Electrical control system
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a wall-mounted electrical switch comprising;
a rear housing section comprising a front side and an opposing back side;
a front housing section comprising a front side and an opposing back side, the back side of the front housing section being disposed along the front side of the rear housing section and removably coupled to the rear housing section to create the housing, the front housing section comprising;
a first aperture configured to receive therethrough a portion of a manually operated switch; and
a second aperture therethrough;
at least one battery receptacle disposed within the housing;
at least one battery disposed within each of the at least one battery receptacles, wherein the battery is the power source for the wall-mounted electrical switch;
a circuit board disposed within the housing and electrically coupled to the at least one battery; and
the manually operated switch at least partially disposed within the housing and operably coupled to the circuit board, wherein the manually operated switch is capable of being manually adjusted to a plurality of positions;
wherein the second aperture provides an access opening from the front side of the front housing section to the battery receptacles within the housing for removably coupling at least one battery.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electrical control system includes one or more battery-powered RF switches capable of acting as a master or slave or both within the electrical control system. The battery-powered RF switch includes a top housing and a bottom housing. The battery-powered RF switch also includes a printed circuit boar assembly that includes switch sensors, a dimmer button, and an LED indicator. The battery-powered RF switch also includes a manually-operated on/off switch, battery receptacles within the housing, batteries positioned within the battery receptacles and a battery retaining bracket for removably holding the batteries in place within the battery receptacles. The battery-powered RF switch is capable of being mounted to a vertical surface by applying double-sided adhesive to the back side of the housing and pressing the housing against the vertical surface.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
a wall-mounted electrical switch comprising; a rear housing section comprising a front side and an opposing back side; a front housing section comprising a front side and an opposing back side, the back side of the front housing section being disposed along the front side of the rear housing section and removably coupled to the rear housing section to create the housing, the front housing section comprising; a first aperture configured to receive therethrough a portion of a manually operated switch; and a second aperture therethrough; at least one battery receptacle disposed within the housing; at least one battery disposed within each of the at least one battery receptacles, wherein the battery is the power source for the wall-mounted electrical switch; a circuit board disposed within the housing and electrically coupled to the at least one battery; and the manually operated switch at least partially disposed within the housing and operably coupled to the circuit board, wherein the manually operated switch is capable of being manually adjusted to a plurality of positions; wherein the second aperture provides an access opening from the front side of the front housing section to the battery receptacles within the housing for removably coupling at least one battery. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An electrical switch for use in a control system comprising one or more master devices and one or more slave devices, comprising:
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a manually operated switch; a communication interface; a battery power supply operably coupled to the switch and the communication interface; a memory operably coupled to the battery power supply comprising; a non volatile memory; a device database comprising; node information for the electrical switch; an association database comprising information representative of one or more communication pathways that the electrical switch is associated with; a child protection database comprising information representative of a configuration of the electrical switch when operating in a child protection mode of operation; a delayed off database comprising information representative of a configuration of the electrical switch when operating in a delayed off mode of operation; a panic database comprising information representative of a configuration of the electrical switch when operating in a panic mode of operation; and an operational state database comprises information representative of an operational state of the electrical switch immediately prior to a loss of power from the battery; a scenes database comprising information regarding one or more scenes that the electrical switch is associated with; an events database comprising information regarding one or more events that the electrical switch is associated with; an away database comprising information regarding one or more away groups that the electrical switch is associated with; and a system database comprising information regarding the control system; a visual display device operably coupled to the battery power supply;
an install button operably coupled to the battery power supply;an uninstall button operably coupled to the battery power supply; an associate button operably coupled to the battery power supply; a controller operably coupled to the manual switch, the communications interface, the memory, the visual display device, the install button, the uninstall button, the associate button, and the battery comprising; an operating system comprising; a serial communications driver adapted to control an operation of the communication interface; a memory driver adapted to control an operation of the memory; a display driver adapted to control an operation of the visual display device; and a button input driver adapted to monitor an operation of the switch, the install button, the uninstall button, and the associate button; application programs comprising; a state engine comprising; an installation engine adapted to sense and indicate an installation of the electrical switch within the control system, install the electrical switch into the control system when the install button is depressed, and uninstall the electrical switch from the control system when the uninstall button is depressed; a change of state engine adapted to sense a change in an operational state of the electrical switch; an association engine adapted to associate the electrical switch with one or more communication pathways when the associate button is depressed; a child protection engine adapted to control an operation of the electrical switch in a child protection mode of operation; a delayed off engine adapted to delay a transition of a slave unit controlled by the electrical switch from an on to an off operational state; a panic mode engine adapted to control an operation of the electrical switch in a panic mode of operation; and a loss of power engine adapted to monitor an operational state of the battery and, in the event of a loss of power from the battery, determine an operational state of the electrical switch and store the determined operational state of the electrical switch; and a boot loader; wherein the controller is adapted to sense an operational state of the manually operated switch and thereby transmit a control signal to one or more of the slave devices of the control system using the communication interface to thereby control an operational state of the slave devices; wherein the communication interface comprises a radio frequency communication interface; and wherein the controller is adapted to receive and transmit control signals to and from one or more of the master devices using the communication interface.
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11. A method of controlling an operational state of a slave device using a master device, wherein the slave device is remotely positioned relative to the master device, and wherein the master and slave devices may be installed within a control system that includes other master and slave devices, comprising:
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sensing an operational state of a manually operated switch at the master device; transmitting a radio frequency signal from the master device to the slave device representative of the sensed operational state of the manually operated switch; powering the sensing and transmitting of the master device using a battery power supply provided within the master device; controlling the operational state of the slave device as a function of the transmitted radio frequency signal; providing a first visual indication of supplying battery power to the master device; providing a second visual indication of installing the master device into the control system, wherein the first and second visual indications are different; determining if an operational state of the master device has changed; if the operational state of the master device has changed, transmitting a radio frequency signal to one or more of the other master devices comprising information regarding the master device; associating the master device with one or more slave devices to provide corresponding communication pathways in the control system;
determining if the master device is associated with a plurality of slave devices;f the master device is associated with a plurality of slave devices, then transmitting a radio frequency signal by multicasting the signal to all of the slave devices associated with the master device and then single casting the signal to one of the slave devices; determining if the master device has an enabled child protection mode of operation; if the master device has an enabled child protection mode of operation, then determining if the child protection mode of operation comprises a sequence control or a remote control; if the enabled child protection mode of operation for the master device has remote control, then disabling local manual control of the master device; if the enabled child protection mode of operation for the master device has sequence control, then determining if a local user of the master device has depressed the manually operated switch multiple times; if the enabled child protection mode of operation for the master device has sequence control and if the local user of the master device depressed the switch multiple times, then permitting local user control of the master device; determining if the manually operated switch of the master device is positioned in an on position and if the master device does not have remote control protection; if the manually operated switch of the master device is positioned in an on position and the master device does not have remote control protection, then changing the operational state of the slave device to off with a time delay by depressing the manually operated switch for a predetermined minimum time period; determining if the master device has sequence control; if the master device has sequence control, depressing the manually operated switch multiple times prior to depressing the manually operated switch for the predetermined minimum time period; determining if the manually operated switch has been depressed after depressing the manually operated switch for the predetermined minimum time period; if the manually operated switch has been depressed after depressing the manually operated switch for the predetermined minimum time period, then changing the operational state of the slave to off without a time delay; determining if the master device is being controlled by another master device; if the master device is being controlled by another master device, then controlling the operational state of the slave using the other master device; if a panic mode of operation is enabled, then operating the master device in the panic mode of operation, wherein the panic mode of operation comprises a duty cycle comprising a first time period in which the operational state of the slave device is on and second time period in which the operational state of the slave device is off; if the manually operated switch of the master device is depressed, then canceling the panic mode of operation; if the panic mode of operation of the master device is cancelled by another master device, then canceling the panic mode of operation; if a loss of battery power is detected by the master device, storing an operational state of the master device in a memory within the master device; if a restoration of battery power is detected by the master device, retrieving the operational state of the master device from the memory within the master device; and operating the master device in accordance with the retrieved operational state for the master device.
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12. A system for controlling an operational state of a slave device using a master device, wherein the slave device is remotely positioned relative to the master device, and wherein the master and slave devices may be installed within a control system that includes other master and slave devices, comprising:
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means for sensing an operational state of a manually operated switch at the master device; means for transmitting a radio frequency signal from the master device to the slave device representative of the sensed operational state of the manually operated switch; means for powering the sensing and transmitting of the master device using a battery power supply provided within the master device; means for controlling the operational state of the slave device as a function of the transmitted radio frequency signal; means for providing a first visual indication of supplying battery power to the master device; means for providing a second visual indication of installing the master device into the control system, wherein the first and second visual indications are different; means for determining if an operational state of the master device has changed;
if the operational state of the master device has changed, means for transmitting a radio frequency signal to one or more of the other master devices comprising information regarding the master device;means for associating the master device with one or more slave devices to provide corresponding communication pathways in the control system; means for determining if the master device is associated with a plurality of slave devices; if the master device is associated with a plurality of slave devices, then means for transmitting a radio frequency signal by multicasting the signal to all of the slave devices associated with the master device and then single casting the signal to one of the slave devices; means for determining if the master device has an enabled child protection mode of operation; if the master device has an enabled child protection mode of operation, then means for determining if the child protection mode of operation comprises a sequence control or a remote control; if the enabled child protection mode of operation for the master device has remote control, then means for disabling local manual control of the master device; if the enabled child protection mode of operation for the master device has sequence control, means for then determining if a local user of the master device has depressed the manually operated switch multiple times; if the enabled child protection mode of operation for the master device has sequence control and if the local user of the master device depressed the switch multiple times, then means for permitting local user control of the master device; means for determining if the manually operated switch of the master device is positioned in an on position and if the master device does not have remote control protection; if the manually operated switch of the master device is positioned in an on position and the master device does not have remote control protection, then means for changing the operational state of the slave device to off with a time delay by depressing the manually operated switch for a predetermined minimum time period; means for determining if the master device has sequence control; if the master device has sequence control, means for depressing the manually operated switch multiple times prior to depressing the manually operated switch for the predetermined minimum time period; means for determining if the manually operated switch has been depressed after depressing the manually operated switch for the predetermined minimum time period; if the manually operated switch has been depressed after depressing the manually operated switch for the predetermined minimum time period, then means for changing the operational state of the slave to off without a time delay; means for determining if the master device is being controlled by another master device; if the master device is being controlled by another master device, then means for controlling the operational state of the slave using the other master device; if a panic mode of operation is enabled, then means for operating the master device in the panic mode of operation, wherein the panic mode of operation comprises a duty cycle comprising a first time period in which the operational state of the slave device is on and second time period in which the operational state of the slave device is off; if the manually operated switch of the master device is depressed, then means for canceling the panic mode of operation; if the panic mode of operation of the master device is cancelled by another master device, then means for canceling the panic mode of operation; if a loss of battery power is detected by the master device, means for storing an operational state of the master device in a memory within the master device; if a restoration of battery power is detected by the master device, means for retrieving the operational state of the master device from the memory within the master device; and means for operating the master device in accordance with the retrieved operational state for the master device.
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13. A manually operable electrical wall switch comprising:
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a housing comprising; a rear portion comprises a front side and an opposing back side; a front portion removably coupled to the rear portion, wherein coupling the front and rear portions defines a cavity in the housing; and an adhesive layer disposed along the back side of the rear portion of the housing, the adhesive layer configured to removably couple the housing to a wall surface; a battery receptacle disposed within the cavity of the housing and accessible from an exterior when the front portion and rear portion are removably coupled; a battery disposed within the battery receptacle and providing electrical power for the electrical wall switch; a controller comprising a circuit board, wherein the controller is disposed within the cavity of the housing and electrically coupled to the battery and wherein the battery supplies to the power for the controller; a manually operated switch at least partially disposed within the housing and operably coupled to the circuit board, wherein the manually operated switch is capable of being manually adjusted to a plurality of positions; and a transceiver communicably coupled to the controller and electrically coupled to the battery, wherein the battery supplies the power for the transceiver. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification