Wall Box Dimmer
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A wall box dimmer (20) having a generally planar face and adapted to mount behind a faceplate (31), said dimmer comprising:
- (a) an enclosure (21) containing a pair of cooperating air-gap contacts (211) interiorly thereof;
(b) a removable bezel kit (22) protruding through an opening in said faceplate and further comprising(i) a bezel,(ii) at least one primary function button (24) operable by a user,(iii) a dual function air-gap switch actuator (26) mechanically co-operable with said pair of air-gap contacts and adapted to open and close said pair of air-gap contacts; and
(c) wherein said dual function air-gap switch actuator is further adapted to be operable by the user to initiate a secondary function.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A dual function air-gap switch actuator (26) is incorporated into the generally planar face of a wall box dimmer. The switch actuator is finger operated and provides both a main power disconnect via air-gap contacts (211) and the means (212) to activate a secondary function. The dual function air-gap switch actuator is optionally fitted with an indicator lamp (265).
88 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A wall box dimmer (20) having a generally planar face and adapted to mount behind a faceplate (31), said dimmer comprising:
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(a) an enclosure (21) containing a pair of cooperating air-gap contacts (211) interiorly thereof; (b) a removable bezel kit (22) protruding through an opening in said faceplate and further comprising (i) a bezel, (ii) at least one primary function button (24) operable by a user, (iii) a dual function air-gap switch actuator (26) mechanically co-operable with said pair of air-gap contacts and adapted to open and close said pair of air-gap contacts; and (c) wherein said dual function air-gap switch actuator is further adapted to be operable by the user to initiate a secondary function. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A wall box dimmer having a generally planar face and adapted to mount behind a faceplate, said dimmer comprising:
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(a) an enclosure; (b) a pair of cooperating air-gap contacts configured as a micro-switch interiorly mounted within said enclosure; (c) a removable color matched bezel kit including components protruding through an opening in said faceplate and further comprising (i) a bezel, (ii) a dual function air-gap switch actuator configured as a lever and mechanically co-operable with said pair of air-gap contacts and adapted to open and close said pair of air-gap contacts; and (iii) a vertical column of LEDs; (d) wherein the bezel kit is configured to allow various sized buttons to be snapped into the bezel prior to attachment with the dimmer enclosure; (e) wherein the air-gap contacts are further adapted to open when the bezel kit is separated from the dimmer enclosure; and (f) wherein said dual function air-gap switch actuator is further adapted to be operable by the user to initiate a secondary function; and - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A lighting system comprising:
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(a) a centralized lighting controller (41); (b) a plurality of lighting loads (42); and (c) a plurality of dimmers (20), wherein each of said dimmers is associated with a corresponding lighting load and further comprises a dual function air-gap switch that alternatively functions (i) to physically connect and disconnect the dimmer with its corresponding lighting load and (ii) to initiate a predetermined function. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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24. A method of setting a brightness schedule for a wall box dimmer, said method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a rocker actuator having a command-up portion and a command-down portion; (b) providing a dual function air-gap switch adapted to provide (i) a primary function which operates to physically connect and disconnect the wall box dimmer with a corresponding lighting load and (ii) a secondary function which operates to active an internal program function; (c) inputting a command to manually set the brightness level to a desired brightness level by depressing the command-up portion in a first fashion; and (d) activating the secondary function of said dual function air-gap switch to store the desired brightness level in the brightness schedule. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification