Patent ID: 8525372

Claim:
A dimming switch, comprising: an enclosure comprising a mounting surface; a flat plate button mounted on the mounting surface; a dimming button; a tripping button; a dimmer mounted inside the enclosure; movable first and second elastic metal sheets; a resetting/tripping device comprising: a resetting guide column below the flat plate button, the guide column comprising a lock groove near a distal end; a resetting spring covering a portion of the resetting guide column; a T-shaped tripper abutting the first and second elastic metal sheets, the tripper comprising: lifting arms extending outwards from left and right sides; a central hole; and an outer surface; a lock comprising a lock hole, an inner wall, and an outer wall; and a lock spring between the outer surface of the tripper and the inner wall of the lock; a dimming control circuit; a power input end configured to connect to a live wire of a power supply; and a power output end configured to connect to an electrical load, wherein the resetting guide column passes through the central hole of the tripper and is configured with the resetting spring to selectively pass the lock groove in and out of contact with the lock, wherein the flat plate button is configured so that pressing the flat plate button moves the first and second elastic metal sheets to reset the resetting/tripping device, thereby electrically connecting the power input end with the power output end through the dimming control circuit, wherein the dimming button is configured so that rotating the dimming button and pressing the dimming button up and down regulates the output voltage of the dimming control circuit through the dimmer, and wherein, when the tripping button is pressed, the tripping button is configured to push the outer wall of the lock and trip the resetting/tripping device so that the first and second elastic metal sheets move and the electrical connection between the power input end and the power output end is cut off through the dimming control circuit.