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US 5,637,930 AGranted
Wall-mountable switch & dimmer
AssigneeLutron Electronics Co., Inc.
InventorsMichael J. Rowen, Joel S. Spira, Michael J. D'Aleo, Darryl W. Tucker, Russell J. Jacobs, James R. Graybill
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wall-mountable system for controlling electrical power to a load includes a switch and a dimmer, with the switch actuator being substantially larger than the dimmer actuator. Preferably, the switch is a short-throw, light-force switch and the dimmer is a linear slide dimmer. Another embodiment of the invention provides a wallbox-mountable, pushbutton-actuated electrical control device in which the pushbutton is resiliently supported on the device support.
Claims221
A wall-mountable system for controlling electrical power to a load comprising, in combination:
- (a) switch means for turning said power on and off, including first pushbutton or touch actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said switch means;
- and
- (b) dimmer means for controlling the amount of power provided to said load, including second actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said dimmer means, said first actuator means constructed and arranged for being operated by a user and having a surface area which is substantially larger than the surface area of said second actuator means which is constructed and arranged for being operated by the user, said first and second actuator means being located immediately adjacent to each other, said first and second actuator means occupying a region which serves as an active control zone for said wall-mountable system, said active control zone having a surface area which is dominated by the surface area of said first actuator means, whereby the switch function is emphasized over the dimmer function to the user.
A wall-mountable system for controlling electrical power to a load comprising, in combination:
- (a) switch means for turning said power on and off, including first pushbutton or touch actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said switch means;
- and
- (b) dimmer means for controlling the amount of power provided to said load, including second actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said dimmer means, said first actuator means being substantially larger than said second actuator means, said second actuator means being a linear slide and in which said first actuator means is a pushbutton and is located immediately adjacent to said linear slide, whereby the switch function is emphasized over the dimmer function to the user.
A wallbox-mountable electrical control comprising, in combination,
- (a) a pushbutton-actuated electrical control device,
- (b) support means for supporting said device, attachable to said wallbox,
- (c) a faceplate for mounting over said support means, said faceplate having an opening,
- (d) a pushbutton, resiliently supported on said support means and actuatable through said opening in said faceplate,
- (e) means for transmitting a force applied to said pushbutton to provide control of said device, and
- (f) an indicator lamp located between said support means and said pushbutton.
3 more elements
A wall-mountable system for controlling electrical power to a load comprising, in combination:
- (a) switch means for turning said power on and off, said switch means including a first actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said switch means;
- and
- (b) dimmer means for controlling the amount of power provided to said load, said dimmer means including a second actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said dimmer means, said first actuator means constructed and arranged for being operated by a user and having a surface area which is substantially larger than the surface area of said second actuator means which is constructed and arranged for being operated by the user, said second actuator means being located at the perimeter of said first actuator, whereby the switch function is emphasized over the dimmer function to the user.
A wall-mountable system for controlling electrical power to a load, said system having a faceplate with a centerline and comprising, in combination:
- (a) switch means for turning said power on and off, said switch means including a first actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said switch means;
- and
- (b) dimmer means for controlling the amount of power provided to said load, said dimmer means including a second actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said dimmer means, said first actuator means being centrally positioned on said faceplate and said second actuator means being located at a distance from said centerline, wherein said first actuator means has a surface area at least two times as large as the surface area of said second actuator means, whereby the switch function is emphasized over the dimmer function to the user.
A wall-mountable system for controlling electrical power to a load, said system having a faceplate with a centerline and comprising, in combination:
- (a) switch means for turning said power on and off, said switch means including a first actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said switch means;
- and
- (b) dimmer means for controlling the amount of power provided to said load, said dimmer means including a second actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said dimmer means, said first actuator constructed and arranged for being operated by a user and having a surface area which is substantially larger than the surface area of said second actuator means which is constructed and arranged for being operated by the user, said first actuator means being centrally positioned on said faceplate and said second actuator being located at a distance from said centerline but adjacent to said first actuator means, whereby the switch function is emphasized over the dimmer function to the user.
A wall-mountable system for controlling electrical power to a load comprising, in combination:
- (a) switch means for turning said power on and off, said switch means including a first actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said switch means;
- and
- (b) dimmer means for controlling the amount of power provided to said load, said dimmer means including a slider or a rocker device which serves as a second actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said dimmer means, said first and second actuator means being located immediately adjacent to each other, said first and second actuators occupying a region which serves as an active control zone for said wall-mountable system, and said first actuator having a substantially larger surface area to be contacted by the user for operating said switch means than the surface area of the second actuator to be contacted by the user or operating said dimmer means, whereby the switch function is emphasized over the dimmer function to the user.
A wall-mountable system for controlling electrical power to a load comprising, in combination:
- (a) switch means for turning said power on and off, said switch means including a first actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said switch means;
- and
- (b) dimmer means for controlling the amount of power provided to said load, said dimmer means including a slider, a rocker device or rotary device which serves as a second actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said dimmer means, said second actuator means being located at the perimeter of said first actuator, said first and second actuator means occupying a region which serves as an active control zone for said wall-mountable system, and said first actuator means having a substantially larger surface area to be contacted by the user for operating said switch means than the surface area of the second actuator to be contacted by the user for operating said dimmer means, whereby the switch function is emphasized over the dimmer function to the user.
A wall-mountable system for controlling electrical power to a load comprising, in combination:
- (a) switch means for turning said power on and off, said switch means including a first actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said switch means;
- and
- (b) dimmer means for controlling the amount of power provided to said load, said dimmer means including a slider or rocker device which serves as a second actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said dimmer means, said first actuator means constructed and arranged for being operated by a user and having a control area which is substantially larger than the control area of said second actuator means which is constructed and arranged for being operated by the user, whereby the switch function is emphasized over the dimmer function to the user.
A wallbox-mountable electrical control comprising, in combination,
- (a) a pushbutton-actuated electrical control device having a first actuator means for operating said pushbutton-actuated electrical control device,
- (b) means attachable to said wallbox for supporting said device,
- (c) dimmer means for controlling the amount of power provided to a load, said dimmer means including a second actuator means constructed and arranged for operating said dimmer means,
- (d) a faceplate for mounting over said support means, said faceplate having an opening,
- (e) a pushbutton having integral means for resiliently supporting said pushbutton on said support means, said pushbutton being actuatable through said opening in said faceplate, and
- (f) means for transmitting a force applied to said pushbutton to provide control of said device, wherein said first actuator means has a substantially larger surface area than said second actuator means, whereby the switch function is emphasized over the dimmer function to the user.
3 more elements
A wall-mountable system for controlling electrical power to a load comprising in combination:
- (a) switch means for turning said power on and off, said switch means including a first actuator means adapted for operating said switch means, said first actuator means having upper and lower portions for turning said power on and off, respectively, and a central portion housing means for detecting a signal from an external source for also controlling said power in response to said signal;
- and
- (b) dimmer means for controlling the amount of power provided to said load, said dimmer means including a second actuator means adapted for operating said dimmer means, said first actuator having a surface area which is substantially larger than the surface area of said second actuator means, said second actuator means being located adjacent a peripheral edge of said first actuator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.