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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7971796 | Control device for conserving energy of a water heater The control device for conserving energy for heating water contained in a water heater (30) comprises an electronic detection device (21) for measuring the quantity of hot water remaining in the tank (2), the electronic detection device (21 | 07/05/2011 |
| 7712677 | Water heater and control An improved heater and method of controlling the same is provided. The water heater has the combination of a tank for holding water, a heater for heating the water, a controller having logic to regulate the heater, and first and second sensors. Each of the sensors d... | 05/11/2010 |
| 7469840 | Controller for a fuel fired water heating application A controller is provided for controlling the operation of a gas-fired water heating appliance. In one embodiment of the present invention, a controller is provided that comprises a switching means for connecting an electrical power source to an igniter for igniting ... | 12/30/2008 |
| 7387090 | Method for control of steam quality on multipath steam generator The present invention relates to systems and methods for control of a steam generating process having a steam generator with multiple water flow conduits disposed in a convection section and a radiant section. A first conduit may have a first diverted convection sec... | 06/17/2008 |
| 7340509 | Reconfigurable appliance control system A reconfigurable appliance control system includes a dedicated appliance control (DAC) for controlling operation of an appliance. The system further includes an appliance communication control (ACC) for communicating with at least one appliance. The system includes ... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7278587 | Thermal treatment apparatus and thermal treatment method A thermal treatment apparatus and method of thermal treatment are provided wherein the apparatus includes a treatment chamber used to thermally treat an object material held therein, fluid passages formed so as to extend along an outer surface of the treatment chamb... | 10/09/2007 |
| 7256371 | Temperature control method for positive temperature coefficient type heating element A controller adapted to control the temperature of a heating elements with a wide range of positive temperature coefficient of resistance, including very low values, using a sensor in line with the heating element. The controller is able to take account of non-const... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7234071 | On-chip realtime clock module has input buffer receiving operational and timing parameters and output buffer retrieving the parameters A real time clock module maintains operating and timing parameters in “non-volatile” or persistent memory when an integrated circuit is powered down. The real time clock module provides is divided into an analog and a digital domain. The analog domain contains a... | 06/19/2007 |
| 7221862 | Control and method for operating an electric water heater A water heater control for an electric water heater operates according to at least one fixed hardware and/or software temperature limit and a variable software temperature limit. The control monitors a temperature of water in a tank of the electric water heater to d... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7221281 | Apparatus for flow detection, measurement and control and method for use of same A flow sensor having an inlet and an outlet comprising: a plate moving in response to fluid flow therethrough, being displaced further as flow increases; a sensor for determining moving plate's position and creating an electronic signal related thereto; a biasing de... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7195176 | Temperate water supply system A temperate water supply is provided. The temperate water supply system includes a temperate water storage tank and a heat exchanger. The temperate water storage tank has a first tank inlet, a first tank outlet, a second tank inlet and a second tank outlet. The firs... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7127905 | Vapor compression system startup method A method of controlling a startup operation in a heat pump water heater system prevents inadvertent shutdowns and/or low operating efficiencies via closed loop control of the system. The method includes choosing an expansion valve opening at startup near an expected... | 10/31/2006 |
| 7123020 | System and method of fault detection in a warm air furnace 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 consumpt... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7117825 | System and method for preventing overheating of water within a water heater tank A water heating system has a tank, a first heating element, a first temperature sensor, and a controller. The first heating element is mounted on the tank, and the controller is electrically coupled to the first temperature sensor. The controller is configured to de... | 10/10/2006 |
| 7117051 | Appliance communication system and method A method for communicating with and controlling an intelligent appliance by a user from a remote device. The intelligent appliance includes an integrated controller, such as a single board computer, user-interface and integrated networking capabilities. Typically, t... | 10/03/2006 |
| 7103272 | Water heater and method of operating the same A storage-type water heater and method of operating the storage-type water heater. The water heater includes a water tank for storing water, at least one heating element to heat the stored water, a jacket surrounding at least a portion of the tank, and a control sys... | 09/05/2006 |
| 7096828 | Self cleaning boiler and steam generator A steam generator boiler for generating steam is connected to a supply conduit for supplying water to the boiler with a supply valve for controlling the supply of water through the supply conduit. A heater supplies heat to the boiler for generating steam with a disc... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7090140 | Method and device for monitoring burners The invention relates to a device and a method for monitoring burners using an automatic heating machine (1) for controlling or regulating the burner (15), and a temperature controller (5). At least the flow/boiler temperature (T?VL?) is detecte... | 08/15/2006 |
| 7032542 | Apparatus and methods for controlling a water heater A gas-powered water heater includes means for stepping down a line voltage from a receptacle remote from the tank, means for using the stepped down voltage to provide a low voltage, and means for using the low voltage to sense conditions pertaining to the heater and... | 04/25/2006 |
| 7007857 | Compact vehicle heating apparatus and method A compact vehicle heating system and method is provided which includes mechanisms to selectively shut down heating systems. For example, when domestic hot water is required, space heating and engine preheating systems can be shut down in order to provide priority he... | 03/07/2006 |
| 7007858 | Compact boiler with tankless heater for providing heat and domestic hot water and method of operation A small and compact boiler for providing hot water for indoor heating and domestic hot water and method of operation are provided. The boiler includes a three way valve configured to circulate boiler water through a heating circuit when indoor heat is required, and ... | 03/07/2006 |
| 7000847 | Quick recovery water heater A small water heater with a 29 cm outer diameter and a total height of 60 cm produces five liters of hot water per minute, with a difference of 25° C. between the water inlet and outlet, and an 85% thermal efficiency; this water heater has a heat recuperator 1 | 02/21/2006 |
| 6981650 | Pool/spa heater A pool/spa heater having a temperature control portion which is connectable to an external temperature regulating controller, in which the temperature control portion has at least one primary temperature limiting control switch with a first temperature setpoint, at ... | 01/03/2006 |
| 6976052 | Spa control system An improved spa control system is disclosed. The invention describes a spa control system which calculates the time required to heat the water in the spa system to a desired temperature. From that information, the heating rate of the spa system can be determined, an... | 12/13/2005 |
| 6965815 | Spa control system An improved spa control system is disclosed. The invention describes a spa control system which calculates the time required to heat the water in the spa system to a desired temperature. From that information, the heating rate of the spa system can be determined, an... | 11/15/2005 |
| 6959876 | Method and apparatus for safety switch A circuit in accordance with the invention includes a safety switch device coupled with, and between, a thermally activated voltage source and a primary switch. The circuit also includes a safety switch control circuit coupled with the safety switch device and a con... | 11/01/2005 |
| 6955301 | Water heater and control An improved heater and method of controlling the same is provided. The water heater has the combination of a tank for holding water, a heater for heating the water, a controller having logic to regulate the heater, and first and second sensors. Each of the sensors d... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6938581 | Supplemental water heater tank and system A supplemental water heater tank and system features a supplemental tank with an inner vessel surrounded by an outer jacket. The space there between is generally evacuated of air so that the inner vessel is vacuum insulated. The supplemental tank includes water inle... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6918356 | Method and apparatus for optimizing a steam boiler system A method for controlling a steam boiler or oil heater for maximum fuel efficiency by systematically finding the most fuel-efficient combination of input control values. A characteristic multi-dimensional look-up table is created by temporarily operating the process ... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6920377 | Self-sustaining control for a heating system A self-sustaining control for a heating system, having conventional operational modes and pilot burner assembly, is disclosed. A controller directs operation in accordance with a need-based protocol and monitors the condition of a storage device, which provides syst... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6904874 | Forward calculation energy augmentation method Devices and methods for controlling a boiler system. One illustrative method includes controlling the bypass temperature by increasing the firing rate of the boiler. Further methods include bypass temperature control methods wherein both regular and fast control met... | 06/14/2005 |
| 6880493 | Gas water heater and method of operation A gas water heater with a tank for holding water including a gas valve mounted below the tank and in fluid communication with a supply of gas. A gas burner is fluidly connected to the gas valve. A first temperature sensor is mounted adjacent a lower portion of the t... | 04/19/2005 |
| 6831257 | Control system for multiple heating towers a method for heating liquids and distributing operating wear amongst a plurality of heating towers The present invention is a system that automatically controls the selection, start-up and operation of primary and secondary heating towers chosen from an array of heating towers having varying physical and thermal sizes. The automatic control is implemented via a p... | 12/14/2004 |
| 6728600 | Distributed appliance control system having fault isolation An appliance controller suitable for controlling a heating appliance (e.g., gas-fired water heating apparatus) having a distributed control system. The distributed control system includes a host computer and one or more heating control units. In accordance with a pr... | 04/27/2004 |
| 6627858 | Hot-water supply system In a control unit of a hot-water supply system, a boiling time period is estimated based on a hot-water amount stored in a tank at a time of 23:00, a boiling start time is adjusted so that boiling operation is finished at a time immediately before 7:00. F... | 09/30/2003 |
| 6571829 | Gas control valve in water heater A gas control valve in a water heater is provided for improving the ease of assembling, minimizing the size and the cost, and decreasing the limitation of layout design. For example, in a flame-retention, storage type closed vessel gas water heater for au... | 06/03/2003 |
| 6375087 | Method and apparatus for self-programmable temperature and usage control for hot water heaters A method and apparatus are provided for self-programmable temperature and usage control for a hot water heater. A plurality of user entered selections are received. Idle periods of a set time duration are detected and stored. Responsive to an idle period ... | 04/23/2002 |
| 6354511 | Portable system for heating water The present invention provides an apparatus for heating water. In certain embodiments, the present invention relates to a portable apparatus for heating water that may also be self-contained such that connection to additional sources of fuel or electrical... | 03/12/2002 |
| 6293471 | Heater control device and method to save energy A device and method is provided for automatically controlling the heating element(s) of an electric hot water heater to minimize electric energy consumption over a prolonged time period by projecting the future need for hot water based on it's use in prio... | 09/25/2001 |
| 6212894 | Microprocessor control for a heat pump water heater A microprocessor based control system monitors and controls a heat pump water heater system and interfaces the water heating system with an external centralized control system. The microprocessor control system includes sensors, safety switches, device in... | 04/10/2001 |
