Moisture vapor exhaust system

Abstract

An exhaust system for evacuation of vapor and gases from an area, the system including a fan mounted on a motor, an activation circuit coupled to the motor and adapted to couple the motor to a first voltage source, a detection circuit adapted to sense the presence of moisture on a sensor surface and to generate a detection signal when moisture is sensed and to not generate a detection signal when moisture is not sensed, and a control circuit. In one embodiment the control circuit is coupled to the detection circuit and the activation circuit and adapted to generate a control signal in response to the detection signal, the control signal received at the activation circuit to cause coupling of the motor to the first voltage source after a delay programmed in to a programmable logic chip in the control circuit.

1 . A controller for a fan, comprising: 
 a sensor adapted to detect the presence of condensed water; and    a circuit coupled to the sensor and adapted to control operation of the fan in response to the sensing of condensed water by the sensor.    
   
   
       2 . The controller of  claim 1  wherein the circuit is adapted to activate the fan for a fixed period of time.  
   
   
       3 . The controller of  claim 1  wherein the sensor comprises exposed leads that conduct current when the leads are coupled together by condensed water.  
   
   
       4 . The controller of  claim 3  wherein the circuit is configured to compare current conducted by the sensor in the presence of condensed water to a reference current and to activate the fan when the current from the sensor reaches a level of the reference current.  
   
   
       5 . A fan for exhausting air, the fan comprising: 
 a motor for rotating the fan; and    a controller for the motor, the controller comprising: 
 a sensor adapted to detect the presence of condensed water; and  
 a circuit coupled to the sensor and adapted to control operation of the motor in response to the sensing of condensed water by the sensor.  
   
   
   
       6 . The fan of  claim 5  wherein the circuit is adapted to activate the fan for a fixed period of time.  
   
   
       7 . The controller of  claim 5  wherein the sensor comprises exposed leads that conduct current when coupled together by condensed water.  
   
   
       8 . The controller of  claim 7  wherein the circuit is configured to compare current conducted by the sensor to a reference current and to activate the fan when the current from the sensor reaches a level of the reference current.  
   
   
       9 . A fan controller, comprising: 
 a sensor configured to detect moisture condensed from water vapor; and    a circuit coupled to the sensor and configured to operate the fan when the sensor detects the moisture.    
   
   
       10 . The fan controller of  claim 9  wherein the circuit coupled to the sensor is configured to operate the fan for a fixed duration of time when the sensor detects the moisture condensed from water vapor.  
   
   
       11 . The fan controller of  claim 9  wherein the circuit coupled to the sensor is configured to alert a user when the sensor detects moisture condensed from water vapor.  
   
   
       12 . A method for reducing moisture in an enclosed area, the method comprising: 
 detecting water condensed from water vapor; and    activating a fan for a fixed duration of time in response to detecting water condensed from water vapor.    
   
   
       13 . The method for reducing humidity of  claim 12  further comprising checking repeatedly for the presence of water condensed from water vapor after the fixed duration of time and activating the fan for the fixed duration of time in response to detecting water condensed from water vapor.  
   
   
       14 . The method of reducing humidity of  claim 12  further comprising illuminating a light source in response to detecting water condensed from water vapor.  
   
   
       15 . A method for reducing humidity in an enclosed area, the method comprising: 
 detecting condensation using a sensor;    processing an output signal from the sensor; and    activating a fan for a fixed duration of time in response to the output signal from the sensor.    
   
   
       16 . The method of reducing humidity of  claim 15  further comprising operating the fan manually.  
   
   
       17 . A device for eliminating water vapor from an enclosed area, the device comprising: 
 a condensed water detector;    a first circuit having an automatic switch to activate a fan assembly when condensation is detected by the detector; and    a second circuit coupled to the first circuit, the second circuit having a manual switch for controlling the fan assembly.    
   
   
       18 . The device of  claim 17  wherein the first circuit coupled to the sensor is configured to illuminate a light when condensation is detected by the detector.  
   
   
       19 . A fan assembly, the assembly comprising: 
 means for sensing condensed water vapor; and    means for activating a fan when the sensing means detects the condensed water vapor.    
   
   
       20 . The fan assembly of  claim 19  wherein the means for activating the fan is configured to alert a user to the sensing of condensed water vapor.  
   
   
       21 . An exhaust system for evacuation of vapor and gases from an area, the system comprising: 
 a fan mounted on a motor;    an activation circuit coupled to the motor and adapted to couple the motor to a first voltage source;    a detection circuit adapted to sense the presence of moisture on a sensor surface and to generate a detection signal when moisture is sensed and to not generate a detection signal when moisture is not sensed; and    a control circuit coupled to the detection circuit and the activation circuit and adapted to generate a control signal in response to the detection signal, the control signal received at the activation circuit to cause coupling of the motor to the first voltage source after a delay programmed in to a programmable logic chip in the control circuit.    
   
   
       22 . The system of  claim 21  further comprising a low voltage circuit adapted to receive the first voltage and generate a second voltage that is at a lower voltage level than the first voltage to provide operating power for the activation circuit, detection circuit, and control circuit.  
   
   
       23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the sensor comprises interlaced exposed gold lines on a printed circuit board in which each line has a width in the range of 0.4 to 0.6 mm, and the gap between the exposed gold lines is in the range of 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm in width.  
   
   
       24 . The system of  claim 23 , wherein the gold lines have a preferred width of 0.5 mm and a preferred gap between them of 0.3 mm.  
   
   
       25 . A controller for an exhaust fan motor that utilizes an existing voltage source for power, the control circuit comprising: 
 an activation circuit adapted to couple the motor to the existing voltage source;    a detection circuit adapted to sense the presence of moisture on a sensor surface and to generate a detection signal when moisture is sensed and to not generate a detection signal when moisture is not sensed; and    a control circuit coupled to the detection circuit and the activation circuit and adapted to generate a control signal in response to the detection signal, the control signal received at the activation circuit to cause coupling of the motor to the first voltage source after a delay programmed in to a programmable logic chip in the control circuit.    
   
   
       26 . The controller of  claim 25  further comprising a low voltage circuit adapted to receive the existing voltage and generate a second voltage that is at a lower voltage level than the existing voltage to provide operating power for the activation circuit, detection circuit, and control circuit.  
   
   
       27 . The controller of  claim 25 , wherein the sensor comprises interlaced exposed gold lines on a printed circuit board in which each line has a width in the range of 0.4 to 0.6 mm, and the gap between the exposed gold lines is in the range of 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm in width.  
   
   
       28 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the gold lines have a preferred width of 0.5 mm and a preferred gap between them of 0.3 mm.