EP0202864A2 - Remote control of electrical heating appliances - Google Patents
Remote control of electrical heating appliances Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0202864A2 EP0202864A2 EP86303690A EP86303690A EP0202864A2 EP 0202864 A2 EP0202864 A2 EP 0202864A2 EP 86303690 A EP86303690 A EP 86303690A EP 86303690 A EP86303690 A EP 86303690A EP 0202864 A2 EP0202864 A2 EP 0202864A2
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- appliance
- switching means
- radiant
- heating appliance
- further characterized
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 238000010438 heat treatment Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 15
- 239000000446 fuel Substances 0.000 claims description 7
- 230000011664 signaling Effects 0.000 claims 1
- 238000009423 ventilation Methods 0.000 claims 1
- 238000004088 simulation Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000005611 electricity Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000037361 pathway Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001960 triggered effect Effects 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- F—MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; LIGHTING; HEATING; WEAPONS; BLASTING
- F24—HEATING; RANGES; VENTILATING
- F24C—DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES ; DETAILS OF DOMESTIC STOVES OR RANGES, OF GENERAL APPLICATION
- F24C7/00—Stoves or ranges heated by electric energy
- F24C7/002—Stoves
- F24C7/004—Stoves simulating flames
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08C—TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS FOR MEASURED VALUES, CONTROL OR SIMILAR SIGNALS
- G08C23/00—Non-electrical signal transmission systems, e.g. optical systems
- G08C23/04—Non-electrical signal transmission systems, e.g. optical systems using light waves, e.g. infrared
Definitions
- This invention relates to the remote control of electrical heating appliances.
- This invention is concerned with avoiding the difficulty and possible danger of manual operation of electrical heating appliances, particularly radiant heaters, by providing a remote control.
- the invention provides an electrically-powered heating appliance having switching means for selectively operating it located in the appliance characterized by said switching means (18, 24) being adapted to be operated directly or indirectly by an infra-red energy beam from a remote location and by being combined with a normally hand-held remote controller (17, 27) adapted to produce such an energy beam.
- infra-red sensing means mounted on a forward facing surface of the appliance and connected to the switching means.
- the hand-held controller (17, 18) may be protected against accidental operation.
- a radiant-only electric fire (11) has three separately-operable radiant bars (12) and manual switching means (13) for switching on and off and for selecting which of the bars are to be energised.
- An electrical power supply line (14) to the fire has connected into it a remote signal box (15).
- a number of different frequency signals can be so produced by the signal box, one signal for each of the possible states of the fire, i.e. OFF, ONE BAR ON, TWO BARS ON, THREE BARS ON.
- a control switching unit (18) is built in to the fire and receives the signal on line (14). The unit accordingly operates switch means to bring about that state indicated by the signal.
- the switch means of the unit is separate from and connected in parallel with the manual switching means (13).
- Signal box (15) is triggered to produce a selected one of its signals by an interface unit (16).
- a battery-operated hand-held remote controller (17) is adapted, when manual control (19) is operated, to produce a narrow beam of infra-red light.
- the light beam is coded to correspond to a selected one of the possible states of the fire, the manual control (19) providing a different position for each state.
- the coding may, for instance, comprise distinctive patterns of pulses of infra-red energy.
- the signal recognition unit is adapted to recognise these patterns.
- Line (14) comprises an ordinary electrical power cable, which is flexible and of any selected length, so that the signal box (15) may be mounted in any convenient position.
- signal box (15) can be located high on a wall or ceiling above the area where the path of the infra-red beams is likely to be blocked by objects.
- the signal box (15) can be used to operate different electrical items from the electric fire shown. For instance, for a disabled person there may be arranged a bank of signal boxes, each connected to a different electrical appliance, and operated by pointing a single hand-held controller at the selected box.
- the cable (14) may be attached to the fire or other electrical appliance by a plug and socket connection so that different appliances may be connected up as required. It will be appreciated that some appliances may require only an 'ON' and an UFF' coded signal, while others may require a larger number of coded signals.
- Figure 2 also shows a radiant-only electric fire having two separately-operable radiant bars (21) and an illuminated representation of burning fuel (22).
- Lead (23) supplies mains electricity to a junction box (25) which is mounted in a control box (24) shown in more detai1 ⁇ in Figure 5.
- An infra-red sensor (26) is mounted on a front surface of the fire and is connected by an electrical lead to the control box (24).
- Hand-held remote controller (27) is adapted when a pressure-sensitive switch area (28) is pressed to produce a beam of infra-red light. The controller is pointed at the fire so that the beam impinges on the sensor (26) which then sends an electronic signal to the control box (24.
- the hand-held controller as shown best in Figure 3, comprises three on/off slider switches (29, 30, 31). Operation of switch (29) selects the illuminated fuel simulation,operation of switch (30) selects one of the radiant bars, while operation of switch (31) selects both radiant bars. The user therefore slides to "on” whichever switches he wishes. No effect, however, is made on the fire until area (28) is pressed. This causes the said beam of infra-red light to be produced, coded accordingly to which of switches (29, 30, 31) is, or are, made.
- the pressure-sensitive area (28) is protected as shown in Figure 4, which is a section taken on the line A A of Figure 3.
- a raised border (33) surrounds the area (28) so that if, for instance, the controller is dropped, it will not be operated.
- any of switches (29, 30, 31) has no effect without pressure on area (28), so accidental operation of any of them alone will not switch the fire on.
- Other means for avoiding accidental pressure on area (28) may be used, e.g. a removable cover and/or deeper depression.
- the fire may optionally have indicator lamps (34, 35) which light up to show that one bar or both bars are energized. No such lamp is required for indicating operation of the fuel simulation since this is immediately obvious.
- the control box (24) is mounted distanced from the radiants behind and preferably beneath them, so that it is not subjected to excessive temperatures.
- the control box contains, as well as the junction box (25), a pair of mains voltage relays (not shown), each controlling one of the electric radiant elements(21), a transformer (not shown), and a printed circuit board (36).
- the printed circuit board carries a circuit which decodes the signals from the sensor (26) and initiates the appropriate energization.
- the illuminated fuel simulation is energized directly from the board, since only 9ow power is required.
- the two radiant elements are energized through the relays.
- the sensor (26) is mounted at a short distance from the control box and is connected by a length of electrical cable, for instance 12 cms long.
- the cable is protected by a sheath (not shown) from mechanical damage and excessive heat.
- the elements contained in control box (24) are all mounted in a base member (37) and a ventilated cover (38) is then placed over the base member.
- the fire also has manual controls (not shown) and a manual/remote switch (39) which operates to by-pass the supply to the control box when manual control is required, so that the control box does not remain energized, or to by-pass the manual switches when remote control is required.
Abstract
Description
- This invention relates to the remote control of electrical heating appliances.
- It is known for an electrical heating appliance to be operated by manual switches mounted on the appliance itself. Such arrangements suffer the problem that any change in their control has to be effected by someone touching the appliance. This may well be a dangerous proceeding and for disabled people may be impossible. =>
- It is also known to operate television sets by using infra-red beams from hand-held controllers.
- This invention is concerned with avoiding the difficulty and possible danger of manual operation of electrical heating appliances, particularly radiant heaters, by providing a remote control.
- The invention provides an electrically-powered heating appliance having switching means for selectively operating it located in the appliance characterized by said switching means (18, 24) being adapted to be operated directly or indirectly by an infra-red energy beam from a remote location and by being combined with a normally hand-held remote controller (17, 27) adapted to produce such an energy beam.
- There may be infra-red sensing means (26) mounted on a forward facing surface of the appliance and connected to the switching means.
- The hand-held controller (17, 18) may be protected against accidental operation.
- Two embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:-
- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a first electric fire and control device,
- Figure 2 shows another electric fire incorporating a control device,
- Figure 3 is a plan view of a hand-held controller, part of the control device of Figure 2,
- Figure 4 is a detail of the device of Figure 3, and
- Figure 5 is an exploded view of a control box of Figure 2.
- Referring first to Figure 1, a radiant-only electric fire (11) has three separately-operable radiant bars (12) and manual switching means (13) for switching on and off and for selecting which of the bars are to be energised. An electrical power supply line (14) to the fire has connected into it a remote signal box (15).
- As indicated diagrammmatically in Figure 1, there is a continuous connection for the power line (14) through box (15), so that a power supply is always connected to the fire (11). The signal box operates to superimpose on the waveform of the power supply a signal waveform, e.g. a higher frequency signal, so that the signal is applied to the fire on the same line as the power supply.
- A number of different frequency signals can be so produced by the signal box, one signal for each of the possible states of the fire, i.e. OFF, ONE BAR ON, TWO BARS ON, THREE BARS ON.
- A control switching unit (18) is built in to the fire and receives the signal on line (14). The unit accordingly operates switch means to bring about that state indicated by the signal. The switch means of the unit is separate from and connected in parallel with the manual switching means (13).
- Signal box (15)is triggered to produce a selected one of its signals by an interface unit (16). A battery-operated hand-held remote controller (17) is adapted, when manual control (19) is operated, to produce a narrow beam of infra-red light. The light beam is coded to correspond to a selected one of the possible states of the fire, the manual control (19) providing a different position for each state. The coding may, for instance, comprise distinctive patterns of pulses of infra-red energy. The signal recognition unit is adapted to recognise these patterns.
- Line (14) comprises an ordinary electrical power cable, which is flexible and of any selected length, so that the signal box (15) may be mounted in any convenient position. Thus a clear pathway to a desired location for the hand-held controller can be more easily arranged. For instance, signal box (15) can be located high on a wall or ceiling above the area where the path of the infra-red beams is likely to be blocked by objects.
- This arrangement is of particular use for invalids or disabled people who are unable to approach the fire to operate it directly. It will be evident that the signal box (15) can be used to operate different electrical items from the electric fire shown. For instance, for a disabled person there may be arranged a bank of signal boxes, each connected to a different electrical appliance, and operated by pointing a single hand-held controller at the selected box. The cable (14) may be attached to the fire or other electrical appliance by a plug and socket connection so that different appliances may be connected up as required. It will be appreciated that some appliances may require only an 'ON' and an UFF' coded signal, while others may require a larger number of coded signals.
- Figure 2 also shows a radiant-only electric fire having two separately-operable radiant bars (21) and an illuminated representation of burning fuel (22). Lead (23) supplies mains electricity to a junction box (25) which is mounted in a control box (24) shown in more detai1`in Figure 5. An infra-red sensor (26) is mounted on a front surface of the fire and is connected by an electrical lead to the control box (24). Hand-held remote controller (27) is adapted when a pressure-sensitive switch area (28) is pressed to produce a beam of infra-red light. The controller is pointed at the fire so that the beam impinges on the sensor (26) which then sends an electronic signal to the control box (24.
- The hand-held controller, as shown best in Figure 3, comprises three on/off slider switches (29, 30, 31). Operation of switch (29) selects the illuminated fuel simulation,operation of switch (30) selects one of the radiant bars, while operation of switch (31) selects both radiant bars. The user therefore slides to "on" whichever switches he wishes. No effect, however, is made on the fire until area (28) is pressed. This causes the said beam of infra-red light to be produced, coded accordingly to which of switches (29, 30, 31) is, or are, made. The pressure-sensitive area (28) is protected as shown in Figure 4, which is a section taken on the line A A of Figure 3. A raised border (33) surrounds the area (28) so that if, for instance, the controller is dropped, it will not be operated. As discussed above, operation of any of switches (29, 30, 31) has no effect without pressure on area (28), so accidental operation of any of them alone will not switch the fire on. Other means for avoiding accidental pressure on area (28) may be used, e.g. a removable cover and/or deeper depression.
- The fire may optionally have indicator lamps (34, 35) which light up to show that one bar or both bars are energized. No such lamp is required for indicating operation of the fuel simulation since this is immediately obvious.
- The control box (24) is mounted distanced from the radiants behind and preferably beneath them, so that it is not subjected to excessive temperatures. The control box contains, as well as the junction box (25), a pair of mains voltage relays (not shown), each controlling one of the electric radiant elements(21), a transformer (not shown), and a printed circuit board (36).
- The printed circuit board carries a circuit which decodes the signals from the sensor (26) and initiates the appropriate energization. The illuminated fuel simulation is energized directly from the board, since only 9ow power is required. The two radiant elements are energized through the relays.
- The sensor (26) is mounted at a short distance from the control box and is connected by a length of electrical cable, for
instance 12 cms long. The cable is protected by a sheath (not shown) from mechanical damage and excessive heat. The elements contained in control box (24) are all mounted in a base member (37) and a ventilated cover (38) is then placed over the base member. - The fire also has manual controls (not shown) and a manual/remote switch (39) which operates to by-pass the supply to the control box when manual control is required, so that the control box does not remain energized, or to by-pass the manual switches when remote control is required.
- Although the embodiments described above have been describing using a controller producing an infra-red beam, it is within the invention to use other similar devices operating radio or sound beams. The invention may also be applied to the remote control of electric fan heaters and other electrically operated apparatus.
Claims (9)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB8512373 | 1985-05-16 | ||
GB858512373A GB8512373D0 (en) | 1985-05-16 | 1985-05-16 | Remote control |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0202864A2 true EP0202864A2 (en) | 1986-11-26 |
EP0202864A3 EP0202864A3 (en) | 1987-10-14 |
Family
ID=10579217
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP86303690A Withdrawn EP0202864A3 (en) | 1985-05-16 | 1986-05-15 | Remote control of electrical heating appliances |
Country Status (2)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0202864A3 (en) |
GB (1) | GB8512373D0 (en) |
Cited By (11)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0301680A2 (en) * | 1987-07-30 | 1989-02-01 | Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. | Wireless control system |
GB2230367A (en) * | 1989-03-31 | 1990-10-17 | Lutron Electronics Co | Remotely controllable power control system |
DE3936570A1 (en) * | 1989-11-03 | 1991-05-08 | Licentia Gmbh | Electronic input shutter for optical remote control - has opto-reflex light barriers on circuit board behind shutter with transmit and receiver components |
EP0468304A2 (en) * | 1990-07-21 | 1992-01-29 | DIEHL GMBH & CO. | Remote control system, particularly for electric domestic heating appliances |
GB2280291A (en) * | 1993-07-20 | 1995-01-25 | Nicholas Weiner | Control of equipment |
DE19802558A1 (en) * | 1998-01-23 | 1999-07-29 | Ego Elektro Geraetebau Gmbh | Control for heating device for e.g. electric cooking hob |
EP1217305A1 (en) * | 2000-12-22 | 2002-06-26 | BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH | Control device for a household appliance |
WO2004109189A1 (en) * | 2003-06-06 | 2004-12-16 | Basic Holdings | Apparatus for producing an optical illusion, image or effect |
EP1788312A3 (en) * | 2005-11-17 | 2009-01-14 | Winners Products Engineering Ltd. | Fireplace simulator |
GB2462847A (en) * | 2008-08-22 | 2010-02-24 | Valor Ltd | Domestic heating appliance with contactless proximity control |
CN114585120A (en) * | 2020-12-01 | 2022-06-03 | 河北戈斯顿新能源科技有限公司 | Heating cable with power on-off function |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1407926A (en) * | 1973-02-15 | 1975-10-01 | Meyer Fred Calif | Stimulated fireplace assembly |
DE2604922A1 (en) * | 1976-02-09 | 1977-08-11 | Gaggenau Werke | Domestic kitchen hob and oven - has remote control from hand held ultrasonic control panel |
GB2015870A (en) * | 1978-03-03 | 1979-09-19 | Bosch Siemens Hausgeraete | Household Appliance |
FR2524652A1 (en) * | 1982-04-01 | 1983-10-07 | Legrand Sa | Detector for remote controlled domestic lighting - comprises photodiode in fibre-glass cover plate over buried box contg. associated circuits |
-
1985
- 1985-05-16 GB GB858512373A patent/GB8512373D0/en active Pending
-
1986
- 1986-05-15 EP EP86303690A patent/EP0202864A3/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1407926A (en) * | 1973-02-15 | 1975-10-01 | Meyer Fred Calif | Stimulated fireplace assembly |
DE2604922A1 (en) * | 1976-02-09 | 1977-08-11 | Gaggenau Werke | Domestic kitchen hob and oven - has remote control from hand held ultrasonic control panel |
GB2015870A (en) * | 1978-03-03 | 1979-09-19 | Bosch Siemens Hausgeraete | Household Appliance |
FR2524652A1 (en) * | 1982-04-01 | 1983-10-07 | Legrand Sa | Detector for remote controlled domestic lighting - comprises photodiode in fibre-glass cover plate over buried box contg. associated circuits |
Cited By (14)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0301680A3 (en) * | 1987-07-30 | 1990-09-26 | Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. | Wireless control system |
EP0301680A2 (en) * | 1987-07-30 | 1989-02-01 | Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. | Wireless control system |
GB2230367B (en) * | 1989-03-31 | 1993-03-24 | Lutron Electronics Co | Remotely controllable power control system |
GB2230367A (en) * | 1989-03-31 | 1990-10-17 | Lutron Electronics Co | Remotely controllable power control system |
DE3936570A1 (en) * | 1989-11-03 | 1991-05-08 | Licentia Gmbh | Electronic input shutter for optical remote control - has opto-reflex light barriers on circuit board behind shutter with transmit and receiver components |
EP0468304A3 (en) * | 1990-07-21 | 1992-04-15 | Diehl Gmbh & Co. | Remote control system, particularly for electric domestic heating appliances |
EP0468304A2 (en) * | 1990-07-21 | 1992-01-29 | DIEHL GMBH & CO. | Remote control system, particularly for electric domestic heating appliances |
GB2280291A (en) * | 1993-07-20 | 1995-01-25 | Nicholas Weiner | Control of equipment |
DE19802558A1 (en) * | 1998-01-23 | 1999-07-29 | Ego Elektro Geraetebau Gmbh | Control for heating device for e.g. electric cooking hob |
EP1217305A1 (en) * | 2000-12-22 | 2002-06-26 | BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgeräte GmbH | Control device for a household appliance |
WO2004109189A1 (en) * | 2003-06-06 | 2004-12-16 | Basic Holdings | Apparatus for producing an optical illusion, image or effect |
EP1788312A3 (en) * | 2005-11-17 | 2009-01-14 | Winners Products Engineering Ltd. | Fireplace simulator |
GB2462847A (en) * | 2008-08-22 | 2010-02-24 | Valor Ltd | Domestic heating appliance with contactless proximity control |
CN114585120A (en) * | 2020-12-01 | 2022-06-03 | 河北戈斯顿新能源科技有限公司 | Heating cable with power on-off function |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0202864A3 (en) | 1987-10-14 |
GB8512373D0 (en) | 1985-06-19 |
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17Q | First examination report despatched |
Effective date: 19890118 |
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RAP3 | Party data changed (applicant data changed or rights of an application transferred) |
Owner name: BERRY MAGICOAL LIMITED |
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STAA | Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent |
Free format text: STATUS: THE APPLICATION IS DEEMED TO BE WITHDRAWN |
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18D | Application deemed to be withdrawn |
Effective date: 19910730 |
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RIN1 | Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected) |
Inventor name: LAWSON, BRIAN Inventor name: SALMON, ANTHONY |