Power control device

An electrical wiring device comprising:

• a housing assembly including a plurality of terminals at least partially disposed therein, the plurality of terminals being configured to be coupled to an AC power source having a waveshape and at least one electrical load;
• a sensor element coupled to the plurality of terminals and configured to provide a sensor signal for monitoring at least one load power parameter of the at least one electrical load;
• at least one variable control mechanism coupled to the housing assembly, the at least one variable control mechanism being configured to adjustably select a user adjustable load setting, the user adjustable load setting being adjustable between a minimum setting and a maximum setting;
• a series pass element coupled between the AC power source and at least one electrical load, the series pass element being configured to regulate output power to the at least one electrical load in accordance with the user load setting;
• a phase shift element configured to substantially delay at least a portion of the waveshape by a predetermined interval to provide a phase-shifted output signal;
• and
• a phase shift compensation element configured to produce a zero-cross detection signal, the phase shift compensation element cancelling the predetermined interval such that the zero-cross detection signal is timed to occur at positive-going or negative-going zero crossings in the AC power source, wherein:
• the phase shift compensation element or the phase shift element is disposed in a microcontroller;
• the microcontroller is further configured to receive at least one input signal from the sensor element or the variable control mechanism and to provide at least one control signal to control the series pass element, the at least one control signal having HIGH state and LOW state intervals;
• and
• the series pass element includes two switching elements and the at least one control signal includes separate control signals for controlling the two switching elements.

An electrical wiring device comprising:

• a housing assembly including a plurality of terminals at least partially disposed therein, the plurality of terminals being configured to be coupled to an AC power source and at least one electrical load;
• a sensor element coupled to the plurality of terminals and configured to provide a sensor signal for monitoring at least one load power parameter of the at least one electrical load;
• at least one variable control mechanism coupled to the housing assembly, the at least one variable control mechanism being configured to adjustably select a user adjustable load setting, the user adjustable load setting being adjustable between a minimum setting and a maximum setting;
• a series pass element coupled between the AC power source and at least one electrical load, the series pass element being configured to regulate output power to the at least one electrical load in accordance with the user load setting;
• an interface circuit coupled between the ac power available at the plurality of terminals, the interface circuit including at least one half wave rectifier coupled to a voltage divider configured to provide a half wave rectified signal;
• and
• a signal processing assembly including a time shifting element configured to substantially time shift the half wave rectified signal to provide a zero cross detection signal timed to occur at zero crossings in the AC power, wherein:
• the signal processing assembly includes a microcontroller, the shifting element being disposed in the microcontroller;
• the microcontroller is further configured to receive at least one input signal from the sensor element or the variable control mechanism and to provide at least one control signal to control the series pass element, the at least one control signal having HIGH state and LOW state intervals;
• and
• the series pass element includes two switching elements and the at least one control signal includes separate control signals for controlling the two switching elements.