Wall-mounted smart switches and outlets for use in building wiring for load control, home automation, and/or security purposes

• US 10,062,533 B2
• Filed: 10/15/2015
• Issued: 08/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Umbrela Smart Inc.
• Original Assignee: Umbrela Smart Inc.
• Inventors: Qureshi, Salman, Fernandes, Filipe, Ramchandar, Ryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Tan, Richard
• Application Number:
  US14/884,186
• Publication Number:
  US 20160111878A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,048 Days
• Field of Search: 307 39
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1672 using sonic detecting means, e.g. a microphone operating in the audio frequency range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19639 Details of the system layout
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19697 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2491 Intrusion detection systems, i.e. where the body of an intruder causes the interference with the electromagnetic field
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2221/01 also rotatable
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2221/014 Slide selector
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2221/016 Lever; Rocker
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2300/03 Application domotique, e.g. for house automation, bus connected switches, sensors, loads or intelligent wiring
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 47/00 Circuit arrangements not adapted to a particular application of the relay and designed to obtain desired operating characteristics or to provide energising current
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 49/00 Apparatus or processes specially adapted to the manufacture of relays or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 2107/00 Four or more poles
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 24/30 with additional earth or shield contacts
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 25/006 the coupling part being secured to apparatus or structure, e.g. duplex wall receptacle
• CPC Class Codes: H02G 3/121 in plain walls
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/12 The local stationary network supplying a household or a building
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 2310/14 The load or loads being home appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H02J 3/14 by switching loads on to, or off from, network, e.g. progressively balanced loading
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/188 Capturing isolated or intermittent images triggered by the occurrence of a predetermined event, e.g. an object reaching a predetermined position signal generation from motion picture films H04N5/253
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 2227/005 Audio distribution systems for home, i.e. multi-room use
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 27/00 Public address systems circuits for preventing acoustic reaction H04R3/02; circuits for distributing signals to loudspeakers H04R3/12; monitoring or testing arrangements for public address systems H04R29/007; amplifiers H03F
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 : Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/3225 : Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 : Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/00 : Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/14 : Protecting elements, switches, relays or circuit breakers
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/20 : End-user application control systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/222 : Demand response systems, e.g. load shedding, peak shaving
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/242 : Home appliances

Abstract

An electrical switch device features a switch module housing that fits at least partially within an in-wall electrical box. The housing contains electrically controlled switches and has line and neutral contacts carried for each of the electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each electrically controlled switch. A control panel is mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein, and has a user-interface for operation of the switch module to control the electrically controlled switches and connected loads. The control panel is sized to fully cover the open front of a multi-gang electrical box, whereby the same switch module and control panel are usable with either a single-gang or multi-gang electrical box without leaving any portion of the open front of the single-gang or multi-gang electrical box uncovered by said control panel.

Claims

1. An electrical switch device for installation at an in-wall electrical box for control over one or more electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, the electrical switch device comprising:

a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within a single-gang electrical box, a plurality of electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches;

a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user; and

a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the plurality of electrically controlled switches of the switch module;

wherein the plurality of electrically controlled switches comprises four electrical switches and a size of the control panel is sufficient to fully cover the open front of a four-gang electrical box, whereby the same switch module and control panel are usable with either a single-gang or a multi-gang electrical box, including said four-gang electrical box, without leaving any portion of the open front of the single-gang or multi-gang electrical box uncovered by said control panel.

16. A method of retrofitting an electrical system of a building comprising installing a respective electrical switch device of claim 1 at every one of a plurality of existing in-wall electrical boxes that include electrical boxes of different gang sizes, and in doing so, installing identical switch modules each containing a respective four electronically controlled switches in a number of in-wall electrical boxes of different gang sizes.

2. An electrical switch device for installation at an in-wall electrical box for control over one or more electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, the electrical switch device comprising:

a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, a plurality of electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches;

a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user; and

a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the plurality of electrically controlled switches of the switch module;

wherein a front panel of the housing of the switch module has two sets of socket openings therein, each set of socket openings being laid out according to an electrical pin or blade layout of a standard electrical plug and the sets of line and neutral contacts includes a respective pair of line and neutral contacts positioned behind two openings of each of said two sets of socket openings so that insertion of pins or blades of a standard electrical plug into said two openings of either set of socket openings will connect said standard electrical plug to one of the plurality of electrically controlled switches.

17. The electrical switch device of claim 2 wherein the control panel has third and fourth sets of socket openings that pass through the control panel from a front face thereof, said third and fourth sets of socket openings being positioned to align with the two sets of socket openings in the housing of the switch module so that the pins or blades of the standard electrical plug are insertable into the two sets of socket openings in the housing of the switch module through the third and fourth sets of openings in the control panel.

18. The electrical switch device of claim 17 wherein the control panel comprises a recess in the rear face thereof that is sized and shaped to matingly fit over the front panel of the housing, and the third and fourth sets of socket openings pass through the control panel from the front face of the control panel into the recess in the rear face of the control panel.

19. The electrical switch device of claim 18 wherein the housing of the switch module is sized and shaped to place a majority of the housing inside the electrical box with a front portion of the housing jutting through the open front of the electrical box to place the front panel of the housing outside said electrical box so that the recess in the rear face of the control panel matingly fits over the front portion of the housing that juts through the open front of the electrical box.

3. An electrical switch device for installation at an in-wall electrical box for control over one or more electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, the electrical switch device comprising:

a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, a plurality of electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches;

a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user; and

a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the plurality of electrically controlled switches of the switch module;

wherein the user interface of the control panel is at least partially defined at a front face of the control panel that faces away from the electrical box when mounted thereover, and comprises a display screen and a pair of touch panels respectively disposed opposite one another across the display screen, each touch panel being operable to control a respective one of the plurality of switches.

4. An electrical switch device for installation at an in-wall electrical box for control over one or more electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, the electrical switch device comprising:

a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, one or more electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said one or more electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said one or more electrically controlled switches;

a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user; and

a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the one or more electrically controlled switches of the switch module;

wherein the housing of the switch module is sized and shaped to place a majority of the housing inside the electrical box with a front portion of the housing jutting through the open front of the electrical box, the control panel comprises a recess in a rear face thereof that faces toward the electrical box when mounted thereover, and the recess in the rear face of the control panel is sized and shaped to matingly fit over the front portion of the housing that juts through the open front of the electrical box.

5. The electrical switch device of claim 4 wherein the connection comprises male and female connectors on opposite ones of the switch module and the control panel in aligned positions at the front portion and recess thereof so as to couple said male and female connectors together under mating receipt of the front portion of the module in the recess of the control panel.

6. The electrical switch device of claim 4 wherein the housing of the switch module comprises airflow openings thereon at the front portion of the housing and the control panel comprises airflow openings thereon at the recess, and airflow openings in the housing and the control module are placed in fluid communication with one another under mating receipt of the front portion of the module in the recess of the control panel.

7. The electrical switch device of claim 6 wherein the airflow openings on the housing of the switch module comprises first and second sets of airflow openings that are disposed on opposing sides of the front portion of said housing and fluidly communicate with one another through an interior space of said housing, the airflow openings on the control panel comprise third and fourth sets of airflow openings that are disposed on opposing sides of the recess in said control panel, and the control panel further comprises fifth and sixth sets of airflow openings thereon at opposing perimeter edges of the control panel, the fifth and sixth sets of airflow openings being fluidly communicated with the third and fourth sets of airflow openings through an interior space of the control panel, whereby the airflow openings of the housing and control panel define an airflow cooling path passing fully through both said housing and control panel.

8. An electrical switch device for installation at an in-wall electrical box for control over one or more electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, the electrical switch device comprising:

a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, one or more electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said one or more electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said one or more electrically controlled switches;

a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user; and

a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the one or more electrically controlled switches of the switch module;

wherein the control panel comprises light sources operable to emit light from perimeter edges of the control panel to provide a wall illumination effect on a wall surface surrounding the control panel and the electrical box.

9. An electrical switch device for installation at an in-wall electrical box for control over one or more electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, the electrical switch device comprising:

a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, one or more electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said one or more electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said one or more electrically controlled switches;

a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user; and

a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the one or more electrically controlled switches of the switch module;

wherein the control panel comprises at least one sensor operable to detect home intrusion events, and wherein the control panel comprises a local processor and local non-transitory computer readable memory coupled thereto on which statements and instructions are stored for execution by the processor in order to process signals from said at least one sensor, and in response to a detected home intrusion event, activate a local camera on said control panel to record video and/or images of a local environment of the control panel, and activate at least one of the one or more electronically controlled switches.

10. The electrical switch device of claim 9 wherein the at least one sensor comprises a microphone operable to capture audio signals from which audible home intrusion events are detectable by processing of said captured audio signals.

11. The electrical switch device of claim 9 in combination with a separate room illumination device electrically wired to said one of the electronically controlled switches such that activating said one of the electronically controlled switches activates said room illumination device.

12. The electrical switch device of claim 9 in combination with an additional electrical switch device according to claim 9, the control panel being arranged to send out an alarm signal for triggering at least one of the one or more electronically controlled switches of said additional electrical switch device.

13. The electrical switch device of claim 12 in combination with a central controller to which both of said electrical switch devices are connected, each of said electrical switch devices being arranged to send the alarm signal to the central controller, which in turn signals the other of said electrical switch devices to activate at said least one of the electronically controlled switches of said additional electrical switch device.

14. The electrical switch device of claim 12 wherein said electrical switch devices are arranged to communicate the alarm signals via power line communication through power lines to which the switch modules of both of said electrical switches devices are connected.

15. A system comprising a plurality of electrical switch devices for installation at respective in-wall electrical boxes for control over electrical loads of a building via electrical wiring of said building, each electrical switch device comprising:

a switch module comprising a housing sized and shaped to fit at least partially within the in-wall electrical box, a plurality of electrically controlled switches carried by the housing, and a respective set of line and neutral contacts carried on the housing for each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches to enable connection of a different respective load circuit across each of said plurality of electrically controlled switches;

a control panel mountable over an open front of the in-wall electrical box and the housing therein and having a user-interface to enable operation of said control panel by a user; and

a connection connectable between the control panel and the switch module to enable transmission of signals from the control panel to the switch module, including control signals operable to control the plurality of electrically controlled switches of the switch module;

wherein each electrical switch device also comprises a power line communications transceiver carried by the housing and connected to power line connection terminals that are also carried by the housing to enable receipt and transmission of power line communications by each of the plurality of electrical switch devices, and wherein each electronically controlled switch in each electrical switch device has an address or identifier by which incoming power line communications received by the power line communications transceiver of said electrical switch can identify a one of said electronically controlled switches in said electrical switch device to which an incoming command is to be applied in order to have an effect on an electrical load that is coupled to said one of said electronically switches via the line and neutral contacts of said electrical switch device.