# US 10,874,011 B1 · Communication interface for front panel and power module > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,874,011 B1 - Document ID: US10874011B1 - Status: Granted - Kind: B1 - Application number: 16/385,684 - Filed: 2019-04-16 - Granted: 2020-12-22 - Earliest claimed: 2017-06-26 - Assignees: Amazon Technologies, Inc. - Applicants: Amazon Technologies, Inc. - Inventors: Mitchell Theodore Orysh; Pushkaraksha Gejji - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10874011B1 ## CPC - H05B 47/12: by detecting audible sound - G06F 3/167: {Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback} - G10L 15/22: Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue - G10L 15/30: Distributed recognition, e.g. in client-server systems, for mobile phones or network applications - H03K 17/962: {Capacitive touch switches} - H04L 9/14: using a plurality of keys or algorithms - H04L 63/0428: {wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload} - H05B 47/19: via wireless transmission - H05B 47/197: {Sound control or voice control} - G10L 2015/223: {Execution procedure of a spoken command} - Y02B 20/40: Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection - Y02B 70/30: Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level - Y04S 20/246: the system involving the remote operation of lamps or lighting equipment - H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) - G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING - H03K: PULSE TECHNIQUE (measuring pulse characteristics G01R; modulating sinusoidal oscillations with pulses H03C; transmission of digital information H04L; discriminator circuits detecting phase difference between two signals by counting or integrating cycles of oscillation H03D3/04; automatic control, starting, synchronisation or stabilisation of generators of electronic oscillations or pulses where the type of generator is irrelevant or unspecified H03L; coding, decoding or code conversion, in general H03M) - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS - Y04S: SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS ## Abstract This disclosure describes, in part, voice-controlled light dimmers that act as voice-controlled endpoints at which users may provide voice commands. These light dimmers include a front panel module coupled to a power module using a hardware interface. The front panel module may receive input from a user indicating commands for controlling appliances, and send communications to the power module using the hardware interface to control the appliances. In some examples, the communications involve encrypted data sent using an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) protocol using the hardware interface to an electrically isolated power module. The power provided to the appliances may be controlled by the power module of the voice-controlled light dimmer. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A front-panel module comprising: a hardware interface that couples the front-panel module to a power module, wherein the front-panel module receives power from the power module; an input device; one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising: receiving, at least partly via the input device, input indicating an instruction; determining that the instruction is associated with operating a secondary device; generating one or more packets including data that causes the power module to control the secondary device according to the instruction; encrypting, using one or more encryption keys, the one or more packets to generate one or more encrypted packets; and sending, to the power module, via the hardware interface, and using a communication protocol, the one or more encrypted packets. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The front-panel module of claim 1, further comprising a wireless network interface, wherein: the data comprises first data; the input device comprises a microphone; the input comprises speech input; and the acts further comprising: receiving, from the microphone, audio data representing the speech input; and wherein determining that the instruction is associated with operating a secondary device further comprises: sending the audio data to one or more remote devices and via the wireless network interface; and receiving, from the one or more remote devices and via the wireless network interface, second data indicating that the audio data represents the instruction associated with operating the secondary device. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The front-panel module of claim 1, the acts further comprising: determining that a component of the power module is to be reset; and sending, via the hardware interface, a reset signal indicating that the component of the power module is to be reset. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The front-panel module of claim 1, wherein the communication protocol comprises at least one of: a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) protocol; or an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) protocol. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The front-panel module of claim 1, wherein the input device comprises one of: a touch screen; a camera; a microphone; a motion sensor; or a proximity sensor. ### Claim 6 A power module comprising: one or more processors; one or more of a magnetic isolation module or an optical isolation module to electrically isolate components of the power module from objects exterior the power module; a hardware interface that couples the power module to a front-panel module, wherein the power module provides power to the front-panel module; and one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising: receiving, from the front-panel module and via the hardware interface, and using a communication protocol, data indicating an instruction; determining that the instruction is associated with operating a secondary device to which the power module is communicatively coupled; and causing the secondary device to operate according to the instruction. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The power module of claim 6, wherein the communication protocol comprises at least one of: a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) protocol; or an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) protocol. ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The power module of claim 6, wherein the data is one or more encrypted packets, and the acts further comprising decrypting the one or more encrypted packets using one or more encryption keys to identify the instruction to cause the secondary device to operate. ### Claim 9 (depends on 6) The power module of claim 6, wherein: the secondary device comprises an illumination device; the instruction to cause the secondary device to operate comprises an instruction to dim the illumination device; and causing the seconding device to operate comprises changing a duty cycle of a pulse-width modulation signal to control an amount of power supplied to the illumination device. ### Claim 10 (depends on 6) The power module of claim 6, the acts further comprising: detecting, via the hardware interface, a reset signal from the front-panel module; and causing a component of the power module to reset. ### Claim 11 (depends on 6) The power module of claim 6, wherein the one or more of the magnetic isolation module or the optical isolation module comprise: a magnetic isolation module to electrically isolate a first component of the power module from the hardware interface; and an optical isolation module to electrically isolate a second component of the power module from the hardware interface. ### Claim 12 (depends on 6) The power module of claim 6, wherein the secondary device comprises at least one of: a thermostat; an illumination device; a security alarm; an electrical outlet; a dishwasher; a fan; or a heating device. ### Claim 13 A front-panel module comprising: a hardware interface that couples the front-panel module to a power module, wherein the front-panel module receives power from the power module; a microphone; one or more processors; and one or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the one or more processors to perform acts comprising: receiving, via the microphone, speech input indicating an instruction; determining that the instruction is associated with operating a secondary device; generating one or more packets including data that causes the power module to control the secondary device according to the instruction; encrypting, using one or more encryption keys, the one or more packets to generate one or more encrypted packets; and sending, to the power module, via the hardware interface, and using a communication protocol, the one or more encrypted packets. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The front-panel module of claim 13, wherein the communication protocol comprises at least one of: a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) protocol; or an Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) protocol. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The front-panel module of claim 13, wherein the secondary device comprises at least one of: a thermostat; a security alarm; a dishwasher; an illumination device; a fan; or a heating device. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The front-panel module of claim 13, wherein the front-panel module further comprises at least one of: a touch screen; a camera; a motion sensor; or a proximity sensor. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The front-panel module of claim 13, the acts further comprising: determining that a component of the power module is to be reset; and sending, via the hardware interface, a reset signal indicating that the component of the power module is to be reset.