Other

Landus Inc.

Douglas R Hart

David M Jones

Samuel P Van Berkel

Donald A Urquhart

A method and apparatus is described to prevent freezing in the piping and tank of a solar water heating system mounted above a heated space. The supply and return piping to the solar water heater is used in conjunction with a heat exchanger mounted within the heated space below, to create a mechanism for the gentle circulation of water by natural convection, sufficient to prevent freezing in the tank and piping. Bypass pipes that incorporate flow restrictions are introduced between the supply and return piping both in the building and just below the solar tank. This creates a loop in the piping which allows natural convection to occur. The flow restrictions are provided so as not to short circuit the normal water flow under conditions of hot water demand.

Method and apparatus to provide freeze protection for solar water

A control device which may take the form of a plug adaptor is able to interrupt the power to a dryer when the load is dry. The only input is the pattern of the power consumption of the dryer, and this is used, together with a control algorithm, to provide the information needed for the control decision. The device, which provides a superior process for determining the cycle termination point, could also be incorporated directly into the dryers at the point of manufacture. In addition, the invention can correlate the moisture level and character of the laundry load with the pattern of power consumption of the clothes dryer. This correlation may be used to further optimize the performance of the drying cycle or to provide load-specific control and termination procedures.

Automatic cycle terminator for dryers

A control device that is constructed in the form of a plug adaptor that can interrupt the power to the dryer when the load is dry. The pattern of the change in power consumption levels of the dryer is used, together with a control algorithm, to provide the information needed for the control decision. The device provides a superior means of determining the cycle termination point which could also be incorporated directly into dryers at the point of manufacture.

Method and apparatus for automatically terminating the cycle in dryers

A light assembly comprises a self-luminescent light source, a wave guide and output optics. The self-luminescent light source takes the form of a luminescent concentrator which is activated by beta radiation from tritium which is immobilized in a matrix in which a luminescent material is distributed.

Luminescent concentrator light source

A light assembly comprises a self-luminescent light source, a wave guide and output optics. The self-luminescent light source takes the form of a luminescent concentrator which is activated directly or indirectly by radioactive radiation, typically beta radiation from tritium.

Tritium light

A diagnostic thermostat for a building includes an indoor temperature sensor, an outdoor temperature sensor, and a standard arrangement for cycling a furnace on and off in response to the level of the indoor temperature. A time clock is included and the desired indoor temperature can be set. A microprocessor determines, on the basis of various signals, the heating performance of the building over a given period of time, and this heating performance can be displayed.

Diagnostic thermostat

This invention provides a solar collector construction consisting of two spaced-apart rigid panels with aligned edges, and a flexible web structure with a width substantially the same as the desired spacing between the panels. The web is strung in tension between spacing elements at the edges of the panels, thereby to define a plurality of adjacent chambers having small vertical dimension and extended horizontal dimension. The chambers function to limit the convective heat interchange between the panels.

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Toronto, Canada

Douglas R Hart