Patent ID: 7566995

Claim:
A load control device for controlling the amount of power delivered to an electrical load from an AC power source, the load control device comprising: a controllably conductive device operable to be coupled in series electrical connection between the source and the load, the controllably conductive device having a control input for controlling the controllably conductive device between a non-conductive state and a conductive state; a controller operatively coupled to the control input of the controllably conductive device for controlling the controllably conductive device between the non-conductive state and the conductive state; a touch sensitive front surface adapted to be provided in an opening of a faceplate, such that the touch sensitive front surface is provided either substantially coextensive with the opening of the faceplate or slightly beyond a front surface of the faceplate; and a touch sensitive device responsive to a plurality of point actuations on the touch sensitive front surface, each point actuation characterized by a position and a force, the touch sensitive device having an output operatively coupled to the controller for providing a control signal representative of the position of the point actuation and responsive to the point actuation when the magnitude of the force of the point actuation is greater than a minimum magnitude; wherein the minimum magnitude of the force of each of the point actuations is substantially equal at each of the respective positions on the touch sensitive front surface.