Control device having an illuminated portion controlled in response to an external sensor

• US 10,477,651 B2
• Filed: 03/11/2016
• Issued: 11/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
• Original Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC
• Inventors: Ludwig, Jr., Stephen M., Steiner, James P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Owens, Douglas W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fernandez, Pedro C
• Application Number:
  US15/067,899
• Publication Number:
  US 20160270191A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,341 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/18 via data-bus transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/196 characterised by user interface arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/1965 using handheld communication devices
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/199 Commissioning of light sources
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A load control system for controlling at least one electrical load may comprise a plurality of control devices and a sensor external to at least one of the control devices. The sensor may be configured to sense a condition of a space in which the control devices are installed. The at least one electrical load may be controlled in response to the condition sensed by the sensor. The control devices may include respective illuminated portions. The control devices may adjust the intensity of the respective illuminated portions in response to the condition sensed by the sensor. If multiple sensors are included in the load control system to sense the condition, the control devices may adjust the intensity of their respective illuminated portions by aggregating the condition sensed by each sensor.

Claims

1. A system for controlling one or more electrical loads, the system comprising:

a plurality of control devices installed in a multi-gang configuration, each of the plurality of control devices configured to receive a user input and control at least one of the electrical loads, the control devices each comprising a user interface and a light source internal to a housing of the control device, the light source configured to illuminate the user interface to provide feedback to a user of the control device; and

a first sensor internal to and within the housing of one of the plurality of control devices and external to and outside of the housing of at least another one of the plurality of control devices, the first sensor configured to sense a condition of a space in which the plurality of control devices are installed, wherein all of the plurality of the control devices are configured to control their respective light sources in response to the condition sensed by the first sensor.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein all of the plurality of control devices are each configured to receive a signal indicative of the condition sensed by the first sensor.

3. The system of claim 2, further comprising:

a second control device of the plurality of control devices comprises a second sensor configured to sense the condition of the space in which the plurality of control devices are installed, wherein the second sensor is internal to and within the housing of the second control device external to and outside of the housing of at least another one of the plurality of control devices;

wherein a first control device of the plurality of control devices comprises the first sensor; and

wherein all of the plurality of control devices are each configured to receive a signal indicative of the condition sensed by the second sensor, and configured to control their respective light sources in response to the condition sensed by the first sensor and the condition sensed by the second sensor.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of control devices are configured to control their respective light sources based on an aggregation of the condition sensed by the first sensor and the condition sensed by the second sensor.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the condition sensed by the first sensor and the second sensor is a light level in the space in which the plurality of control devices are installed.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the aggregation of the condition sensed by the first sensor and the condition sensed by the second sensor is based on an averaging algorithm.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a load control circuit configured to control at least one of the electrical loads in response to the condition sensed by the first sensor.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the first sensor is configured to measure a light level in the space in which the plurality of control devices are installed, and the plurality of control devices are configured to adjust an intensity of their respective light sources in response to the light level measured by the first sensor.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the plurality of control devices are configured to adjust the intensity of their respective light sources in response to the measured light level by increasing the intensity of the respective light source in response to the measured light level increasing, and decreasing the intensity of the respective light source in response to the measured light level decreasing.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the first sensor is configured to detect an occupancy or a vacancy condition in the space in which the plurality of control devices are installed, the plurality of control devices configured to turn on their respective light sources based on the first sensor detecting the occupancy condition in the space, and to turn off their respective light sources based on the first sensor detecting the vacancy condition in the space.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the light source of one of the plurality of control devices is configured to illuminate a visual display that is configured to display feedback to the user, the one of the plurality of control devices configured to turn the visual display on and off in response to the condition sensed by the first sensor.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the light source of one of the plurality of control devices is configured to illuminate an actuator that is configured to be actuated by the user to receive the user input.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a system controller configured to transmit a control signal to the plurality of control devices in response to the first sensor;

wherein the plurality of control devices are configured to control their respective light sources in response to the control signal received from the system controller.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the feedback comprises an indication of whether a button of the user interface is in an active state.

15. A system for controlling at least one electrical load, the system comprising:

a first control device comprising a first user interface configured to receive a user input and a first light source internal to a housing of the first control device, the first light source configured to illuminate the first user interface to provide feedback to a user of the first control device; and

a second control device installed in a multi-gang configuration with the first control device comprising a control circuit, a second user interface configured to receive a user input, a second light source internal to a housing of the second control device, and a sensor configured to sense a condition of a space in which the first and the second control devices are installed, wherein the second light source is configured to illuminate the second user interface to provide feedback to the user of the second control device, and wherein the control circuit is configured to;

receive a signal from the sensor indicating a condition of the space in which the first and the second control devices are installed,

control the second light source in response to receiving the signal from the sensor, and

transmit a signal indicative of the condition of the space sensed by the sensor to the first control device;

wherein the first control device is configured to control the first light source in response to receiving the signal indicative of the condition of the space sensed by the sensor of the second control device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the first control device is configured to control the at least one electrical load in response to the first user interface receiving the user input.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the first control device is further configured to control a first electrical load in response to receiving the signal indicative of the condition of the space sensed by the sensor.

18. The system of claim 17,

wherein the signal from the sensor is indicative of a measured light level in the space in which the first and the second control devices are installed, and

wherein the first and the second control devices are configured to adjust an intensity of the first and the second light sources, respectively, in response to the measured light level.

19. The system of claim 17,

wherein the signal from the sensor is indicative of an occupancy or a vacancy condition in the space in which the first and the second control devices are installed, and

wherein the first and the second control devices are configured to turn on the first and the second light sources, respectively, based on the signal from the sensor indicating the occupancy condition in the space, and to turn off the first and the second light sources, respectively, based on the signal from the sensor indicating the vacancy condition in the space.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the control circuit is configured to adjust the intensity of the second light source in response to the measured light level by increasing the intensity of the second light source in response to the measured light level increasing, and decreasing the intensity of the second light source in response to the measured light level decreasing.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the first and the second light sources are configured to illuminate a first and a second visual displays, respectively, which are configured to display feedback to the user.

22. The system of claim 15, wherein the first and the second light sources are configured to illuminate a first button and a second button, respectively, which are configured to be actuated by the user to receive the user input.

23. The system of claim 15, wherein the feedback comprises an indication of whether a button of the user interface is in an active state.

24. The system of claim 15, wherein the first control device further comprises a control circuit and a sensor, the sensor configured to sense the condition of the space in which the first and the second control devices are installed, wherein the control circuit associated with the second control device is configured to:

receive a signal indicative of the condition of the space sensed by the sensor of the first control device; and

control the second light source in response to receiving the signals indicative of the condition of the space sensed by the sensors of the first and the second control devices.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the control circuit of the second control device is configured to control the second light source based on an aggregation of the signals indicative of the condition of the space sensed by the sensor of the first and the second control devices.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the aggregation of the signals indicative of the condition of the space sensed by the sensors of the first and the second control devices are based on an averaging algorithm.

27. The system of claim 15, wherein the first control device further comprises a control circuit and a sensor, the sensor of the first control device configured to sense the condition of the space in which the first and the second control devices are installed, wherein the control circuit of the first control device is configured to:

receive the signal indicative of the condition of the space sensed by the sensor of the second control device;

receive a signal indicative of the condition of the space sensed by the sensor of the first control device;

ignore the signal indicative of the condition of the space sensed by the sensor of the first control device; and

control the first light source based on the signal indicative of the condition of the space sensed by the sensor of the second control device.

28. A load control system for controlling an electrical load, the load control system comprising:

a first load control device;

an input device assigned to the first load control device, the input device comprising a user interface and a light source internal to a housing of the input device, the light source configured to illuminate the user interface to provide feedback to a user of the input device, the input device configured to;

receive a user input via the user interface, and

based on the user input, transmit a first control signal for controlling the electrical load; and

a sensor configured to;

sense a condition of a space in which the electrical load is installed, and in response to sensing the condition, transmit a second control signal for controlling the electrical load;

wherein the first load control device is configured to;

control the electrical load in response to the first control signal received from the input device, and

control the electrical load in response to the second control signal received from the sensor; and

wherein the sensor is external to and outside of both the input device and the first load control device, the input device configured to control the light source internal to the housing of the input device in response to the condition sensed by the sensor; and

a second load control device that comprises the sensor, the second load control device installed in the space in which the electrical load is installed,

wherein the first load control device and the second load control device are installed in a multi-gang configuration.

29. The load control system of claim 28, wherein the sensor is configured to measure a light level in the space in which the electrical load is installed, the input device configured to adjust an intensity of the light source internal to the housing in response to the light level measured by the sensor.

30. The load control system of claim 29, wherein the input device is configured to adjust the intensity of the light source in response to the measured light level by increasing the intensity of the light source in response to the measured light level increasing, and decreasing the intensity of the light source in response to the measured light level decreasing.

31. The load control system of claim 28, wherein the sensor is configured to detect an occupancy or a vacancy condition in the space in which the electrical load is installed, the input device configured to turn on the light source based on the sensor detecting the occupancy condition in the space, and to turn off the light source based on the sensor detecting the vacancy condition in the space.

32. The load control system of claim 28, wherein at least one light source is configured to illuminate a visual display that is configured to display feedback to the user.

33. The load control system of claim 28, wherein the light source internal to the housing of the input device is configured to illuminate a button that is configured to be actuated by the user to receive the user input.

34. The load control system of claim 28, wherein the sensor is configured to transmit a third control signal to the input device in response to sensing the condition, the input device configured to control the light source internal to the housing of the input device in response to the third control signal received from the sensor.

35. The load control system of claim 28, further comprising:

a system controller configured to transmit a third control signal to the input device in response to the sensor sensing the condition, the input device configured to control the light source internal to the housing of the input device in response to the third control signal received from the system controller.

36. The load control system of claim 28, wherein the feedback comprises an indication of whether a button of the user interface is in an active state.