RETROFIT SWITCH

• US 20190139719A1
• Filed: 11/09/2017
• Published: 05/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Leedarson America, Inc. (Leedarson IoT Technology Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Leedarson America, Inc. (Leedarson IoT Technology Inc.)
• Inventors: Li, Yongchuan
• Granted Patent: US 10,446,339 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 9/0271 structurally combining a switch and an electronic component for relays H01H50/021
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 9/54 Circuit arrangements not adapted to a particular application of the switching device and for which no provision exists elsewhere
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/96 Touch switches specially adapted for electronic time-pieces with no moving parts G04G21/08
• CPC Class Codes: H03K 17/9627 Optical touch switches
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• 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 20/14 Protecting elements, switches, relays or circuit breakers

Abstract

A retrofit switch apparatus is designed to pair with a traditional switch device that has a traditional switch for accepting a first user manual operation to control a target device connected to the traditional switch device with an electrical wire. The traditional switch device has a connecting structure. The retrofit switch apparatus has an attaching device, a cover body, a replacement switch and a wireless controller. The attaching device is attached to the connecting structure of the traditional switch device. The wireless controller wirelessly controls the target device. The replacement switch and the wireless component are not overlapped to each other vertically with respect to the surface cover of the traditional switch device.

Claims

1. A retrofit switch apparatus for being attached to a traditional switch device, the traditional switch device being fixed to an environment surface and having a traditional switch and a traditional switch surface cover, the traditional switch having a protruding portion extended above the traditional switch surface cover, the traditional switch device being used for receiving a first user manual operation to control a target device connected to the traditional switch device via an electrical wire, the retrofit switch apparatus comprising:

a cover body having a storing space for containing and covering the traditional switch to keep the traditional switch in a default operation mode;

a replacement switch disposed at a first end of the cover body, the replacement switch receiving a second user manual operation; and

a wireless controller disposed at a second end of the cover body, the wireless controller electrically connected to the replacement switch for converting the second user operation to a wireless control command to control the target device.

2. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first end where the replacement switch is disposed and the second end where the replacement switch is disposed are at opposite ends of the cover body.

3. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first end where the replacement switch is disposed is at center portion of the cover body, and the second where the replacement switch is disposed is at peripheral area with respect to center portion of the cover body.

4. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 1, wherein the replacement switch has two buttons respectively located at two opposing peripheral areas of the cover body and the wireless controller is located in the central portion of the cover body.

5. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 1, wherein the replacement switch has a mechanical switch connected to the wireless controller with a signal line.

6. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 5, wherein the replacement switch has a switch circuit for converting the second user manual operation to an electrical signal transmitted to the wireless controller via the signal line.

7. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless controller has a module housing to be integrated to the cover body and the wireless controller is detachable from the cover body so that the wireless controller with the same module housing matches to different sizes and types of the cover bodies corresponding to different traditional switch devices.

8. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 7, wherein the cover body has a slot for receiving the module housing, and the slot is arranged horizontally neighboring to the replacement switch with respect to the environment surface instead of overlapping with the replacement switch vertically.

9. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 1, wherein the replacement switch is arranged horizontally neighboring to the wireless controller with respect to the environment instead of overlapping to the wireless controller vertically.

10. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cover body has a bottom part and a top part, the replacement switch is disposed at the top part and the bottom part is attached to the traditional switch surface cover, the bottom part has a plurality of supporting walls defining the storing space for covering the traditional switch and for keeping the traditional switch not operated by a user when the traditional switch is covered in the storing space.

11. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 10, wherein the replacement switch has a light guide component to detect the second user manual operation, a sensor is used with the light guide component to convert the second user manual operation to the wireless controller to control the target device.

12. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 11, wherein the replacement switch has two buttons corresponding two operation modes of the target device, and the two buttons change a status of the light guide component when the two buttons are pressed.

13. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 10, wherein the replacement switch has a silicon dioxide component to detect the second user manual operation, a decoder is used with the silicon dioxide component to convert the second user manual operation to the wireless controller to control the target device.

14. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 11, wherein the replacement switch has two buttons corresponding two operation modes of the target device, and the two buttons correspond to two silicon dioxide components to generate signals corresponding associated to the second user manual operations when the two buttons are pressed.

15. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 10, further comprising a circuit board for supporting the wireless controller and a switch circuit arranged horizontally with respect to the environment surface and without overlapping with each other.

16. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 15, wherein there is a hole in the middle of the circuit board so that a portion of the traditional switch extends through the hole of the circuit board.

17. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a hinge between the top part and the bottom part so that the top part is operable to be rotated with respect with the bottom part to change a battery of the wireless controller.

18. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 17, wherein when the top part is rotated, the traditional switch is exposed to a user so that the user is able to control the traditional switch.

19. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wireless controller is electrically disconnected from the traditional switch device.

20. The retrofit switch apparatus of claim 1, wherein the traditional switch device has a mode switch and when the retrofit switch apparatus is attached to the traditional device, the mode switch is activated so that the target device is kept supplied with electricity via the traditional switch device.