Detection of the position of an ELV dimmer for controlling operation of an isolated electrical load
First Claim
1. A method for dimming a light, comprising:
- applying an electrical stimulus at one or more of a first and second externally accessible terminals of a trailing edge dimming/reverse phase control ELV dimmer device, the dimmer device having a variable resistor as a user-adjustable control settable between low and high dimmer settings;
replacing the electrical stimulus with a resistive load and measuring an electrical response at one or more of the first and second externally accessible terminals of the dimmer device, the electrical response being responsive to the applied electrical stimulus and a setting of the user-adjustable control;
determining from the measured electrical response an indication of the setting of the user-adjustable control; and
dimming a light source responsive to the determined dimmer device setting.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and process for controlling power delivered to an electrical load, such as lighting system, to controllably effect operation of the load (e.g., intensity of illumination). In at least some embodiments, the system and process interpret a user-adjustable setting of a typical electronic low voltage (ELV) dimmer control device that is otherwise isolated from facility AC power. An electrical stimulus, such as a relatively low power AC or DC voltage, is applied at one or more externally accessible terminals of the ELV dimmer control. An electrical response of the dimmer control to the stimulus is measured at one or more externally accessible terminals of the dimmer control. The electrical response varies according to the applied electrical stimulus and a user-adjustable setting of the dimmer control. An indication of the setting of the user-adjustable control is determined from the measured electrical response, and used to correspondingly dim a lighting source.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method for dimming a light, comprising:
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applying an electrical stimulus at one or more of a first and second externally accessible terminals of a trailing edge dimming/reverse phase control ELV dimmer device, the dimmer device having a variable resistor as a user-adjustable control settable between low and high dimmer settings; replacing the electrical stimulus with a resistive load and measuring an electrical response at one or more of the first and second externally accessible terminals of the dimmer device, the electrical response being responsive to the applied electrical stimulus and a setting of the user-adjustable control; determining from the measured electrical response an indication of the setting of the user-adjustable control; and dimming a light source responsive to the determined dimmer device setting. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 23, 24)
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6. A method for determining a setting value of a trailing edge dimming/reverse phase control user-adjustable ELV dimmer, comprising:
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applying an electrical stimulus to an externally accessible terminal of the ELV dimmer, the ELV dimmer having a variable resistor as a user-adjustable control input settable between low and high dimmer settings; replacing the electrical stimulus with a resistive load and measuring an electrical response at a second externally accessible terminal of the ELV dimmer, the electrical response being responsive to the electrical stimulus and a setting of the user-adjustable control; determining from the measured electrical response an indication of the setting of the user-adjustable control. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for dimming a light, comprising:
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an electrical power converter adapted for converting an AC line voltage to a non-modulated dc preferred electrical stimulus suitable for driving at least one externally accessible terminal of a trailing edge dimming/reverse phase control ELV dimmer control device having a variable resistor as a user-adjustable control input settable between low and high dimmer settings; an electrical signal detector adapted for measuring at an externally accessible terminal of the dimmer control device, an electrical response of the dimmer control device after replacing the preferred electrical stimulus with a resistive load, the electrical response being indicative of a setting of the user adjustable control input; and a signal converter in electrical communication with the electrical signal detector, the signal converter adapted for converting the measured electrical response to a dimmer control signal indicative of the setting of the user adjustable control input. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26)
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22. A system for detecting a setting of a line voltage dimmable controller, comprising:
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means for applying an electrical stimulus at a first externally accessible terminal of a trailing edge dimming/reverse phase control ELV dimmer device, the dimmer device having a variable resistor as a user-adjustable control settable between low and high dimmer settings; means for replacing the electrical stimulus with a resistive load and measuring an electrical response at a second externally accessible terminal of the dimmer device, the electrical response being responsive to the applied electrical stimulus and a setting of the user-adjustable control; means for determining from the measured electrical response an indication of the setting of the user-adjustable control; and means for dimming a light source responsive to the determined dimmer device setting.
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Specification