Electric device control apparatus and methods for making and using same
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A device control apparatus comprising:
- a user interface including a motion sensor capable of producing an output signal, in response to;
(a) motion, in any direction, of the motion sensor, or a component of the motion sensor, or (b) a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, a body part of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, or an object under control of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor;
a processing unit in communication with the interface adapted to convert the sensor output signal into a command function, where a sensor output is based solely on the sensed motion, and where the command function comprises a scroll function or a simultaneous select and activate function, andone object or a plurality of objects in electronic communication with and under the control of the processing unit and where the processing unit includes an object list having an object identifier for each object and an object specific attribute list for each object having a plurality of attributes, where each object specific attribute has an attribute identifier,where the simultaneous select and activate function comprises a select and scroll function or a selecting and attribute controll function,where the objects are selected from a group consisting of software components, electrical or electronic devices and mixtures or combinations thereof, andwhere motion in a first direction causes the processing unit to issue the scroll function for scrolling through the object list and where a change in a direction of the motion corresponding to a second direction of motion, sufficiently different from the first direction of motion to allow motion discrimination by either the processing unit or motion sensor, causes the processing unit to simultaneously select an object from the object list and activate the selected object, where the object is either an attribute list or an attribute and where the processing unit issue a corresponding scroll function or an attribute control function.
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Abstract
An electrical switch apparatus including a movement sensitive form is disclosed. The apparatus includes a housing, a motion sensor and a processing unit, where motion on, near or about the motion sensor is translated into output commands adapted for list scrolling, where the list can be arranged in a hierarchy such as menus or for changing a value of an attribute of a electrical device under the control of the switch.
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Citations
29 Claims
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1. A device control apparatus comprising:
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a user interface including a motion sensor capable of producing an output signal, in response to;
(a) motion, in any direction, of the motion sensor, or a component of the motion sensor, or (b) a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, a body part of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, or an object under control of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor;a processing unit in communication with the interface adapted to convert the sensor output signal into a command function, where a sensor output is based solely on the sensed motion, and where the command function comprises a scroll function or a simultaneous select and activate function, and one object or a plurality of objects in electronic communication with and under the control of the processing unit and where the processing unit includes an object list having an object identifier for each object and an object specific attribute list for each object having a plurality of attributes, where each object specific attribute has an attribute identifier, where the simultaneous select and activate function comprises a select and scroll function or a selecting and attribute controll function, where the objects are selected from a group consisting of software components, electrical or electronic devices and mixtures or combinations thereof, and where motion in a first direction causes the processing unit to issue the scroll function for scrolling through the object list and where a change in a direction of the motion corresponding to a second direction of motion, sufficiently different from the first direction of motion to allow motion discrimination by either the processing unit or motion sensor, causes the processing unit to simultaneously select an object from the object list and activate the selected object, where the object is either an attribute list or an attribute and where the processing unit issue a corresponding scroll function or an attribute control function. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An electrical switch apparatus comprising:
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a switch including; a user interface having a motion sensor capable of producing an output signal, in response to;
(a) motion, in any direction, of the motion sensor, or a component of the motion sensor, or (b) motion, in any direction, of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, a body part of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, or an object under control of the human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, anda processing unit in electric communication with the motion sensor, which converts the output signal into a control function, where a sensor output is based solely on the sensed motion, and where the command function comprises the scroll function or a simultaneous select and activate function, and one object or a plurality of objects in electrical communication with and under the control of the processing unit, and where the processing unit includes an object list having an object identifier for each object and an object specific attribute list for each object having a plurality of attributes, where each object specific attribute has an attribute identifier, where the simultaneous select and activate function comprises a select and scroll function or a select and attribute control function and where motion in a first direction causes the processing unit to issue the scroll function for scrolling through the object list and where a change in a direction of the motion corresponding to a second direction of motion, sufficiently different from the first direction of motion to allow motion discrimination by either the processing unit or motion sensor, causes the processing unit to simultaneously select an object from the object list and activate the selected object, where the object is either an attribute list or an attribute and where the processing unit issue a corresponding scroll function or an attribute control function. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An electrical device control apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of device switches, each of the switches including a user interface having a motion sensor capable of producing an output signal, in response to;
(a) motion, in any direction, of the motion sensor, or a component of the motion sensor, or (b) motion, in any direction, of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, a body part of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, or an object under control of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor,a processing unit in electric communication with the motion sensor, which converts the output signal into a control function, where a sensor output is based solely on the sensed motion, and where a command function comprises a scroll function or a simultaneous select and activate function and where the simultaneous select and activate function comprises a select and scroll function or a select and attribute control function, and each of the switches is in electrical communication with and controls a plurality of objects, where each of the objects includes at least one adjustable attribute, where the processing unit includes an object list having an object identifier for each object and an object specific attribute list for each object having a plurality of attributes, where each object specific attribute has an attribute identifier, where motion in a first direction causes the processing unit to issue the scroll function for scrolling through the object list and where a change in a direction of the motion corresponding to a second direction of motion, sufficiently different from the first direction of motion to allow motion discrimination by either the processing unit or motion sensor, causes the processing unit to simultaneously select an object from the object list and activate the selected object, where the object is either an attribute list or an attribute and where the processing unit issue a corresponding scroll function or an attribute control function. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An user interface apparatus for controlling objects comprising
a housing, a user interface for communicating with a user, a motion sensor capable of producing an output signal, in response to: - (a) motion, in any direction, of the motion sensor or a component of the motion sensor, or (b) motion, in any direction, of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, a body part of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, or an object under control of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, and
a processing unit in electric communication with the motion sensor, which converts the output signal into a control function, where a sensor output is based solely on the sensed motion, where a command function comprises a scroll function or a simultaneous select and activate function, where the simultaneous select and activate function comprises a select and scroll function or a select and attribute control function, where the processing unit includes an object list having an object identifier for each controlled object and an object specific attribute list for each controlled object having a plurality of attributes, and where each object specific attribute has an attribute identifier, and where the interface is capable of controlling one object or a plurality of objects, where motion in a first direction causes the processing unit to issue a scroll function for scrolling through the object list and where a change in a direction of the motion corresponding to a second direction of motion, sufficiently different from the first direction of motion to allow motion discrimination by either the processing unit or motion sensor, causes the processing unit to simultaneously select an object from the object list and activate the selected object, where the object is either an attribute list or an attribute and where the processing unit issue a corresponding scroll function or an attribute control function. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
- (a) motion, in any direction, of the motion sensor or a component of the motion sensor, or (b) motion, in any direction, of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, a body part of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, or an object under control of a human within a motion sensing zone of the motion sensor, and
Specification