KR102335361B1 - Flame detecting device, combuster having the same and the method of flame detecting - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a flame detection device, a combustion device including the flame detection device, and a flame detection method for the combustion device. A flame detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention detects a flame generated from a burner of a combustion device and supplies a required voltage to a sensor and a sensor that output a flame current value, It may include a power supply circuit for amplifying the flame current value by supplying a relatively large voltage. According to the embodiment of the present invention, since the flame current value can be adaptively amplified in consideration of the effects of temperature, gas type, air/gas ratio, etc. on the flame, the ignition of the burner can be detected more accurately.

Description

A flame detection device, a combustion device including the same, and a method for detecting ignition in the combustion device

The present invention relates to a flame detection device, and more particularly, to a device for detecting a flame of a burner in a combustion device such as a boiler or a water heater, and a combustion device including the same.

Combustion devices such as boilers and water heaters generate ignition by burning fuel such as gas, coal, oil, etc. according to a user's request, and cut off the supply of fuel to extinguish the fire. It is very important to detect the ignition and fire extinguishing conditions that occur according to the supply and cut-off of fuel in the operation of combustion equipment.

In this regard, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a flame detection circuit using an AC power source of a combustion device including the following configuration.

(1) Flame detection pulse generator that generates pulse voltage by AC power as flames are generated

(2) a switching unit that performs switching for generating a pulse voltage

(3) Comparator that compares the pulse voltage supplied by switching with the reference voltage and outputs analog data

However, such a flame detection circuit (device) according to the prior art has a problem in that it does not reflect the change in the state of the flame depending on the ambient temperature, the type of gas, and the air/gas ratio.

Registered Patent Publication No. 10-0361148 (Registered on Jan. 1, 2002)

The present invention provides a flame detection device capable of more accurately detecting the ignition of a burner by adaptively amplifying a flame current value in consideration of the effects of temperature, gas type, air/gas ratio, etc. on the flame, and the flame detection device An object of the present invention is to provide a combustion device comprising a, and a flame detection method of the combustion device.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a sensor for detecting a flame generated from a burner of a combustion device and outputting a flame current value; A flame detection device including a power supply circuit for supplying a required voltage to the sensor, and amplifying the flame current value by supplying a voltage relatively larger than the required voltage to the sensor when a predetermined condition is met, may be provided. have.

In addition, the predetermined condition may include at least one of 1) when installed at a specified altitude or higher, and 2) when the fuel of the combustion device is LPG.

In addition, the apparatus further includes a burner temperature sensing unit by sensing a burner temperature of the combustion device, wherein the predetermined condition may include a case in which the power supply circuit detects the burner temperature and the detected burner temperature is less than the specified cold temperature.

According to another aspect of the present invention, when any one of the above-described flame device and the flame current value output from the flame detection device is equal to or greater than a specified ignition current value, a combustion device including a microcomputer that determines that the flame is ignited in the burner can be provided.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for determining whether a burner inside a combustion device is ignited, the method comprising: detecting a flame of the burner in a sensor provided near the burner and outputting a flame current value; amplifying the flame current value by supplying a required voltage to the sensor, but supplying a voltage relatively greater than the required voltage to the sensor when a predetermined condition is met; and determining that the flame is ignited in the burner when the flame current value is greater than or equal to a predetermined ignition current value.

In addition, the predetermined condition may include at least one of 1) when installed at a specified altitude or higher, and 2) when the fuel of the combustion device is LPG.

In addition, the combustion device may further include means for detecting a burner temperature of the combustion device, and the predetermined condition may further include a case in which the sensed burner temperature is smaller than the predetermined cold temperature.

The flame detection device, the combustion device including the flame detection device, and the flame detection method of the combustion device according to an embodiment of the present invention consider the effect of temperature, gas type, air/gas ratio, etc. on the flame, and the flame current value can be amplified adaptively, so that the ignition of the burner can be detected more accurately.

1 is an example of the internal configuration of a combustion device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is an example of the internal configuration of a flame detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting ignition in a combustion device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Since the present invention can apply various transformations and can have various embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, numbers (eg, first, second, etc.) used in the description process of the present specification are only identification symbols for distinguishing one component from other components.

Also, throughout the specification, when an element is referred to as “connected” or “connected” with another element, the one element may be directly connected or directly connected to the other element, but in particular It should be understood that, unless there is a description to the contrary, it may be connected or connected through another element in the middle.

In addition, throughout the specification, when a part "includes" a certain component, it means that other components may be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated. In addition, terms such as "unit" and "module" described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which means that it can be implemented as one or more hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an example of the internal configuration of a combustion device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an example of the internal configuration of the flame detection device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a combustion device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a device such as a boiler and a water heater, and may include a flame detection device 110 , a burner temperature detection unit 120 , and a microcomputer 130 . Also, referring to FIG. 2 , the flame detection device 110 may include a sensor 112 and a power supply circuit 114 .

The flame detection device 110 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be implemented as one of the internal components of a combustion device known at the time of filing of the present invention, or may be implemented as physically independent equipment and connected to the combustion device, which is to which the present invention is applied. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made depending on the environment in light of the technical spirit of the present invention.

In addition, since the internal configuration of the known combustion device at the time of filing the present invention may obscure the gist of the present invention, a separate detailed description will be omitted except for parts related to the technical spirit of the present invention. More specifically, for example, a gas valve for controlling the amount of supplied gas, a burner for burning gas, a heat exchanger for supplying heat generated by ignition of the burner to low-temperature heating water, a fan for discharging combustion waste gas, a fan The motor for driving is not directly related to the technical idea of the present invention, so detailed description thereof is omitted herein, but the present invention is that the combustion device according to the embodiment of the present invention can selectively include a known configuration as necessary. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the technical idea of

1 and 2 , the sensor 112 according to an embodiment of the present invention may detect a flame generated from a burner (not shown) of the combustion device 100 and output a flame current value. The sensor 112 may use, but is not limited to, a photo transistor that receives the light of the flame and converts it into electrical energy, and the like, and various flame (flame) detection sensors known by the applicant of the present invention may be applied.

In general, the flame may be affected by the type of fuel gas, air/gas ratio, ambient temperature, and the like. For example, if the combustion device is installed at a high altitude (when the air supplied to the combustion device is relatively thin rather than in a general environment), even though the burner has been ignited, the ignition is weak or due to other factors, the The flame current value may be small. In this case, the flame current value output by the flame detection means is smaller than the specified ignition current value, and even though the burner is ignited, the microcomputer of the combustion device may incorrectly judge that it is not ignited. In this case, the microcomputer of the combustion device may malfunction due to such a misjudgment, such as excessively supplying fuel to aid ignition of the combustion device, or it may be judged that a burner is faulty and may be shut down.

The power supply circuit 114 according to an embodiment of the present invention supplies a voltage required for the sensor to operate (hereinafter referred to as a 'required voltage') to the above-described sensor, but requests the sensor when a predetermined condition is met. By supplying a voltage relatively larger than the voltage, it is possible to amplify the flame current value output by the sensor.

Here, the predetermined condition according to an embodiment of the present invention may be one or more of 1) when the combustion device is installed in a high altitude, 2) when the fuel of the combustion device is LPG, and 3) when the burner temperature is smaller than the specified cold temperature. .

1) When the combustion device is installed at a high altitude, as described above, since the air/fuel ratio is different because the air is thinner than in the general area, the flame current value output by the sensor may be small even though the burner is ignited normally. In this case, in order to amplify the corresponding flame current value to exceed a predetermined threshold value, the power supply circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention may supply a voltage relatively larger than the required voltage required by the sensor.

For example, in the prior art, a linear transformer was applied to apply a fixed input (AC 220V)/fixed output (AC 100V), but in the embodiment according to the present invention, a variable input (DC5V to 12V)/variable output (AC 100V to AC) 200V) may be applied. However, this is only one embodiment, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the input/output of the power supply circuit can be variously configured according to the required voltage and basic output current value of the applied sensor, in view of the technical spirit of the present invention. will be.

When the combustion device 100 is installed on a high ground, the installation worker can set it in the power supply circuit by using a dip switch provided in advance in the power supply circuit, and the power supply circuit corresponds to a condition specified in advance by a dip switch, etc. It can be recognized that Since various means known at the time of the application of the present invention may be applied to this setting method, a detailed description of a specific method for recognizing whether or not a predetermined condition is met in the power supply circuit will be omitted.

Also, 2) the flame can be affected by the type of fuel. In particular, when the fuel is LPG, the flame current value output from the sensor 112 may be relatively small compared to the case where other fuels are burned. Even in this case, the power supply circuit 114 can amplify the flame current value similarly to the condition 1) described above.

Also, in case 3) (when the temperature around the combustion device is low), especially in the early stage when the fuel starts to ignite, the burner may be in a cold state with a low temperature, and if it is in a cold state, the sensor 112 ), the output flame current value may be relatively small compared to the case where it is not in the cold state. Therefore, when the sensed burner temperature is smaller than the pre-specified cold temperature, the power supply circuit 114 may amplify the flame current value as in the above-described condition 1). The temperature of the burner may be detected through a temperature sensor (not shown) capable of detecting the burner temperature, and the temperature sensor (not shown) may be provided in the combustion device 100 and connected to the power supply circuit 114 . will be.

When the flame current value is equal to or greater than a predetermined ignition current value, the microcomputer 130 may determine that the fuel is normally ignited in the burner.

As described above, the flame is affected by temperature, gas type, air/gas ratio, etc., but according to the prior art, the flame current value is smaller than the preset ignition current value even when fuel is ignited normally, so it is abnormal in the microcomputer 130 There was a case of misjudgment due to ignition. However, according to the embodiment of the present invention, in consideration of the effect of temperature, gas type, air/gas ratio, etc. on fuel ignition, when a predetermined condition is satisfied, the flame current value is adaptively amplified to more accurately burner It has the advantage of being able to detect the ignition of

So far, the operation of the flame detection device 110 provided in advance in the combustion device 100 of FIG. 2 has been described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 . However, the technical idea of the present invention is modularized so that the flame detection device 110 of FIG. 2 can be replaced, and may include a case where it is newly installed in an existing combustion device or replaces the flame detection device of an existing combustion device. is apparent to those skilled in the art.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a method for detecting ignition of fuel in a combustion device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, in describing a method for detecting ignition of a combustion device according to an embodiment of the present invention, the combustion device 100 detects a burner (not shown) that burns supplied fuel, and a flame of the burner to output a flame current value. It may include a sensor 112, a power supply circuit 114 for supplying power to the sensor 112, a microcomputer 130 for determining ignition based on a flame current value, and the like, a description of which is described above in FIGS. 1 to 1 . Since it has been described above with reference to FIG. 2 , the combustion device 100 will be collectively described below as a main body.

Referring to FIG. 3 , in step S300 , the combustion device 100 may output a flame current value by detecting the flame of the burner by a sensor 112 provided near the burner. Here, since the means for detecting the flame, that is, the sensor 112 has been described in detail in the sensor 112 of FIG. 2 , a redundant description will be omitted.

Then, the combustion device 100 supplies a voltage required for the sensor 112 to operate to the sensor 112 , but may determine whether a predetermined condition is met. Here, the predetermined condition is as shown in steps S302 to S306, 1) when installed at a specified altitude or higher (step S302), 2) when the fuel of the combustion device 100 is LPG (step S304) or 3) detection This is a case in which the burner temperature is smaller than the pre-specified cold temperature (step S306).

If the above-mentioned pre-specified condition is not met, the power supply circuit 114 may supply the required voltage to the sensor 112 in step S310 . In addition, in step S312, the sensor 112 may output a flame current value according to the required voltage.

If the above-described predetermined condition is satisfied, the power supply circuit 114 may amplify the flame current value output by the sensor 112 by supplying a voltage greater than the required voltage to the sensor in step S320 .

Subsequently, when the flame current value is greater than or equal to a predetermined ignition current value in step S330, the combustion device 100 may determine that the burner is ignited in step S332. Conversely, when the flame current value is less than a predetermined ignition current value, it may be determined that the burner is not ignited in step S334.

As described above, in the ignition detection method in the combustion device according to the embodiment of the present invention, when a predetermined condition (ie, steps S302 to S306) is met, the ignition current value output by the sensor may be weak. In this case, there is an advantage in that ignition can be more accurately determined by amplifying the ignition current value.

Although the above has been described with reference to the embodiments of the present invention, those of ordinary skill in the art can variously modify the present invention within the scope not departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention described in the claims below. And it will be readily understood that it can be changed.

110: flame detection device 102: sensor
104: power supply circuit 120: burner temperature sensing unit
130: microcomputer

Claims (7)

a sensor for detecting a flame generated from a burner of a combustion device and outputting a flame current value; and
a power supply circuit for supplying a required voltage to the sensor, and supplying a voltage greater than the required voltage to the sensor when a predetermined condition is met to amplify the flame current value;
A flame detection device comprising a.
According to claim 1,
The pre-specified conditions are:
At least one of a case in which the combustion device is installed at a specified altitude or higher and a case in which the fuel of the combustion device is LPG.
According to claim 1,
a burner temperature sensing unit for detecting a burner temperature of the combustion device;
further comprising,
The pre-specified conditions are:
A flame detection device, when the detected burner temperature is less than the specified cold temperature.
The flame detection device of any one of claims 1 to 3; and
a microcomputer that determines that the flame is ignited by the burner when the flame current value output from the flame detection device is greater than or equal to the specified ignition current value;
Combustion device comprising
In the method of determining whether the internal burner of a combustion device is ignited,
detecting a flame of the burner by a sensor provided near the burner and outputting a flame current value;
supplying a required voltage to the sensor, and supplying a voltage greater than the required voltage to the sensor when a predetermined condition is met to amplify the flame current value; and
determining that the flame is ignited by the burner when the flame current value is equal to or greater than a predetermined ignition current value;
A method for detecting ignition in a combustion device comprising a.
6. The method of claim 5,
The pre-specified conditions are:
At least one of a case in which the combustion device is installed at a specified altitude or higher and a case in which the fuel of the combustion device is LPG.
6. The method of claim 5,
The combustion device further comprises means for sensing a burner temperature of the combustion device,
The pre-specified conditions are:
A method for detecting ignition in a combustion device, in which case the detected burner temperature is less than the pre-specified cold temperature.

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