System and method for controlling temperature of a liquid residing within a tank
First Claim
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1. A system for controlling a temperature of a liquid residing within a tank, comprising:
- a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of the liquid;
a temperature control element configured to alter the temperature of the liquid, the temperature control element having at least an activated state and a deactivated state, wherein heat is applied to the liquid when the temperature control element is in the activated state;
a clock; and
logic configured to maintain the temperature of the liquid at a first temperature threshold by adjusting the temperature control element between the activated state and the deactivated state during each of a first plurality of time periods,the logic further configured to monitor usage of the temperature control element by determining an amount of time that the temperature control element is in the activated state during each of the first plurality of time periods based on a time value indicated by the clock, andthe logic further configured to maintain the temperature of the liquid at a second temperature threshold by adjusting the temperature control element between the activated state and the deactivated state during a subsequent time period corresponding to one of the first plurality of time periods, wherein the second temperature threshold is automatically selected based on the amount of time that the temperature control element was determined to be in the activated state during the one of the first plurality of time periods corresponding to the subsequent time period.
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Abstract
A system for controlling a temperature of a liquid residing within a tank comprises a temperature sensor, a temperature control element, memory, and logic. The temperature sensor is configured to detect the temperature of the liquid residing within the tank, and the temperature control element is coupled to the tank. The memory stores data indicative of a usage history of the tank, and the logic is configured to automatically control the temperature control element based on the data.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A system for controlling a temperature of a liquid residing within a tank, comprising:
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a temperature sensor configured to detect the temperature of the liquid; a temperature control element configured to alter the temperature of the liquid, the temperature control element having at least an activated state and a deactivated state, wherein heat is applied to the liquid when the temperature control element is in the activated state; a clock; and logic configured to maintain the temperature of the liquid at a first temperature threshold by adjusting the temperature control element between the activated state and the deactivated state during each of a first plurality of time periods, the logic further configured to monitor usage of the temperature control element by determining an amount of time that the temperature control element is in the activated state during each of the first plurality of time periods based on a time value indicated by the clock, and the logic further configured to maintain the temperature of the liquid at a second temperature threshold by adjusting the temperature control element between the activated state and the deactivated state during a subsequent time period corresponding to one of the first plurality of time periods, wherein the second temperature threshold is automatically selected based on the amount of time that the temperature control element was determined to be in the activated state during the one of the first plurality of time periods corresponding to the subsequent time period. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 14, 15)
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5. A system, comprising:
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a tank; a temperature sensor configured to detect a temperature of a liquid residing within the tank; a temperature control element coupled to the tank, the temperature control element having an activated state and a deactivated state; a computer-readable memory storing data indicative of a usage history of the temperature control element; and logic configured to maintain the temperature of the liquid residing within the tank at a threshold by adjusting the temperature control element between the activated state and the deactivated state, the logic further configured to track an amount of time that the temperature control element is in the activated state during each of a plurality of reoccurring time periods in order to automatically define the data indicative of the usage history, and the logic further configured to automatically select the threshold during one of the plurality of reoccurring time periods based upon previously stored data indicative of the usage history during one or more previous occurrences of the reoccurring time period. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 16, 17)
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9. A method comprising the steps of:
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selectively activating a temperature control element to maintain a temperature of a liquid within a tank within a first desired temperature range during one of a first plurality of time periods; determining the amount of time that the temperature control element is activated during the one of the first plurality of time periods; automatically selecting a second temperature range based on the amount of time that temperature control element is determined to be activated during the one of the first plurality of time periods; measuring a temperature of the liquid during a subsequent time period corresponding to the one of the first plurality of time periods; comparing a value indicative of the measured temperature to the second temperature range; and selectively activating the temperature control element to maintain the temperature of the liquid within the second temperature range during the subsequent time period. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A method, comprising the steps of:
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detecting changes in temperature of a liquid within a tank over time; activating a temperature control element based on the changes in temperature; tracking activation states of the temperature control element; defining a schedule of classified time slots, each of the time slots classified based on an amount of time that the temperature control element is determined to be activated, based on the tracking step, during a time period corresponding to the respective time slot; automatically selecting a temperature threshold based on the schedule of the classified time slots; and controlling the temperature control element based on the selected temperature threshold. - View Dependent Claims (13, 18)
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Specification