Control device for controlling multiple operating characteristics of an electrical load
AssigneeLutron Technology Company LLC
InventorsChris Dimberg, Daniel L. Twaddell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A load control device may be configured to control multiple characteristics of one or more electrical loads such as the intensity and color of a lighting load. The load control device may switch from controlling one characteristic of the electrical loads to controlling another characteristic of the electrical loads based on the position and/or orientation of one or more components of the load control device. Such a position and/or orientation may be manipulated by moving the one or more components relative to a base portion of the load control device. The load control device may be a wall-mounted device or a battery-powered remote control device.
Claims23
A control device for controlling a lighting load in a load control system, the control device comprising:
- a base portion;
- a rotating portion rotatable with respect to the base portion;
- an actuation portion having a front surface, the front surface of the actuation portion configured to be in a first plane along an axis perpendicular to the base portion and in a second plane parallel to the first plane, wherein the second plane is located closer to the base portion than the first plane, and the front surface of the actuation portion is configured to be moved from the first plane to the second plane when the rotating portion is pushed in towards the base portion;
- and
- a control circuit configured to generate first control data for changing one of color or intensity of the lighting load in response to rotations of the rotating portion when the front surface of the actuation portion is located in the first plane, the control circuit further configured to generate second control data for changing the other of color or intensity of the lighting load in response to rotations of the rotating portion when the front surface of the actuation portion is in the second plane.
A control device for controlling a lighting load in a load control system, the control device comprising:
- a base portion configured to be mounted over a mechanical switch that controls power delivered to the lighting load;
- an internal switch;
- a rotating portion rotatable with respect to the base portion, the rotating portion comprising a front area, the rotating portion configured to not actuate the internal switch when the front area of the rotating portion is located in a first plane and to actuate the internal switch when the front area of the rotating portion is moved into a second plane parallel to the first plane;
- and
- a control circuit configured to generate first control data for changing one of color or intensity of the lighting load in response to rotations of the rotating portion when the front surface of the actuation portion is located in the first plane and the internal switch is not actuated, the control circuit further configured to generate second control data for changing the other of color or intensity of the lighting load in response to rotations of the rotating portion when the front surface of the actuation portion is in the second plane and the internal switch is actuated.
A method for controlling a lighting load in a load control system using a control device, the method comprising:
- detecting rotation of a rotating portion of the control device;
- determining whether a front surface of an actuation mechanism of the control device is in a first plane or a second plane along an axis perpendicular to a base portion of the control device;
- wherein, when the front surface of the actuation mechanism is in the first plane, the method further comprises adjusting one of color or intensity of the lighting load;
- and
- wherein, when the front surface of the actuation mechanism is in the second plane, the method further comprises adjusting the other of color or intensity of the lighting load.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.