Self-powered switches and related methods

A self-powered switch, comprising:

• an externally accessible user input member;
• a switch housing attached to the user input member;
• a permanent magnet held in the switch housing;
• a magnet housing held in the switch housing, wherein the magnet housing is attached to the user input member and pivotably attached to the switch housing via at least one spindle;
• a magnet assembly comprising a coil and a shaft extending a distance beyond the coil held in the switch housing;
• and
• at least one circuit board in the switch housing and comprising first and second electrical connections attached to first and second terminals of the coil,
• wherein at least one of the magnet assembly and permanent magnet moves in response to movement of the user input member to thereby induce a voltage to power a transmitter associated with the switch,
• wherein the at least one circuit board includes a circuit board that is held by the magnet housing above the shaft and under the user input member, wherein the at least one circuit board comprises an energy harvesting circuit in electrical communication with the coil terminals and at least one capacitor for storing voltage sufficient to power the transmitter, and wherein the transmitter is a wireless transmitter that wirelessly communicates with a remote receiver associated with an electrical appliance.

A self-powered switch, comprising:

• an externally accessible user input member;
• a switch housing attached to the user input member;
• a permanent magnet held in the switch housing;
• a magnet housing held in the switch housing, wherein the magnet housing is attached to the user input member and pivotably attached to the switch housing via at least one spindle;
• and
• a magnet assembly comprising a coil and a shaft extending a distance beyond the coil held in the switch housing,
• wherein at least one of the magnet assembly and permanent magnet moves in response to movement of the user input member to thereby induce a voltage to power a transmitter associated with the switch,
• wherein the housing comprises a bottom housing with a magnet cradle held therein and a mid-housing that is attached to the bottom housing under the user input member, and wherein the mid-housing and bottom housing have arcuate recesses that align and face each other to form laterally spaced apart and opposing pairs of circular channels that hold spindle segments of the at least one spindle.

A self-powered switch, comprising:

• an externally accessible user input member;
• a switch housing attached to the user input member;
• a permanent magnet held in the switch housing;
• a magnet housing held in the switch housing, wherein the magnet housing is attached to the user input member and pivotably attached to the switch housing via at least one spindle;
• a magnet assembly comprising a coil and a shaft extending a distance beyond the coil held in the switch housing;
• and
• a top member and a bottom member held in the magnet housing, wherein the top member and bottom member hold the coil therebetween, the top member and bottom member comprising channels that align with a coil channel to provide a shaft channel that allows the shaft to extend below the bottom member a distance into the cavity, and wherein the top member comprises at least one coil terminal aperture through which the coil terminals extend to connect to power input terminals on a printed circuit board,
• wherein at least one of the magnet assembly and permanent magnet moves in response to movement of the user input member to thereby induce a voltage to power a transmitter associated with the switch,
• wherein the magnet housing holds the magnet assembly with the coil and shaft, wherein the permanent magnet is held between spaced apart first and second plates coupled to the bottom member that rise a distance above the permanent magnet to provide a cavity above the permanent magnet in the switch housing, and wherein an end of the shaft extends into the cavity and serially pivots to contact inner surfaces of the first and second plates to alter magnetic flux from the coil to the permanent magnet in response to movement of the user input member.

A self-powered switch, comprising:

• an externally accessible user input member;
• a switch housing attached to the user input member;
• a permanent magnet held in the switch housing;
• a magnet housing held in the switch housing, wherein the magnet housing is attached to the user input member and pivotably attached to the switch housing via at least one spindle;
• and
• a magnet assembly comprising a coil and a shaft extending a distance beyond the coil held in the switch housing,
• wherein at least one of the magnet assembly and permanent magnet moves in response to movement of the user input member to thereby induce a voltage to power a transmitter associated with the switch,
• wherein the permanent magnet is a rare earth magnet that is rectangular with a pair of long sides joined by a pair of short sides, and wherein the long sides extend in a lateral dimension of the switch housing across between 50-100% of a lateral extent of the switch housing.

A method of assembling a self-powered switch, comprising:

• providing a user input member;
• providing a magnet housing comprising a spindle;
• providing a switch housing;
• and
• attaching the spindle to the switch housing then attaching the user input member to the magnet housing or attaching the user input member to the magnet housing then attaching the spindle to the switch housing, wherein the attaching the spindle is carried out by inserting laterally extending spindle segments into recesses in opposing sidewalls of the housing, and wherein the magnet housing comprises a printed circuit board held above the magnet housing and attached to coil terminals of a coil held in the magnet housing.