U.S. patent application number 13/777023 was filed with the patent office on 2014-05-15 for heating system which transmits signals through ac power line.
This patent application is currently assigned to GRAND MATE CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is GRAND MATE CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to CHIN-YING HUANG, CHUNG-CHIN HUANG, HSIN-MING HUANG, HSING-HSIUNG HUANG, KUAN-CHOU LIN, YEN-JEN YEH.
Application Number | 20140134550 13/777023 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50682019 |
Filed Date | 2014-05-15 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140134550 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
HUANG; CHUNG-CHIN ; et
al. |
May 15, 2014 |
HEATING SYSTEM WHICH TRANSMITS SIGNALS THROUGH AC POWER LINE
Abstract
A heating system includes a gas appliance and at least a remote
control device and a communication between the gas appliance and
the remote control device is via an AC power line. When a user
input a command through the remote control device, a command signal
is modulated and sent to the AC power line. A controller of the gas
appliance receives the modulated command signal through the AC
power line, and demodulates it to control the gas appliance
accordingly. On contrary, a working signal generated by the gas
appliance is modulated and sent to the AC power line. The remote
control device receives the modulated working signal through the AC
power line, and demodulates it to show the related message on a
screen.
Inventors: |
HUANG; CHUNG-CHIN;
(Taichung, TW) ; HUANG; CHIN-YING; (Taichung,
TW) ; HUANG; HSIN-MING; (Taichung, TW) ;
HUANG; HSING-HSIUNG; (Taichung, TW) ; LIN;
KUAN-CHOU; (Taichung, TW) ; YEH; YEN-JEN;
(Yunlin, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
GRAND MATE CO., LTD. |
Taichung |
|
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
GRAND MATE CO., LTD.
Taichung
TW
|
Family ID: |
50682019 |
Appl. No.: |
13/777023 |
Filed: |
February 26, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
431/72 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F23N 5/00 20130101; F23N
2237/04 20200101; F24D 19/10 20130101; F24H 9/20 20130101; F23N
1/002 20130101; H04B 2203/5458 20130101; F23N 2223/38 20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
431/72 |
International
Class: |
F23N 1/00 20060101
F23N001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 9, 2012 |
TW |
101141817 |
Claims
1. A heating system, which transmits a signal through an AC power
line, comprising: a gas appliance having a first controller and a
first power line communication module, wherein the first controller
is connected to the first power line communication module, and the
first power line communication module is connected to the AC power
line; and at least a remote control device having a second
controller and a second power line communication module, wherein
the second controller is connected to the second power line
communication module, and the second power line communication
module is connected to the AC power line; wherein the first
controller transmits a serial working signal to the first power
line communication module; the first power line communication
module modulates the working signal into a first carrier wave
signal and couples the first carrier wave signal to the AC power
line; the second power line communication module receives the first
carrier wave signal from the AC power line and demodulates the
first carrier wave signal to obtain an working signal, which is in
association with the working signal of the first controller, and
transmits the working signal to the second controller; and wherein
the second controller transmits a serial command signal to the
second power line communication module; the second power line
communication module modulates the command signal into a second
carrier wave signal and couples the second carrier wave signal to
the AC power line; the first power line communication module
receives the second carrier wave signal from the AC power line and
demodulates the second carrier wave signal to obtain a command
signal, which is in association with the command signal of the
second controller, and the first controller receives the command
signal from the first power line communication module to control
the gas appliance accordingly.
2. The heating system as defined in claim 1, wherein the first
power line communication module includes a first processor to
modulate the working signal and demodulate the command signal, and
a first coupler to couple the first carrier wave signal and
decouple the second carrier wave signal, and the second power line
communication module includes a second processor to modulate the
command signal and demodulate the working signal, and a second
coupler to couple the second carrier wave signal and decouple the
first carrier wave signal.
3. The heating system as defined in claim 2, wherein the first
processor has a data modulator to modulate the working signal and a
data demodulator to demodulate the command signal, and the second
processor has a data modulator to modulate the command signal and a
data demodulator to demodulate the working signal.
4. The heating system as defined in claim 2, wherein both the first
coupler and the second coupler are a pulse transformer.
5. The heating system as defined in claim 2, wherein the gas
appliance has a first power supply to supply the first controller
and the first processor with power, the remote control device has a
second power supply to supply the second controller and the second
processor with power.
6. The heating system as defined in claim 5, wherein both the first
power supply and the second power supply are a switching power
supply.
7. The heating system as defined in claim 1, wherein both the first
processor and the second processor are a field-programmable gate
arrays (FPGA).
8. The heating system as defined in claim 1, wherein the gas
appliance has a burner, an igniter and a gas supply, and the first
controller is connected to the burner, the igniter and the gas
supply respectively to control the gas appliance.
9. The heating system as defined in claim 8, wherein the gas
appliance further has a control panel and a screen, both of which
are connected to the first controller.
10. The heating system as defined in claim 1, wherein the remote
control device has a control panel and a screen, both of which are
connected to the second controller.
Description
[0001] The current application claims a foreign priority to the
patent application of Taiwan No. 101141817 filed on Nov. 9,
2012.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to a remote control
of a gas appliance, and more particularly to a heating system which
transmit signal through an AC power line.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] Gas appliance is a device which burns gas to heat something,
such as gas water heater, gas fireplace, and gas dryer. Take the
gas water heater for example, the guideline tells that it is
preferable to be installed at outdoor or a place with good
ventilation to exhaust carbon monoxide which is harmful to human.
In order to operate the gas water heater, use has to go to the gas
water heater, and it is a tough job for the user in winter time. An
improved gas water heater has a control panel in the house for user
to remote control the gas water heater. A conventional way of
remote control includes RF transmission and DC power line
communication. When both the gas water heater and the control panel
are mounted in the same floor, RF transmission is a good solution.
However, RF transmission is poor when the gas water heater and the
control panel are mounted in different floors. It has to provide a
DC power line to connect the control panel to the gas water heater
for DC power line communication. A long distance transmission is an
advantage of DC power line communication, however how to arrange
the power line from indoors to outdoors is a big problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide
a heating system, which transmits signal through an AC power
line.
[0007] According to the objective of the present invention, the
present invention provides a heating system, which includes a gas
appliance and at least a remote control device and communication
between the gas appliance and the remote control device is via an
AC power line. The gas appliance having a first controller and a
first power line communication module, and the remote control
device has a second controller and a second power line
communication module. The first controller transmits a serial
command signal to the first power line communication module; the
first power line communication module modulates the command signal
into a first carrier wave signal and couples the first carrier wave
signal to the AC power line, and the second power line
communication module receives the first carrier wave signal from
the AC power line and demodulates the first carrier wave signal to
obtain a control signal, which is in association with the command
signal of the first controller, and the second controller receives
the control signal from the second power line communication module
to control the gas appliance accordingly. The second controller
transmits a serial working signal to the second power line
communication module; the second power line communication module
modulates the working signal into a second carrier wave signal and
couples the second carrier wave signal to the AC power line; the
first power line communication module receives the second carrier
wave signal from the AC power line and demodulates the second
carrier wave signal to obtain a message signal, which is in
association with the working signal of the second controller, and
transmits the message signal to the first controller.
[0008] In an embodiment, the first power line communication module
includes a first processor to modulate the working signal and
demodulate the command signal, and a first coupler to couple the
first carrier wave signal and decouple the second carrier wave
signal, and the second power line communication module includes a
second processor to modulate the command signal and demodulate the
working signal, and a second coupler to couple the second carrier
wave signal and decouple the first carrier wave signal.
[0009] In an embodiment, the first processor has a data modulator
to modulate the working signal and a data demodulator to demodulate
the command signal, and the second processor has a data modulator
to modulate the command signal and a data demodulator to demodulate
the working signal.
[0010] In an embodiment, both the first coupler and the second
coupler are a pulse transformer.
[0011] In an embodiment, the gas appliance has a first power supply
to supply the first controller and the first processor with power,
the remote control device has a second power supply to supply the
second controller and the second processor with power.
[0012] In an embodiment, both the first power supply and the second
power supply are a switching power supply.
[0013] In an embodiment, both the first processor and the second
processor are a field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA).
[0014] In an embodiment, the gas appliance has a burner, an igniter
and a gas supply, and the first controller is connected to the
burner, the igniter and the gas supply respectively to control the
gas appliance.
[0015] In an embodiment, the gas appliance further has a control
panel and a screen, both of which are connected to the first
controller.
[0016] In an embodiment, the remote control device has a control
panel and a screen, both of which are connected to the second
controller.
[0017] The present invention provides a remote control system
through the AC power network to control the heating system without
extra control lines.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first preferred embodiment of
the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the gas water heater of the
first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0020] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the remote control device of
the first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a second preferred embodiment
of the present invention; and
[0022] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the gas fireplace of the second
preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] The detailed description and technical contents of the
present invention will be explained with reference to the
accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only
but not used to limit the present invention.
[0024] As shown in FIG. 1, a heating system 1 of the first
preferred embodiment of the present invention includes a gas
appliance and a plurality of remote control devices 38. In an
embodiment, the gas appliance is a gas water heater 10, which
includes a heater 12 and a first power line communication module
30. Each remote control device 38 has a remote control 40 and a
second power line communication module 48. The first power line
communication module 30 is connected to the second power line
communication module 48 through an AC power line L for the
communication between the remote control 40 and the heater 12.
[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the heater 12 has a burner 14, an
igniter 16, a water pipe 18, a gas supplier 20, and a first
controller 22. The first controller 22 controls the burner 14, the
igniter 16, and the gas supplier 20. The gas supplier 20 is
connected to the burner 14 to supply the burner 14 with gas. The
igniter 16 lights a fire to burn the gas so that the burner 14
heats water in the water pipe 18. A plurality of sensors 24 are
provided in the heater 12 to detect the burner 14, the igniter 16,
and the gas supplier 20, and the sensed results are transmitted to
the first controller 22. A control panel 26 and a screen 28 are
provided on the heater 12 and are connected to the first controller
22 for user to input commands and to show information of the heater
12.
[0026] The first power line communication module 30 includes a
first processor 32 and a first coupler 34. In an embodiment, the
first processor 32 is a field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA) to
arrange necessary circuit modules therein according to the
hardware, and the first coupler 34 is a pulse transformer. The
first processor 32 has an universal serial communication interface
buffer 321, a data modulator 322, a first modulated data register
323, and an active data transceiver 324, a second modulated data
register 325, a data demodulator 326, a demodulated data register
327, wherein the universal serial communication interface buffer
321, the data modulator 322, the first modulated data register 323,
and the an active data transceiver 324 are in serial connection to
form a signal transmitting path, and the second modulated data
register 325, data demodulator 326, the demodulated data register
327, and universal serial communication interface buffer 321 are in
serial connection to form a signal receiving path. In an
embodiment, the first controller 22 is electrically connected to
the universal serial communication interface buffer 321 through
RS-232 serial communication. The active data transceiver 324 and
the second modulated data register 325 are connected to the power
line L through the first coupler 34.
[0027] The first controller 22 of the heater 12 and the first
processor 32 are electrically connected to a first power supply. In
an embodiment, the power supply is a switching power supply 36 to
supply the first controller 22 and the first processor 32 with
power.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 3, each remote control 40 has a second
controller 42, a screen 44 and a control panel 46, wherein the
screen 44 and the control panel 46 are electrically connected to
the second controller 42. The second controller 42 is stored with
an identification code for the very remote control 40.
[0029] Each second power line communication module 48 has a second
processor 50 and a second coupler 52. In an embodiment, the second
processor 50 is a field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the
second coupler 52 is a pulse transformer. The second processor 50
has an universal serial communication interface buffer 501, a data
modulator 502, a first modulated data register 503, an active data
transceiver 504, a second modulated data register 505, a data
demodulator 506, and a demodulated data register 507. The same as
the first processor 32, the universal serial communication
interface buffer 501, the data modulator 502, the first modulated
data register 503, and the active data transceiver 504 are serially
connected to form a signal transmitting path, and the second
modulated data register 505, the active data transceiver 504, the
data demodulator 506, and the demodulated data register 507 are
serially connected to form a signal receiving path. In an
embodiment, the second controller 42 is electrically connected to
the universal serial communication interface buffer 501, and the
active data transceiver 504 and the second modulated data register
505 are coupled to the power line L through the second coupler
52.
[0030] The second controller 42 of the remote control 40 and the
second processor 50 is connected to a second power supply. In an
embodiment, the second power supply is a switching power supply 54
to supply the remote control 40 and the second processor 50 with
power.
[0031] While a user inputs a command, such as change temperature,
through any one of the control panels 46 of the remote control
devices 38, the second controller 42 generates a serial command
signal, which includes the identification code of the remote
control 40. The command signal is transmitted to the data modulator
502 of the second processor 50 through the universal serial
communication interface buffer 501 to be modulated into a second
carrier wave signal, and then the second carrier wave signal is
saved in the first modulated data register 503 waiting for the
active data transceiver 504. Next, the second carrier wave signal
is transmitted to the second coupler 52 through the active data
transceiver 504. The second coupler 52 couples the second carrier
wave signal to the power line L to transmit the second carrier wave
signal to the first power line communication module 30 through the
power line L. The first coupler 34 of the first power line
communication module 30 receives and decouples the second carrier
wave signal from the power line L, and then saves it in the second
modulated data register 325 of the first processor 32 waiting for
the active data transceiver 324. Next, the signal is transmitted to
the data demodulator 326 through the second modulated data register
325 to be decoded to obtain a control signal, and then the control
signal is saved in the demodulated data register 327 waiting for
the universal serial communication interface buffer 321. At last,
the control signal is transmitted to the first controller 22
through the universal serial communication interface buffer 321.
The first controller 22 check the identification code in the
control signal to identify which remote control device 38 gives the
command and control the gas water heater 10 to change the
temperature accordingly.
[0032] When the gas water heater 10 runs according to the command,
the first controller 22 will generate a working signal, a signal of
water temperature for example, and transmits it to the remote
control device 38 which sends the command. The working signal
includes the identification code of the remote control device 38
which sends the command. The water temperature signal is
transmitted to the first processor 32 and modulated by the data
modulator 322 to obtain a first carrier wave signal, and then the
first coupler 34 couples the first carrier wave signal to the power
line L to transmit it to the remote control devices 38 through the
power line L. The first carrier wave signal is decoupled by the
second coupler 52 and decoded by the second processor 50 in each
remote control device 38 to obtain a message signal, which tells
the water temperature. Next, the second controller 42 checks the
identification code in the message signal and only the remote
control 40 with the same identification code will shows the water
temperature on the screen 44.
[0033] It is noted that we take RS-232 for the serial communication
interface in above embodiment. In practice, any serial
communication interface, such as RS-422, RS-485, I2C, and SPI,
should be incorporated in the present invention.
[0034] In conclusion, the present invention provides a
communication between the gas water heater 10 and the remote
control devices through the AC power line, which may be the present
power network, to overcome the problem of the conventional system
as described above.
[0035] Except for the gas water heater, the present invention may
be applied in all kinds of gas appliance.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 4, a heating system 2 of the second
preferred embodiment of the present invention has a gas fireplace
and a remote control device 84. The gas fireplace 60 has a heater
62 and a first power line communication module 78. The remote
control device 84 has a remote control 86 and a second power line
communication module 88. The first power line communication module
78, the remote control 86 and the second power line communication
module 88 are the same as above, so we do not describe the detail
again.
[0037] As shown in FIG. 5, the heater 62 has a burner 64, an
igniter 66, a gas supplier 68, and a first controller 70. The first
controller 70 controls the burner 64, the igniter 66, and the gas
supplier 68.
[0038] The gas supplier 68 is connected to the burner 64 to supply
the burner 64 with gas. The igniter 66 lights a fire to burn the
gas. A plurality of sensors 72 are provided in the heater 62 to
detect the burner 64, the igniter 66, and the gas supplier 68, and
the sensed results are transmitted to the first controller 70. A
control panel 74 and a screen 76 are provided on the heater 62 and
are connected to the first controller 70 for user to input commands
and to show information of the heater 62.
[0039] The first controller 70 of the heater 62 is electrically
connected to a first processor 80 of the first power line
communication module 78 through a first power supply. In an
embodiment, the power supply is a switching power supply 83 to
supply the first controller 70 and the first processor 80 with
power.
[0040] When a user inputs a command through a control panel of the
remote control devices 84 to control the fireplace 60, such as
enlarging the flames, a second controller generates a serial
command signal accordingly, which includes the identification code
of the remote control device 84. The command signal is modulated by
a second processor 90, and then a second coupler 92 couples the
modulated signal to the power line L to transmit it to the
fireplace 60 through the power line L. In the fireplace 60, the
modulated signal is decoupled and demodulated by the first coupler
82 and the first processor 80 to control the heater 62
accordingly.
[0041] How to send a control message from the fireplace 60 to the
remote control device 84 through the power line L and show it on a
screen is the same as above, so we do not describe the detail
here.
[0042] In conclusion, the present invention provides a
communication between the gas fireplace 60 and the remote control
device 84 through the AC power line, which may be the present power
network, to overcome the problem of the conventional system as
described above.
[0043] The switching power supply is small and light to be
integrated in a circuit board. The first processor and the second
processor as described above are FPGA to modulate and demodulate
the signals because the FPGA may set various circuits. In practice,
the first controller and the first processor of the gas appliance
may be integrated in a FPGA, and the second controller and the
second processor may be integrated in another FPGA to reduce the
number of the electronic devices on the circuit board and reduce
the cost. Except for the FPGA, complex programmable logic device
(CPLD) may be used in the present invention.
[0044] The description above is a few preferred embodiments of the
present invention, and the equivalence of the present invention is
still in the scope of claim construction of the present
invention.
* * * * *