Method and apparatus for controlling lights
US6225759A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 11, 1999 |
| Grant date | May 1, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 11, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S315/04
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A control circuit for controlling the operation of an electrical lighting device, such as a gas discharge ballast or an incandescent lamp, and which can replace a standard switch and requires connection only to the hot wire of an AC power line. The control circuit has a switch encoder which couples two opposite polarity thyristors between the hot wire of an AC power line and the hot wire running through the wall to the fixture. The thyristors are controlled by switches such that the AC waveform is transmitted over the power wires either with the small zero crossing step delays inherent in thyristor switching, or with a chopped waveform such that the transmitted AC waveform has positive going zero crossing step delays or negative going zero crossing step delays. The transmitted AC power waveform is used to power the electrical lighting device as well as to control the operation of the electrical lighting device by connection to a decoder. The decoder decodes the transmitted AC power waveform by generating a voltage pulse waveform having pulse widths corresponding to the duration of the zero crossing step delays, determining the differences in time spans between successive pairs of p…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.