Gas burner control approach

Abstract

Various aspects of the invention relate to a control approach for gas burners. According to an example embodiment, calibration of gas burner control is carried out at predetermined points in time. A new stable calibration is established to replace a previous stable calibration in response to the burner operating under stable operating conditions for a predetermined period of time after the predetermined point in time. A preliminary calibration is established on the basis of most recent operating conditions in response to the burner operating under unstable operating conditions for the predetermined period of time.

1 . A method for controlling gas burners for providing a gas-air mixture to a burner using a gas flow and a combustion air flow, the method comprising: 
 generating a calibration for the burner at a predetermined calibration point and immediately using the generated calibration to operate the burner;    in response to the burner operating for a predetermined period of time under stable operating conditions, continuing to operate the burner with the generated calibration; and    in response to the burner operating under unstable operating conditions during the predetermined time period after the predetermined point in time, generating a preliminary calibration as a function of recent operating conditions of the burner and operating the burner with the preliminary calibration.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, after operating the burner with the preliminary calibration, at another predetermined calibration point, regenerating a calibration and, in response to the burner operating for a predetermined period of time under stable operating conditions, replacing the preliminary calibration with the regenerated calibration and operating the burner with the regenerated calibration.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein continuing to operate the burner with the generated calibration includes replacing a previous calibration with the generated calibration in response to the burner operating under stable conditions for the predetermined period of time after the predetermined calibration point.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating a preliminary calibration as a function of recent operating conditions of the burner includes generating a preliminary calibration that has a value that is an intermediate calibration value between a previous calibration and the generated calibration.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating a preliminary calibration as a function of recent operating conditions of the burner includes generating the preliminary calibration using operating conditions at the predetermined calibration point.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, in response to the burner operating under unstable operating conditions during the predetermined time period, terminating the use of the generated calibration to operate the burner, generating the preliminary calibration as a function of recent operating conditions of the burner and operating the burner with the preliminary calibration.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the preliminary calibration is generated in response to the burner operating under unstable conditions after a specific portion of a given calibration time has elapsed.  
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein generating a preliminary calibration as a function of recent operating conditions of the burner includes using a previous stable calibration as the preliminary calibration in response to the burner operating under unstable conditions before a specific part of the given calibration time has expired.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating a preliminary calibration as a function of recent operating conditions of the burner includes using a previous stable calibration as the preliminary calibration.  
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating a preliminary calibration as a function of recent operating conditions of the burner includes, in response to changes in a selected parameter that characterizes the operation of the burner being less than a specific measure for a predetermined period of time, using a predetermined calibration value as the preliminary calibration.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, after operating the burner with the preliminary calibration, regenerating the calibration and operating the burner with the regenerated calibration until the burner operates for a predetermined period of time under stable operating conditions, and in response to the burner operating for a predetermined period of time under stable operating conditions with the regenerated calibration, replacing the preliminary calibration with the regenerated calibration and operating the burner with the regenerated calibration.  
   
   
       12 . A method for calibrating a gas burner, the method comprising: 
 generating a calibration for the burner at a predetermined calibration point;    operating the burner with the generated calibration;    in response to the burner operating under stable operating conditions with the generated calibration for a predetermined time period, operating the burner with the generated calibration; and    in response to the burner operating under unstable operating conditions with the generated calibration during the predetermined time period, generating a preliminary calibration as a function of recent operating conditions of the burner and operating the burner with the preliminary calibration.    
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein generating a preliminary calibration as a function of recent operating conditions of the burner includes: 
 in response to the burner operating under stable operating conditions for less than a minimum time period during the predetermined time period, using the previous calibration as the preliminary calibration;    in response to the burner operating under stable operating conditions for more than a maximum time period during the predetermined time period, using the generated calibration as the preliminary calibration; and    in response to the burner operating under stable operating conditions for more than the minimum time period but less than the maximum time period during the predetermined time period, using an intermediate calibration as the preliminary calibration, the intermediate calibration having a calibration value between a previous calibration and the generated calibration.