Lighting control interface
US6608617B2 · kind B2 · utility
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 7, 2001 |
| Grant date | Aug 19, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 12, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH05B39/085
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A lighting control interface consisting of a touch pad matrix, a housing, different faceplates having unique graphical designs, and a control circuit. The touch pad matrix has a plurality of conductive touch pads. The faceplate has a plurality of faceplate areas which are used to designate various lighting commands and each faceplate can represent a unique collection of lighting control functions. The control circuit is electrically coupled to the touch pad matrix and is programmed to support the functionality represented by a particular faceplate design by ascribing the appropriate lighting control functions to the individual touch pads. The control circuit includes an oscillator which is coupled to each touch pad in turn and a microcontroller which monitors the frequency of the oscillating circuit when connected to the various touch pads. When a user places a finger on a touch pad, the frequency of the associated oscillations decreases and this decrease in frequency is detected by the microcontroller. Upon detecting the activation of a touch pad, the microcontroller determines which faceplate area has been selected by the user by mapping the touch pad location to the associated f…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.