Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1~937~7
Backaround of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wall-
mounted switch box for controlling a plurality of household
AC lighting circuits and more particularly to a system of
lighting circuits in which one or more of the circuits may
include fluorescent lighting.
Typical household wiring usually includes a
panel of lighting switches located in a hallway or foyer
for controlling a plurality of lighting circuits in the
hallway and in adjoining rooms. Sometimes dimmers are
included along with the light switches for controlling the
level of power supplied to each one of the lighting
circuits. These dimmers usually take the form of reostats
which are manually set to the desired level of brightness.
A single line programmable dimmer for one of
such circuits is shown in our U.S. Patent No. 4,649,323
dated March 10, 1987 and entitled MICROCOMPUTER-
CONTROLLED LIGHT SWITCH. That patent describes a
programmable dimmer actuated by a pair of single pole,
single throw switches. This device is capable of
operating a single load containing an incandescent light.
It is not suitable for operating a fluorescent light
because a fluorescent light requires an additional input to
operate a heater. Moreover, ordinary di~mer switches
cannot be connected to fluorescent lights because of the
ballast requirements for the heater circuits.
31b`
3 ~,7
Summary of the In~entlon
The preaQnt lnventlon provldeo a multlgang
wall-mounted llghtlng olrcult controller uhlch may be
programmed to operate a plurallty of llghtlng clrcult~
some of whlch may lnclude fluoreJcent llghtlng.
Accordlng to the preferred embodlment, four
llghtlng clrcult~ may be controlled and there may be a~
many a~ four preset brlghtneos level~ for the four
llghtlng clrcult~. The pre~etJ may be entered lnto
memory and eraaed from memory by the use of a learn moae
~hlch 1J lnltlated from the front panel of the control-
ler by depre~lng a ~learn~ pushbutton. Apart from the
pre-seta, the four lndlvldual clrcult~ may be controlled
by dlmmer JwltcheJ comprlJlng a palr of non-latchlng
lS pushbuttons. One Juch swltch la deslgnated an ~up~
Jwltch and the other 1~ dealgnated a ~down~ awitch JO
that preaslng the up owltch ralaes the level of brlght-
neJJ and converJely pr~JJlng the down Jwltch lowers the
level of brlghtnea~.
The controller lnclude~ a mlcroprocesaor and
an erasable programmable read only memory. Each of the
front panel ~wltchea provldea an lnput to th~ mlcro-
proceasor whlch la programmed to sense the closlng of
the contact~ of each of the owltcheJ and provlde the
functlon that 1J called for by the closlng of the par-
tlcular owltch. There are four load llne outputa uhlch
may under normal condltlonJ be connected to four lncan-
deJcent llghtlng clrcultJ. However, If deJlred, one of
the clrculta, channel 4, may be connected to the heatlng
-2-
clrcultJ of one or more fluoreacent llghtlng fl~ture~ on
channela 1, 2 or 3. The mlcroproceJaor may be pro-
grammed to designate channel 4 aa a heater clrcult upon
the depreaslon of certaln predetermlned awltcheJ on the
front panel. In thls conflguratlon the 4th channel
proYldeo power to the heatlng clrculta of one or more
fluoreJcent llghta dependlng upon whether those fluor-
escent llghts are on or off. Thus thla channel wlll
no longer functlon ln a dlmmer mode but wlll only aupply
power to the clrculta containlng the fluorescent llghta
of those circulta that are actlvated.
It i8 a prlmary ob~ect of thls lnventlon to
- provlde a multlgang wall-mounted programmable light clr-
cult controller capable of assumlng dlfferlng configura-
tlons dependlng upon whether lncande~cent or fluorescentllqhtlng lo to be utlllzed.
A further ob~ect of thla lnvention i8 to pro-
vlde a multlchannel programmable dlmmer ln whlch varlouo
comblnatlons of llghtlng levelo may be atored ln ~emory
and may be inatantly recalled from memory by depre~alng
a front panel swltch.
A stlll further ob~ect of thla lnventlon la to
provlde a multlchannel lightlng clrcult controller under
the control of a m~croprocesaor whlch 1~ responsl~e eO
the cloalng of contacts of a plurality of non-latching
slngle pole, aingle throw awltchea for lnltlatlng
varloua control functlon~.
The foregolng and othe~ o~ectlve~, feature~
and advantages of the present lnventlon wlll be more
1~9;~'767
readlly under~tood upon conalderatlon of the follo~lng
detalled dQ~crlptlon of the lnventlon ta~en ln con~unc-
tlon ~lth the accompanying drawlngJ.
Brief De~crlptlon of the Dra~ln~
FIG. 1 la a bloc~ ~chematlc dlagram of a
multichannel function controller aho~lng the layout of
the front panel of the controller.
FIG. 2 i~ a block schematlc dlagram of the
function controller of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 i8 a flo~ chart diagram deplctlng
the prPgrammlng of the mlcroproces~or shown ln FIG. 2
for fluore~cent and incandeacent llghting clrcuit
conflguratlon~.
Detailed De~crlptlon of the Inventlon
A multlchannel llght. clrcult controller 10
lncludea a front panel 12 ~hlch l~ connected to the
houJehold ~irlng vhlch conalJts of a llne ~lre 9, a
neutral wire 11 and A ground ~lre 13. The controller 18
phyJically lncorporated behind the front panel and
includes four output~ on output linea 14, 16, 18 and 20,
reJpectively. Sho~n in dotted outllne are alternate
conflguratlon~ for the output llneJ 18a and 20a. Llne
14 drlveJ an lncande~cent load 22, line 16 drlveJ an
lncande~cent load 24, and llneJ 18 and 20, reJpectlvely,
driYe a fluoreJcent load 26. In the alternatlve, llneJ
18 and 20, reepectlvely, ~ould drlve t~o other lncan-
de~cent load~ lndlcated a~ lncande~cent load number 3 nt
~3'7~7
bloc~ 28 and lncandeacent load number 4, bloc~ 30. In
yet another conflguratlon ~not ahown) the loada at
bloc~ 22 and 24 could both be fluoreacent loads and
llne 20 would then be connected ln parallel to the
heater clrculta of both fluorescent llghts. That la,
channel 4 may drlve the heater clrcult~ of a~ many
fluorescent llghts ~8 are connected to the controller
10. The four circulta are ahown by way of lllustratlon
only, lt belng underatood that, dependlng upon the
mlcroproce~sor employed, any number of e~ternal clrcults
could be controlled.
The front panel 12 lncludes 4 pre-set awltches
labeled A, B, C and D. There la alJo an ~off~ awltch
and a ~learn~ switch. All of these switcheJ are slngle-
pole, alngle-throw non-latching pushbuttons. The depres-
slon of each of the awltchea grounda a voltage avallable
from a local power Jupply and provldea the mlcropro-
ceaaor ~lth a loglcal ~zero~ lnput. The mlcroproceasor
recognlzes the loglcal zero aa a algnal that the Jwitch
haa been depreaoed. Other conflguratlona of the
a~ltchea are poaalble, lt belng lmportant only that the
awltch have an operatlve and a non-operatlve posltlon ln
order to provlde loglc algnala to the mlcroprocessor.
Each channel lncludea a palr of ~up~ and ~do~n~ swltches
labeled aa 1, ?~ 3 and 4 on front panel 12. Channel 1
lnclude~ up button 34A and down button 34B: channel 2
lncludea up button 36A and down button 36B, channel 3
lncludea up button 38A and do~n button 38B, and channel
4 lnclude~ up button 40A and down button 40B.
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1~3~7~7
Referring now to FIG. 2, the controller 10
includes a microprocessor 42 and an electrically erasable
programmable read only memory (EEPROM) 44. Each of the
line outputs 14, 16, 18 and 20 include buffer amplifiers
46, 48, 50 and 52. The front panel 12 is connected to the
microprocessor 42 via a series of busses. The up-down
switches for channels one through four are connected to 8
inputs of microprocessor 42 on bus 54. The preset lines
are connected to four inputs of microprocessor 42 on bus
56. The off switch is connected on line 58 and the learn
switch is connected on line 60. An oscillator 62 provides
internal timing for the microprocessor 42.
The microprocessor 42 provides firing commands
to thyristors (not shown) which are included in each of
the load circuits 22, 24 and 26. The manner of opera-
tion of such circuits is well-known in the art and is
described in more detail in the aforementioned U.S. Patent
No. 4,649,323. In order to synchronize the firing
commands for the aforementioned loads a power supply and
zero crossing detector 64 is provided. The line voltage
and the neutral line are connected to each of the loads 22,
24 and 26 and the firing commands from the microprocessor
42 close a thyristor which makes the line voltage available
to the load for a chosen portion of each half cycle of the
alternating current wave form, corresponding to the degree
of brightness desired. In channel 4, if configurated as a
heater circuit, the thyristor is maintained . . . . . . .
1~3~7~7
in a closed condition whenever the load of channel 3 is
turned on regardless of what the brightness setting might
be. This is because the power requirements for the
heater circuits are constant.
The controller 10 further includes remote
switch means 47 connected in parallel with the
programmable circuit controller for controlling power
levels in the AC lighting circuits from a remote
location.
Referring now to FIG. 3, upon power up of the
unit data is read in from the EEP~ON 44. If the off
button on the front panel 12 is pushed in conjunction
with certain other pushbuttons, the microprocessor 42 is
placed in a special mode which enables it to reprogram
the external channels for fluorescent loads or to program
channel 4 as a non-dim channel. A non-dim channel, that
is, one that is either full-off or full-on but which is
never operated at less than full power, is useful when
running an appliance such as a projector, a television
and the like. Thus, if the off button is pushed upon
power up and the D pre-set button is also pushed, the
microprocessor 42 performs a keyboard diagnostic to
determine if the front panel 12 is fully operational.
The details of such a test program are well-known to
those skilled in the art of microprocessor programming.
If the A preset button is pushed while the off button is
pushed, all four channels are reset as incandescent
dimmers. This information is saved in the EEPROM if it
represents a change from the last existing condition.
If, instead of the A or D preset the 1, 2 or 3 up buttons
34A, 36A or 3~A are pushed, these channels are marked as
fluorescent lighting circuits and channel 4 is marked as
a heater. From this point, channel 4 will not function
in a dimmer mode but will only either . . . . . . . . .
~ 7
be full-off or full-on dependlng upon ~hether the
fluore~cent llghtlng cltcutJ to ~hich lt la connected
are turned on. If a change la to be made JeJlgnatlng
elther channel l, 2 or 3 a~ an ln~andescent llghtlng
S clrcult (ln the event that lt may have prevlously been a
fluorescent llghtlng clrcuit), the approprlate do~n but-
tona of channels l, 2 or 3 are pushed, that la, button~
34~, 36B and 38B. If all of channela 1, 2 and 3 are to
be lncandescent, channel 4 la automatl~ally mar~ed a~ an
~ncandeJcent channel. If no fluoreacent llghtlng clr-
cult~ are dealgnated and the up button for channel 4,
button 40A 18 pushed, channel 4 18 mar~ed aa a non-dlm
llghting clrcuit. If the channel 4 do~n button 40B ~a
puahed, channel 4 ia mar~ed ao an lncande0cent clrcult.
Theae deslgnations are then wr~tten lnto the EEPROM by
meana of a dlgltal code generated by mlcroprocesJor 42
and ~11 remaln as a part of the operatlng program for
the mlcroproceaaor 42 untll a subseguent change. After
th~a programmlng ha~ been accompllJhed, the mlcropro-
ce~sor automatlcally setJ a po~er up blt and start~ atlmer to enable a tlmer lnterrupt program to begln
runnlnq. The mlcroprocessor 42 then ldlea to ~alt for
the tlmer lnterrupt.
The tlmer lnterrupt program 1~ a conventlonal
program to flre the thyrlator for each of the four chan-
nel~ at a predetermlned phase angle. Thls program may
eun, for e~ample, 140 tlme~ each l/2 cycle of the
60-cycle A~ po~er lnput waveform. The manner ln ~hch
~uch a program 1J constructed la ~ell ~no~n ln the art
1~3'~
and may be found, for example, in the aforementioned U.S.
Patent No. 4,649,323.
In actual operation the controller 10 is pro-
grammed for differing lighting levels by first adjusting
the levels of brightness by utilizing the up-down switches
for channels 1, 2, 3 and 4 on front panel 12. Then when
the desired levels have been established they may be stored
in memory by pressing the appropriate preset button along
with the learn button. As many as four different pre-sets
may thus be stored in the EEPROM 44. To recall a preset
lighting level from memory, it is necessary only to press
one of the preset buttons A, B, C or D. To adjust lighting
levels on any of the four channels at any time it is nec-
essary only to press either the up or down button for each
of the channels 1 through 4. Pressing the off button alone
will cause all of the lighting levels to drop to zero.
As part of its internal programming, the mic-
roprocessor periodically interrogates the front panel 12
to determine the position of the various pushbuttons. If
any of the up or down buttons for channels 1-4 are de-
pressed, the microprocessor will alter the amount of power
provided to that channel in increments as long as the par-
ticular button is depressed. That is, each time the front
panel is interrogated the microprocessor will increment-
ally increase or decrease the power to a channel dependingupon which buttons are depressed. If at any time the learn
button is depressed while the front panel 12 is interro-
gated, the current power levels will . . . . . . . O . . .
'7t,7
be aavQd ln memory. Thereafter, ~henever one of the
preaet A, B, C or D buttona 1~ preaaed the mlcropro-
ceaJor ~111 extract the learned pouer level from me~ory
and aet that level on the partlcular channel. Methods
of programmlng mlcroprocesaoro to pro~lde the above-
deacrlbed functlona are ~ell wlthln the ordlnary a~lll
ln thla art.
The term~ and e~preaslona ~hl~h have been
employed ln the foreqolng apeclflcatlon are uaed therein
aJ term~ of descrlptlon and not of llmltatlon, and there
la no lntentlon, in the uJe of auch termq and e~prea-
alon~, of e~cludlng equlvalenta of the features aho~n
and de~cribed or portlon~ thereof, lt belng recognlzed
that the scope of the lnventlon 18 deflned and llmlted
only by the clalms ~hlch follo~.
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