Patent ID: 11950328
Assignee: WATLOW ELECTRIC MANUFACTURING COMPANY
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 15:
16. A method for controlling moisture within a heater, the method comprising:
operating the heater in a primary operation mode to heat a workpiece, wherein in the primary operation mode, an operational power level is applied to the heater;
measuring, by a leakage current sensor, a leakage current of the heater, wherein the leakage current is indicative of the moisture within the heater;
determining a bake-out power level based on the measured leakage current, a leakage current threshold, and a moisture control algorithm, wherein the moisture control algorithm is defined as a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control;
operating the heater in a bake-out mode in response to the bake-out power level being less than the operational power level; and
operating the heater in the primary operation mode in response to the bake-out power level being greater than the operational power level.