Patent ID: 7993075

Claim:
A method for operating a heating control system for a screed assembly of a paving machine, the method comprising: providing a first screed plate having a first portion and a second portion; providing a first set of resistive heating elements associated with the first screed plate, the first set of resistive heating elements including at least one resistive heating element in the first screed plate first portion and at least one resistive heating element in the first screed plate second portion; providing a first screed plate temperature sensor configured to generate an on signal when a temperature of the first screed plate reaches a low temperature limit and an off signal when the temperature of the first screed plate reaches a high temperature limit; providing a second screed plate having a first portion and a second portion; providing a second set of resistive heating elements associated with the second screed plate, the second set of resistive heating elements including at least one resistive heating element in the second screed plate first portion and at least one resistive heating element in the second screed plate second portion; providing a second screed plate temperature sensor configured to generate an on signal when a temperature of the second screed plate reaches the low temperature limit and an off signal when the temperature of the second screed plate reaches a high temperature limit; providing a first switch having a auto position and a warm-up position; providing a second switch having a partial screed plate heating position and a full screed plate heating position; operatively coupling a controller to the first set of resistive heating elements, the first screed plate temperature sensor, the second set of resistive heating elements, the second screed plate temperature sensor, the first switch, and the second switch, the controller operating in a partial heat auto mode with the first switch in the auto position and the second switch in the partial screed plate heating position in which the controller is configured to: monitor the first and second screed plate temperature sensors; when one of the first and second screed plate temperature sensors generates an on signal, determine whether a currently energized resistive heating element is present; when a currently energized resistive heating element is not present, energize only the at least one resistive heating element in the first portion of the screed plate associated with the temperature sensor with the on signal; and when a currently energized resistive heating element is present, wait until the currently energized resistive heating element is deenergized before energizing only the at least one resistive heating element in the first portion of the screed plate associated with the temperature sensor with the on signal.