Burner Ignition Controller Time Budget Management
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fuel burner systems experience endless recycling due to poor combustion situations, leading to excessive soot formation and component wear, as existing controllers rely on limiting recycle attempts rather than managing time effectively to prevent continuous re-ignition attempts when a flame is lost.
Innovation Solution
A fuel burner controller employing a time budget management system that sets an initial time budget for ignition attempts, decrementing it with each unsuccessful attempt and incrementing it with successful combustion periods, entering a lockout state when the time budget is depleted, thereby preventing excessive recycling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the controller continuously attempts to re-ignite the burner when flame is lost, then the system maintains operation mode, but excessive soot formation and component wear occur due to endless recycling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the control parameter from binary (on/off) to a time-based budget system. The controller tracks elapsed time since last successful ignition and compares it against a predetermined time budget threshold. When the time budget is depleted, the controller shuts down the burner, transforming continuous operation attempts into time-limited cycles that prevent soot accumulation and component wear while maintaining reliability through structured retry mechanisms.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If the controller limits the number of recycle attempts, then component wear is reduced, but the system may shut down prematurely under transient combustion issues
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-diagnosis through time tracking. The controller continuously monitors elapsed time since successful ignition and automatically determines when to shut down based on whether the time budget is depleted. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for external intervention or complex diagnostic logic, allowing the system to autonomously balance between preventing component wear and maintaining heat delivery continuity through objective time-based decision making.
3Reliability
If the controller uses a fixed lockout time period, then safety is ensured, but the system cannot adapt to varying combustion conditions and may shut down unnecessarily
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static lockout time period into a dynamic time budget system. The controller flexibly manages the time budget based on actual combustion conditions, allowing extended operation during stable combustion and implementing shutdowns only when the time budget is depleted after unsuccessful ignition attempts. This dynamic approach maintains safety through time-based limitations while adapting to varying combustion conditions, preventing unnecessary shutdowns during transient issues.
Data Source
AI summary
A fuel burner controller and associated method is configured to establish fuel combustion in a fuel burner and to recycle a fuel combustion initiation process when a loss of combustion is detected and a call for heat is asserted. The controller is further configured to limit a number of recycles of the fuel combustion initiation process based on a time budget.