Patent · US Expired

Diagnostic system for a fuel-fired water heater

US5954265A · kind A · utility

9Cited by
3References
26Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJul 2, 1998
Grant dateSep 21, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 2, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
  • CPC primaryF23N5/24
  • WIPO fieldThermal processes and apparatus
  • WIPO sectorMechanical engineering

Abstract

A fuel-fired water heater has a series of control and operating components which, with electrical power being supplied to the water heater circuitry via a power switch, are electrically actuatable in a predetermined sequence to supply combustion heat to water contained in a tank portion of the water heater to return the temperature of the water to a heated setpoint temperature in response to the water temperature falling below such setpoint temperature. LED diagnostic indicating lights are wired into the water heater circuitry in a manner such that each indicating light is associated with a different one of the electrically coupled components. As the components are sequentially actuated during a water heating cycle, the LED lights are successively illuminated. If one of the components malfunctions during such heating cycle, one or more of the indicating lights remains unilluminated, with the last illuminated light being indicative of the last component in the sequence which functioned properly, thereby facilitating the ready identification of the component which malfunctioned. The LED indicating lights are supported in a single row on a housing-mounted circuit board to which electr…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.