Air quality sensor/interruptor

Abstract

An air quality sensor and interrupter system includes an air quality sensor to measure the air quality around a gas appliance and an appliance shut-off device to turn off the gas appliance in response to a signal from the sensor indicating unsafe air. An exhaust can also be activated to remove the unsafe air. Unsafe air can be indicated by a measurement of 18.5% or less oxygen in the air. If the sensor fails, an alarm can alert the user and the appliance shut off until the sensor is replaced or repaired. A bypass allows the user to keep the appliance turned on, but only for a limited amount of time. The user can keep utilizing the bypass to keep the appliance turned on for extended periods of time.

1 . An air quality sensor and interrupting system, comprising:
 an air quality sensor configured to measure the quality of air proximate to a gas appliance and generate a signal when unsafe air is detected;   a gas shut off device configured to turn off at least one portion of the gas appliance in response to the signal sent from the air quality sensor; and   an exhaust configured to remove the unsafe air when unsafe air is detected.   
   
   
       2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the exhaust is a vacuum device. 
   
   
       3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the exhaust is a blowing device. 
   
   
       4 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising a bypass configured to allow a user to keep the gas appliance turned on if the air quality sensor fails. 
   
   
       5 . The system of  claim 4 , wherein the bypass only allows the gas appliance to be turned on for a set period of time without additional user input. 
   
   
       6 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising an alarm to notify the user when the air quality sensor fails. 
   
   
       7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein the alarm is an audio alarm, a visual alarm, or an audio and visual alarm. 
   
   
       8 . An air quality sensor and interrupting system, comprising:
 an air quality sensor configured to measure the quality of air proximate to a gas appliance and generate a signal when unsafe air is detected;   a gas shut off device configured to turn off at least one portion of the gas appliance in response to the signal sent from the air quality sensor; and   an alarm coupled to the sensor, wherein the alarm notifies a user when the sensor fails.   
   
   
       9 . The system of  claim 8 , further comprising a bypass configured to allow the user to keep the gas appliance turned on if the air quality sensor fails. 
   
   
       10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the bypass only allows the gas appliance to be turned on for a set period of time without additional user input. 
   
   
       11 . An air quality sensor and interrupting system, comprising:
 an air quality sensor configured to measure the quality of air proximate to a gas appliance and generate a signal when unsafe air is detected;   a gas shut off device configured to turn off at least one portion of the gas appliance in response to the signal sent from the air quality sensor; and   a bypass configured to allow a user to keep the gas appliance turned on if the air quality sensor fails.   
   
   
       12 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the bypass only allows the gas appliance to be turned on for a set period of time without additional user input. 
   
   
       13 . A method for operating a gas appliance, comprising:
 sensing an air quality of air proximate to the gas appliance;   determining whether the air quality is unsafe;   turning off at least a portion of the gas appliance if the air quality is unsafe; and   removing the unsafe air.   
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the removing comprises vacuuming. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the removing comprises blowing. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising notifying a user when the sensing fails. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the notifying is with an audio alarm, a visual alarm, or an audio and visual alarm. 
   
   
       18 . A method for operating a gas appliance, comprising:
 sensing an air quality of air proximate to the gas appliance;   determining whether the air quality is unsafe;   turning off at least a portion of the gas appliance if the air quality is unsafe;   notifying a user if the sensing fails; and   turning off at least a portion of the gas appliance if the sensing fails.   
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising allowing the user to bypass turning off the gas appliance when the sensing fails to keep the appliance turned on. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the appliance is turned on only for a limited amount of time when the bypass is used. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 18 , further comprising removing unsafe air when the air quality is determined unsafe.