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  Preemptive tripping of a fossil fuel fired burner using the quality functionUSPTO Application #: 20070207423Title: Preemptive tripping of a fossil fuel fired burner using the quality function Abstract: A method, computer program product and a system for preemptively tripping a fossil fuel fired burner of a steam generator before the burner is tripped when amplitude of any of two or more signals that represent a property of temporal combustion of the flame such as intensity or flicker frequency reaches an associated preselected signal strength. The signals that represent a property of temporal combustion are combined in a predetermined manner to give a quality signal that is used to preemptively trip the burner when the quality signal reaches a preselected signal strength. (end of abstract) Agent: Michael M Rickin, Esq. Abb Inc. - Wickliffe, OH, US Inventors: Paul H. Chase, Gregory Rossano, James M. Niziolek USPTO Applicaton #: 20070207423 - Class: 431079000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Combustion, Timer, Programmer, Retarder Or Condition Responsive Control, By Combustion Or Combustion Zone Sensor, Of Shutdown By Response To Sensed Combustion Failure Or Overheat, By Electrical Control Circuit, Photoelectric Sensor The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070207423. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] This invention relates to fossil fueled fired burners and more particularly to the tripping of those burners. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART [0002] Flame scanners are important instruments in the operation of the combustion systems of fossil fuel-fired steam generators. To this end, flame scanners are one of the primary inputs into the burner management system normally provided with the steam generator. The principal function of a flame scanner is to monitor the combustion process in the steam generator and to provide, when a stable flame exists, a signal which gives an indication that it is safe to continue feeding fossil fuel into the combustion chamber of the steam generator. [0003] In the event that the flame becomes unstable, or the flame is lost completely, the flame scanner is designed to provide a loss of flame signal to the burner management system. In response to the loss of flame signal, the burner management system shuts off the fossil fuel to the steam generator before an unsafe operating condition develops within the steam generator. [0004] Burner management systems presently initiate a shut off, also known as a trip, of the burner flame if either the intensity or the frequency portion of the analog flame signal from the flame scanner fall below an associated preselected minimum signal strength. The use of these signals to trip the burner flame has worked exceptionally well for many years. [0005] In addition to the two tripping components of the flame signal, that is, intensity and frequency, some burner management systems also include a monitoring signal called flame quality. The flame quality signal is calculated based on the intensity and frequency and to date has been used only as a status indicator to the user and has not been part of the automatic control of the burner. [0006] However, we have determined that signal quality (the product of for example the intensity quality times the flicker frequency quality) can be used as an advanced warning to trip a burner preemptively. This is because a low quality signal will reveal a poor flame state before an individual component of the quality signal (such as for example intensity or flicker frequency or in some systems the AC amplitude of the analog flame signal or some other signal arising from the analog flame signal that is representative of temporal combustion) reaches a trip point. These observations lead us to develop the tripping function of the present invention which is based on the quality signal. In some applications, such as some cyclone burners, this type of tripping is superior to merely tripping on the strength of one signal representative of temporal combustion. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0007] A method for preemptively tripping a fossil fuel fired burner of a steam generator before said burner is tripped when the amplitude of any one of a plurality of signals representative of a property of temporal combustion reaches an associated preselected signal strength comprising: [0008] preemptively tripping said burner when a signal related to a predetermined combination of each of said plurality of signals representative of a property of temporal combustion of a flame in said burner reaches a preselected signal strength. [0009] A computer program product for preemptively tripping a fossil fuel fired burner of a steam generator before said burner is tripped when the amplitude of any one of a plurality of signals representative of a property of temporal combustion reaches an associated preselected signal strength, said computer program product comprising: [0010] computer usable program code configured to preemptively trip said burner when a signal related to a predetermined combination of each of said plurality of signals representative of a property of temporal combustion of a flame in said burner reaches a preselected signal strength. [0011] A system for preemptively tripping a fossil fuel fired burner of a steam generator before said burner is tripped when the amplitude of any one of a plurality of signals representative of a property of temporal combustion reaches an associated preselected signal strength, said system comprising: [0012] a computing device having therein program code usable by said computing device, said program code comprising: [0013] code configured to preemptively trip said burner when a signal related to a predetermined combination of each of said plurality of signals representative of a property of temporal combustion of a flame in said burner reaches a preselected signal strength. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING [0014] FIG. 1 shows a functional diagram of a system that uses a flame scanner to observe the flame signal. [0015] FIG. 2 shows one embodiment for the flame scanner used in the system of FIG. 1. [0016] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a system that in accordance with the prior art uses the intensity and frequency portion to trip the associated burner with either of those portions falls below an associated preselected signal strength. [0017] FIG. 4 shows a block diagram of a system embodied in accordance with the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0018] As will be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, the present invention may be embodied as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit," "module" or "system." [0019] Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable or computer-readable medium having computer-usable program code embodied in the medium. The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and may by way of example but without limitation, be an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium or even be paper or other suitable medium upon which the program is printed. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable medium would include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a transmission media such as those supporting the Internet or an intranet, or a magnetic storage device. Continue reading... Full patent description for Preemptive tripping of a fossil fuel fired burner using the quality function Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Preemptive tripping of a fossil fuel fired burner using the quality function patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Preemptive tripping of a fossil fuel fired burner using the quality function or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: A low contamination rate flame detection arrangement Next Patent Application: Two way tool for lighting and extinguishing candles Industry Class: Combustion ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Preemptive tripping of a fossil fuel fired burner using the quality function patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 1.65242 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Computers: Graphics , I/O , Processors , Dyn. Storage , Static Storage , Printers |
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