- a light,
- a control circuit electrically connected to said light for providing electrical power to said light,
- a keypad including a plurality of adjustment keys electrically coupled to said control circuit, said adjustment keys being arranged in an array, respective keys in said array being associated with respective monotonically increasing fan speeds, whereby depressing a key at any position in the array will produce a fan speed related to the position of the depressed key in the arrays,
- wherein said control circuit responds to depression of two adjacent keys in said array by causing said light to energize at an intensity intermediate the intensities associated with the two keys when depressed separately.
1 more element
A range hood, comprising
- a fan motor,
- a fan driven by said fan motor,
- a light,
- a control circuit electrically connected to said fan motor for providing electrical power to said fan motor, and electrically connected to said light for providing electrical power to said light,
- a keypad including a plurality of adjustment keys electrically coupled to said control circuit, and further comprising a light key,
- said control circuit responding to depression of said light key combined with depression of one or more of said adjustment keys to cause said light to energize at one of a plurality of possible intensities,
- said control circuit responding to depression of said adjustment keys, when not combined with depression of said light key, to cause said fan motor to drive said fan at one of a plurality of possible fan speeds.
4 more elements
A range hood, comprising
- a fan motor,
- a fan driven by said fan motor,
- a light,
- a control circuit electrically connected to said fan motor for providing electrical power to said fan motor, and electrically connected to said light for providing electrical power to said light,
- a keypad including a plurality of keys electrically coupled to said control circuit, said control circuit responding to depression of one or more of said keys to cause said fan motor to drive said fan at a desired fan speed, said control circuit also responding to depression of one or more of said keys to energize said light at a desired intensity,
- wherein said plurality of keys of said keypad includes an automatic fan control key,
- said control circuit responding to depression of said automatic fan control key and in response causing said fan motor to drive said fan at a progression of two or more different fan speeds over time in accordance with a preprogrammed schedule.
4 more elements
A ventilator for a human-habitable structure, comprising
- a fan motor,
- a fan driven by said fan motor,
- a control circuit electrically connected to said fan motor for providing electrical power to said fan motor,
- a keypad including an automatic fan control key,
- said control circuit responding to depression of said automatic fan control key and in response causing said fan motor to automatically drive said fan at a progression of two or more different fan speeds over time in accordance with a preprogrammed schedule.
2 more elements
A method of controlling a ventilator for a human-habitable structure including a fan driven by a fan motor, comprising
- providing a control circuit electrically connected to said fan motor for supplying electrical power to said fan motor,
- providing a keypad including a plurality of adjustment keys electrically coupled to said control circuit,
- in said control circuit, responding to simultaneous depression of a group of at least two of said adjustment keys and in response causing said fan motor to drive said fan at one of a plurality of possible fan speeds.
A method of controlling a range hood light, comprising
- providing a control circuit electrically connected to said light for supplying electrical power to said light,
- providing a keypad including a plurality of adjustment keys electrically coupled to said control circuit,
- in said control circuit, responding to depression of a group of at least two of said adjustment keys and in response causing said light to energize at one of a plurality of possible intensities.
A method of controlling a ventilator for a human-habitable structure including a fan driven by a fan motor, comprising
- providing a control circuit electrically connected to said fan motor for supplying electrical power to said fan motor,
- providing a keypad including an automatic fan control key,
- in said control circuit, responding to depression of said automatic fan control key and in response causing said fan motor to automatically drive said fan at a progression of two or more different fan speeds over time in accordance with a preprogrammed schedule.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.