System and method of fault detection in a warm air furnace
First Claim
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1. A system for providing fault detection in an ignition-controlled appliance, comprising in combination:
- an ignition-controlled appliance having an ignition element, an inducer, and a fan; and
a sensing circuit operable to measure current consumption of the ignition-controlled appliance, wherein the measured current consumption of the ignition-controlled appliance depends on whether the ignition element, the inducer, and the fan are activated, and wherein the measured current consumption is used to diagnose at least one AC load failure in the ignition-controlled appliance.
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Abstract
A fault detection system and method for a warm air furnace is provided. A sensing circuit connected to an AC power source measures a level of current consumption during several points in the warm air furnace operating sequence. The measured level of current consumption is compared with an expected value. If the measured level exceeds the expected level by a threshold amount, a fault in the warm air furnace may be detected. An indication of at least one warm air furnace component that is most likely to have caused the fault may be provided.
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Citations
45 Claims
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1. A system for providing fault detection in an ignition-controlled appliance, comprising in combination:
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an ignition-controlled appliance having an ignition element, an inducer, and a fan; and
a sensing circuit operable to measure current consumption of the ignition-controlled appliance, wherein the measured current consumption of the ignition-controlled appliance depends on whether the ignition element, the inducer, and the fan are activated, and wherein the measured current consumption is used to diagnose at least one AC load failure in the ignition-controlled appliance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for providing fault detection in a warm air furnace, comprising in combination:
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a warm air furnace including an ignition element, an inducer, and a fan;
a current sensing circuit operable to measure current consumption of the warm air furnace, wherein the measured current consumption of the warm air furnace depends on whether the ignition element, the inducer, and the fan are activated;
a voltage sensing circuit operable to measure current changes caused by applied voltage variations; and
a processing device connected to an output of the current sensing circuit and an output of the voltage sensing circuit, wherein the processing device is operable to adjust the output of the current sensing circuit with the output of the voltage sensing circuit and compare an adjusted measured current consumption of the warm air furnace with an expected value of current consumption that is stored in memory, and wherein the processing device is operable to (i) detect a fault in the warm air furnace if the comparison passes a threshold amount, (ii) provide an indication of the fault, and (iii) identify at least one component in the warm air furnace that is most likely to have caused the fault.
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15. A method for detecting a fault in a warm air furnace, comprising in combination:
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measuring a level of current consumption during at least one operational stage of the warm air furnace wherein the level of current consumption of the warm air furnace depends on whether an ignition element, an inducer, and a fan are activated;
comparing the measured level of current consumption with an expected value of current consumption for the at least one operational stage; and
detecting a fault in the warm air furnace if the comparison exceeds a threshold amount. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method for detecting a fault in a warm air furnace, comprising in combination:
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measuring a first level of current consumption during an Idle mode of the warm air furnace;
comparing the first level of current consumption with a first expected level of current consumption;
detecting a fault in the warm air furnace if the comparison passes a first threshold amount;
measuring a second level of current consumption after activating an inducer in the warm air furnace;
comparing the second level of current consumption with a second expected level of current consumption;
detecting a fault in the warm air furnace if the comparison passes a second threshold amount;
measuring a third level of current consumption after the inducer has been operating substantially longer than 5 seconds;
comparing the third level of current consumption with a third expected level of current consumption;
detecting a fault in the warm air furnace if the comparison passes a third threshold amount;
measuring a fourth level of current consumption after activating a ignition element in the warm air furnace;
comparing the fourth level of current consumption with a fourth expected level of current consumption;
detecting a fault in the warm air furnace if the comparison passes a fourth threshold amount;
measuring a fifth level of current consumption after activating a fan in the warm air furnace;
comparing the fifth level of current consumption with a fifth expected level of current consumption;
detecting a fault in the warm air furnace if the comparison passes a fifth threshold amount;
measuring a sixth level of current consumption after the fan has been operating substantially longer than 30 seconds;
comparing the sixth level of current consumption with a sixth expected level of current consumption; and
detecting a fault in the warm air furnace if the comparison passes a sixth threshold amount. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
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Specification