Granted Patent B2

US 10,271,407 · App. 13/538,555 · Granted Apr 23, 2019

Abstract

Claims (108)

1. A wall-mountable dimmer switch for controlling power delivered from an AC power source to a lighting load, the wall-mountable dimmer switch comprising:

a controllably conductive device adapted to be coupled in series electrical connection between the AC power source and the lighting load;

a controller operatively coupled to the controllably conductive device for controlling the controllably conductive device; and

an Internet Protocol communications module operatively coupled to the controller and operable to receive Internet Protocol packets via a wireless network, wherein the wireless network has an associated identifier and an associated password;

wherein the controller is configured to:

receive the identifier and the password of the wireless network from a control device that is connected to the wireless network,

wherein the controller receives the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the control device via a point-to-point connection between the dimmer switch and the control-device,

wherein the point-to-point connection does not comprise the wireless network, and

wherein the control device comprises at least one of a smart phone, a tablet, and a laptop;

use the identifier and the password of the wireless network received from the control device to connect the dimmer switch to the wireless network;

receive from a wireless access point, that is communicatively connected to the wireless network, an Internet Protocol address for the dimmer switch to communicate on the wireless network, wherein the wireless access point assigns the Internet Protocol address to the dimmer switch based in part on the dimmer switch connecting to the wireless network;

program the dimmer switch with the Internet Protocol address received from the wireless access point, wherein the programming enables the dimmer switch to communicate Internet Protocol packets on the wireless network;

receive from the control device, via the wireless network and the Internet Protocol communications module, one or more Internet Protocol packets, wherein the one or more received Internet Protocol packets comprise the Internet Protocol address and one or more lighting control instructions; and

control the controllably conductive device to control the AC power delivered to the lighting load in response to the received one or more lighting control instructions.

2. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 1 , wherein the wireless access point comprises a wireless router.

3. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 1 , wherein the identifier comprises a service set identifier of the wireless network, and wherein the password comprises a service set identifier password.

4. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 1 , further comprising:

an optical module operatively coupled to the controller and operable to receive one or more optical signals via the point-to-point connection between the dimmer switch and the control-device; and

wherein to receive the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the control device comprises to obtain the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the received one or more optical signals.

5. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 1 , further comprising:

a near-field communications (NFC) module operatively coupled to the controller and operable to receive one or more NFC signals via the point-to-point connection between the dimmer switch and the control-device; and

wherein to receive the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the control device comprises to obtain the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the received one or more NFC signals.

6. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 1 , wherein the Internet Protocol communications module is configured to receive the Internet Protocol packets by way of Wi-Fi communication.

7. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

discover via the wireless network another dimmer switch connected to the wireless network; and

responsive to receiving the one or more lighting control instructions, communicate a lighting control instruction via the wireless network to the other dimmer switch, wherein the other dimmer switch is configured to receive the control instruction communicated by the controller and is further configured to control AC power delivered to another lighting load in response to the received control instruction communicated by the controller.

8. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine status information of the lighting load; and

communicate, via the Internet Protocol communications module and the wireless network, one or more Internet Protocol packets to the control device, wherein the one or more communicated Internet Protocol packets comprise the status information.

9. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to provide a visual indication that the dimmer switch has successfully connected to the wireless network.

10. A wall-mountable dimmer switch for controlling power delivered from an AC power source to a lighting load, the wall-mountable dimmer switch comprising:

a controllably conductive device adapted to be coupled in series electrical connection between the AC power source and the lighting load;

a controller operatively coupled to a control input of the controllably conductive device for rendering the controllably conductive device conductive and non-conductive; and

a Wi-Fi module operatively coupled to the controller and operable to receive, via Wi-Fi signals, Internet Protocol packets via a wireless network, wherein the wireless network has an associated identifier and an associated password;

wherein the controller is configured to:

receive the identifier and the password of the wireless network from a control device,

wherein the controller receives the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the control device via a point-to-point connection between the dimmer switch and the control-device,

wherein the point-to-point connection does not comprise the wireless network, and

wherein the control device comprises at least one of a smart phone, a tablet, and a laptop;

use the identifier and the password of the wireless network received from the control device to connect the dimmer switch to the wireless network;

receive from a wireless access point, that is communicatively connected to the wireless network, an Internet Protocol address for the dimmer switch to communicate on the wireless network, wherein the wireless access point assigns the Internet Protocol address to the dimmer switch based in part on the dimmer switch connecting to the wireless network;

program the dimmer switch with the Internet Protocol address received from the wireless access point, wherein the programming enables the dimmer switch to communicate Internet Protocol packets on the wireless network;

receive from the control device, via the wireless network and the Wi-Fi module, one or more Internet Protocol packets, wherein the one or more received Internet Protocol packets comprise the Internet Protocol address and one or more lighting control instructions; and

control the controllably conductive device to control the AC power delivered to the lighting load in response to the received one or more lighting control instructions.

11. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 10 , wherein the wireless access point comprises a wireless router.

12. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 10 , further comprising:

an optical module operatively coupled to the controller and operable to receive one or more optical signals via the point-to-point connection between the dimmer switch and the control-device; and

wherein to receive the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the control device comprises to obtain the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the received one or more optical signals.

13. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 10 , further comprising:

a near-field communications (NFC) module operatively coupled to the controller and operable to receive one or more NFC signals via the point-to-point connection between the dimmer switch and the control-device; and

wherein to receive the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the control device comprises to obtain the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the received one or more NFC signals.

14. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 10 , wherein the identifier comprises a service set identifier of the wireless network, and wherein the password comprises a service set identifier password.

15. A wall-mountable dimmer switch for controlling power delivered from an AC power source to a lighting load, the wall-mountable dimmer switch comprising:

a controllably conductive device adapted to be coupled in series electrical connection between the AC power source and the lighting load;

a controller operatively coupled to a control input of the controllably conductive device for rendering the controllably conductive device conductive and non-conductive;

a first communications module operatively coupled to the controller, wherein the first communications module comprises an Internet Protocol communications module operable to receive Internet Protocol packets via a wireless network, wherein the wireless network has an associated identifier and an associated password; and

a second communications module operatively coupled to the controller;

wherein the controller is configured to:

receive, via the second communications module, the identifier and the password of the wireless network from a control device that is connected to the wireless network,

wherein the controller receives the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the control device via a point-to-point connection between the second communications module of the dimmer switch and the control-device,

wherein the point-to-point connection does not comprise the wireless network, and

wherein the control device comprises at least one of a smart phone, a tablet, and a laptop;

use the identifier and the password of the wireless network received from the control device to connect the dimmer switch to the wireless network;

receive from a wireless access point, that is communicatively connected to the wireless network, an Internet Protocol address for the dimmer switch to communicate on the wireless network, wherein the wireless access point assigns the Internet Protocol address to the dimmer switch based in part on the dimmer switch connecting to the wireless network;

program the dimmer switch with the Internet Protocol address received from the wireless access point, wherein the programming enables the dimmer switch to communicate Internet Protocol packets on the wireless network;

receive from the control device, via the wireless network and the first communications module, one or more Internet Protocol packets, wherein the one or more received Internet Protocol packets comprise the Internet Protocol address and one or more lighting control instructions; and

control the controllably conductive device to control the AC power delivered to the lighting load in response to the received one or more lighting control instructions.

16. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 15 , wherein the identifier comprises a service set identifier of the wireless network, and wherein the password comprises a service set identifier password.

17. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 15 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

discover via the wireless network another dimmer switch connected to the wireless network; and

responsive to receiving the one or more lighting control instructions, communicate a lighting control instruction via the wireless network to the other dimmer switch, wherein the other dimmer switch is configured to receive the control instruction communicated by the controller and is further configured to control AC power delivered to another lighting load in response to the received control instruction communicated by the controller.

18. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 15 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine status information of the lighting load; and

communicate, via the Internet Protocol communications module and the wireless network, one or more Internet Protocol packets to the control device, wherein the one or more communicated Internet Protocol packets comprise the status information.

19. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 15 , wherein the controller is further configured to provide a visual indication that the dimmer switch has successfully connected to the wireless network.

20. A method performed by a dimmer switch for controlling power delivered from an AC power source to a lighting load, the method comprising:

receiving, by the dimmer switch from a control device that is connected to a wireless network, an identifier and a password of the wireless network,

wherein the dimmer switch receives the identifier and the password of the wireless network from the control device via a point-to-point connection between the dimmer switch and the control-device,

wherein the point-to-point connection does not comprise the wireless network, and

wherein the control device comprises at least one of a smart phone, a tablet, and a laptop;

using, by the dimmer switch, the identifier and the password of the wireless network received from the control device to connect the dimmer switch to the wireless network;

receiving, by the dimmer switch, from a wireless access point, that is communicatively connected to the wireless network, an Internet Protocol address for the dimmer switch to communicate on the wireless network, wherein the wireless access point assigns the Internet Protocol address to the dimmer switch based in part on the dimmer switch connecting to the wireless network;

programming the dimmer switch with the Internet Protocol address received from the wireless access point, wherein the programming enables the dimmer switch to communicate Internet Protocol packets on the wireless network;

receiving, by the dimmer switch from the control device via the wireless network, one or more Internet Protocol packets, wherein the one or more received Internet Protocol packets comprise the Internet Protocol address and one or more lighting control instructions; and

controlling, by the dimmer switch, the AC power delivered to the lighting load in response to the received one or more lighting control instructions.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting, by the dimmer switch via the wireless network, one or more Internet Protocol packets to the control device, wherein the one or more transmitted Internet Protocol packets comprise an indication that the AC power delivered to the lighting load was controlled in response to the lighting control instructions received from the control device.

22. The method of claim 20 , wherein the identifier comprises a service set identifier of the wireless network, and wherein the password comprises a service set identifier password.

23. A wall-mountable dimmer switch for controlling power delivered from an AC power source to a lighting load, the wall-mountable dimmer switch comprising:

a controllably conductive device adapted to be coupled in series electrical connection between the AC power source and the lighting load;

a controller operatively coupled to the controllably conductive device for controlling the controllably conductive device; and

a communications module operatively coupled to the controller, wherein the communications module is operable to receive Internet Protocol packets on a wireless network, wherein the wireless network has an associated identifier and an associated password;

wherein the controller is configured to:

receive (i) the identifier and the password of the wireless network and (ii) an Internet Protocol address from a control device that is connected to the wireless network,

wherein the controller receives the identifier and the password of the wireless network and Internet Protocol address from the control device via a point-to-point connection between the dimmer switch and the control-device,

wherein the point-to-point connection does not comprise the wireless network, and

wherein the control device comprises at least one of a smart phone, a tablet, and a laptop;

use the identifier and the password of the wireless network received from the control device to connect the dimmer switch to the wireless network;

program the dimmer switch with the Internet Protocol address received from the control device, wherein the programming enables the dimmer switch to communicate Internet Protocol packets on the wireless network;

receive from the control device, via the wireless network and the communications module, one or more Internet Protocol packets, wherein the one or more received Internet Protocol packets comprise the Internet Protocol address and one or more lighting control instructions; and

control the controllably conductive device to control the AC power delivered to the lighting load in response to the received one or more lighting control instructions.

24. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 23 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

discover via the wireless network another dimmer switch connected to the wireless network; and

responsive to receiving the one or more lighting control instructions, communicate a lighting control instruction via the wireless network to the other dimmer switch, wherein the other dimmer switch is configured to receive the control instruction communicated by the controller and is further configured to control AC power delivered to another lighting load in response to the received control instruction communicated by the controller.

25. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 23 , wherein the controller is further configured to:

determine status information of the lighting load; and

communicate, via the communications module and the wireless network, one or more Internet Protocol packets to the control device, wherein the one or more communicated Internet Protocol packets comprise the status information.

26. The wall-mountable dimmer switch of claim 23 , wherein the controller is further configured to provide a visual indication that the dimmer switch has successfully connected to the wireless network.

Assignments (2)

Cited By (13)

US 12,250,758 US 12,273,823 US 12,282,367 US 12,295,084 US 12,300,097 US 12,317,162 US 12,322,281 US 12,368,791 US 12,412,467 US 12,418,436 US 12,426,143 US 12,464,626 US 12,660,069