Did You Know...
...that one person who claimed to be the inventor of the television is Russian emigre Vladimir Zworykin? In 1929 David Sarnoff, founder of RCA, asked Zworykin what it would take to develop TV for commercial use. He said: a year and a half and $100,000. In reality, it took 20 years and $50 million! Before his death in 1982 at the age of 92, Zworykin said of his invention: "The technique is wonderful. It is beyond my expectations. But the programs! I would never let my children even come close to this thing."
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7252502 | Method and system for combined standing pilot safety and temperature setting The method and apparatus provides a controller (which might comprise a microprocessor) that can control gas flow to a pilot burner in fluid communication with a manual pilot valve and an automatic pilot valve. The exemplary embodiments can comprise a selectable inpu... | 08/07/2007 |
| 7057871 | Actuation circuit for an electromagnetic actuator The actuation circuit for an actuator (10) includes an energy store (11) arranged near the actuator (10). The energy store (11) is configured such that it instantaneously discharges in response to a trigger signal, wherein the discharge c... | 06/06/2006 |
| 7044729 | Gas burner control for a bake oven The system (1) for controlling the combustion (7) of a cooking oven burner (2), comprises in combination a thermostat valve (3) with a rotary hand knob (4) and a non-electric temperature sensor (6) for modulating the burner ... | 05/16/2006 |
| 6345768 | Control valve for vessel gas water heater A control valve for a vessel gas water heater includes a single governor for controlling a wider range of the flow of gas from pilot supply to main supply. Once an ignition knob 1 is pressed and turned to open the magnetic valve V1 and ignite t... | 02/12/2002 |
| 5703389 | Vertical IGFET configuration having low on-resistance and method A vertical IGFET configuration includes a stripe arrangement having a non-linear shape. In one example, a stripe arrangement (30) has contact cut-out portions (41) and elongated portions (42). The elongated portions (42) have a width (44) that less than t... | 12/30/1997 |
| 5538416 | Gas burner controller with main valve delay after pilot flame lightoff A controller for a gas burner system compensates for the tendency of a flame rod sensor in the burner system to on occasion provide a spike in its signal on first lightoff of a pilot flame, by delaying the signal which causes opening of the burner system'... | 07/23/1996 |
| 5203688 | Safe gas control valve for use with standing pilot A fuel gas control valve capable of internationally acceptable operation, including a main valve operable in an on-off mode by an electromagnetic actuator that receives a signal from a conventional electric thermostat. A pilot valve is initially operated ... | 04/20/1993 |
| 5193993 | Safe gas valve A gas valve having a main valve closure member whose position is controlled both by a pivoting lever arrangement and a thermostatically controlled solenoid. The closure member is biased toward the lever by a spring between the closure member and the lever... | 03/16/1993 |
| 5161963 | Multi-burner gas control apparatus Gas control apparatus to regulate the flow of gas to a plurality of burners is disclosed. The apparatus permits a main gas solenoid valve to be actuated for a pre-determined period of time allowing the burners to be ignited. If the burners are not ignited... | 11/10/1992 |
| 5020988 | Intermittent pilot type burner control with a single control relay A burner control system for an intermittent pilot burner system uses a single pole double throw relay to control first and second electromagnetic valves respectively supplying fuel for both burners and for the main burner only. The normally open contact p... | 06/04/1991 |
| 4887959 | Gas furnace with improved ignition A furnace employing a plurality of spaced burners, a carryover tube passing adjacent the burners, a hot surface igniter at one end of the carryover tube, a flame sensor at the other end of the carryover tube and an ignition control for controlling actuati... | 12/19/1989 |
| 4778378 | Self-powered intermittent ignition and control system for gas combustion appliances A self-powered control system for a gas-fired appliance having a pilot burner and a main burner includes an emissive surface in the flame of the pilot burner and a photovoltaic device for irradiation from the emissive surface for providing electrical powe... | 10/18/1988 |
| 4773848 | Sealed gas control valve A gas burning furnace is disclosed with a sealed and vented gas control valve. Sealing the gas control valve in an enclosure shields the control valve from the external environment. By venting the enclosure to the furnace pilot light, any gas leaking from... | 09/27/1988 |
| 4717333 | Burner ignition system An electronic ignition system for a gas burner is battery operated. The battery voltage is applied through a DC-DC chopper to a step-up transformer to charge a capacitor which provides the ignition spark. The step-up transformer has a significant leakage ... | 01/05/1988 |
| 4581697 | Controller for combustible fuel burner A microprocessor-based burner control apparatus includes an input stage adapted for controllably generating an input signal which is repetitively transitional between a first logic state and a second logic state. A synchronously controlled output stage in... | 04/08/1986 |
| 4375951 | Bilevel flame signal sensing circuit A fuel burner control system that has a fail safe mode of operation utilizes a flame sensing means that controls two separate signal processing circuits that have two different threshold levels of operation. Each of the signal processing circuits controls... | 03/08/1983 |
| 4359315 | Apparatus for fuel ignition system including complete cycling of flame relay prior to trial for ignition When a call for heat is established, a flame relay is actuated for a predetermined time by means of a cycling timer. Upon this initial actuation, the flame relay inhibits a checking relay and initializes a trial-for-ignition (or simply "ignition") timer. ... | 11/16/1982 |
| 4299556 | Timer circuit arrangement in digital combustion control system A timer circuit arrangement for use with a digital combustion control system functions to check failure of a safety timer which stops the combustion operation in the event that ignition is not completed within a predetermined time. The arrangement has a s... | 11/10/1981 |
| 4242079 | Fuel ignition control system A fuel ignition control system including a control arrangement for operating pilot and main valves of the system the pilot valve being operated to permit a pilot flame to be established, and the main valve being operated by a pilot flame sensing circuit w... | 12/30/1980 |
| 4178149 | Fuel ignition control system A fuel ignition control system including a control arrangement for operating pilot and main valves of the system the pilot valve being operated to permit a pilot flame to be established, and the main valve being operated by a pilot flame sensing circuit w... | 12/11/1979 |
| 4168141 | Safety ignition means for burner installations Safety ignition means for burner installations having a solenoid of a solenoid operated valve connected to a power source through a normally opened relay switch. The relay switch has a hold coil connected to the power source and a make coil connected to t... | 09/18/1979 |
| 4147496 | Safety ignition means for burner installations Safety ignition means for burner installations having a first solenoid operated valve for a pilot burner, a second solenoid operated valve for a main burner, and an electric heater for igniting the pilot burner. The first valve has a hold solenoid connect... | 04/03/1979 |
| 4137035 | Burner control apparatus Burner control apparatus includes control devices for actuating an ignition control means, and a timing circuit for providing an ignition timing sequence of four precise intervals. The timing circuit is actuated in response to a request for burner operati... | 01/30/1979 |
| 4131413 | Self-contained electric igniter with rechargeable battery A self-contained electric igniter in which the ignition pilot is actuated by a rechargeable battery to supply energy for the spark provided by an igniter. All energy for opening the valve of the main gas valve is supplied by a millivolt thermopile generat... | 12/26/1978 |
| 4078879 | Fuel ignition system control arrangement providing total fuel shutoff and contact protection A control arrangement for a fuel ignition system to provide an interlock on start-up to prevent energization of fuel valves under certain failure conditions includes a pulse generating circuit operable when enabled to provide pulses for enabling a first s... | 03/14/1978 |
| 4045155 | Burner system with absorbent carbon flame responsive switch A thermal responsive switch employs a gas expansion operating member movable by changes in pressure of a gas charge in a chamber containing a carbonaceous adsorbent material formed from a compound of carbon and non-carbon component by removing the non-car... | 08/30/1977 |
| 4038019 | Fail-safe energizing circuit for a functional device A fail-safe energizing circuit for effecting the operation of a functional device, such as a relay, includes a resistor and a capacitor connected between outputs of an AC signal source which supplies an AC signal for charging the capacitor, a normally dis... | 07/26/1977 |
| 3938936 | Fluid control system A fluid control system for use with combustion apparatus including a valve assembly having first and second serially connected valves positioned between the inlet and outlet of the valve assembly. First and second actuators respectively connected to opera... | 02/17/1976 |
