Patent ID: 8523560
Filing Date: 2013-09-03
Classification: F23N

Abstract:
1. A fuel-fired appliance comprising: a burner assembly including an igniter that is configured to selectively ignite a fuel received from a fuel supply with a spark when the igniter is activated; an optical detector capable of optically detecting the presence or absence of the spark; and a controller connected to the burner assembly and the optical detector, wherein the controller is configured to selectively control the operation of the burner assembly; wherein the controller is further configured to receive a signal from the optical detector, the controller being programmed to monitor an electrical characteristic of the signal when the igniter is in a deactivated state and when the igniter is in an activated state, wherein the controller is configured to determine that a spark was not successfully produced by the igniter when the electrical characteristic of the signal changes by less than a threshold amount, and the controller is configured to determine that a spark was successfully produced by the igniter when the electrical characteristic of the signal changes by more than the threshold amount.