Method of operating a flow-through heating
AssigneeKoninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
InventorsBernardo Arnoldus Mulder, Thijs De Haan
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Abstract
A flow-through heating system (1) is described, comprising: a flow tube (11); a plurality of at least two heating elements (12A, 12B, 12C), each heating element being connected in series with a corresponding controllable switch (23 A, 23B, 23C); a control unit (30) having control outputs (33A, 33B, 33C) coupled to said controllable switches; the control unit (30) being designed to generate control signals (Sa, Sb, Sc) for opening and closing the controllable switches such that said heating system is operated at a required power (Pr) less than the power capacity (Ptot) of said heating system by operating precisely one of said heating elements at reduced power while the remaining heating elements are either operated at full power or at zero power.
Claims24
A method of operating a flow-through heating system comprising at least two heating elements in heat-transferring contact with one segment of a flow tube of a flow-through heating system, each individual heating element having a power rating, the method comprising the step of:
- operating said heating system at a required power less than the power capacity of said heating system by operating precisely one of said at least two heating elements at reduced power (i.e. between zero power and full power) while the remaining heating elements of said at least two are either operated at full power or at zero power,
- wherein said heating system has a power capacity Ptot,
- wherein the total number of heating elements is equal to two,
- wherein a first heating element has a power rating P1=α·Ptot and a second heating element has a power rating P2=(1α)·Ptot, with 0<α<1,
- and wherein said heating system is operated at a required power (Pr) between zero and α·Ptot by operating said first heating element at reduced power at least during a certain first time interval having a predetermined length, while said second heating element is operated at zero power.
A method of operating a flow-though heating system comprising at least two heating elements in heat-transferrin contact with one segment of a flow tube of a flow-through heating system, each individual heating element having a power rating, the method comprising the step of:
- operating said heating system at a required power less than the power capacity of said heating system by operating precisely one of said at least two heating elements at reduced power (i.e. between zero power and full power) while the remaining heating elements of said at least two are either operated at full power or at zero power,
- wherein said heating system has a power capacity Ptot,
- wherein the total number of heating elements is equal to two,
- wherein a first heating element has a power rating P1=α·Ptot and a second heating element has a power rating P2=(1 α)·Ptot, with 0<α<1,
- and wherein said heating system is operated at a required power (Pr) between α·Ptot and the power capacity Ptot by operating said second heating element at reduced power at least during a certain first time interval having a predetermined length, while said first heating element is operated at full power.
A method of operating a flow-through heating system comprising at least two heating elements in heat-transferring contact with one segment of a flow tube of a flow-through heating system, each individual heating element having a power rating, the method comprising the step of:
- operating said heating system at a required power less than the power capacity of said heating system by operating precisely one of said at least two heating elements at reduced power (i.e. between zero cower and full power) while the remaining heating elements of said at least two are either operated at full power or at zero power,
- wherein said heating system has a power capacity Ptot,
- wherein the total number of heating elements is equal to three,
- wherein a first heating element has a power rating P1=α·Ptot,
- wherein a second heating element has a power rating P2=β·Ptot,
- wherein a third heating element has a power rating P3=γ·Ptot, with α+β+γ=1;
- and wherein said heating system is operated at a required power (Pr) between zero and α·Ptot by operating said first heating element at reduced power at least during a certain first time interval having a predetermined length, while the second and third heating elements are operated at zero power.
The method as claimed in 7, wherein said second heating element is operated at reduced power after said first time interval has passed, while said third heating element is operated at zero power and said first heating element is operated at zero power at least for the duration of a second time interval.
A method of operating a flow-through heating system comprising at least two heating elements in heat-transferring contact with one segment of a flow tube of a flow-through heating system, each individual heating element having a power rating, the method comprising the step of:
- operating said heating system at are required power less than the power capacity of said heating system by operating precisely one of said at least two heating elements at reduced power (i.e. between zero power and full power) while the remaining heating elements of said at least two are either operated at full power or at zero power,
- wherein said heating system has a power capacity Ptot,
- wherein the total number of heating elements is equal to three,
- wherein a first heating element has a power rating P1=α·Ptot,
- wherein a second heating element has a power rating P2=β·Ptot,
- wherein a third heating element has a power rating P3=γ·Ptot, with α+β+γ=1;
- and wherein said heating system is operated at a required power between α·Ptot and (α+β)·Ptot by operating said second heating element at reduced power at least during a certain first time interval having a predetermined length, while said first heating element is operated at full power and said third heating element is operated at zero power.
A method of operating a flow-through heating system comprising at least two heating elements in heat-transferring contact with one segment of a flow tube of a flow-through heating system, each individual heating element having a power rating, the method comprising the step of:
- operating said heating system at a required power less than the power capacity of said heating system by operating precisely one of said at least two heating elements at reduced power (i.e. between zero power and full power) while the remaining heating elements of said at least two are either operated at full power or at zero power,
- wherein said heating system has a power capacity Ptot,
- wherein the total number of heating elements is equal to three,
- wherein a first heating element has a power rating P1=α·Ptot,
- wherein a second heating, element (12B) has a power rating P2=β·Ptot, and
- wherein a third element has a power rating P3=γ·Ptot, with α+β+γ=1;
- and wherein said heating system is operated at a required power between (α+β)·Ptot and the full power capacity of said heating system by operating said first said heating element at reduced power at least during a certain first time interval having a predetermined length, while the second and third heating elements are operated at full power.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.