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Spa control system

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1. 236 12 12 Advertising for Applied Computer Controls SC 100 spa 5 457 826 A 10 1995 Haraga et al 4 541 4 controller m 2 tee eal E 37 seats 364 505 Advertising for ACC Spa controller products with photos of 3559 ompkins et al 6 014 677 A 1 2000 Hayashi et al 707 501 amp SP 200 skid pack etc FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS DE 35 11 499 A1 10 1986 EP 0 009 249 9 1979 EP 0 286 941 A1 10 1988 EP 88 10 5389 4 1998 FR 2 562 687 A 10 1985 GB 2 094 503 A 9 1982 GB 2133258 12 1983 GB 2 204 966 A 11 1988 GB 2211331 A 6 1989 JP 53 125164 2 1978 JP 53 125164 11 1978 IP 55 112646 2 1980 JP 55 135912 2 1980 JP 57 157954 2 1982 JP 57 182044 2 1982 JP 57 182044 11 1982 JP 58 75660 2 1983 JP 58 109996 2 1983 JP 58 119037 2 1983 JP 58 179728 2 1983 JP 60 213731 2 1983 JP 59 72892 2 1984 JP 59 215535 2 1984 JP 60 14677 1 1985 JP 60 8652 2 1985 JP 60 14041 2 1985 JP 60 14042 2 1985 JP 60 17657 2 1985 JP 60 26239 2 1985 JP 60 148691 2 1985 JP 60 155848 2 1985 JP 60 186644 2 1985 JP 61 107048 2 1985 JP 61 110842 2 1985 JP 61 15444 1 1986 JP 61 11551 2 1986 JP 61 13254 2 1986 JP 61 18467 2 1986 JP 61 184354 2 1986 JP 62 108954 2 1987 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Newsweek article Givens and Springen Splish splash it s more than a bath May 5 1986 Newspaper article Teresa Foreman Pieces of Yesterday Graced with Touches of Tomorrow The Record May 4 1986 Newspaper article Sprin
2. 463 56 Refirences Cited US PATENT DOCUMENTS 5A 24 A Schwmans 3 459 925 A BEE Geosey eb al es 258751 3 498 285 A 3 970 Polanyi elal Page 4 of 12 US 6 976 052 B2 Dec 13 20605 ag Patent Nu 45 Date of Patent 3 783 925 A 3 836 989 A FAINNE A AA A 3911578 A 3 937 952 A 372 603 A 4 611 557 A 4 52 A A973 Curis et ei WISTE Paa etal oasa 91974 Schindler et ai SAG S Nereday 1 1975 MoCariney A978 Ripley at et BUSTS Lubines A977 Stephenson 24977 Sakakibara ab os e MSS 41721 0 28027 o 24 35511 73 193 R Continued FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 3209 535 AL PSRS 3308807 5 4 33 08 862 Ai ansa Continued OTHER PUBLICATIONS Motorola Microprocessor Microcomrotler and Perinherat Data vol 1988 Newspaper astica Mary Kay Seff Bathrooms are geting preliy splashy San Diego Union Tribune May 9 1986 Cominued Primary Examiner M rustala M Meky 73 Atome Agent or Firm Fubwider Patton Lee amp Utecht LLP G0 ABSTRACT Ag improved spa system is disclosed The invention describes a spa conzrol system which cabzulates the time required te heal the water in the spa sysiem fo a desired temperature From that informadon the heating site of the apa system can be determined and the heating element af the spa amp ysterm can be activated at tha proper time Lo raise the temperatues of the water do a sele
3. Time pe 2 l Continue 2 AE U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 9 of 11 US 6 976 052 B2 FIG 10 Teepr Xe He EM di ad E 25 of Sra Luder gaz Tenge c Tere Bie Late of SF Rasens fue of tery rs Tim re dare hme gt deba gm agp fene lec flere gy 4 yes Pesp E ATE cad Carp gt Tempo P Fi eas ye CER U S Patent Queers Coutrls fest y Ia Display RrC E Key boo col R M EPROM Timer Yate 15 Timer Timer Lurerre pl foll Key board foi rhe 1 fed alo inpar Conver to Eng units for Dec 13 2005 Sheet 10 of 11 US 6 976 052 B2 1 1 Bi lad tes Isle Fo no flan Buzzer Flasher fechrn Sysrtw US 6 976 052 B2 Sheet 11 of 11 Dec 13 2005 U S Patent US 6 976 052 B2 1 SPA CONTROL SYSTEM This application is a continuation of U S patent appli cation Ser No 08 822 179 filed Mar 20 1997 now U S Pat No 6 253 227 which is a continuation of U S appli cation Ser No 08 703 177 filed Aug 23 1996 now abandoned which is a continuation of U S application Ser No 08 327 927 filed Oct 24 1994 now U S Pat No 5 559 720 which is a continuation of U S patent application Ser No 08 225 282 filed Jan 11 1994 now U S Pa
4. 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 14 RO is returned in the accumulator This routine is used when the registers are going to be used as general memory locations for subroutine parameters The NOVRAM module contains routines which handle the special requirements of the NOVRAM The NOVREAD routine is called to restore the nonvola tile image of the NOVRAM It is called at powerup It begins the restore function and handles the proper delay interval to the NOVRAM to complete the refresh The NOVWRITE routine is called by the powerfail interrupt handler to signal the storage of the system con figuration image to the nonvolatile image of the NOVRAM It guarantees that the cycle is completed and returns to the powerfail handler The Module POWRFAIL routine is the powerfail inter rupt handler and has previously been described The Revision module provides for the display of the software revision and or version It will display different values for variants of the system software to distinguish between them Once the system has been completed it will be sealed so this will provide a surefire way of verifying the software contents The KBREV routine handles keyboard inputs while the revision is being displayed It allows the user to step forward past this function since this function does nothing other than display the revision value The DSPREV routine is called to display the revision The revision mess
5. If the difference exceeds a selected amount a warning on digital display 46 or other warning such as an audible sound can be generated to warn the user of a malfunction in the spa This function of the invention is shown in FIG 7 In one embodiment of are system two temperature probes are monitored constantly for temperature differences whenever the pump is in operation When the pump is started five minutes are allowed for the two readings to get within six degrees Fahrenheit of one another If the probes fail to match after this period all spa operations cease and an error message is displayed to he user If the heater temperature is more than six degrees higher than the spa temperature the heater is not turned on If the heater temperature is more than six degrees colder than the spa temperature and the heater function is signaled to be on by other portions of the control program the heater is turned on even though the temperatures do not match If at any time after the first five minutes the difference between the two temperature readings exceeds six degrees all spa operations are disabled and an error message is displayed to the user As previously noted this embodiment determines whether flow is present in the spa plumbing If a blockage exists it will result in a temperature difference which will cause the system to halt operations The initial five minute period allows for the equalization of temperature differences that natu
6. 5 1983 Ramsauer et al 236 25 A 4 775 245 A 10 1988 Hagerman et al 374 134 4 386 649 A 6 1983 Hines et al 165 12 4 775 776 A 10 1988 Rahn et al 219 388 4 398 789 A 8 1983 Pryor 4 780 917 A 11 1988 Hancock 4 403 296 A 9 1983 Prosky 364 573 4 797 958 A 1 1989 Guzzini 4 404 697 A 9 1983 Hatcher 4 492 4 809 516 A 3 1989 Jones 4 406 401 A 9 1983 Nettro 236 2 12 4 854 498 A 8 1989 Stayton ne 4 406 550 A 9 1983 Gray e 374 110 RE33 119 E 11 1989 Baker 4 409 662 A 10 1983 RAO acere tene 364 557 5 226 408 A 7 993 Drysdale 126 247 4 409 694 A 10 1983 Barrett Sr et al 4 545 5 245 221 A 9 1993 Schmidt et al 307 112 4 410 791 A 10 1983 Eastep 219 307 5 278 455 A 1 994 Hamos 307 139 4 420 032 A 12 1983 Van Koppen et al 165 1 5 283915 A 2 1994 Idland et al 4 541 1 4 420 811 A 12 1983 Tarnay et al 364 510 5 287 567 A 2 1994 Fash et al 4 493 4 420 947 A 12 1983 Yoshino 62 160 5 333 325 A 8 1994 Levien et al 4 584 4 421 269 A 12 983 Ts ao 236 12 12 5 341 527 A 8 1994 Schmidt et al 4 592 4 421 270 A 12 1983 Raleigh et al 5 361 215 A 11 1994 Tompkins et al 364 505 US 6 976 052 B2 Page 3 RE35 018 E 8 1995 Homan
7. Column 22 Line 7 delete Interconnection and insert interconnection Signed and Sealed this Fifteenth Day of January 2008 MN JON W DUDAS Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office an United States Patent Tompkins et al i 4 SPA CONTROL SYSTEM 75 inventors Michael E Tompbins Houston TX US Michnel J Green Houston TX US 73 Assigace Balbon Instruments Inc Tustin CA US Mice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 USC 13400 by 373 days Appl Nos 08 761 264 Filed Inn 16 2001 Prior Publication Data US 2001 0189407 Al Oct 11 2004 Related U S Application Dats Continuation of application No 08 822 179 filed on Mas 0 1997 gw Pat No 6 253 227 which ie a continuation of application No 06 703 177 fied on Aug 23 1995 now abandoned which amp amp continuation of e No 6 327 027 Bled on Oct 24 IIA now Pat Ma 5 559 720 which is continuation of application No DB 225 282 filed on Jan 13 12942 gow PaL No SAGAS which is x continuation of eptication Bo 07 214 859 filed on Tif 26 IRBA new sbandoaed which i a custinuation in pact of pesci No 070534381 Bled on May 27 1987 now tat CI eese US CL 7T9 201 3 493 210 109 Field of Serth one 210 169 709 201 392 465 465 485 49 219 497 481 ARS 4 538 539 540 531 1 541 2 544 3
8. TEMDF 7 YES READ RATE Ay CALCULATE TIME 4 YES ACTIVATE HEATER 26 CONTINUE Page 12 of 12 U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 8 of 8 6 976 052 B2 CLEAR RAM TURN ALL OUTPUTS AND CONTROLS OFF TEST amp INITIALIZE DISPLAY Pi 11 1 WAIT 15 TIMER CYCLES RUN FIG 11 Ri FLASHER SET KEYBOARD DATA KEY dd e PERFORM SYSTEM CONTROLS OUTPUT STATE DISPLAY
9. et al 165 12 4319 711 A 3 1982 Barker et al 236 46 R 4 706 882 A 11 1987 Barnard 236 46 R 4 322 031 A 3 1982 Gehlert 236 12 R 4 711 392 A 12 1987 Kidouchi et al 236 12 12 4 322 297 A 3 1982 Bajka 4 713 525 A 12 1987 Eastep 219 308 4 324 138 A 4 1982 Davis et al 73 341 4 713 783 A 12 1987 Fletcher 364 557 4 330 081 A 5 1982 McMillan 236 12 R 4 718 248 A 1 1988 Fisher 4 334 518 A 6 1982 Ot erneut 126 132 4 725 001 A 2 1988 Carney et al 236 1 4 349 434 A 9 1982 Jaworski 4 742 456 A 5 1988 Kamena 364 400 4 353 412 A 10 1982 Krumhansl 165 59 4 752 141 A 6 1988 Sun et al 374 161 4 353 502 A 10 1982 Myers 236 47 4 757 943 A 7 988 Sperling et al 236 12 12 4 361 274 A 11 1982 Raleigh et al 4 762 980 A 8 1988 Insley aac e 219 307 4 368 991 A 1 1983 Hentze Rises 374 12 4 763 365 A 8 1988 Gerondale et al 4 370 534 A 1 1983 Brandon 219 10 55 A 4 768 705 A 9 1988 Tsutsui et al 236 12 12 4 381 031 A 4 1983 Whitaker et al 4 770 037 A 9 1988 Noir et al 73 204 4 381 075 A 4 1983 Cargill et al 237 8 R 4 770 540 A 9 1988 Chague et al wee 374 17 4 382 544 A 5 1983 Stewart 236 46 R 4 773 008 A 9 1988 Schroeder et al 364 400 4 385 724 A
10. is a two point 32 and 104 degree calibration for offset and gain correction US 6 976 052 B2 9 CALI Calibrate analog channel 1 heater temperature 20 This is identical to CALO CAL2 Calibrate analog channel 2 pH input This is a one point 0 volts calibration for offset correction CPU Display cpu RAM contents nov Display NOVRAM contents rvx y The software revision is x y The following describes the modules that make up the system controller and further describes the algorithms they contain The module anlgin routine anlgin routine controls the input of a specified analog input channel The operations it performs are output channel number read input value The module BCDNEG routine is called to negate a BCD value The module BINBCD routine is called to convert a binary value to a BCD value The buzzkey routine is called to determine if the key closure should result in the buzzer beeping Positive key values result in the buzzer flag being set for buzzer The buzzer routine is called to drive the buzzer if a key was pressed The buzzer interval is decremented until it is zero and the buzzer stops The buzzoff routine is called to cancel the keyboard buzzer output in special cases when the state handler wishes to block certain keys from being acknowledged The KBCALO routine is called to handle keyboard inputs while displaying CALO It allows the user to move on to CALI or to select to calib
11. is in main tenance mode the light turbo and jet outputs are shut off If the system has detected a serious system error error 1 8 the turbo and jet outputs are shut off In either case the heater is shut down Pump Actuation if any pump requests are posted and no shutdowns are requested the pump is turned on Heater Actuation if any heater requests are posted and no shutdowns are requested the heater is turned on Control then passes to the control LED handler The Module CTLERR routine posts two errors and two warnings The errors it checks for are frozen water and mismatch in temperature readings flow error The warn ings it checks for are the water being too hot for safe usage and the pH reading out of safe limits The Module CTLKEY routine handles directly output keyboard inputs In particular it controls the light jet and turbo If the system is maintenance mode no keys are processed If the system is in an error state only the light key is processed The controls are complemented each time the corresponding key is pressed If the module CTLLEDS routine operates while the sys tem is in maintenance mode and the LED drive is disabled the light turbo and jet LEDS re driven solely on the output states The heater LED is driven steadily if the heater is on and flashed if the heater is off and has a request posted The filter set ready scheduled heat and temperature LEDS are flashed if the corresponding function
12. is posting a request and if the operator is not in a state used to set the function If the operator is setting the function the LED is already on and is not flashed The Module Delay routine provides a software waitloop style of delay routine used mainly during powerup The Module ADELTIME DELTIME routines are used to determine the interval between the current time and the specified time DELTIME determines the time that has elapsed since the specified time while ADELTIME deter mines the time that remains until the specified time arrives 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 The Display module contains routines that convert values into displayable messages and a routine that actually writes the messages to the display Many of the routines have two entry points DSPxxx and BFRxxx The DSP version uses the standard buffer while the BFR version uses a user specified buffer The DSP version only will be described to avoid repetitive descriptions of the BFR versions The DSPULZ routine is called to remove leading zeros fog numeric messages The DSPBCD routine is called to convert from a BCD value to a display image The DSPOUT routine sends the message image to the display The DSPTIM routine converts a time value into a mes sage The DSPTMP routine converts a temperature value into a message The DSPERR routine converts an error number into an error message The DSPPH routine converts a pH va
13. system are designed to handle temperature extremes of minus twenty to plus seventy degrees Centi grade The technology used in this design of interface components is Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconduc tors CMOS which is low in power consumption and high in reliability The microcomputer 10 is typically an 8 bit control device with an 8 bit data bus 42 Its function is to execute instructions control processes make logical deci sions and compute values The microcomputer 10 operates at a clock speed of typically two megahertz and can make thousands of calculations per second The microcomputer 10 reads instructions from the memory such as EPROM 44 and then executes the appropriate actions The Eraseable Programmable Read Only Memory EPROM 44 scores the instructions for the microcomputer 10 to execute Once a program is created the final software is loaded into the EPROM 44 The EPROM 44 can be modified to add new features or additional EPROMs not shown can be connected to manage different functions and applications The Random Access Memory RAM 32 is a memory device which stores temporary information while the information is being processed by the microcomputer 10 The RAM 32 only reads and writes data and can hold data for future reference even after the main power 16 is turned off The RAM 32 stores data such as the number of hours on the heater 26 the number of times that the temperature of the spa exceeds the pre selected temp
14. 052 B2 TIMER INTERRUPT POWER FAIL POLL KEYBOARD WRITE EXT RAM TO EEROM POLL RTO TURN OFF ALL CONTROLS READ ANALOG INPUT DISPLAY FAIL CONVERT TO ENG UNITS LATCH POWER FAR POWER f Ait SPA CONTROL PANEL BI 69 O 5555 2 23 Page 9 of 12 U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 5 of 8 6 976 052 B2 T OVERALL FLOW OR CONTROL INTERRUPTS ENABLED 06 1 8 TIMER POWER ALL INITIALIZATION INTERRUPT INTERRUPT MAIN PROGRAM DESIRED TEMPERATURE OF SPA WATER TEMPERATURE AT FIRST SENSOR S TEMPERATURE AT SECOND SENSOR Bus TEMP 1 TEMP s LIMIT OF ACCEPTABLE TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE OR READ TEMP AND TEMPS CALCULATE TEMP OPERATE YES l DEACTIVATE HEATER 26 HEATER 26 SIGNAL DISPLAY 46 Page 10 of 12 U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 6 of 8 6 976 052 B2 E Ed Ld o E RATE OF HEATING RATE OF HEATING AVERAGE INITIAL TEMPERATURE OF SPA WATER DESIRED TEMPERATURE OF SPA WATER TEMPr TEMP TIME INITIAL TIME FINAL TIME TIME READ TEMP READ TIME ACTIVATE HEATER 28 U S Patent TEMP TEMPr TEMPA RATE RATE ay TIME TIME TIME 4 8 4 1 1 Page 11 of 12 Dec 13 2005 Sheet 7 of 8 6 976 052 B2 INITIAL TEMPERATURE OF SPA WATER FINAL DESIRED TEMPERATURE OF SPA WATER TEMP TEMP RATE OF HEATING RATE OF HEATING AVERAGE TIME INITIAL TIME FINAL TIME gr TIME READ READ TEMP NO TEMPI lt
15. 4 is continuously pumping water over the heating element 29 of the heater 26 while the heater 26 is activated This prevents a hot spot from developing in the spa system which could damage the components of the spa or give erroneous mea surements The system is a microcomputer based system In addition to the microcomputer 10 the system utilizes several other devices While the control program runs on the microcom US 6 976 052 B2 3 puter 10 it is directly responsible for the management of the system hardware The following description briefly summa rizes the major devices NOVRAM 32 This is a nonvolatile RAM device that is used to store the system calibration values as well as providing RAM expansion for the microcomputer 10 An EEROM image of the calibration values is stored when the powerfail interrupt is posted to the micro computer 10 and restored when the microcomputer 10 powers up A D 36 This is an analog to digital converter that converts voltage inputs after signal conditioning at 37 to digital numeric representations It provides three values spa temperature 21 heater temperature 20 and pH value 22 DISPLAY DRIVER or INTERFACE 38 This device accepts a bitstream 39 from the microcomputer and drives the display 40 for the spa control panel 12 A bit is input for each segment on the display FIG 2 illustrates a block diagram of the spa control system and its associated components The electronics in the spa control
16. 613 A 11 1986 Krumhansl 4 275 382 A 6 1981 Jannotta 1 4 625 096 A 11 1986 Fletcher 239 331 4 276 603 A 6 1981 Beck et al 364 477 4 638 147 A 1 1987 Dytch et al 392 485 4 276 925 A 7 1981 Palmieri 165 12 4 642 785 A 2 1987 Packard et al 364 557 4 284 126 A 8 1981 Dawson 165 11 A 4 644 478 A 2 987 Stephens et al 364 550 4 290 551 A 9 1981 Johnstone 236 9 R 4 645 908 A 2 1987 Jones sss 219 378 4 292 542 A 9 1981 Bajka 5 eet 307 28 4 663 613 A 5 1987 Raleigh et al 340 607 4 293 028 A 10 1981 Knoll 165 12 4 669 049 A 5 1987 Kosednar et al 364 557 4 298 946 A 11 1981 Hartsell et al 364 557 4 676 914 A 6 1987 Mills et al 210 741 4 300 199 A 11 1981 Yoknis et al 364 557 4 682 728 A 7 1987 Oudenhoven et al 236 12 12 4 300 909 A 11 1981 Krumhansl 23 230 4 685 307 A 8 1987 Jones 62 160 4 307 576 A 12 1981 Takano et al 62 204 4 688 273 A 8 1987 Lyng see 4 192 4 308911 A 1 1982 Mandl 165 22 4 693 415 A 9 1987 Sturm 236 12 12 4 308 991 A 1 1982 Peinetti et al 236 46 R 4 696 428 A 9 1987 Shakalis 236 12 12 4 314 665 A 2 1982 Levine 236 46 R 4 700 884 A 10 1987 Barrett et al 236 12 12 4 316 256 A 2 1982 Hendricks et al 364 505 4 702 305 A 10 1987 Beckey
17. 8 Set the hour of the start time Set the minute of the start time Set the duration of the interval This value changes in increments of ten minutes and can be set from zero to eight hours The time of day is set in two steps First the hour is set then the minute Hours are displayed with an A or P for am and pm indication This scheduled heating function allows the user to define the hysteresis that is to be used when the spa is unattended It also allows a start time to be defined The spa will begin heating whenever the temperature drops below the low temperature setting or the time matches the start time With an appropriate temperature envelope this will allow the spa to heat once a day while unattended The following steps are used to define this function Set the hour of the start time Set the minute of the start time Set the high limit of the temperature envelope Set the low limit of the temperature envelope Enable disable this function The idle mode is used when none of the operator setting functions are active At this time the display scrolls through a sequence of displays that display the systems current state The time temperature pH and error indications may be cycled continuously Concerning operator controls some fo the systems con trol outputs are directly controlled by the operator through alternate action inputs on the keypad These are the light jet and turbo keys The control manager s key
18. A 10 1979 Weaver eem 4 78 4 508261 A 4 1985 Blank 236 20 R 4 174 517 A 11 1979 Mandel 340 310 4 527 246 A 7 985 Masson ee 364 505 4 198 676 A 4 1980 Varnum et al 364 557 4 527 247 A 7 1985 Kaiser et al 364 550 4 200 910 A 4 1980 Hall 700 16 4 529 033 A 7 1985 Blum 165 39 4 204 204 A 5 1980 Pitstick 340 712 4 539 632 A 9 1985 Hansen et al 364 143 4 212 078 A 7 1980 Games et al 364 900 4 554 688 A 11 1985 Puccerella 4 191 4 215 398 A 7 1980 Burkett et al 364 101 4 563 780 A 1 1986 Pollack 4 192 4 237 562 A 12 1980 DuPont 4 543 4 564 962 A 1 1986 Castleberry et al 4 543 4 265 298 A 5 1981 Sumner Jr et al 165 2 4 574 871 A 3 1986 Parkinson et al 165 1 4 266 599 A 5 1981 Saunders et al 165 2 4 594 500 A 6 1986 Wright 219 296 4 269 261 A 5 1981 Kountz et al 165 2 4 600 879 A 7 986 Scully et al 324 58 5 A 4 270 693 A 6 1981 Hayes 236 46 F 4 607 787 A 8 1986 Rogers Il 236 11 4 274 145 A 6 1981 Hendricks et al 364 557 4 610 142 A 9 1986 Davis 62 3 4 274 705 A 6 1981 Miller 350 96 15 4 618 001 A 10 1986 Buzz 236 12 12 4 275 266 A 6 1981 Lasar 179 1 VC 4 621
19. ACV96 834 LHM Declaration of Joseph A Walker in Support of Opposition to Siege s Motion for Dismissal of the Complaint Case No SACV96 834 LHM Declaration of David Cline in Support of Opposition to Siege s Motion for Dismissal of the Complaint Case No SACV96 834 LHM Declaration of Joseph Stone in Support of Opposition to Siege s Motion for Dismissal of the Complaint Case No SACV96 834 LHM US 6 976 052 B2 Page 4 Ex Parte Application to File First Amended and Supplemen tal Complaint for Declaratory Judgement of Noninfringe ment Invalidity and Unenforceability of Patents Case No SACV 96 834 LHM Declaration of Joseph A Walker in Support of Ex Parte Application to File First Amended and Supplemental Com plaint for Declaratory Judgement of Noninfringement Invalidity and Unenforceability of Patents Case No SACV 96 834 LHM Notice of Motion and Motion for Relief from Order Dis missal Complaint and for Reconsideration Memorandum of Points and Authorities and Declaration of Joseph A Walker in Support Thereof Case No SACV 96 834 LHM Notice of Motion to File a Second Amended and Supple mental Complaint Memorandum of Points and Authorities and Declaration of Joseph A Walker in Support Thereof Case No SACV 96 834 LHM Ex Parte Application to Extend Time to File Notice of Appeal memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support Thereof Case No SACV 96 834 LHM Declaration of Joseph A Walker in Support of Ex Par
20. EDS 52 The keyboard 48 is mounted on bezel 54 to provide a firm surface when depressing the buttons 50 The keyboard interface 56 provides circuitry which trans mits information from the keyboard 48 to the microcom puter 10 The keyboard interface 56 acts as an array of on off switches that correspond to each keypad The microcom puter 10 scans these switches as on off switch type input bits The Digital Outputs 58 drive the external spa devices such as the pump 24 heater 26 blower 28 and other auxiliary devices The low voltage signals are optically isolated at 60 and then drive a TRIAC device 62 which provides the high voltage and high current required by the external devices As previously set forth the system interconnection panel 14 connects the components of the spa control system Referring to FIG 3 the power 16 to the system intercon nection panel 14 is supplied through usual power supply The Ground Fault Current Interrupter GFCI 64 provides protection to the system interconnection panel 14 if an imbalance of current flow occurs through the Door Interlock 63 between the Input and the Output of the GFCI The GFCI 64 prevents voltage and current from entering the system after the device 64 has been triggered After the power has passed through the GFCI 64 the Power Supply 66 converts the 110 or 220 Volt AC into the low voltage and low power required by some components of the system The power supply 66 also contains the back
21. No 08 703 177 filed on Aug 23 1996 now 3 abandoned which is a continuation of application No Continued 08 327 927 filed on Oct 24 1994 now Pat No 5 559 720 which is a continuation of application No 08 225 282 filed 7 M on Jan 11 1994 now Pat No 5 361 215 which is a 0 d jus Ein P Lee amp continuation of application No 07 224 869 filed on Jul 26 74 Attorney Agent or Firm Fulwider Patton Lee 1988 now abandoned which is a continuation in part of Utecht LLP application No 07 054 581 filed on May 27 1987 now abandoned 57 ABSTRACT GI 6 o ee GO06F 13 00 An improved spa control system is disclosed The invention 52 USCh ees 709 201 4 493 210 169 describes a spa control system which calculates the time 58 Field of Search 210 169 709 201 required to heat the water in the spa system to a desired 392 465 466 485 498 219 497 481 temperature From that information the heating rate of the 489 4 538 539 540 541 1 541 2 541 3 spa system can be determined and the heating element of 493 the spa system can be activated at the proper time to raise the temperature of the water to a selected temperature by a 56 References Cited desired time The spa system also monitors information which might show errors in the operation of the spa system U S PATENT DOCUMENTS such as a blockage in the flow of water over the heating 3 400 374 A 9 1968 Schumann 3401725 Cleme
22. Pump Interlocks this section handles pump heater interlocks It requires that the pump runs fifteen seconds before the heater actually runs It also guarantees that the pump runs sixty seconds after the heater is turned off It also interposes at the delay lockout to prevent on off cycling due to fluctuations in control requests 110V Interlocks units operating on 110v have limita tions on how much power can be used at any given moment The system charges 110 220 algorithm automatically at power up This section also checks the current 110v 220 flag and posts a heater shutdown request if this is a 110v unit and either the jet or turbo are on Pump Speed Interlock this section handles the timing of transfers between high and low speed pump operation A delay of three timer interrupts is interposed between the two speeds to prevent the possibility of on off switching on cycle boundaries causing both outputs being on simultaneously Low Speed on Requests the low speed pump requests or heater and heater cooling as well as the filter interval are handled in this section If a heater request is on then a low speed pump request is posted If the heater cool down interval is active a pump request is posted If the current time is within the filter interval a pump on request is posted Control then passes to the control error handler CTLERR The Module CTLACT routine performs the following tasks Maintenance Error Handling if the system
23. United States Patent US006976052B2 12 10 Patent No US 6 976 052 B2 Tompkins et al 45 Date of Patent Dec 13 2005 54 SPA CONTROL SYSTEM 3 781 925 A 1 1974 Curtis et al 3 836 959 A 9 1974 Pao et al 340 148 75 Inventors Michael E Tompkins Houston TX 3 837 016 A 9 1974 Schindler et al 7 US Michael J Green Houston TX 3 886 544 A 5 1975 Narodny 340 365 US 3 910 678 A 10 1975 McCartney 350 96 3 937 952 A 2 1976 Ripley et al 250 227 T 3 972 603 A 8 1976 Lubinec 352 4 73 Assignee Balboa Instruments Inc Tustin CA 4 001 557 A 1 1977 Stephenson 235 151 1 US 4 048 852 A 9 1977 Sakakibara et al 73 193 R Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this Continued patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 373 days FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS DE 32 09 635 A1 9 1983 21 Appl No 09 761 264 DE 3306807 8 1984 DE 33 08 862 A1 9 1984 22 Filed Jan 16 2001 ET Continued 65 Prior Publication Data US 2001 0029407 A1 Oct 11 2001 OTHER PUBLICATIONS Related U S Application Data ee ee Microcontroller and Peripheral 63 Continuation of application No 08 822 179 filed on Mar Newspaper article Mary Kay Seff Bathrooms are getting 20 1997 now Pat No 6 253 227 which is a continuation pretty splashy San Diego Union Tribune May 9 1986 of application
24. age is a constant message The Module ROMTEST routine is called at powerup to check the program EPROM or other ROM It executes a simple data line test and reports failure if any errors are detected The Module RTC routine contains routines that support the real time clock device The RTCINIT routine is called at powerup to initialize the RTC and to verify that the time value makes sense If it does it is assumed to be correct Otherwise it is assumed that the time value was lost and the time is reset to twelve o clock midnight The RTCPOL routine is called by the timer interrupt to poll the RTC for updates If any changes have occurred the new time is stored in RAM for use elsewhere in the system and a signal is returned that it is time to handle the one second update If any changes have been posted the new value is written The GETTOD routine is called by the system at large to fetch the current time of day The PUTTOD routine is called by the system at large to post a new time of day On the next poll with a second update the new value will be written to the RTC by the routine RTCPOL above The SCHEAT module contains the routines that allow the user to configure the scheduled heating function This allows the user to redefine the heating hysteresis when the spa is unattended The minimal hysteresis value allowed is five degrees The behavior of these routines has already been described The SETREADY module contains routines that
25. allow the user to configure the set spa ready function The behavior of these routines has previously been described The SHOWMEM module allows the user to display the contents of both classes of RAM It is available only in maintenance mode The KBCPU routine handles keyboard inputs and allows the user to select the display of CPU RAM contents or continue to the next operation The DSPCPU routine displays the message CPU to indicate what operation can be selected US 6 976 052 B2 15 The KBCSH routine handles keyboard input while dis playing CPU RAM It allows the user to raise or lower the current location or exit this function The DSPCSH routine displays the current CPU RAM address as well as the contents The KBNRAM DSPNRAM KBNRSH DSPNRSH rou tines are identical to the CPU RAY routines above except that they operate on the NOVRAM contents The Module Start Reset routine handles the powerup reset Its function has previously been described The TEMPSET module allows the user to set the desired spa temperature setpoint This setpoint may be overridden by the scheduled heating function if it is enabled and the spa becomes unattended The operation of this function has previously been described The TICK module contains routines that support slow realtime timers in the order of seconds The TICK routine is called when the RTC has updated its second It updates several operating timers as well as the runtime timers use
26. board handler accepts these keyboard inputs and changes the current output values These changes are then reflected on the LED s next to the keys The LEDs are lit when the corre sponding control is on Maintenance mode is a special state that is reached by turning the maintenance switch to its on position When the maintenance mode is active all controls are turned off and the functions of the keys are redefined When none of the keys are active test is displayed When each key is pressed its corresponding LED is lit and a value is dis played The arrow keys alternately light all LEDs and display segments and the turn all LEDs an segments off The following is a map of the keys and the values displayed in maintenance mode SCHEDULED HEAT pH input SPA READY spa temperature input FILTER heater temperature input TIME overtemp time accumulator TEMPERTURE heater run accumulator JET pump run accumulator TURBO turbo run accumulator Accumulated time values are displayed in thousands of hours A decimal point is placed to autorange the displayed value System calibrations are accessed by pressing the light key while in maintenance mode When the light key is pressed a series of options are displayed To select a step or continue it an arrow key is pressed To get the next selection or return to the test display the light key is pressed The options available are CALO Calibrate analog channel 0 spa temperature 21 This
27. cative of presence or absence of water flow 10 The spa control system of claim 9 wherein the microcomputer converts the electronic signals proportional to temperature to engineering units using a curve fitting algorithm 11 The spa control system of claim 10 wherein the microcomputer is capable of displaying the temperature in alphanumeric engineering units on the control panel 12 The spa control system of claim 9 wherein an error message is displayed on the control panel in alphanumeric characters when lack of water flow is detected by the second sensor 13 A water spa for bathing comprising a vessel for holding water and configured to remain substantially continuously filled between uses a control system for a water spa intended to remain substantially continuously filled between uses com prising 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 22 an electrical power source for providing energy asystem interconnection panel in communication with the power source the system interconnection panel includ ing a step down power supply and a microcomputer and a plurality of electronic and electrical components con nected to the system Interconnection panel including an electronic control panel capable of displaying alpha numeric characters calculated by the microcomputer 14 The water spa for bathing of claim 13 wherein the step down power supply included with the interconnection panel converts energy supp
28. cted temperature by s desired Hime The spa system also monitom information which might show errors in the operation of the spa system such as a blockage iu the flow of water over the beating element in the apa system 24 Claims 8 Drawing Sheets U S Patent Page 5 of 12 Dec 13 2005 Sheet 1 of 8 6 976 052 B2 t FLOW RATE TEMP 2 SPA tH TEMP 1 HEATING ELEMENT 22 Ph PROBE MCROCOMPUTER MAIN PROGRAM RTC CONTROL Page 6 of 12 U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 2 of 8 6 976 052 B2 MAINTENANCE MODE 110 220 SPARE MICROCOMPUTER SPARE 42 EPROM DIGITAL IN MEMORY PROCESS SYSTEM INTERCONNECT PANEL 8 DIGITAL OUT Dicas IGITAL QU MEMORY PROCESS PUMP 1 R PUMP 2 HIGH AM 39 SPA LIGHT DISPLAY SIGNAL cone ae i TEMP 2 DISPLAY KEYBOARD pH f INTF SPARE KEYBOARD FLOW RATE READ AUTO VOLT DETECT SET 110 v FLAG SET 220 V FLAG Page 7 of 12 6 976 052 B2 Sheet 3 of 8 Dec 13 2005 U S Patent 15 64 63 55 ACCESS DOOR POWER L SR SAFETY INTERLOCK 110 220 VAC Gr CI PROTECTION 10 SPA CONTROL PANEL 12 QPTO ISOLATORS TRIACS Ene CROSSING CIRCUITRY Fi LD CONNECTION BOARD bc 71 it 71 CONNECTOR CONNECTOR CONNECTOR CONNECTOR HEATER SPA CORE LIGHT 30 24 28 26 BLOWER PUMP MOTOR MOTOR 2 SPEED Page 8 of 12 U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 4 of 8 6 976
29. d YOLIANNOD dv OVA 7 01 U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 4 of 11 US 6 976 052 B2 AM PM Oo EH HE FIG 5 O HEATING U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 5 of 11 US 6 976 052 B2 FI6 6 Overall Elow or nm rezet NADIEJ vvs M1 1 0 Jo Timer 21 PA ntnrrrinmr r5IertunT a p 1 tin Proaram 0 m m md pee ee bee f acm bene p co D awe GAMUT Sf SMUT arn p ee eee ee de ee m mrt den wert eme RMS U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 6 of 11 US 6 976 052 B2 FIC 7 Temp Qr Tompeceture Spa water Temp 2 Temperature Gt Fers irrar a 752 2 Temperature at Second Gusor fa bpm Temp 5 Tempo t AL Limit of acceptable fmf aer ere nce plus or minus lead Temp aud Tem pa l Ca cu dare TOMPA d M foe eiu E gt Bi Yes Bectivate ta rer 2 Signal Display re U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 7 of 11 US 6 976 052 B2 Recd hato Volt Detecr U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 8 of 11 US 6 976 052 B2 EIC aa ae an Teng p Ce sired Te wap re Puno e Spa utes wn er gt rempora tere of 7 nemeta Tempe Time Cinika D Ti final Timtg her Ti mA ead Temf Timer lt
30. d and what is to be displayed The following tasks are performed by the main program On initial powerup entry pause to allow timer interrupt handler time to build valid input values Synchronize with timer interrupt While waiting for timer drive buzzer output Update the general timer used by state handlers for timeouts Run flasher manager Get current keyboard inputs If any keyboard inputs are available post buzzer output request and reset the system unattended timer Handle keyboard inputs for maintenance mode entry exit Call control manager keyboard input handle Call current state manager s keyboard handler routine Handle remaining function keyboard inputs to drive state changes Go to current state s display handler Call control manager to drive system controls Go back to the timer synchronization step step 2 Operator settings can be controlled by keys on the system keyboard which are used to select modes that allow the operator to change settings that control system operations These are grouped at the right side of the keyboard They are Spa temperature Spa ready Filter maintenance Time of day Scheduled heating All of these functions adhere to a consistent operator interface scheme When the function key is pressed the LED 52 next to the key 50 is lit The LED remains lit until all steps have been completed or another function has been selected While setting a value the value is displayed on
31. d to measure usage intervals for mainte nance purposes The GETTMR routine is called to get the current value for an operating countdown timer The PUTTMR routine is called to reset the current value for an operating countdown timer The Module TIMEBIN routine is called to convert from BCD hours minutes to a binary value in minutes The Module Timer Routine is the timer interrupt handler Its behavior has previously been described The TIMESET module contains routines that allow the user to set the current time of day Their function has already been described The Module UNMIL routine converts from military twenty four hour format used internally to twelve hour am pm format preferred by most users The VECTORS module contains vectors that provide for the transfer among the two pairs of program segments The thirteenth address line A12 is manipulated as an output line in paired vector handlers to handoff control of the processor from one pair of the program segments to the other The reset and interrupt vectors are also represented twice in this module to provide for interrupt handling from either pair of segments This segment organization explains the discrep ancies in how a particular subroutine is called from different modules The difference is usually the act that the two callers reside in different segments It will be understood that these routines describe one embodiment of the system and can be modified without departing
32. e mode Line 53 delete re and insert are Column 12 Line 9 delete fog and insert from Line 42 delete a on off and insert an on off Line 43 delete hey and insert they Column 13 Line 18 delete or and insert for Line 22 delete dressed and insert pressed Column 16 Line 4 delete Present and insert present Column 17 Line 12 delete trough and insert through Line 13 delete lag and insert flag Line 43 delete Th amp up and insert The up PATENT NO UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION 6 976 052 B2 Page 3 of 12 APPLICATION NO 09 761264 DATED INVENTOR S December 13 2005 Michael E Tompkins et al It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below Column 19 Line 19 delete are and insert the Line 41 delete or and insert for Line 52 delete here and insert there Line 55 delete heaving and insert heating Line 64 delete ox and insert of Column 20 Line 2 delete scheduler and insert scheduled Line 7 delete educe and insert reduce Line 38 delete sa and insert spa Line 38 after unattended insert a period Column 21 Line 26 delete convening and insert converting
33. e read by the micrcomputer 10 The converter 36 translates the analog information into digital information through for example dual slope integration which permits fast and accurate conversion The accuracy of the A D section 36 typically is 8 bits or a resolution of 1 out of 256 The signals from external probes and sensors 20 21 22 are conditioned by amplifying filtering or conditioning the signals 37 so that the A D converter 36 can make an accurate conversion The Signal Conditioning section 37 US 6 976 052 B2 5 also receives the signals from external probes 20 21 22 and amplifies it to a level where the A D converter 36 can make an accurate conversion This section 37 also provides tran sient and surge protection to reduce normal and common mode rejection noise FIG 4 illustrates a functional block diagram of the software which operates the microcomputer 10 The final software code is encrypted on the EPROM 44 for operating the microcomputer 10 The main program 80 schedules the operation of all other subprograms and performs general housekeeping chores such as memory management timer control interrupt handling and the scheduling of tasks The keyboard monitor routine 82 scans the keyboard and is triggered by the operation 6f any key The key signal from the digital input is then decoded and the main program 80 is triggered to initiate a series of programed events The program ignores multiple key depressions and erroneou
34. eater LED will flash during this time indicating it is trying to heat but has been overridden On 220v systems no constraints are applied The opera tion of this function is illustrated in FIG 8 The set ready button is used to preset the time and temperature that is desired by the user The microcomputer 10 calculates the proper time to initiate heating based on the present initial temperature of the water and the stored data on the rate of heating for the particular spa Each time that the spa is heated the micro computer 10 monitors the rate of change in the water temperature and stores this information in the internal memory This data is then used to calculate the time neces sary to heat the spa water from the initial temperature to the selected temperature To operate the set ready or spa ready mode the set ready button 61 is depressed and the set ready light and the hours light digits on display 40 are illuminated The hours are set by using the up button 55 and down button 63 arrows When the hours are correct the set ready button 61 is depressed and the minutes digits will flash The minutes data are set by using the up button 55 and the down button 63 arrows When the minutes data is correct the set ready button 61 is depressed and the current thermostat setting is displayed Th amp up button 55 or down button 63 arrow is pressed to select the proper temperature The set ready button 61 is then depressed again and on o
35. ence or absence of water flow 22 The water spa for bathing of claim 20 wherein the microcomputer converts the electronic signals proportional to temperature to engineering units using a curve fitting algorithm 23 The water spa for bathing of claim 22 wherein the microcomputer is capable of displaying the temperature in alphanumeric engineering units on the control panel 24 The water spa for bathing of claim 20 wherein an error message is displayed on the control panel in alphanu meric characters when lack of water flow is detected by the second sensor PATENT NO UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION 6 976 052 B2 Page 1 of 12 APPLICATION NO 09 761264 DATED INVENTOR S December 13 2005 Michael E Tompkins et al It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below Title page drawing should be deleted to appear as per the attached Fig 1 The sheets of drawings consisting of figures 1 13 should be deleted as per attached figures 1 13 Page 3 OTHER PUBLICATIONS delete Photgraph of an ACC SC 200 circuit board and insert Photograph of an ACC SC 200 circuit board delete Siege s Supplemental memorandum of law on the Construction of Claims 1 and 37 and insert Siege s Supplemental Memorandum of Law on the Construction of Claims 1 and 37 Column 1 Line 62 delete away from
36. erature and other infor mation The Real Time Clock RTC 34 shows the proper time of day which is calculated after the time and date are initially set The microcomputer uses this information to schedule events concerning the operation of the spa such as when the spa is turned on when the water is circulated and other events The RTC 34 is backed with a battery or similar device not shown so that it maintains the accurate time when the main power supply is turned off The display interface 38 is responsible for driving and updating the display device 40 When the microcomputer 10 sends information to this block 38 it is decoded and dis played on the screen 46 The display screen 46 is typically a vacuum fluorescent type which has a blue green color The display contains four seven segment characters and colon The Display Interface 38 represents circuitry which drives and updates the display device Information from the microcomputer 10 is decoded and displayed on the screen 46 by the means of the interface 38 The data remains on the screen 46 until the microcom puter 10 sends a new message or the system is reset or powered off 10 15 20 25 30 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 The keyboard 48 FIGS 1 2 and 5 shown is a flat panel membrane style which is incorporated into the front panel One type of keyboard 48 has ten push buttons 50 and nine translucent cut outs for backlighting of Light Emitting Diodes L
37. errupted program s context Update high speed clock value for synchronization with main program Scan keyboard Poll real time clock and if seconds have changed provide one second timer update Read in one analog channel Provide raw input correction and calculate engineering units temperature values are curve fitted and pH values are temperature corrected Restore interrupted program s context Return to the interrupted program The powerfail interrupt is furnished by a level monitoring circuit which monitors power loss on system input power When a decline is detected an interrupt is posted to the microcomputer The powerfail handler is invoked when this interrupt is posted It is responsible for saving the current system configuration and for shutting the system down in an orderly fashion The tasks it performs are Mask all interrupts Save system configuration this includes operating param eters as well as user settings Turn off all spa controls Display Fail Monitor powerfail interrupt for power restoration brown out If powerfail is cleared and remains cleared for approximately one second the powerup reset handler is called The main program 104 performs the bulk of the opera tions performed by the system controller It synchronizes with the timer interrupt so that a reasonably constant time base be is used A state machine is maintained to determine US 6 976 052 B2 7 how keyboard inputs are to be interprete
38. es the other events and then calls the main program The timer interrupt occurs periodically and inputs that require periodic polling are scanned The power fail inter rupt occurs when system power is failing The primary purpose of this handler is to save the current system oper ating parameters within the time remaining before power fails completely The function of certain subroutines is in one embodiment of the system are described in detail below The system initialization routine is invoked by powerup reset This routine is responsible or initialization of all devices and data structures The tasks it performs are Clear all RAM Turn of all control outputs Digital I O initialization Restore NOVRAM image to restore previous system configuration Clear display Initialize the RTC If the time was lost it is reset to 12 00 midnight Initialize keyboard scanner Test the NOVRAM image or validity If the image is invalid create fallback image and post warning Test EPROM program space memory Display 110 220 volt setting Perform RTC update test takes a couple seconds Enable timer and powerfail interrupts Jump to main program The time interrupt handler responds to the periodic timer interrupts It scans I O devices that require constant scan ning for system operation and provides a higher frequency timer base than the one second resolution provided by the real time clock The operations this handler executes are Save int
39. f Fact and Conclusions of Law Regarding Inequitable Conduct Case No H 94 3180 Plantiff Siege s Opposition to Defendants Motion for Judg ment as a Matter of Law Case No H 94 3180 Memorandum in Support of Defendants Requested Find ings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Regarding Inequitable Conduct Case No H 94 3180 Defendants Notice of Patent Invalidity Pursant to 35 U S C 282 Case No H 94 3180 Defendants Response to Plaintiff s Bench Memorandum on Claim Construction Case No H 94 3180 Defendants Response to Plaintiff s Bench memorandum re 35 U S C 102 g Defense Case No H 94 3180 Siege s Memorandum of Law on the Issue of Claim Con struction Case No H 94 3180 Siege s Supplemental memorandum of Law on the Con struction of Claims 1 and 37 Case No H 94 3180 Siege s Bench Memorandum on Defendants 102 g Defense Case No H 94 3180 Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Opposition to Siege s Motion for Dismissal of Complaint Case No SACV9696 834 LHM Declaration of David Cline in Support of Opposition to Siege s Motion for Dismissal of Complaint Case No SACV96 834 LHM Declaration of Joseph A Walker in Support of Opposition to Seige s Motion for Dismissal of Complaint Case No SACV96 834 LHM Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Opposition to Siege s Motion for dismissal of Complaint and in Response to the Court s Request for Briefing of the Stay Issue Case No S
40. from the scope of the inventive concepts herein taught FIG 14 shows one possible configuration of the system of the present invention based on the above description A spa in accordance with normal convention includes a container 11 for holding water 13 for bathers The control panel 12 may be at spa side As has been previously described various output devices are installed in the system for the user of the system As is well known in the art conventional output devices include a heater 26 an air blower 28 a filter 27 lights 30 and pump 24 Pump 24 may be separate pumps or one pump with a high and low speed Heater 26 includes a heating element or heater core 29 for heating the water Plumbing is provided with the system such as a plurality of pipes 35 for flowing water to and from the container 11 The low speed of pump 24 pumps water through pipes 35 causing the water to pass through filter 27 and heater 26 prior to flowing into container 11 The high speed of pump 24 flows water at high speeds through jet 37 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 16 mounted on container 11 The turbo or air blower 28 blows air into the water 13 Various input devices are installed at selected locations within the system of the Present invention and include sensors for detecting various parameters of the water and the system Such sensors include the flow rate sensor 18 the temperature sensor 20 measuring the te
41. g Home 86 Shorts and fillers UPI BC Cycle Mar 27 1986 Newspaper article Dial a dub dub The Financial Post Toronto Mar 22 1986 Newspaper article Frederika Randall Designers put the bathroom in its place high tech makes it a nice place to visit Chicago Tribune Mar 9 1986 Newspaper article Frederika Randall Baths of the future at a fair in Milan New York Times Feb 13 1986 Agreement between Siege Industries Inc and ICS Devel opment Inc dated Mar 23 1987 Jury instructions and questions Siege Industries Inc v Clark Mfg Inc et al Photgraph of an ACC SC 200 circuit board Photograph of SC 200 spa control board connected to control panel and thermistor Photograph of SC 200 control panel Software code for SC 200 spa control board SC 200 Operation and Instruction Manual Electronic Engineer s Handbook McGraw Hill Book Co 1982 Compool CP2000 The Complete Pool amp Spa Control System Plaintiff Siege s Opposition to Defendants Motion for Judg ment as a matter of Law Case No H 94 3180 Plantiff Siege s Opposition to Defendants Requested Find ings of Fact and Conclusions of Law Regarding Inequitable Conduct Case No H 94 3180 Plaintiff Siege s Motion to Enjoin Defendants from Further Infringement of Siege s United States Patent No 5 361 215 Case No H 94 3180 Deposition of Ronald G Bliss Case No H 94 3180 Defendants Proposed Findings o
42. have been actuated within 30 minutes or other selected interval of the initial start time If not the high speed jet and turbo controls are turned off to conserve energy The heating light 69 is illuminated when the heating element of heater 26 is being activated If the heating element is activated and the temperature of the water is not increasing then an error message will be displayed The LED will flash when the heater 26 is in a warm up or cool down cycle The system may be diagnosed by operating a switch 31 in the system interconnection panel 14 to place the keyboard 48 and display 40 in the diagnostics mode By pressing the jet button 49 the total number of hours of operation on the pump 24 will be displayed Pressing the air button 51 will show the total hours of operation on the blower motor Pressing the set temp button 59 will display the total hours of operation on the heater 26 and will eliminate the set temp light Pressing the set clock button 57 will display the total hours the system exceeded the desired temperature desig nated as greater than 104 degrees Fahrenheit in the preferred embodiment The light associated with the set clock button 57 will be eliminated after any other button is pressed Pressing the up arrow button 55 or the down arrow button 63 will eliminate other modes and turn on all lights on the panel 54 and will turn on all segment of the display 40 along with the colon The normal operation of the system i
43. he down arrow button 63 can be used to increase or decrease the temperature setting as desired When the desired value is shown on the display 40 the set temperature button 65 is depressed and the system will revert to the normal scroll in display The ranges on the temperature setting may range from 40 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit Referring to FIGS 4 and 6 when the system is powered up the system is reset at 104 by system initialization 102 which enables certain events and parameters and then calls US 6 976 052 B2 17 the main program 110 Certain interrupts such as the timer interrupt 106 and the power fail interrupt 108 are enabled to detect future interrupts which can then be polled 100 or effect a system shutdown 112 The powerup reset 100 also generally clears all RAM 32 turns off control outputs for devices 24 26 28 30 initializes the real time clock 34 reading and the keyboard scanner 82 tests the NOVRAM image for validity and tests EPROM memory 44 See FIG 2 On powerup sequence the AC line input is read and the system electronics make a determination on whether the power is 110v or 220v This status is read trough a digital input by microcomputer 10 and an associated lag is set in RAM indicating which power supply is connected to the controller On 110v a following constraints are imposed by the software Heater and low speed pump will be turned off if either the speed pump jets or the blower is turned on The h
44. he heating rate of the water can be monitored to calculate the estimated time necessary to raise the water temperature to a desired level and to detect certain failures in the spa system For example a sudden increase in the water temperature at a specific point in the spa system may signal that here is a loss of water circulation If a sensor detects a heating rate which exceeds a selected rate a warning message may be displayed or the heating element of heater 26 or the entire spa system may be deactivated to prevent deleterious heating of the spa com ponents As previously set forth the rate of heating together with the actual temperature reading and volume to water in the spa system can be used to calculate the time required to heat the spa water to a desired temperature This information can be stored in microcomputer to assist in predicting the time necessary to heat the spa water to the desired temperature beginning with the initial temperature of the water when the sa is unattended This function is shown in FIG 10 To further illustrate the spa control system and certain of its functions FIG 11 shows a flowchart for one embodiment of the system which illustrates Power up Reset function which describes how the system is initiated and can be modified by one operator FIG 12 shows a flowchart for the Timer Interrupt function which interrupts a programmed command and FIG 13 shows a flowchart for the Powerfail function which shu
45. is used to determine if the screen should be flashed If repeat keys are active flashing is inhibited The Module Learn routine is called as part of the control manager If the heater is heating the temperature value is monitored If the temperature raises through two successive degree transitions the time that elapsed between those two events is examined If the time is less than one minute or two hours elapse before the event a rate of change alarm is posted Otherwise the heating rate is stored for use in the spa ready function The LEDS module contains routines that support the drive of the LEDs mounted inside the keypad The LEDS routine is called to define the output state All LEDs are redefined by this routine They are lit or extin guished depending on the state of a corresponding bit The LEDCLR routine is called to turn LEDs off LEDs that have their corresponding bit set are turned on Those whose bits are 0 are not affected The MAINT module controlling the maintenance mode has previously been described It is implemented as two routines KBMAINT and DSPMAINT to handle keyboard inputs and display output respectively While the main module views maintenance mode as one state the mainte nance mode is actually implemented as a set of substates in a manner identical to the state scheme used in the main module The Module MYREGS routine is called to determine the address of the current context s register set The address of
46. lied by the power source into a lower power and a lower voltage as required by one or more of the electronic components connected thereto 15 The water spa for bathing of claim 14 wherein the water spa is intended for outdoor use 16 The water spa for bathing of claim 13 wherein a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter GFCI is connectively interposed between the electrical power source and the interconnection panel 17 The water spa for bathing of claim 13 wherein one of the electrical components is a heating element and another of the electrical components is a pump 18 The water spa for bathing of claim 17 wherein the heating element is an electrical resistive heating element and operates to heat water held by the spa 19 The water spa for bathing of claim 13 wherein the spa control system microcomputer and associated electronic components are capable of converting analog signals to engineering units expressed as alphanumeric characters 20 The water spa for bathing of claim 13 wherein the spa control system further including at least one electronic solid state temperature sensor to measure the temperature of water of the spa and a second electronic sensor to measure another parameter of water of the spa 21 The water spa for bathing of claim 20 wherein the temperature sensor produces an electronic signal propor tional to the temperature of water in the spa and the second sensor produces an electronic signal indicative of pres
47. lue into a message image The EXTRAM module contains routines to support the NOVRAM image of the system configuration The NVSUM routine is used to calculate the checksum value It is used by the other routines to handle the check summed configuration record The NVUPDT routine is called whenever a change is made to the configuration It updates the checksum value Powerfail interrupts are masked until the new checksum has been completed The ERTEST routine is called at powerup time to verify the system configuration If the image is corrupted it is reset to reasonable fallback values The Filter module contains routines that allow the user to set the filter maintenance interval It has already been described in the operator settings sections The Flash module contains routines that support a con sistent 2 hertz flash of LEDS display etc The Flashdrive routine is called to drive the timebase for the flasher It is called once per timer interrupt synch by the main program The Flash routine returns a on off flag to allow callers to determine if hey should be setting or clearing their outputs to flash The Float module contains several routines that provide operations on scaled integer values The FPADD routine adds two scaled integer values The FPMULT routine multiplies two scaled integer val ues The FPRND routine rounds a floating point number to the nearest integer value The Idle module contains routines that handle keyb
48. m which accurately and 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 efficiently controls the operation of the spa and is not adversely affected by the corrosive environment surround ing the spa The spa temperature control system generally comprises a heating element a sensor for detecting the temperature of the water and a microcomputer for process ing signals generated by said sensor and for activating and deactivating the heating element In one embodiment of the invention the microcomputer assesses the time necessary to heat water from an initial temperature to a selected tem perature From this information the heating rate of the water can be calculated The heating rate can be stored by the microcomputer and can be used to determine the star time necessary to heat the spa water from an initial temperature to a selected temperature by a desired time In the same or another embodiment of the invention the temperature dif ference between two sensors in the spa system can be monitored to detect problems in the system BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 illustrates a schematic block drawing of the spa control system FIG 2 illustrates a block diagram of the microcomputer and its associated components FIG 3 illustrates a block diagram of the spa control system field interconnection panel FIG 4 illustrates a functional block diagram of the software which operates the spa control system thro
49. mperature of the water at the heating element 29 the temperature sensor 21 measuring the temperature of the water in the container 11 and a pH probe 22 measuring the pH of the water in the container 11 As has been previously described the input devices are connected to a system interconnection panel 14 which is connected to the control panel 12 and micropro cessor 10 for receiving output signals from the various input devices The system interconnection panel 14 is also con nected to the various output devices for sending input signals to the various output devices FIG 5 shows one possible configuration of the keyboard 48 for the spa control panel 12 The overlay on the spa control panel 12 contains lights and a series of push button switches which can be depressed to switch on the appropri ate functions Preferably an audible tone alerts the user that the computer 10 has received the signal sent by depressing the key The jet button 49 operates the high speed pump 24 for the jet action in the spa After the jet button 49 is depressed the system will shut off the pump 24 if there is no flow in the system after five minutes of operation The user is notified of the malfunction by an error message shown on the display In a preferred embodiment the low speed pump automatically is operated when the heater is activated By pressing the jet button 24 the high speed overrides the low speed pump in pump 24 The heater 26 is still operable but
50. nfra the time required to get from the current temperature to the desired temperature is calculated and with a fifteen minute hysteresis the decision is made whether to turn the function on or to turn it off If the function is to be on a request is posted to the heater to run System Attended system attendance is checked and if the system is unattended the high speed jet and the turbo controls are turned off The system is marked attended if a key has been pressed within the last 30 minutes Scheduled Heating if the scheduled heating function is enabled this section decides if this feature should perform any actions If the system is attended control is passed to next section normal setpoint control If the function is off the temperature is compared to the low setting and the time is compared to the time setting If appropriate the function is requested but control is still passed to the on section to allow it to override the time startup If the function is on the temperature is compared to the high setting and turned off if the setting has been reached The next section normal setpoint control is then skipped Normal Temperature Control this function is executed if the system is attended or if the scheduled heating function is US 6 976 052 B2 11 not enabled It compares the current temperature to the temperature setpoint to see if the heater should be given a request to be on or off from this function Heater
51. nt in the spa system 3 459 925 A 8 1969 Goosey et al 235 151 3 498286 A 3 1970 Polanyi et al 128 2 24 Claims 11 Drawing Sheets SPA CONTROL PANEL o 2 38 110 220 VAC INPUT pum SYSTEM INTERCONNECTION PANEL po FLOW SWITCH TEMP FOR WATER Ph PROBE TEMP FOR HEATING ELEMENT PUMP HEATER Brower LIGHT US 6 976 052 B2 Page 2 U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 4 428 528 A 1 1984 Renault 236 46 R 4 432210 A 2 984 Saito sss 62 126 A 0 a pu 4 436 610 A 3 1984 Enzer et al 204 400 TA ea Pu 4 446 913 A 5 1984 Krocker sse 165 12 MH Op ue CR UR e 4 450 829 A 5 1984 Morita et al 126 362 4122719 A 10 1978 Carlson et al scs 73 342 4 466 749 A 8 1984 Cunningham et al 374 134 4 123 796 A 10 1978 Shih 364 900 4 480 312 A 10 1984 Wingate 364 557 4 133 036 A 1 1979 Watson 364 477 4 489 235 A 12 1984 Porteous 219 437 4 158 965 A 6 1979 73 362 4 494 526 A 1 1985 Wurst et al 126 419 4 161 880 A 7 1979 73 342 4 497 031 A 1 1985 Froehling et al 364 505 4 162 486 A 7 1979 Wyler 340 310 4 504 010 A 3 1985 Sukimoto et al 236 46 F 4 169 293
52. o conserve energy the spa temperature is customarily raised to the desired level shortly before the expected use of the spa and is not maintained at a constant temperature when the spa is unattended Depend ing on the use of the spa the temperature of the spa water may be cycled several times per day During these cycles the control of the water temperature is difficult to maintain without overheating or underheating the water Typically a spa control system merely heats the water with a heating element until the temperature of the water matches a pre determined setting selected by the spa user Since the heating element is not turned off until that desired water temperature is reached the residual heat in the heating element may increase the temperature of the water beyond the actual temperature desired Conversely the location of the tem perature sensor may be located in the spa in such a fashion that it does not sense the actual median water temperature Accordingly the heating element may be turned off before the temperature of the water reaches the desired level Present spa controllers operate on line voltages which can present a safety hazard to the spa users To meet desired safety specifications these controls are typically located away from the sap however this separation is inconvenient to the spa user SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the foregoing difficul ties by providing a spa control syste
53. oard inputs and drive the display while the operator is not programming any of the system s features The display is stepped through the current time temperature pH value if installed and errors if any are present The KBIDLE routine handles keyboard inputs If either of the arrow keys are pressed the resettable errors are cleared This is an operator acknowledgement of current alarms The GO SHOTOD routine is called as an entry state handler for the idle mode It sets up to display the time and switches to the time of day state The SHOTOD routine is called to display the current time of day The refresh flag is ignored When the timer expires the state is switched to show temperature The SHOTEMP routine is called to display the current spa temperature The refresh flag is used to avoid flickering US 6 976 052 B2 13 values when the current input is straddling values When the timer expires the show pH state is invoked The SHOPH routine is called to display the pH value If no pH probe is installed control is passed to the error displayer Like the temperature display the refresh flag is used to avoid flickering displays When the timer expires the error display state is called The ERRIDLE routine is called to display the errors If no errors remain the display time state is entered If another error exists to be displayed the value is displayed and the timer is restarted The Keyboard module contains routines that su
54. plied by the power source into a lower power and a lower voltage as required by one or more of the electronic components connected thereto 3 The spa control system of claim 1 wherein the water spa is intended for use as an outdoor spa vessel 4 The spa control system of claim 3 wherein a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter GFCI is connectively interposed between the electrical power source and the system inter connection panel 5 The spa control system of claim 1 wherein one of the electrical components is a heating element and another of the electrical components is a pump 6 The spa control system of claim 5 wherein the heating element is an electrical resistive heating element and oper ates to heat water held by the spa 7 The spa control system of claim 1 the spa control system further comprising an electronic circuitry associated with the microcomputer and being capable of convening analog signals to engineering units expressed as alphanu meric characters 8 The spa control system of claim 1 the spa control system further including at least one electronic solid state temperature sensor to measure the temperature of water of the spa and a second electronic sensor to measure another parameter of water of the spa 9 The spa control system of claim 8 wherein the tem perature sensor produces an electronic signal proportional to the temperature of water in the spa and the second sensor produces an electronic signal indi
55. pport the keyboard inputs Keyboard inputs are signaled when the key is pressed Key inputs are represented by an array of bits that are set when a positive transition has been detected Three keys up down and maintenance provide bits that corre spond to the release of the keys The up and down keys provide or an autorepeat that starts after a half a second and repeat at a frequency of approximately three hertz Key transitions in both directions on and off are debounced The KBINT routine is called to initialize the keyboard image It sets up the image such that keys that are dressed while the system powers up are ignored Thus a jammed key will not activate its corresponding function when the system started The KBSCAN routine is called periodically by the timer interrupt handler to scan the keyboard inputs and update the keyboard input image Transitions are accumulated until they are cleared by a separate routine Rollover is handled as additive keys Simultaneous keys are allowed and are handled by the individual state handlers individually as prioritized keyboard inputs This routine provides all debouncing and autorepeat functions The KBGET routine is called by the main program to poll or keyboard inputs Only transitions are reported Any key inputs are cleared and reported to the caller The KBAUTO routine is called to see if either of the arrow keys are being held down to generate autorepeat inputs The result of this function
56. r off will flash on the display screen 40 This indicates whether the feature is enabled or not The set ready button 50 is again depressed and the data is entered When it is time to begin the heating cycle the system program LED on display 46 will flash to indicate that the feature is active When the spa is heated to the proper temperature the programmed thermostat setting becomes the current ther mostat setting and the system will continue normal opera tion If enough time is not allocated for the spa to reach the desired temperature and time runs out before the heating process is normally completed the programmed thermostat setting will become the current thermostat setting and the system will continue normal operation The filtering button 67 allows the user to select the time for circulating the water in the spa for normal maintenance To operate the filter button 67 is depressed and the hours digits and the filter light will be eliminated The up button 55 or the down button 63 is operated to select the hour and the filter button 67 is depressed to set the new running time The data is loaded into memory the light next to filter button 67 will turn off and the display 40 will return to the normal 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 18 scroll in operation When the filter functions are active the LED will flash The use of the system is checked by determining whether any operator keys
57. rally occur when no water flow is present Typically a finite period of time is required or plumbing fixtures to warm and cool and for the temperature sensor to react to its surroundings In addition the microcomputer 10 can calculate the rate of heating detected by either sensor to determine whether there may be fluid blockage in the spa system This calcu lation can be performed by dividing the change in tempera ture by the change in time to compute the rate of heating For example if there is a fluid blockage in the system the spa water surrounding the heating element of heater 26 may rapidly overheat to create a hot spot in the spa system If the temperature of the water does not increase here may be a malfunction in the heating element If any error is detected which signifies that the spa system is not properly working the microcomputer 10 can deactivate the heaving element to prevent overheating of the components of the spa system or can signal an error code on the display The rate of heating can also be monitored to ensure that scalding water is not unexpectedly circulated in contact with the spa user A cumulative average rate of heating for the spa system can be calculated from the heating rates which are calculated each time that the spa temperature is increased This function of the invention is shown in FIG 9 In one embodiment ox the invention the temperature of the water can be maintained within a selected temperature
58. range or hysteresis when the spa is unattended and the system can be programmed to heat the water temperature to 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 20 a selected amount at a desired time This function referred to as the scheduler heating function is begun by setting the start time and the high and low temperature limits Next the function is enabled For example the operator might select a lower temperature range while the spa is unattended to conserve energy lower temperature range would also educe the number of times that the spa system would cycle on and off to maintain the desired temperature if the lower water temperature is closer to the ambient temperature Conversely the operator can select a higher temperature range closer to the desired temperature of the spa water to minimize the time required to heat the spa water to the selected operating temperature The ability to control the temperature of the water while the spa is unattended also yields other useful benefits For example the spa system can be programmed to heat the water to a desired temperature at a time of day when electrical power rates are minimal The heat loss of the spa system during periods when the spa is unattended calculated from the time that the spa water is heated to the desired temperature can be calculated to maximize the operating efficiency of the entire spa system In another embodiment of the invention t
59. rate analog channel 0 The KBCALI routine is called to handle keyboard inputs while displaying CAL1 It allows the user to move on to CAL2 or to select to calibrate analog channel 1 The DSPCAL0 DSPCALI DSPCPH routines display the CALn message The KBCLOW routine handles keyboard inputs while scanning the low 32 degree value during calibration or channels 0 and 1 The user can select to abort or continue If the choice is to continue and the raw input value is in the range 1 31 then the value is accepted and calibration continues to the high step Otherwise the low error state is entered The DSPCLOW routine is called to display the raw value while waiting or the low 32 degree input value It builds a display of the form Ln xx where n is 0 or 1 and xx is the raw input value The KBCLERR routine is called when the calibration is in the low error state It allows the user to choose to abort or retry the input of the calibration value The DSPCLERR routine is called to display the low calibration error message of the form Lx Er where x is 0 or 1 The KBCHI routine is called to handle keyboard inputs while the temperature calibration is in the high 104 degree input state It allows the user to abort or accept the current setting If the current setting is in the range 163 195 the value is accepted In conjunction with the previously obtained low value a pair of values m and b are calculated such tha
60. rn to normal This feature operates in addition to and in parallel with other operating modes This feature addresses the common problem of a spa being cooled by exterior cooler temperatures The pipes and heater tend to cool faster since there is a small mass of water being cooled If the pipes are allowed to freeze they may be damaged or the moving mechanisms such as the pump or blower may be damaged when they are activated In another embodiment of the invention the system can monitor the temperature of the water at different locations in the system to determine whether there is blockage in the system The spa system accomplishes this by monitoring the US 6 976 052 B2 19 temperatures detected by sensors located at selected loca tions in the spa control system In one embodiment of the invention a first sensor such as temperature sensor 20 which can be a solid state sensor is located upstream of the heating element at a selected location and a second sensor such as temperature sensor 21 is located downstream of the heating element As water flows over the heating element of heater 26 the sensors detect the temperature of the water at the selected locations The microcomputer 10 processes the signals generated by the sensors and calculates the differ ence in temperature between the values detected by the sensors The microprocessor selectively activates and deac tivates the heating element of heater 26 to control the rate of heating
61. s entries and operates only upon the signal generated from a proper key entry The display control program 84 converts data from the EPROM 44 to readable messages which can be shown on the display 40 The display control 84 handles the timing of the signals so that the display 40 performs in an efficient and proper manner The alarm control 86 moni tors the proper operation of the entire spa system If the system malfunctions or otherwise operates incorrectly as measured by the input signals or data inferred from the input signals the alarm will signal the malfunction to the panel 12 Examples of malfunctions in the system that might occur are the malfunction of the heater 26 and whether the pH 22 levels are within an acceptable range In the event of a malfunction a signal will be sent to the display controller 84 to display the alert signal aid to alert the spa user of the malfunction The Analog Conversion Program 88 manipulates the converter circuitry 36 to read and convert analog input signals from sensors to digital information This program also converts the digital information to engineering units for the purposes of display and comparison The RTC control program 90 controls all interaction with the Real Time Clock 34 The program is responsible for loading data for future events The PID Control 92 constructions stands for proportional integral and derivative control This program 92 performs the closed loop control of temperature u
62. s disabled when the maintenance switch is on For example the lights turbo and jet outputs and heater are shut down when the system is in maintenance mode The system may display error codes which show potential problems within the system Typical error codes which may be displayed might include information showing that the heater 26 was not heating the pump 24 was not operating there was insufficient time to heat the spa to the desired temperature there was no water flow in the system or there was failure in the microcomputer 10 Sensors not shown can be located at select locations in the system From these sensors the system can check for frozen water in the system and can determine whether the pH reading of the system is outside of a desired range The system provides two func tions regarding freezing to the water in the system First if either temperature sensor reads a temperature of thirty four degrees or lower the spa is considered frozen and all operations are disabled The heater the pumps and the blower are disabled to avoid damage to the mechanisms Second if the heater temperature crops below thirty eight degrees an impending freeze is signaled The reaction to this condition is to run the low speed pump for five minutes If the condition has not improved the heater is started Every five minutes thereafter the temperature is rechecked If the condition clears the temperature rises above forty degrees operations retu
63. ser to choose to move to the next item in th light menu or to calibrate the pH input The KBCPHI routine is called to handle keyboard inputs when calibrating the pH input It allows the use to abort the operation or to accept the current input If the current input has an error of less than 32 the offset is stored and the calibration goes to the done state If the error is too large the system goes into the pH error state The DSPCPI routine is called to display the current raw pH input during pH calibration It forms a message of the form PH xx where xx is the current raw input The KBCPHE routine is called to handle keyboard inputs when the pH calibration value has too large an error It allows the user to abort the operation or to retry the calibration The DSPCPE routine is called to display the error mes sage Hn Er when the calibration value has too large of an error The module control routine CTLPOLL routine is called by he main program to perform the actual output controls The following tasks are performed Set Ready if the set ready function is enabled this section decides if the set ready function is to perform any actions If the current time marches the ready time the set ready temperature is copied to the spa temperature setpoint the spa is marked attended and the set ready function is disabled to prevent further actions For the Set Ready as well as for Normal Temperature Control discussed i
64. sing the temperature input 20 21 as its variable to be controlled and the heating elements 29 and the output to maintain control The program 92 monitors the temperature 20 21 of the water and deter mines when the heater 26 should be engaged The program issues a command which activates the heater 26 and then monitors the temperature 20 21 to determine when the heater 26 should be turned off The program is unique in that it also monitors the rate of decrease and the rate of increase of the water temperature so that the final temperature of the water is not higher or lower than the selected temperature beyond the control supplied by derivative control The spa control system can achieve an accuracy of plus or minus one degree Fahrenheit with the heating and monitoring elements The output control program 94 issues commands to the output components to turn on the Triacs 62 for control of the pump 24 heater 26 blower 28 lights 30 and other compo nents The input scanning program 96 monitors devices such as push buttons and switches The pH algorithm 98 converts raw digital data received from the A D converter 36 on the pH input 22 and converts this data to standard pH units of measure FIG 6 provides an overview of the program organization Three events are handled by the system Reset occurs when 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 the system is powered up It performs system initialization enabl
65. t No 5 361 215 which is a continuation of U S patent application Ser No 07 224 869 filed Jul 26 1988 now abandoned which is a continuation in part of U S patent application Ser No 07 054 581 filed May 27 1987 now abandoned each of the above related applications and patents being incorporated herein by reference FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the development of a spa control system More particularly this invention relates to a spa control system which uses an interconnection panel and a control panel to effectively control various operating func tions of the spa BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The design of systems to control spas is complicated by the environment of the spa Typically spa control systems contain heating elements controls switches and wiring harnesses which deteriorate when exposed to moisture or extreme levels of humidity and a hostile chemical environ ment Since the chemically treated heated water of the spa raises the humidity level and produces corrosive gases the atmosphere surrounding the controls of the spa unit is inherently corrosive to spa control systems The accuracy of the temperature of the spa water is essential to the safety and comfort of the spa user This temperature is difficult to accurately control since the tem perature of the water can vary rapidly depending on the number of spa users the ambient temperature of the air and other environmental factors T
66. t with raw value r m r b will result in a corrected value at the two calibration points These two values are stored in NOVRAM and used from this point onward in temperature calculations for this channel The system then proceeds to the done state If the input value is not in the correct range the system proceeds to the high error state The DSPCHI routine is called to display the raw input while in the high 104 degree calibration step It builds a message of the form Ln xx where n is 0 or 1 and xx is the raw value 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 The KBCHERR routine is called when the calibration is in the high error state It handles the keyboard input and allows the user to abort the sequence or return to the high value input state The DSPCHERR routine is called to display the message Hn Er when the high calibration step is in error n is either O or 1 The KBCDONE routine is called to handle keyboard inputs when the calibration is complete It allows the user to return to the idle maintenance mode state It acts to hold the done message until the user acknowledges it The DSPCDONE routine is called when the calibration has reached a successful conclusion It displays the message done GETRAW is a routine local to the calibration module to fetch the appropriate raw input from the raw input table The KBCPH routine is called when CAL2 is displayed It allows the u
67. te Application to Extend Time to File Notice of Appeal Case No SACV 96 834 LHM Answer of Defendant Balboa Instruments Inc Case No H 96 3105 Plaintiff s Reply to Defendants s Opposition to Plaintiff s Motion for Reconsideration Case No SACV 096 834 LHM Intel MCS 40 User s Manual for Logic Designers Second Edition Third Printing Mar 1975 CMOS Databook National Semiconductor Corporation 1984 cited by examiner U S Patent Dec 13 2005 Sheet 1 of 11 US 6 976 052 B2 SPA CONTROL PANEL 0 0 1 FLOW SWITCH SYSTEM TEMP FOR WATER eee VAC INTERCONNECTION P PANEL Ph PROBE TEMP FOR HEATING ELEMENT FIG d U S Patent MEMORY RAM MEMORY DISPLAY INTF FIG 2 Dec 13 2005 Sheet 2 of 11 MICROCOMPUTER DIGITAL IN a DIGITAL OUT ANALOG IN SIGNAL COND KEYBOARD INTF KE YBOARD MAIN PROGRAM KEYBOARD PID MONITOR CONTROL DISPLAY OUTPUT CONTROL CONTROL ALARM INPUT CONTROL SCANNING ANALOG 9H CONVERSION ALGCRITHM RTC CONTROL US 6 976 052 B2 FLOW HEATER PUMP BLOWER TEMP HEATER TEMP WAI R pH FIG 4 US 6 976 052 B2 Sheet 3 of 11 Dec 13 2005 U S Patent E dd A3NVd J0XLNOD ydS Ol 1H9rl1 303 YOLOW VdS 31V3H 3 0 18 0 2 0 201 0 0 dWV dv dWV 0 08 NOILO3NNOO 1313 5 01 1051 00 31 0 A ddfls 145 g3MOd YOLOW dAN
68. the screen 46 and is flashed The arrow keys are used to change the displayed value and the function key is pressed to proceed to the next step in the setting While changes are being made the display 4Q stops flashing to avoid changes occurring while the display is in the off state Once changes have stopped the display resumes flashing Changes are honored as they are made and the operator can change one step of a function without affecting the remaining steps The current setting can be reviewed by pressing the appropriate function key repeatably When a function that has been defined by the operator is currently being executed the LED next to the corresponding button blinks The spa temperature key is used to define the temperature setpoint This function has only one step that allows the setpoint to be changed Pressing the set temperature key again exits the mode The spa ready key is used to define when the spa is to be at a particular temperature The following example would cause the system to bring the spa temperature to 102 degrees at 6 30 p m Example Set the hour of the ready time 06 P Set the minute of the ready time 06 30 Set the temperature to be achieved 102 Enable disable this function On The filter maintenance key is used to define an interval during which the low speed pump is to be run to filter the spa water It has the following steps Un 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
69. the heating efficiency decreases because the water is moving faster over the heating element Interlocks link the pump 24 to the heater 26 so that the pump 24 runs fifteen seconds before the heater 26 is turned on and runs sixty seconds after the heater 26 is turned off This ensures fluid flow during operation of the heater 26 so that hot spots in the system are not allowed to accumulate The air button 51 operates the blower motor not shown for the bubbling action in the spa same interlock as jet heater The light button 53 operates any lights installed in the spa The up arrow button 55 and down arrow button 63 are used in conjunction with the set clock 57 set temperature 65 set ready 61 scheduled heating 59 and filter 67 buttons The purpose of the up arrow button 55 is to increment data that is presented on the display 40 The down arrow button 63 is used in conjunction with these same buttons to dec rement data that is presented on the display The set clock button 57 is used to set the current time of day and is activated by pushing the set clock button 57 The desired time can then be set by activating the up arrow button 55 or the down arrow button 63 The set temperature button 65 can be used to control the temperature value for the thermostat 43 in the heater 26 To set the temperature the set tempera ture button 65 is depressed and the current setting for the thermostat will be shown on the display The up arrow button 55 or t
70. the sap and insert away from the spa Column 2 Line 12 delete start and insert start Column 5 Line 1 delete the signals and insert the low signals Line 14 delete 6f and insert of Column 6 Line 67 after base delete be Column 7 Line 40 delete 4Q and insert 40 Column 8 Line 28 delete fo and insert of Line 43 delete the turn and insert then turn Line 52 delete TEMPERTURE and insert TEMPERATURE UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 6 976 052 B2 Page 2 of 12 APPLICATION NO 09 761264 DATED December 13 2005 INVENTOR S Michael E Tompkins et al It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below Column 9 Line 3 delete pH input and insert pH input Line 35 delete CALn and insert CALn Line 55 delete setting and insert setting Line 66 delete Ln xx and insert Hn xx Column 10 Line 18 delete th and insert the Line 21 delete use and insert user Line 34 delete Hn Er and insert PH Er Line 37 delete he and insert the Line 41 delete marches and insert matches Line 53 delete if a and insert if the Column 11 Line 47 delete is maintenance mode and insert is in maintenanc
71. ts down certain components of the system upon a certain event As with other embodiments illustrated herein the flowcharts shown in FIGS 11 13 represent differing embodiments of the present invention and may be varied without departing from the scope of the invention The embodiments shown above are merely illustrative of the present invention Many other examples of the embodi ments set forth above and other modifications to the spa control system may be made without departing from the scope of this invention It is understood that the details shown herein are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense What is claimed is 1 A control system for a water spa intended to remain substantially continuously filled between uses comprising an electrical power source for providing energy asystem interconnection panel in communication with the power source the system Interconnection panel includ ing a step down power supply and a microcomputer and US 6 976 052 B2 21 a plurality of electronic and electrical components con nected to the system interconnection panel including an electronic control panel capable of displaying alpha numeric characters calculated by the microcomputer wherein the water spa is configured to remain substan tially continuously filled between uses 2 The spa control system of claim 1 wherein the step down power supply included with the interconnection panel converts energy sup
72. ugh the microcomputer FIG 5 illustrates one embodiment of a display panel for the operation of the spa control system FIG 6 illustrates the overall software control of the spa control system FIGS 7 13 illustrate flowcharts of various software func tions of the spa control system FIG 14 illustrates diagrammatically a system constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIGS 1 and 2 illustrate a block diagram of the overall spa control system The spa control system uses an intelligent microcomputer 10 to monitor and control the operation of the spa The system uses solid state electronic components which eliminate many of the problems associated with traditional mechanical timer and relay control systems The use of solid state electronic components increases the reli ability of the system and reduces the maintenance necessary to maintain the spa in operable condition Referring to FIGS 1 and 14 the external system generally comprises a spa control panel 12 which is connected to a system interconnection panel 14 The system interconnec tion panel 14 is also connected to power input 16 to various sensors which detect parameters such as flow rate 18 temperature 20 21 and pH 22 of the water and also the mechanical and electrical components of the spa such as the pump 24 heater 26 blower 28 and lights 30 The heater 26 may be interlocked to the pump 24 so that the pump 2
73. up battery or other device not separately shown used to provide power to the RTC 34 when the main power is turned off The Opto Isolators 60 receive signals from the spa control panel 12 which designate the operation of the proper output device The Opto Isolators 60 isolate the low voltage and current control system from the high voltage and high current of the main power supply 16 These devices in conjunction with Triacs 62 also provide synchronization with the zero volts crossing of the AC power 16 to switch devices on off when power is minimal to avoid stressing devices Connected to the Opto Isolators 60 are the Triacs 62 which are solid state devices used to drive high voltage and high current output devices with alternating current Triacs 62 function as relays except that Triacs 62 are electronic devices that do not contain any moving parts Typically the Triac 62 to a heating element may be rated at forty amps maximum current and the Triacs 62 to other output devices might typically be rated at twenty five amps Connected to the Triacs 62 is a field connection board 70 which mechanically permits the connection and disconnec tion of field devices such as a pump motor 24 blower motor 28 heater core 26 or a spa light 72 The output devices are connected to the field connection board 70 by connectors 71 The Analog Input section 36 converts information from various sensors 20 21 22 into digital information so that the data can b

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