Granted Patent B2

US 12,725,513 · App. 18/489,091 · Granted Sep 1, 2026

Inventors: Jeffrey Karc (Danielsville, PA); Galen Edgar Knode (Macungie, PA)

Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC

G08C17/02H05B47/195

Abstract

Claims (63)

1 . An electric load control apparatus, comprising:

a housing that includes a base insertable in a 3-way socket;

wireless communication circuitry; and

control circuitry disposed within the housing and communicatively coupled to the wireless communication circuitry, the control circuitry to:

receive at least one of:

a first input responsive to placement of the 3-way socket in a first state; or

a second input responsive to placement of the 3-way socket in a second state;

generate an output signal that includes one of:

a first message responsive to receipt of the first input;

a second message responsive to receipt of the second input; or

a third message responsive to receipt of both the first input and the second input; and

communicate the output signal via the wireless communication circuitry.

2 . The electric load control apparatus of claim 1 , the control circuitry to further:

retrieve, from communicatively coupled memory circuitry, one of:

data representative of the first message responsive to receipt of the first input;

data representative of the second message responsive to receipt of the second input; or

data representative of the third message responsive to receipt of both the first input and the second input.

3 . The electric load control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein to receive at least one of the first input or the second input, the control circuitry to further:

receive at least one of:

the first input responsive to application of line voltage to a first terminal in the 3-way socket; or

the second input responsive to application of line voltage to a second terminal in the 3-way socket.

4 . The electric load control apparatus of claim 1 , wherein to communicate the output signal via the wireless communication circuitry, the control circuitry to further:

broadcast the output signal via the wireless communication circuitry.

5 . An electric load control method, comprising:

receiving, by control circuitry disposed in a housing that includes a base insertable in a 3-way socket, at least one of:

a first input responsive to placement of the 3-way socket in a first state; or

a second input responsive to placement of the 3-way socket in a second state;

generating, by the control circuitry, an output signal that includes one of:

a first message responsive to receipt of the first input;

a second message responsive to receipt of the second input; or

a third message responsive to receipt of both the first input and the second input; and

communicating, by the control circuitry, the output signal via communicatively coupled wireless communication circuitry.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

retrieving, by the control circuitry from communicatively coupled memory circuitry, one of:

data representative of the first message responsive to receipt of the first input;

data representative of the second message responsive to receipt of the second input; or

data representative of the third message responsive to receipt of both the first input and the second input.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein receiving at least one of the first input or the second input further comprises:

receiving, by the control circuitry, at least one of:

the first input responsive to application of line voltage to a first terminal in the 3-way socket; or

the second input responsive to application of line voltage to a second terminal in the 3-way socket.

8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein communicating the output signal via the wireless communication circuitry further comprises:

broadcasting, by the control circuitry, the output signal via the wireless communication circuitry.

9 . A non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device that includes instructions that, when executed by control circuitry disposed in a housing that includes a base insertable in a 3-way socket, cause the control circuitry to:

receive at least one of:

a first input responsive to placement of the 3-way socket in a first state; or

a second input responsive to placement of the 3-way socket in a second state;

generate an output signal that includes one of:

a first message responsive to receipt of the first input;

a second message responsive to receipt of the second input; or

a third message responsive to receipt of both the first input and the second input; and

communicate the output signal via communicatively coupled wireless communication circuitry.

10 . The non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 9 wherein the instructions, when executed by the control circuitry, further cause the control circuitry to:

Retrieve, from communicatively coupled memory circuitry, one of:

data representative of the first message responsive to receipt of the first input;

data representative of the second message responsive to receipt of the second input; or

data representative of the third message responsive to receipt of both the first input and the second input.

11 . The non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 9 wherein the instructions that cause the control circuitry to receive at least one of the first input or the second input further cause the control circuitry to:

receive at least one of:

the first input responsive to application of line voltage to a first terminal in the 3-way socket; or

the second input responsive to application of line voltage to a second terminal in the 3-way socket.

12 . The non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 9 wherein the instructions that cause the control circuitry to communicate the output signal via the wireless communication circuitry further cause the control circuitry to:

broadcast the output signal via the wireless communication circuitry.

Continuity (4)

References Cited (261)