BATTERY-POWERED OCCUPANCY SENSOR
First Claim
1. A battery-powered occupancy/vacancy sensor for control of a lighting load in a room, said occupancy sensor comprising:
- a top plate containing a lens;
a bottom plate disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of said top plate, said bottom plate having fastening means for fastening said sensor to a surface of said room;
a generally peripheral wall connecting the peripheries of said top plate and said bottom plate and defining a generally flat, shallow disk-shaped volume;
a PIR detector circuit housed within the interior of said volume, said PIR detector circuit having a PIR detector aligned with said lens, said PIR detector operable to detect an occupancy or vacancy condition in said room;
an RF transmission circuit housed within the interior of said volume and responsive to said PIR detector for transmitting an RF signal to designate the need for a change in the lighting in said room;
a first battery housed within the interior of said volume for powering only said PIR detector circuit; and
a second battery housed within the interior of said volume for powering said RF transmission circuit.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A battery-powered occupancy sensor for detecting an occupancy condition in a space comprises first and second batteries, an occupancy detector circuit, a controller, and a wireless transmitter for transmitting a first wireless signal in response to the occupancy detector circuit detecting the occupancy condition in the space. The controller and the wireless transmitter are powered by the first battery, while only the occupancy detector circuit is powered by the second battery, such that the occupancy detector circuit is isolated from noise generated by the controller and the wireless transmitter. The occupancy detector circuit draws a current having a magnitude of approximately 5 microamps or less from the second battery. The occupancy sensor transmits a second wireless signal is response to determining that the voltage of one of the batteries has dropped too low.
113 Citations
58 Claims
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1. A battery-powered occupancy/vacancy sensor for control of a lighting load in a room, said occupancy sensor comprising:
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a top plate containing a lens; a bottom plate disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of said top plate, said bottom plate having fastening means for fastening said sensor to a surface of said room; a generally peripheral wall connecting the peripheries of said top plate and said bottom plate and defining a generally flat, shallow disk-shaped volume; a PIR detector circuit housed within the interior of said volume, said PIR detector circuit having a PIR detector aligned with said lens, said PIR detector operable to detect an occupancy or vacancy condition in said room; an RF transmission circuit housed within the interior of said volume and responsive to said PIR detector for transmitting an RF signal to designate the need for a change in the lighting in said room; a first battery housed within the interior of said volume for powering only said PIR detector circuit; and a second battery housed within the interior of said volume for powering said RF transmission circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A battery-powered occupancy sensor structure for mounting in a room, said sensor structure comprising:
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a flat top plate defining a shallow plastic cup and having an integral wall extending from the periphery of said top plate; a PIR lens disposed in the center of said top plate; a plastic cup-shaped base having a bottom plate parallel to the plane of said top plate and an integral wall extending from the periphery of said bottom plate of said base cup, said integral wall extending from said base nested partially into said integral wall extending from said top plate; a flat circular support plate disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of said bottom plate of said base cup for connection to a surface of a room receiving said sensor, said support plate being removably connected to said bottom plate of said base; a PIR detector circuit having an PIR detector aligned with said lens; at least one battery coupled to said PIR detector sensor circuit and received within a battery compartment of the base; and a battery-removal structure located between the front plate and the base, the battery-removal structure comprising a battery support located at the end of a flexible arm and a battery-removal tab connected to the battery support and extending through the battery compartment, such that when the tab is pulled the flexible arm flexes and battery is forced out of the battery compartment by the battery support. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A battery-operated occupancy sensor for sensing the presence or absence of an occupant in an area, said occupancy sensor comprising:
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a controller circuit; an occupancy detector circuit having an output coupled to said controller for delivering occupancy or vacancy information to said controller; an RF transmitter circuit responsive to said controller to transmit an RF signal related to said output of said occupancy detector circuit; a first battery connected to said occupancy detector circuit for energizing the circuits thereof; and a second battery connected to said controller and said RF transmitter for energizing their respective circuits; whereby electronic noise produced by said controller and said RF transmitter is isolated from said occupancy detector circuit without excessive electronic filtering. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An occupancy sensor for detecting an occupancy condition in a space, the occupancy sensor comprising:
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first and second batteries; an occupancy detector circuit powered by the second battery; a controller powered by the first battery, the controller operable to detect the occupancy condition in the space in response to the occupancy detector circuit. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method detecting an occupancy condition in a space, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing an occupancy sensor having first and second batteries, a controller, and an occupancy detector circuit; powering the controller with the first battery; powering the occupancy detector circuit with the second battery; and operating the occupancy sensor in one of an occupied state or a vacant state in response to the occupancy detector circuit detecting the occupancy condition in the space. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37)
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38. A method of powering an occupancy detector circuit and a controller of an occupancy sensor for detecting an occupancy condition in a space, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing first and second batteries; powering the controller with the first battery; and powering the occupancy detector circuit with the second battery.
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39. A load control system for controlling the amount of power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical load provided in a space, the load control system comprising:
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a load control device adapted to be coupled in series electrical connection between the AC power source and the electrical load for control of the amount of power delivered to the electrical load, the load control device operable to receive wireless control signals and to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load in response to the wireless control signals; an occupancy sensor comprising a controller, an occupancy detector circuit for detecting an occupancy condition in the space, a wireless transmitter for transmitting a first wireless control signal to the load control device in response to the occupancy detector circuit detecting the occupancy condition, and a battery for powering the controller and the wireless transmitter, the load control device operable to enable the delivery of power to the electrical load in response to the first wireless control signal; wherein the controller of the occupancy sensor monitors the magnitude of a battery voltage of the battery, and transmits a second wireless signal is response to determining that the magnitude of the battery voltage has dropped below a predetermined low-battery voltage threshold. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41)
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42. An occupancy sensor for detecting an occupancy condition in a space, the occupancy sensor comprising:
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an occupancy detector circuit for detecting the occupancy condition in the space; a controller for detecting the occupancy condition in the space in response to the occupancy detector circuit; and a wireless transmitter for transmitting a first wireless signal in response to the occupancy detector circuit detecting the occupancy condition in the space; and a first battery for powering the controller and the wireless transmitter; wherein the controller monitors the magnitude of a first battery voltage of the first battery, and transmits a second wireless signal in response to determining that the magnitude of the first battery voltage has dropped below a predetermined low-battery voltage threshold. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44)
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45. A method of controlling the amount of power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical load located in a space, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing an occupancy sensor having a first, a controller, an occupancy detector circuit, and a wireless transmitter; powering the controller and the wireless transmitter with the first battery; powering the occupancy detector circuit with the second battery; detecting an occupancy condition in the space; and
transmitting a first wireless signal in response to the step of detecting an occupancy condition in the space;monitoring the magnitude of a first battery voltage of the first battery; determining that the magnitude of the first battery voltage has dropped below a predetermined low-battery voltage threshold; and transmitting a second wireless signal is response to the step of determining that the magnitude of the first battery voltage has dropped below a predetermined low-battery voltage threshold. - View Dependent Claims (46)
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47. A battery-powered occupancy sensor for detecting an occupancy condition in a space, the occupancy sensor comprising:
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a base portion having a opening and a battery compartment coupled to the opening for receipt of a battery into the battery compartment; a printed circuit board connected to the base portion; an occupancy detector circuit mounted on the printed circuit board; a controller mounted on the printed circuit board and adapted to be powered by the battery, the controller operable to detect the occupancy condition in the space in response to the occupancy detector circuit; and a battery-removal structure having a battery support located at the end of a flexible arm and a battery-removal tab connected to the battery support, the battery-removal structure positioned so that the battery-removal tab extends through the battery compartment and protrudes through the opening of the base portion, wherein when the tab is pulled, the flexible arm flexes and battery is forced out of the battery compartment by the battery support. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50)
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51. A battery-powered sensor for delivering an output radio-frequency signal to a remote receiver in response to an occupancy condition sensed in a room in which said sensor is mounted, said sensor comprising:
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a plastic disk-shaped enclosure having first and second spaced parallel disks and a peripheral wall joined to said disks to define an enclosed volume, said first disk having an opening; an occupancy detector circuit having a PIR detector disposed within said volume, such that said opening in said first disk exposes said PIR detector to infrared energy representative of the occurrence of said occupancy condition within said room; and a battery positioned within said volume and coupled to said occupancy detector circuit; wherein said occupancy detector circuit draws a current having a magnitude of approximately 7 microamps or less from said battery. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54)
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55. An occupancy sensor for detecting an occupancy condition in a space, the occupancy sensor comprising:
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a battery; an occupancy detector circuit powered by the battery; and a controller for detecting the occupancy condition in the space in response to the occupancy detector circuit; wherein the occupancy detector circuit draws a current having a magnitude of approximately 7 microamps or less from the battery. - View Dependent Claims (56)
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57. An occupancy detector circuit for an occupancy sensor for detecting an occupancy in a space, the occupancy detector circuit adapted to be powered by a battery, the occupancy detector circuit comprising:
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a PIR detector responsive to changes in infrared energy in the space; a first amplifier stage; and an output for providing an occupancy control signal representative of the occupancy condition in the space, the first amplifier stage operatively coupled between the detector and the output of the occupancy detector circuit; wherein the occupancy detector circuit draws a current having a magnitude of approximately 7 microamps or less from the battery. - View Dependent Claims (58)
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Specification