Heater and heater control with selective power rating

Details Heater and heater control with selective power rating Heater and heater control with selective power rating

1998-03-09

2001-01-09

Walberg, Teresa (Department: 3742)

Electric heating

Heating devices

With power supply and voltage or current regulation or...

C219S480000, C338S195000, C338S295000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06172343

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to residential and commercial heaters. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in heaters manufactured to have power ratings which may be selected at the time of installation.
The power requirements for a heater in a given location may depend on various factors peculiar to the location, such as the volume of the heated area and the electrical capacity at the location. To increase efficiency for the manufacturer and flexibility for the contractor, heaters have been manufactured with a plurality of heating units, for example including resistive elements, connected to an electric current source by selective couplings. Typically, these couplings are wire jumpers which can be attached and detached to connections at the heating elements by hand in predetermined patterns. The connection may be made, for example, by a clip that requires greater force to detach than to attach.
Depending on the jumper pattern, the elements are arranged, for example in series or parallel, with respect to the current source so that the heater operates at a predetermined power rating. In some arrangements, a jumper may be removed to electrically isolate one or more elements within the system. The jumpers are coded in some manner, for example by color, so that a contractor may easily arrange the jumpers in a given pattern provided in an instruction set to produce the desired result.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention recognizes and addresses disadvantages of prior art construction and the methods.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved heater system.
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved heater having selective power ratings.
Still further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a heater having a power rating selected by severance of a predetermined one or more permanently attached conductors.
Some of these objects are achieved by a heater having selective power rating. The heater includes a source of electric current and at least one heating unit. At least one electric conductor has an input and an output. Each conductor is permanently fixed at the input and output so that the conductor is in electric communication with the source. Each conductor is in one of two states. In a conducting state, the conductor is electrically continuous between its input and its output. In a nonconducting state, the conductor is severed between its input and its output. A first conductor is disposed with respect to the source and with a first heating unit so that the first heating unit operates at a power level that is dependent on the state of the first conductor. The source and the at least one heating unit are configured to produce one of a plurality of desired power levels depending on the state of the first conductor.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.


REFERENCES:
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Marley Electric Heating Catalog, pp. 4 & 5, Feb. 16, 1996.

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