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Patent 1250654 Summary

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Claims and Abstract availability

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(12) Patent: (11) CA 1250654
(21) Application Number: 489456
(54) English Title: ACOUSTIC SWITCH
(54) French Title: COMMUTATEUR ACOUSTIQUE
Status: Expired
Bibliographic Data
(52) Canadian Patent Classification (CPC):
  • 349/29
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC):
  • G10K 9/18 (2006.01)
(72) Inventors :
  • LILJEQUIST, PETER (United States of America)
  • CHEN, KOU I. (Taiwan, Province of China)
(73) Owners :
  • JOSEPH ENTERPRISES, INC. (United States of America)
(71) Applicants :
(74) Agent: FETHERSTONHAUGH & CO.
(74) Associate agent:
(45) Issued: 1989-02-28
(22) Filed Date: 1985-08-27
Availability of licence: N/A
(25) Language of filing: English

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): No

(30) Application Priority Data:
Application No. Country/Territory Date
759,534 United States of America 1985-07-26

Abstracts

English Abstract



11
ACOUSTIC SWITCH
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
The present invention is a light indicator
for an acoustic switch which is connected so that this
single indicator will produce a light only when both
A/C power is supplied to the switch and an appliance is
plugged into the switch and turned on ready to receive
power. The switch has a microphone which produces an
electrical signal when sound is detected. This elec-
trical signal is supplied to an activating circuit which
will activate a trigger device to couple the A/C line
power to the connected appliance.


Claims

Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.





The embodiments of the invention in which an
exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as
follows:
1. A sound activated switch for coupling a line
power source to an appliance connected to an output ter-
minal of said switch comprising:
means for detecting a sound and producing an
electrical signal in response to said sound;
switch means for coupling said line power source
to said output terminal;
triggering means, responsive to said electrical
signal, for triggering said switch means; and
light indicator means for producing a light
signal when both said line power is coupled to said switch
and said appliance is coupled to said output terminal in a
turned-on state ready to receive line power.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said switch
means comprises a triac switch.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said light
indicator means comprises a series combination of a
resistance and a light-emitting diode coupled in parallel
with said switch means.
4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means
for detecting a sound comprises an electret condenser
microphone and an amplifier having a gain of at least 200.
5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
triggering means is adapted to be activated by a first
level of said electrical signal and further comprising
means for adjusting said triggering means so that said
triggering means is activated by a second level of said





electrical signal, said means for adjusting being user
accessible.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said
triggering means includes timing means responsive to said
electrical signal occurring twice due to two loud sounds
approximately one second apart.
7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said
triggering circuit comprises:
a first flip-flop being coupled to produce a
high-level output signal in response to said electrical
signal;
a second flip-flop having a clock input and
a data input coupled to receive said first flip-flop output
signal;
a capacitor coupled to said data input of
said second flip-flop, said capacitor being arranged to be
charged to a high level subsequent to said first flip-flop
output signal changing to a high level in response to a
first loud sound so that said second flip-flop will produce
a high-level output signal in response to a second high-
level output signal from said first flip-flop; and
a third flip-flop having a clock input
coupled to receive said output signal of said second flip-
flop and having an output;
said switch means comprising a triac having
a trigger input coupled to said output of said third flip-
flop.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising
a user-adjustable variable resistance coupling a positive
power supply to a clock input of said first flip-flop.




9. The apparatus of claim 7 further comprising
a second capacitor coupled to said output of said first
flip-flop and to a reset input of said first flip-flop,
said second capacitor being arranged and adapted to provide
a high-level signal to said reset input approximately one-
half second after a high level signal appears on said flip-
flop output.
10. A sound-activated switch for coupling a line
power source to an appliance connected to an output ter-
minal of said switch comprising:
an electret condenser microphone;
a transistor amplifier having a gain of at
least approximately 200 and being coupled to amplify a
signal from said microphone;
a first flip-flop having a clock input, a
reset input and an output, a said clock input being coupled
to an output of said amplifier;
a first capacitor coupled to said output and
said reset input of said first flip-flop, said first capa-
citor being arranged and adapted to provide a high-level
signal to said reset input approximately one-half second
after a high level signal appears on said first flip-flop
output;
a variable resistor coupling said first
flip-flop clock input to a power supply
a second flip-flop having a clock input and
a data input coupled to said first flip-flop output;
a second capacitor coupled to said second
flip-flop data input, said second capacitor being arranged
and adapted to be charged to a high level subsequent to
said signal at said first flip-flop output charging to a
high level;
a third flip-flop having a clock input
coupled to said second flip-flop output, a data input, an
output, and an inverse output coupled to said third flip-
flop data input;




a triac coupling said line power to said
output terminal, said triac having a trigger input cou-
pled to said third flip-flop output; and
a series combination of a resistance and
a light emitting diode coupled in parallel with said
triac.

Description

Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.




00291-2/PPPPPl

ACOUSTIC SWITCH

Acoustic switches are used to replace manually
operated on-off switches such as light switches or
switches for other household appliances. Acoustic
switches are triggered by the presence or absence ~f
sound of a particular t~p~. For instance, U.S. Patent
3,949,366 to Spillar, et al., discloses a system for
turning on and off appliances which is activated by a
fixed frequency of~sound generated by a transmitter.
Another system shown in U.S. Patent 4,408,308 to Smith,
_ al., shows a switch which automatically turns off in
the event that no sound is detected for a fixed period
of time. This type of switch is useful for turning off
lights or o~her appliances when people leave a room.

The present invention is a light indicator
for an acoustic switch which is connected so that this
single indicator will produce a light only when both
A/C p~wer is supplied to the switch and an appliance is
plugged into the switch and turned on ready to receive
power. The switch has a microphone which produces an
electrical signal when sound is detected. This elec
trical signal is supplied to an activating circuit which
will activate a trigger device to couple the A/C line
power to the connected appliance.
In the preferred embodiment, the light indi-
cator is a combination of a resistance and a light emit-
ting diode in series coupled across the tri~gering de-
vice. The trigqering device is a triac switch. Four
flip flops are used to activate the triac switch when
twb closely spaced sounds, such as two hand-claps, are
3S detected.

,i

~D~


The first flip-flop receives an amplified
signal from the microphone, causing it to produce a
positive output. This output is coupled to the clock
input of a second flip-flop and also charge~ a capaci-
tor coupled to a data input of ~he second flip flop.
Thus, a first sound will clock the first flip-flop to
produce a positive input to the second flip~flop after
about ~ half second delay. This delay is the period of
time it takes the capacitor to charge. The first flip-
flop is then reset after a half second when a capacitor
coupled to the reset inport becomes charged. If a~sec-
ond sound appears after this reset and before the dis-
charge of the capacitor coupled to the input of the
second flip-flop, the first flip-flop will be toggled
again, thereby clocking an output from the second flip-
flop.
The output of the second flip-flop will clock
the third and fourth flip-flops, which are connected
together to provide sufficient current to turn on the
triac switch. The data inputs of the third and fourth
flip-flops are coupled to the negative output of one of
the third and fourth flip-flops. This causes the flip-
~lops to change state each time, thereby alternately
turning on and off the triac switch.
The indicator light enables a user to deter-
mine both ~13 whether the switch is coupled to A/C power
and ~2) whether an appliance both plugged into the switch
and is turned on. This dual function indicator enables
a user to determine at a glance whether the system is
in operating condition without requiring a user to check
the on/off switch of the appliance itself or the other
connections. When a user makes two successi~e sounds,
sUch as hand claps, the switch will be activated and
the indicator light will turn off, indicating that power
has been supplied to the appliance~ This is particu~
la~ly useful for some appliances, such as a television,
which take some time to warm up. Without the indicator

,, .





light, a user would not know immediately that he had suc
cessfully turned on the television.
The invention also has an amplifier with suf-
ficient gain to enable hand claps from as far away as
twenty feet to be detected. Since this large amount of
gain may also cause background noises to set off a switch,
the sensitivity of the switch is user ad~justable.
Preferably~ a resistive potentiometer is connected to the
input of the first flip-flop and is user accessible,
enabling the user to adjust the sensitivity of the switch.
For a fuller understanding of the nature and
advantages of the invention, reference should be made to
the ensuing detailed description taken in conjunction with
the accompanying drawing, which is a schematic view of a
preferred embodiment of the present invention.


The drawing is a schemakic view of the acoustic
switch of the present invention. A/C line power is coupled
to a pair of input terminals 10~ An appliance to be
switched on and off is connected to a pair of output ter-
minals 12. A triac sitch 14 will couple line power to the
appliance coupled to output 12. A triggering signal ~or
triac 14 is provided through the operation of flip-flops
16, 18, 20, and 22. These flip-flops are enabled by a
signal for a microphone 24 which is amplified by a tran-
sistor 26. Rectified D/C power for the circuit is provided
by a Zener diode 28. A negative grol~nd return is provided
through diode 30 and resistors 32, 34, and capacitor 36.
A filter capacitor 38 is coupled across the posi-
tive and negative D/G lines. A limiting resistor 40 pro-
vides ~/C power to the flip-flops.



'b~





In operation, when microphone 24 detects a
sound, it operates to couple the base of transistor 26
to ground. This turns off transistor 26, pulling its
collector high and presenting the high signal to the
clock input 42 of flip-flop 16. Data input 44 for the
flip-flop 16 is always held high by the positive power
supply. The size of the signal xe~uired to activate
clock input 42 is controlled by potentiometers 46 and
48 in conjunction with resistor S0. Potentiometer 48
is adjusted when the switch is manufactured to compen-
sate for differences due to the particular components
used. Potentiometer 46 is user accessible, enabling a
user to adjust the~sensitivity of the device.
A resistor 52 is provided to perform current
limiting for microphone 24. Resistors 54, 56, 58, and
60 are used for biasing transistor 26. Transistor 26
preferably has a gain of approximately 200 Hfe. This
provides a sensitivity for audio noises up to a range
of approximately twenty feet from the acoustic switch.
Upon receiving a clock signal at input 42,
flip~flop 16 will produce a positive output at output
62. This output is coupled to a clock input 64 of flip-
~lop 18. However, the first sound to appear will not
cause flip-flop 18 to toggle since a data input 66 would
normally be low. However, t~is first clock signal will
char~e a capacitor 68 through a resistor 70 to give a
high level data input for flip-flop 18. This high-level
input to clock input 34 will disappear when capacitor
68 discharges after output 62 of flip-flop 16 is reset
to zero.
Output 62 of flip-flop 16 will be reset to
zero when the high level signal applied across resistor
72 and capacitor 74 charges up capacitor 74 to present
a high level input to a reset input 76 of flip-flop 16.
The time constants of capacitors 68 and 74 are chosen
so~that two sounds must occur more than one-half second
and approximately less than one second apart. The





second sound must thus occur after flip-flop 16 has
been reset and before the charge on capacitor 68 has
decayed sufficiently to eliminate the positive signal
at i~put 66 of flip-flop 18. The second sound appearing
in this time window will trigger flip-flop 18 giving a
positive output on output 78 of flip-flop 18.
When flip-flop 18 has a positive output on
output 78, this will trigger clock inputs 80 and 32 of
10 1ip-flops 22 and 20, respectively. Because data inputs
84 and 86 are initially high, both flip-flops will tog-
gle, producing a high level output on outputs 88 and
90. These outputs are coupled through resistors 92 and
94, respectively, to the trigger input of triac 1~.
- A low level will appear on the inverse output
96 of flip-flop 22, which is coupled to the data inputs
84 and 86 of flip-flops 22 and 24. Thus, the next set
of two successive sounds will produce a low level out-
put of flip-flops 20, 22, thereby turning off triac 14.
A resistor 98 and an LED 100 are coupled
across triac 14. Current will 10w through resistor 98
and LED 100 only when line power is coupled to inputs
10 and an appliance is coupled to output 12. In addi-
~tion, the appliance must be turned on to receive power,
thereby enabling current flow. When triac 14 is trig-
gered, current will flow through triac 14, thereby by-
passing resistor 98 and LED lO0. The light fxom LED
100 will thus disappear, indicating that the appliance
has been connected.
As will be understood by those familiar wi~h
the art, the present invention can be embodied in other
forms without departing from the spixit or essential
characteristics thereof. For example, a device other
than an LED could be used to provide a light when triac
14 has not been triggered, or another trigger device
could be used in place of triac 14. Alternate circuit
configurations other than the flip-flops shown could be
used to provide the triggering signal to triac 14.

,
. ^ . .



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Accordingly, the foregoing embodiments are intended to
be illustrative of, but not limiting of, the scope of
the invention, which is set forth in the following
claims.

Representative Drawing

Sorry, the representative drawing for patent document number 1250654 was not found.

Administrative Status

For a clearer understanding of the status of the application/patent presented on this page, the site Disclaimer , as well as the definitions for Patent , Administrative Status , Maintenance Fee  and Payment History  should be consulted.

Administrative Status

Title Date
Forecasted Issue Date 1989-02-28
(22) Filed 1985-08-27
(45) Issued 1989-02-28
Expired 2006-02-28

Abandonment History

There is no abandonment history.

Payment History

Fee Type Anniversary Year Due Date Amount Paid Paid Date
Application Fee $0.00 1985-08-27
Owners on Record

Note: Records showing the ownership history in alphabetical order.

Current Owners on Record
JOSEPH ENTERPRISES, INC.
Past Owners on Record
None
Past Owners that do not appear in the "Owners on Record" listing will appear in other documentation within the application.
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Document
Description 
Date
(yyyy-mm-dd) 
Number of pages   Size of Image (KB) 
Drawings 1993-08-26 1 38
Claims 1993-08-26 4 131
Abstract 1993-08-26 1 20
Cover Page 1993-08-26 1 19
Description 1993-08-26 6 264