LOAD CONDITION CONTROLLED WALL PLATE OUTLET SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A wall plate system configured to reduce power during idle operation of an electronic device, said wall plate system configured to be within or plugged into a wall plate, said wall plate system comprising:
- an alternating current (AC) line input;
at least one outlet of said wall plate system configured to transmit power to an electronic device; and
a wall plate circuit configured to receive power from said AC line input and transmit power to said at least one outlet, and said wall plate circuit configured to disengage transmitting power to said at least one outlet in response to said at least one outlet drawing substantially no power;
wherein said wall plate system is configured to be rigidly mounted to a wall.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In accordance with various aspects of the present invention, a method and circuit for reducing power consumption of a wall plate system during idle conditions is provided. In an exemplary embodiment, a wall plate system is configured for reducing power during idle mode by disengaging at least one outlet from a power input. A wall plate system may include one or more outlets and one or more wall plate circuits, with power input connected to the outlets through the wall plate circuit(s). The wall plate circuit may include a current measuring system, a control circuit, and a switch. The current measuring system provides, through the switch, an output power signal that is proportional to the load at the outlet. If behavior of the current measuring system indicates that an outlet is drawing substantially no power from the power input, the switch disengages the power input from the outlet.
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Citations
49 Claims
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1. A wall plate system configured to reduce power during idle operation of an electronic device, said wall plate system configured to be within or plugged into a wall plate, said wall plate system comprising:
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an alternating current (AC) line input; at least one outlet of said wall plate system configured to transmit power to an electronic device; and a wall plate circuit configured to receive power from said AC line input and transmit power to said at least one outlet, and said wall plate circuit configured to disengage transmitting power to said at least one outlet in response to said at least one outlet drawing substantially no power; wherein said wall plate system is configured to be rigidly mounted to a wall. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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14. The wall plate system of 10, wherein said reconnection device is controlled by at least one of an infra-red signal and a radio frequency signal.
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25. A wall plate circuit configured for reducing power drawn from an outlet of a wall plate during idle conditions of an electronic device coupled to the outlet, said wall plate circuit configured within or plugged into the wall plate and comprising:
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a current measuring system configured to provide an output signal proportional to a load at the outlet; a switch configured to disengage power from the outlet; a control circuit configured to interpret said output signal and control said switch; and wherein said switch disengages power from the outlet if the load at said outlet is below a threshold level. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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28. A wall plate system configured to efficiently provide power to an electronic device, said wall plate system configured to be rigidly mounted within a wall and comprising:
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at least one outlet configured to provide power to said electronic device; a switch having at least an open state and a closed state, wherein said switch is in communication with said at least one outlet and an alternating current (AC) line input; a current measuring system configured to monitor the current drawn by said at least one outlet; and a control circuit configured to control the state of said switch; wherein said control circuit sets said switch to the open state if the current drawn by said at least one outlet is below a threshold level, such that said at least one outlet is effectively disengaged from said AC line input. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A method of facilitating lower power consumption from a wall plate outlet, said method comprising:
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providing power to an electronic device coupled to said wall plate outlet; monitoring with a current measuring system a load condition at said wall plate outlet; transmitting a measured load condition to a control circuit; controlling with said control circuit the state of a switch; and setting the state of said switch to open if the load condition is below a threshold level and effectively disengaging said wall plate outlet from an AC line input; wherein said current measuring system and said control circuit are rigidly engaged to said wall plate outlet. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49)
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Specification