Adjustable low voltage occupancy sensor

• US 7,800,049 B2
• Filed: 08/21/2006
• Issued: 09/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Leviton Manufacturing Company Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Leviton Manufacturing Company Incorporated
• Inventors: Kevelos, Adam, Shah, Nehal, Bandringa, John, Uftring, Edward, Soccoli, Paul, Estanislao, Danilo F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Luu; Thanh X
• Application Number:
  US11/466,070
• Publication Number:
  US 20070040676A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,492 Days
• Field of Search: 250/239, 250/221, 250/342, 250/353, 250/DIG.1, 340/565
• US Class Current: 250/239
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/183 Single detectors using dual technologies G08B13/1672, G08B13/2448, G08B13/2494 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/22 Provisions facilitating manual calibration, e.g. input or output provisions for testing; Holding of intermittent values to permit measurement
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/13 by using passive infrared detectors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 250/01 Passive intrusion detectors

Abstract

An occupancy sensor having a replaceable cover with a convenient adjustment and installation scheme is disclosed herein. More particularly, a single or multi-technology occupancy sensor, assembled inside a semi-spherical shaped enclosure includes a replaceable cover with a convenient adjustment and installation scheme. This sensor design enables the sensor to be rotated after installation to obtain a desired coverage patterns. Specifically, the housing for the occupancy sensor includes a front cover having a lens assembly, a base assembly, a harmonic wheel, and a back cover. The front cover couples to the base assembly such that tool-less, manual access is available through the manually removable cover assembly to adjust several features of the sensor. The harmonic wheel enables the front cover, which includes the lens to swivel from zero to 359 degrees relative to the back cover anytime after installation.

Claims

1. An occupancy sensor comprising:

a front cover having an opening;

a lens assembly coupled to and located in the opening of the front cover, wherein the lens assembly comprises;

a ring shaped member;

a fresnel lens coupled to a side of the ring shaped member,

wherein the ring shaped member and the fresnel lens are non-removably coupled to the front cover;

a back cover; and

a base assembly, having a radiation detector, the base assembly is coupled to the front cover and is rotatably coupled to the back cover to provide greater than 90 degree angular orientation to the lens assembly by manually rotating the front cover.

2. The occupancy sensor of claim 1 wherein said back cover is adapted to be coupled to a ceiling.

3. The occupancy sensor of claim 2 wherein said back cover comprises:

a central opening.

4. The occupancy sensor of claim 2 wherein said back cover comprises:

at least two elongated mounting slots each located along a radius of the back cover for receiving screws for coupling the back cover directly to an electrical outlet box.

5. The occupancy sensor of claim 4 wherein said back cover has four elongated mounting slots equally spaced around the cover and each located along a radius of the back cover.

6. The occupancy sensor of claim 1 wherein the ring shaped member is heat staked to the inside surface of the front cover.

7. The occupancy sensor of claim 1 further comprising:

a mask coupled to a second side of the ring shaped member.

8. The occupancy sensor of claim 1 wherein the fresnel lens extends thru the opening and beyond the outside surface of the front cover.

9. The occupancy sensor of claim 1 wherein the lens assembly comprises:

an opaque cap; and

a ring shaped member coupled to the inside surface of the front cover adjacent to the opening for frictionally receiving the opaque cap.

10. The occupancy sensor of claim 9 wherein the opaque cap comprises a flange which abuts the outside surface of the front cover when the cap is inserted into the ring shaped member from the outside surface of the front cover.

11. The occupancy sensor of claim 1 wherein the greater than 90 degree angular orientation of the lens assembly is constrained about an axis.

12. The occupancy sensor of claim 1, wherein the lens assembly is manually rotatable greater than 90 degrees without disassembly and manually removable from the base assembly without the use of tools.

13. The occupancy sensor of claim 1, wherein the front cover is manually rotatable greater than 90 degrees without disassembly and manually removable from the base assembly without the use of tools.

14. The occupancy sensor of claim 13, wherein the front cover may be snapped into place on the base assembly and manually rotated greater than 90 degrees without disassembly.

15. An occupancy sensor comprising:

a front cover having an opening;

a lens assembly coupled to and located in the opening of the front cover;

a back cover;

a base assembly, having a radiation detector, the base assembly is coupled to the front cover and is rotatably coupled to the back cover to provide greater than 90 degree angular orientation to the lens assembly by manually rotating the front cover; and

a harmonic wheel positioned between the back cover and the base assembly to allow the base assembly and front cover to rotate relative to the back cover.

16. The occupancy sensor of claim 15 wherein the rotation of base assembly and front cover relative to the back cover is between 359 degrees and zero degrees.

17. The occupancy sensor of claim 15 wherein the harmonic wheel has shaped projections to allow the base assembly and front cover to be manually rotated relative to the back cover in discrete increments.

18. The occupancy sensor of claim 16 wherein the discrete increments are substantially three degrees.

19. The occupancy sensor of claim 17 wherein the shaped projections are of a sine wave like configuration.

20. The occupancy sensor of claim 17 wherein the harmonic wheel is non- rotationally coupled to the back cover.

21. The occupancy sensor of claim 20 wherein the harmonic wheel includes a projection which engages a receiving opening in the back cover to lock the harmonic wheel to the back cover in non-rotational relationship.

22. An occupancy sensor comprising:

a front cover having an opening;

a lens assembly coupled to and located in the opening of the front cover;

a back cover, wherein said back cover comprises;

at least two elongated mounting slots each located along a radius of the back cover for receiving screws for coupling the back cover directly to an electrical outlet box; and

a base assembly, having a radiation detector, the base assembly is coupled to the front cover and is rotatably coupled to the back cover to provide greater than 90 degree angular orientation to the lens assembly by manually rotating the front cover.

23. The occupancy sensor of claim 22 wherein said back cover has four elongated mounting slots equally spaced around the cover and each located along a radius of the back cover.

24. An occupancy sensor comprising:

a front cover having an opening;

a lens assembly coupled to and located in the opening of the front cover;

a back cover; and

a base assembly, having a radiation detector, the base assembly is coupled to the front cover and is rotatably coupled to the back cover to provide greater than 90 degree angular orientation to the lens assembly by manually rotating the front cover, wherein the greater than 90 degree angular orientation of the lens assembly is constrained about an axis that is perpendicular to the back cover; and

a harmonic wheel positioned between the back cover and the base assembly to allow the base assembly and front cover to rotate relative to the back cover.