Intelligent ventilating safety range hood control system
First Claim
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1. A method for automatic control of range ventilation, designed to balance the objectives of maintaining air quality, reducing unnecessary loss of conditioned air and minimizing objectionable noise;
- the method comprising;
configuring one or more sensors to sense one or more hazards generated in the operation of a residential cooking appliance; and
communicate with a processor that executes an event detection program that, sensing information related to the one or more hazards by reading the sensor data with fan or fans off or at a predetermined minimal sampling air volume, and evaluating said data with respect to either set threshold levels or multiple sampling intervals of varying length, is able to detect the occurrence of a stove-related event such as a gas leak or the onset of cooking; and
classify the event into one of several behavioral categories such as;
threshold-exceeding, gradually-changing and rapidly-changing;
wherein the step of determining a gradually or rapidly-changing category related to one or more hazards comprises monitoring any one or more parameters over one or more specified time intervals to see if the parameter reading has changed by a specified minimum amount during said interval;
wherein the algorithm watches each parameter for X seconds, looking, as an example, for a rise of Y degrees, or Z % contamination, to determine a rate of change R1, wherein R1 might be gradual, R2 moderate, R3 rapid and so forth;
these rates can then be communicated to a user or used to adjust response program parameters.
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Abstract
An improved control system for a range hood that is capable of automatically responding to various air quality parameters including heat, smoke, carbon monoxide, humidity, and others. The system contains a number of features that, combining aspects of open-loop and closed loop control, manage the system dynamics for smoother operation, respond to both level and rate signals and compensate for background conditions and sensor variability by using relative values.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method for automatic control of range ventilation, designed to balance the objectives of maintaining air quality, reducing unnecessary loss of conditioned air and minimizing objectionable noise;
- the method comprising;
configuring one or more sensors to sense one or more hazards generated in the operation of a residential cooking appliance; and
communicate with a processor that executes an event detection program that, sensing information related to the one or more hazards by reading the sensor data with fan or fans off or at a predetermined minimal sampling air volume, and evaluating said data with respect to either set threshold levels or multiple sampling intervals of varying length, is able to detect the occurrence of a stove-related event such as a gas leak or the onset of cooking; and
classify the event into one of several behavioral categories such as;
threshold-exceeding, gradually-changing and rapidly-changing;
wherein the step of determining a gradually or rapidly-changing category related to one or more hazards comprises monitoring any one or more parameters over one or more specified time intervals to see if the parameter reading has changed by a specified minimum amount during said interval;
wherein the algorithm watches each parameter for X seconds, looking, as an example, for a rise of Y degrees, or Z % contamination, to determine a rate of change R1, wherein R1 might be gradual, R2 moderate, R3 rapid and so forth;
these rates can then be communicated to a user or used to adjust response program parameters. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
- the method comprising;
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5. A method for automatic control of range ventilation designed to balance the objectives of maintaining air quality, reducing energy loss, and minimizing objectionable noise, incorporating:
- sensors to detect one or more air quality effects generated in the operation of a cooking appliance; and
communicate with a processor that executes an event response program that oversees the response to a detected event including deployment of one or more alarms and control of the fan or fans to deliver ventilation airflow appropriate to a determined category comprising the following steps;programmatically reducing the speed of at least one of the one or more fans;
repeating the step of sensing information related to the one or more hazards via the sensors;
to determine whether the event is unchanged, if it should be reclassified or if it has concluded, and controlling the one or more fans or alarms based on the appropriate response;
wherein when periodic air sampling under controlled air flow reduction determines that the event has not concluded, the program returns to its entry point;
when the event is determined to have concluded, the airflow is reduced to the initial condition, either off or at some sampling volume, and then the program terminates. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
- sensors to detect one or more air quality effects generated in the operation of a cooking appliance; and
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8. A system for automatically controlling range ventilation designed to balance the objectives of maintaining air quality, reducing energy loss, and minimizing objectionable noise, the system comprising:
- sensors to detect one or more air quality effects generated in the operation of a cooking appliance;
a processor that executes a control program with two distinct phases;the first being a monitoring program that, by reading the sensor data with fan or fans off or at a predetermined minimal sampling air volume, and evaluating said data with respect to set threshold levels or sampling intervals for detecting rate of change, is able to detect the occurrence of a stove-related event such as a gas leak or the onset of cooking; and
then classify the event into one of several behavioral categories such as;
threshold-exceeded, gradually-changing and rapidly-changing;the second, being a response program, takes over when an event has been detected, that oversees the response to said event including deployment of one or more alarms and control of the fan or fans to deliver ventilation airflow appropriate to the determined category, while programmatically reducing airflow in a controlled manner to enable periodic air sampling, while still ventilating, to determine whether the event is unchanged, if it should be reclassified and the response updated, or if it has concluded. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
- sensors to detect one or more air quality effects generated in the operation of a cooking appliance;
Specification