Intelligent electrical devices
First Claim
1. A switching system for use with an AC power source and an energy consuming load, said system comprising:
- a microchip, anda user interface to select at least one function from multiple functions of the load to be controlled by the microchip, the functions being at least the activation, the de-activation and one other function, the interface comprising at least one switch connected to at least one input to the microchip, the input transmits control signals to the microchip indicating switch operations, said input and/or switch not forming a serial link in a circuit that transfers the energy between the power source and the load, wherein(a) the switching system is configured such that the microchip is powered irrespective of an operating position of the switch and/or load activation status; and
(b) the switching system conforms to at least one of the following configurations;
(i) wherein the user interface comprises at least a touch sensor and/or touch pad structure as a switch and the microchip is configured to select a switching off function upon a switch operation if a preceding time period of switch deactivation was longer than a predefined period and the microchip also controls the adjustment of power to the load, based on the period of switch activation, through an intermittent connection and disconnection of the power source, much that any dead period wherein the power source is not connected to the light source is not easily visible to a user, and wherein the time based function selection is specifically to improve the ease of operation of the user interface;
(ii) the microchip is configured such that at least one switch functions initially as an on-switch when the switch is activated, and the microchip selecting a function upon a next operation of a switch based on a preceding time period of switch activation, a preceding time period of switch deactivation and the number of switch activation signals, received through the user interface; and
(iii) the switching system is connected to the rest of the circuit that connects the power source and the load, by only two connections, also comprising an energy storage device to power the microchip at certain times and wherein the energy storage device is recharged at other times.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic circuit for use with an exhaustible power source and load such as a light bulb, a radio or motor, includes a microchip with an input that transmits a signal to the microchip when the load is activated or deactivated. The input does not form a serial link between the power source and the load. The power switch, by on/off switching, controls energy flow from the power source to the load. The electronic circuit has an automatic delayed shut-off function for the load and, a find-in-the-dark indicator and a power source level indicator which are active when the load is not energized and the power source is not being charged. The input to the microchip acts as an activation/deactivation user interface. The microchip allows the user to select specific functions based on the time duration of activation signals, the time duration between activation signals and the number of activation signals at the input.
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Citations
56 Claims
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1. A switching system for use with an AC power source and an energy consuming load, said system comprising:
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a microchip, and a user interface to select at least one function from multiple functions of the load to be controlled by the microchip, the functions being at least the activation, the de-activation and one other function, the interface comprising at least one switch connected to at least one input to the microchip, the input transmits control signals to the microchip indicating switch operations, said input and/or switch not forming a serial link in a circuit that transfers the energy between the power source and the load, wherein (a) the switching system is configured such that the microchip is powered irrespective of an operating position of the switch and/or load activation status; and (b) the switching system conforms to at least one of the following configurations; (i) wherein the user interface comprises at least a touch sensor and/or touch pad structure as a switch and the microchip is configured to select a switching off function upon a switch operation if a preceding time period of switch deactivation was longer than a predefined period and the microchip also controls the adjustment of power to the load, based on the period of switch activation, through an intermittent connection and disconnection of the power source, much that any dead period wherein the power source is not connected to the light source is not easily visible to a user, and wherein the time based function selection is specifically to improve the ease of operation of the user interface; (ii) the microchip is configured such that at least one switch functions initially as an on-switch when the switch is activated, and the microchip selecting a function upon a next operation of a switch based on a preceding time period of switch activation, a preceding time period of switch deactivation and the number of switch activation signals, received through the user interface; and (iii) the switching system is connected to the rest of the circuit that connects the power source and the load, by only two connections, also comprising an energy storage device to power the microchip at certain times and wherein the energy storage device is recharged at other times. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A switching system for use with only an AC power source and an energy consuming load, the system comprising:
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a microchip, and a user interface to select at least one function of the load from multiple functions to be controlled by the microchip, the interface comprising at least one switch connected to at least one input to the microchip, the input transmits control signals to the microchip indicating switch operations, said input and/or the switch not forming a serial link in a circuit that transfers the energy between the power source and the load, wherein (a) the user interface comprises at least a touch sensor and/or touch pad, structured as a switch; and (b) the microchip is configured to control a find-in-the-dark function by controlling a light emitting indicator, said indicator at least being activated to give an indication of a switch activation in order to provide the user with feedback of at least the touch sensor and/or touch pad user interface switch operation. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48, 49)
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50. A method of using apparatus to supply power from a AC power source to an energy consuming load, the apparatus comprising a microchip and a user responsive touch pad sensor and/or touch pad type user interface switch that transmits control signals to the microchip, said switch not forming a serial link in a circuit that transfers the energy between the power source and the load, wherein said microchip operates in accordance with at least one of the following sets of steps:
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(i) selecting an off function upon an operation of said interface switch, if the switch, prior thereto was deactivated for a period in excess of a predetermined period, and selecting a power level based on the period of the user interface switch activation; and (ii) controlling a light emitting find-in-the-dark indicator such that the indicator is at least activated to give a visible indication of an activation of the touch sensor and/or touch pad user interface switch. - View Dependent Claims (51, 52)
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53. A method of operating apparatus to supply power from a AC power source to an energy consuming load, the apparatus comprising an energy storage device, a microchip and a user responsive user interface switch that transmits control signals to the microchip, and does not conduct energy to the load, said microchip being connected in parallel to a power switch that switches the energy between the power source and the load, said method comprising the steps of:
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powering said microchip from said energy storage device when the load is activated; recharging said energy storage device at times when power to said load is switched off; and selecting a function in response to user interface switch activations, said function at least selected from the group comprising;
adjusting the power level to the load, a delayed switch off function, a switching off function in response to a time period of user interface switch activation or deactivation or activation of a light emitting find in the dark indicator to at least give an indication of the user interface switch activation. - View Dependent Claims (54, 55, 56)
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Specification