Electric timer for controlling power to a load
AssigneeHoneywell International Inc.
InventorsPierre Simard, Benoit Meilleur
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wall mountable electric timer that is capable of switching power to a load between an “on” state and an “off” state in accordance with a programmable schedule. In some cases, the electric timer may be programmed such that a user can program the electric switch by interacting with only a first button and a second button of a user interface. Alternatively, or in addition, the electric switch may include a power stealing circuit, a series of setup menus, a visual indicator to indicate the operating state of the load, and/or a randomly generated schedule.
Claims13
A wall mountable electric timer for switching power to a load between an “on” state and an “off” state in accordance with a programmable schedule, the wall mountable electric timer comprising:
- a housing having a front, a back and side walls extending between the front and the back, the housing configured to be mountable to a wall with the back situated toward the wall and the front facing away from the wall;
- at least one memory for storing a programmable schedule and one or more controller settings;
- a controller coupled to the at least one memory for controlling the switching of power to a load between an “on” state and an “off” state in accordance with the programmable schedule;
- a user interface situated on the front of the housing and coupled to the controller, the user interface including a display, a first button, and a second button;
- the controller is programmed such that a user can program the programmable schedule and the one or more controller settings by interacting with only the first button and the second button;
- wherein the controller has an operating mode and a setup mode;
- wherein in the operating mode, depressing the first button causes the controller to switch power to the load between the “on” state and the “off” state;
- and
- wherein in the operating mode, depressing the first button for an extended period of time causes the controller to enter the setup mode.
A wall mountable electric timer for switching power to a load between an “on” state and an “off” state in accordance with a schedule, the wall mountable electric timer comprising:
- a housing having a front, a back and side walls extending between the front and the back, the housing configured to be mountable to a wall with the back situated toward the wall and the front facing away from the wall;
- a controller for controlling the switching of power to a load between an “on” state and an “off” state in accordance with the schedule;
- and
- wherein the controller is programmed to randomly generate a random schedule of turn “on” times and turn “off” times during a predetermined time period, each of the randomly generated turn “on” times and turn “off” times not being based upon a corresponding preprogrammed turn “on” times and turn “off” times of the schedule;
- and
- wherein the controller is configured to switch power to the load in accordance with the turn “on” and turn “off” times of the random schedule.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.