Patent Publication Number: US-2009231167-A1

Title: Light source adjusting and controlling switch device

Description:
This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan patent application number 097204245 filed on Mar. 12, 2008. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a light source adjusting and controlling a switch device, which uses a capacitance-type touch pad to switch the brightness of light sources or different colors. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Conventional lamps used in rooms must be adjusted in brightness according to different conditions. For example, the brightness of a lamp will be turned down when people exit a room or sleep, in order to save electrical power; while maintaining enough light for vision. However, the brightness in most conventional lamps cannot be adjusted and only switched on or off. Some conventional lamps use the sectional switch to control the brightness. However, over periods of time, the contact spring inside the sectional switch will be weakened and cause poor contact; which in turn affects lighting adjustments. Some conventional lamps use a resistance-type touch pad to control brightness. The lamps, turned on by a first touch, become brighter at the second touch and turns off at the third touch. Brightness of the lamp is controlled by sections; therefore, other brightness changes cannot be adjusted precisely. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention has been accomplished to provide a light source adjusting and controlling switch device that eliminates the aforesaid drawbacks. According to one aspect of the present invention, the light source adjusting and controlling switch device is installed in a lamp, and comprises a control circuit inside and a capacitance-type touch pad on the surface for allowing a user to touch with a finger. The capacitance-type touch pad has a plurality of detection elements electrically connected to a touch sensor of the control circuit. When the user touches the capacitance-type touch pad with a finger, a capacitance will be produced on the capacitance-type touch pad, and the plurality of detection elements will sense the position of the finger to produce corresponding signals. After the touch sensor receives the signal, a microprocessor of the control circuit will operate immediately to switch on/off, brightness and colors to a connected light emitting device according to the signal. Thus, the design does not need any extra special tools and can be operated by only the touch of a finger. Furthermore, the design can execute multi-point movement and operation simultaneously and immediately, solving the difficult recognition in the prior art. 
     According to a second aspect of the present invention, the light source adjusting and controlling switch device can be installed in a wall switch. The control circuit is electrically connected to a light source in the room, and the capacitance-type touch pad is on the surface of the wall switch. When the user wants to adjust or control the brightness of the light source, the user can touch the capacitance-type touch pad with a finger or simply move the finger on the capacitance-type touch pad. Immediately the plurality of detection elements of the capacitance-type touch pad will sense the capacitance variable amount, and allow the user to further adjust and control brightness (such as the least bright, less bright, bright, brighter and the brightest) gradually and precisely through a sectional touch/control method, instead of a conventional turning switch. For additional convenience the capacitance-type touch pad is designed with an additional fluorescence indicating function at night. Also, if a three way light switch is not currently used for supplying power to the light source, the invention will supply an additional battery powered device mounted in the capacitance-type touch pad on the wall switch, which will supply the necessary power to the microprocessor. The invention therefore, provides power to adjust and control the brightness and color of the light. 
     According to an additional aspect of the present invention, when the user touches the capacitance-type touch pad with a finger, adjustment or control of the brightness for even conventional light sources such as tungsten or halogen lamps, can immediately be achieved. When the user touches the capacitance-type touch pad, equipped with a battery powered device, with a finger, adjustment or control of the brightness for conventional light sources such as fluorescent lights, electronic lamps and energy-efficient lamps. Another added aspect of the present invention, is that the light source adjusting and controlling switch device can be installed in a remote controller. The control circuit, in the remote controller, contains a transfer circuit for sending a remote signal directly to the light source or to the receiving circuit located within the touch pad on the wall. 
     When the user operates the capacitance-type touch pad on the remote controller with a finger, the detection elements will sense the capacitance variable amounts. It then transmits a signal to the microprocessor within the remote controller, then transfers the remote signal to the wall switch or lamp for adjustment of brightness or color. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the first and second preferred embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a circuit diagram (I) of the first and second preferred embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a circuit diagram (II) of the first and second preferred embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a circuit diagram (III) of the first and second preferred embodiments of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view (I) of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view (II) of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view (III) of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a block diagram of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a circuit diagram (I) of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is a circuit diagram (II) of the third preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a perspective view (I) of the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is a perspective view (II) of the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 15  is a block diagram of the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 16  is a circuit diagram (I) of the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 17  is a circuit diagram (II) of the fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 18  is a perspective view of the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 19  is a block diagram of the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 20  is a perspective view of the sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 21  is a block diagram of the sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       FIGS. 1˜6  show the first and second preferred embodiments of the present invention. In the two embodiments, a light source adjusting and controlling switch device is installed in a lamp  1 , having a control circuit  10  inside, and a capacitance-type touch pad  20  on the surface thereof. The control circuit  10  comprises a microprocessor  11 , a touch sensor  12 , a light emitting device  13  and a power supply device  14 . Furthermore, the capacitance-type touch pad  20  comprises a plurality of detection elements  21  and a plurality of light indicator  22  corresponding to the detection elements  21 . The detection elements  21  and the light indicators  22  of the capacitance-type touch pad  20  are electrically connected with the touch sensor  12  and the microprocessor  11  of the control circuit  10  inside the lamp  1  respectively. 
     When in use, the power supply device  14  is connected to an external power supply  30 , namely AC110V˜AC220V, and AC shall be transformed into DC and sent to the control circuit  10  and the capacitance-type touch pad  20 . When a user touches the capacitance-type touch pad  20  with a finger for adjusting and controlling the light emitting device  13 , the finger will produce a capacitance on the capacitance-type touch pad  20 . The plurality of detection elements  21  will sense the position of the finger on the capacitance-type touch pad  20  and trace the movement of the capacitance to precisely locate the finger&#39;s position. Meanwhile, a capacitance variable amount formed on the capacitance-type touch pad  20  is measured, and a signal corresponding to the capacitance variable amount is sent to the touch sensor  12  for confirmation. The microprocessor  11  can then perform a relative control to the light emitting device  13  according to the signal. 
     For example, when the user moves a finger on the capacitance-type touch pad  20 , one of the detection elements  21  on the capacitance-type touch pad  20  will detect that a signal is changing. Then, the correctness of the touch signal will be confirmed by the touch sensor  12  and inform the microprocessor  11  with a corresponding signal to allow the microprocessor  11  to adjust and control the brightness of the light emitting device  13 . Through the finger movement on the capacitance-type touch pad  20 , the brightness of the light emitting device  13  can be adjusted and controlled from the darkest to the brightest or from the brightest to the darkest. The sectional touch/control method can adjust and control the brightness of the light emitting device  13  from the darkest to the brightest (such as the least bright, less bright, bright, brighter and the brightest) or from the brightest to the darkest (such as the brightest, brighter, bright, less bright and the least bright), and can carry out the action of turning on and turning off. Through finger movement on the capacitance-type touch pad  20 , the brightness of the light emitting device  13  can be finely adjusted and controlled immediately. If the light emitting device  13  has different colors, the user can also touch the capacitance-type touch pad  20  to switch between different colors. 
     The capacitance-type touch pad  20  of the present invention has a non-single point press with durable use characteristics. The user can use a finger to operate a lamp  1 , with no need of any special tools. Therefore, the capacitance-type touch pad  20  has better reliability and a longer use period. The pressure of the touch to a capacitance-type touch pad  20  does not need great exertion like that of a resistance-type touch pad; and the user can precisely position the desired light by using only a light touch. More importantly, the conventional resistance-type touch pad can only be operated by a single finger-single direction mode; however, the capacitance-type touch pad  20  of the present invention can execute the multi-point movement and operation simultaneously and immediately, which solves the difficult recognition of the prior art. 
     In the above-preferred embodiment, when the user moves a finger on the capacitance-type touch pad  20 , because the capacitance variable amount can be sensed by the detection elements  21 ; therefore, the light indicators  22  corresponding to the detection elements  21  will remain on in order to show the press status and to guide the user to adjustment of the brightness of the light emitting device  13 . The capacitance-type touch pad  20  can be a transparent board, and a fluorescent agent can be added into the capacitance-type touch pad  20  to enable the capacitance-type touch pad  20  to produce the fluorescence for indicating in darkness. 
       FIGS. 7˜12  are the third preferred embodiment (I), (II) and (III) of the present invention. In this embodiment, the light source adjusting and controlling switch device is mounted inside a wall switch  2 . On the surface of the wall switch  2 , there is a capacitance-type touch pad  20 , with a control circuit  10  electrically connected to a light source  40  (such as fluorescent light, tungsten bulb, power-efficient bulb, LED, search light, sensor light, hanging art lights or other light sources) to replace the conventional switch installed on the wall. If the wall switch  2  is a conventional one-sectional switch (which only includes ON/OFF) and used to turn on/turn off the tungsten or halogen bulbs, the original circuit can supply power to the microprocessor  11 , and the touch sensor  12  of the control circuit  10 . The touch sensor  12  is also electrically connected with the detection elements  21  of the capacitance-type touch pad  20 . Therefore, when the user wants to turn on/turn off the light source  40  in the room, he can touch the capacitance-type touch pad  20  with a finger. At this time, the detection elements  21  sense the capacitance variable amount on the capacitance-type touch pad  20  and the light indicators  22  corresponding to the detection elements  21  will be on to show the press status. The touch sensor  12  then sends a signal, corresponding to the capacitance variable amount, to the microprocessor  11  to enable the microprocessor  11  to turn on/turn off the light source  40 . However, if the light source  40  is a fluorescent lamp, an electronic lamp, an energy-efficient light or any other electronic light source, of which the brightness cannot be adjusted, a (battery) power supply device  15  can be installed into the capacitance-type touch pad  20  to become a switch for switching the light source  40 . 
     If the wall switch  20  is a conventional turning switch, it can be replaced with a multi-point capacitance-type touch pad  20 , and the original circuit can supply power to the microprocessor  11  and the touch sensor  12  of the control circuit  10 . In this way, the brightness of the light source  40  can be adjusted more accurately through the capacitance-type touch pad  20 . The plurality of detection elements  21  of the capacitance-type touch pad  20  can sense the position of the finger movement on the capacitance-type touch pad  20  and further sense a capacitance variable amount. A signal corresponding to the capacitance variable amount will be sent to the touch sensor  12  for confirmation. Subsequently, the microprocessor  11  can set the brightness of the light source  40  according to the signal. Through the sectional touch/control method, the user can adjust and control the brightness of the light source  40  from the darkest to the brightest (such as the least bright, less bright, bright, brighter and the brightest) or the brightest to the darkest (such as the brightest, brighter, bright, less bright, least bright). The capacitance-type touch pad  20  can be a transparent board, and a fluorescent agent can be added into the capacitance-type touch pad  20  to make it produce the fluorescence for indicating. If there is no circuit to supply power, a power supply device  15  can be equipped into the capacitance-type touch pad  20  for supplying power to the control circuit  10  inside the wall switch  2  to further adjust the brightness of the light source  40  (such as the adjustable fluorescent light, tungsten lamp, halogen bulb or other adjustable light sources). 
       FIGS. 13˜17  are the fourth preferred embodiment (I) and (II) of the present invention. In the embodiment (I) shown in  FIG. 13 , the light source adjusting and controlling switch devices are set inside a remote controller  3  and a wall switch  2  respectively. In  FIG. 13 , there is no original circuit in the wall switch  2  to supply power; thus, a power supply device  15  is equipped into the capacitance-type touch pad  20  on the wall switch  2 . The microprocessor  11  of the control circuit  10  in the wall switch  2  is electrically connected with a receiving circuit  17 . The microprocessor  11  of the control circuit  10  in the remote controller  3  is electrically connected with a transfer circuit  16 . When the user operates the capacitance-type touch pad  20  on the remote controller  3  with a finger, the detection elements  21  of the capacitance-type touch pad  20  sense a capacitance variable amount, and the touch sensor  12  sends a signal corresponding to the capacitance variable amount to the microprocessor  11 . Next, the microprocessor  11  in the remote controller  3  sends the remote signal through the transfer circuit  16  to the receiving circuit  17  of the control circuit  10  inside the wall switch  2 . The wireless transfer mode can be a radio, infrared, Bluetooth technology or other wireless transfer interfaces. After the receiving circuit  17  inside the wall switch  2  receives the signal from the remote controller  3 , the microprocessor  11  can switch on/off or set the brightness to the light source  40 . The user can also touch the capacitance-type touch pad  20  on the wall switch  2  to directly switch on/off or set the brightness of the light source  40 . Through the sectional touch/control method, the user can adjust and control the brightness from the darkest to the brightest (such as the least bright, less bright, bright, brighter and the brightest) or the brightest to the darkest (such as the brightest, brighter, bright, less bright, least bright). The embodiment (II) shown in  FIG. 14  is very similar to the embodiment (I) shown in  FIG. 13  with exception of the power supply device  15  (the original circuit can supply power to the control circuit  10  in the wall switch  2 .). 
       FIGS. 18˜19  are the fifth preferred embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is substantially similar to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  with exception of the remote controller  3  and the receiving circuit  17  electrically connected with the microprocessor  11  of the control circuit  1  inside the lamp  1 . When the user touches the capacitance-type touch pad  20  on the remote controller  3  with a finger, a remote signal will be sent from the transfer circuit  16  in the remote controller  3  to the receiving circuit  17  of the control circuit  10  inside the lamp  1  to switch on/off or set the brightness to the light emitting device  13  by remote. Through the sectional touch/control method, the user can adjust and control the brightness from the darkest to the brightest (such as the least bright, less bright, bright, brighter and the brightest) or the brightest to the darkest (such as the brightest, brighter, bright, less bright, least bright).  FIGS. 20˜21  are the sixth preferred embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is substantially similar to the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1  with exception that the detection elements  21  comprise MODE buttons for switching between the different colors to the light emitting device  13 . When the user touches the MODE buttons, the light emitting device  13  will switch the colors. 
     Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.