FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] The invention generally relates to electrical switches for controlling electrical appliances and more particularly to programmed switching devices for controlling electrical appliances.

BACKGROUND FIELD OF INVENTION

[0002] Electrical appliances used are generally controlled by two way switching circuits thereby enabling the user to operate the load (electrical appliance) from two different points. However  two way switching application cannot be extended to dimming applications such as in controlling fan speed or chandelier""s light intensity from two or more points. Hence the two way switching applications do not provide interface to control dimming of an electrical appliance from multiple positions.

[0003] The problem is more prominent when going for home automation. User need is to regulate fan speed or light intensity from the home automation system as well as from the already installed regulator switches.

[0004] In case of automation system  when the regulation system is integrated with the automation system the conventional regulator is replaced with electronic regulators. These regulators are designed to take commands from automation system via serial interface or from IR remote in addition to touch or press buttons.

[0005] The above flow mandates the user to replace the conventional regulators. changing the regulators is sometime not appreciated by the user from an aesthetical point of view  as well as users are sometime habituated to the conventional regulator system and touch or button based regulator systems are not appreciated with respect to their ease of usability.

[0006] Hence there exists a need for providing a dimming control that provides multi point control for operating an electrical appliance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] The above-mentioned shortcomings  disadvantages and problems are addressed herein which will be understood by reading and understanding the following specification.

[0008] In one embodiment  a system for controlling operation of at least one electrical appliance is provided. The system comprises a control unit configured to receive input from at least one of a switching unit  the control unit being coupled to the electrical appliance via at least one switching means  the control unit configured for receiving inputs from the switching units and subsequently controlling the operation of the electrical appliance based on received inputs.

[0009] In another embodiment  a system for controlling operation of at least one electrical appliance is provided. The system comprises multiple switching units  each switching unit capable of independently controlling the operation of the electrical appliance  at least one switching means connected in series with the electrical appliance  the switching means capable of operating the electrical appliance and a control unit configured for receiving one or more inputs from at least one of a switching unit  automatically selecting the switching unit  monitoring state changes in the selected switching unit and operating the switching means based on the state changes in the selected switching unit thereby controlling the operation of the electrical appliance.

[0010] In yet another embodiment  a method of operating an electrical appliance is provided. The method comprises receiving an input from at least one of a switching unit  automatically selecting the switching unit  selecting an electrical appliance among a plurality of electrical appliances based on the input received from selected switching unit  monitoring state changes in the selected switching unit and operating a switching means coupled to a selected electrical appliance based on the state changes in the selected switching unit thereby controlling the operation of the electrical appliance.

[0011] In yet another embodiment  a method of controlling power delivered to an electrical appliance is provided. The method comprises steps of receiving an AC signal from a variable voltage power source  receiving input from at least one of a switching unit  the input indicating an input value for controlling the power supplied to the electrical appliance  modifying received AC signal  based on the input value set using the switching unit and controlling the power supplied to the electrical appliance using modified AC signal.

[0012] Systems and methods of varying scope are described herein. In addition to the aspects and advantages described in this summary  further aspects and advantages will become apparent by reference to the drawings and with reference to the detailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTON OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an a system for controlling operation of an electrical appliance as described in an embodiment; and

[0014] FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a method for controlling operation of an electrical appliance as described in an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] In the following detailed description  reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof  and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments  which may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments  and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that logical  mechanical  electrical and other changes may be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments. The following detailed description is  therefore  not to be taken in a limiting sense.

[0016] The system described in the invention overcomes the limitation in the prior art and provides simultaneous control of a load from multiple regulator switches. This is achieved by using built in intelligence that monitors the intention of the user and controls the operation of the load accordingly.

[0017] This is achieved by a system that monitors and gives control to the regulator that user is operating. When user changes any of the integrated regulator switching unit  the system notes the change request in that regulator and takes inputs (settings) from that regulator switching unit.

[0018] To achieve the purpose of multi point control  the invention provides a system to integrate conventional regulator switches with a control unit so as to eliminate the need for replacing the conventional regulator switches. Each of the conventional regulator switches is capable of overriding the appliance control as is done in a home automation system. Further  the control unit is configured with wired and wireless interfaces for receiving commands from any of the conventional regulator switches and a remote control unit so as to provide the capability to the remote control unit to re-override the decision put forward by any of the switches. Therefore each of the switches and the remote control unit act as independent switches providing multi point control of a single load such that the load can be operated from the remote control unit as well as from the conventional regulator switches. This eliminates the need for the user to replace existing switches and further allows the user to integrate the system with the conventional regulator switches for their retrofit needs.

[0019] Accordingly  in one embodiment  as shown in FIG. 1  a system 100 for controlling operation of an electrical appliance 135 and 145 is provided. The system 100 may either be connected between an outlet and an appliance to be controlled  or may replace a conventional regulator switch.

[0020] The system 100 comprises multiple switching units 107  110  115 and 120  each switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 capable of independently controlling the operation of the electrical appliance 135 and 145 and at least one switching means 132 and 142 connected in series with the electrical appliance 135 and 145  the switching means 132 and 142 capable of operating the electrical appliance 135 and 145. The switching means 132 and 142 comprises one of an electrical relays  TRIAC (Triode for Alternating Current) based switching system 100 and SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier) based switching system 100. Switching means 132 and 142 are well known in the art and hence will not be described in detail.

[0021] The switching means 132 and 142 can be operated based on transitions. Each of the switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 in the system 100 is capable of controlling the operation of the electrical appliance 135 and 145 irrespective of the state of the electrical appliance 135 and 145 and state of each of the other switching unit 107  110  115 and 120. Further  each of the multiple switching units 107  110  115 and 120 can be controlled by a user or an external device.

[0022] The system 100 comprises a control unit 105 for operating the electrical appliance 135 and 145 responsive to control commands received via the operation of the multiple switching units 107  110  115 and 120. Further the control unit 105 comprises a communication circuit for receiving control commands from a remote control unit 105. The remote control unit 105 can be a portable communication device such as a cordless device  a cellular phone  an internet enabled cellular phone  a personal digital assistant  a 4G portable device  a 3G portable device  a 2.5 G portable device  a laptop and the like.

[0023] The control unit 105 is coupled to each of the multiple switching units 107  110  115 and 120 via a wired interface including but not limited to RS232  RS422  RS485 and serial interface. Further  the control unit 105 is built in with wireless interfaces such as bluetooth  infrared  radiofrequency and ZigBee™ interfaces that enable the user to use wireless options to give instructions to switching means 132 and 142 to change the state of the electrical appliance. Skilled artisans shall appreciate using other wireless communication means that can be employed to establish coupling between the remote control unit 105 and the control unit 105.

[0024] The control unit 105 comprises a conventional microcontroller/microprocessor and associated memory  the memory storing software to run the control unit 105. The memory unit 107  110  115 and 120 is further configured for storing event data depicting transitions of the electrical appliance 135 and 145. The control unit 105 is configured for monitoring state changes in a selected switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 and further configured for operating the switching means 132 and 142 based on the monitored state changes in the selected switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 thereby controlling the operation of the electrical appliance 135 and 145. The control unit 105 receives power from a variable voltage power source 125 and the control unit 105 is configured to supply the power to each of the regulator switching units 107 and 110.

[0025] Accordingly  in another embodiment shown in FIG. 2  a method 200 of controlling operation of an electrical appliance 135 and 145 is provided. The method 200 comprises steps of receiving an input from at least one of a switching unit at step 202  automatically selecting the switching unit at step 204  selecting an electrical appliance among a plurality of electrical appliances based on the input received from selected switching unit at step 206  monitoring state changes in the selected switching unit at step 208 and operating a switching means coupled to a selected electrical appliance based on the state changes in the selected switching unit thereby controlling the operation of the electrical appliance at step 210.

[0026] The control unit 105 is capable of receiving inputs from the switching units and automatically selecting the switching unit based on the inputs received. The control unit 105 is further configured for selecting the electrical appliance that is selected to be operated and monitoring state changes in the selected switching unit 107  110  115 and 120. The control unit 105 is further configured for operating the switching means 132 and 142 corresponding to the electrical appliance based upon the state changes of the switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 so as to control the operation of the electrical appliance.

[0027] In an exemplary embodiment  monitored state change of the selected switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 from a first position to a second position wherein selected value at the second position is higher than the selected value at the first position implies the intention of the user to incremental the electrical appliance 135 and 145. In response to the monitored state change of the switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 the control unit 105 actuates incremental transition of the electrical appliance 135 and 145.

[0028] On the other hand  when the state of the selected switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 is changed from the from the second position to the first position wherein selected value at the first position is lower than the selected value at the second position  the intention of the user is perceived to be to decrement the electrical appliance 135 and 145 and hence in response to the monitored state change of the selected switching unit 107  110  115 and 120  the control unit 105 actuates decremented transition of electrical appliance 135 and 145.

[0029] Accordingly  the control unit 105 is configured to actuate incremental transition of the electrical appliance 135 and 145 upon monitoring change in the state of the selected switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 from the first position to the second position wherein selected value at the second position is higher than the selected value at the first position and is configured to actuate decremented transition of the electrical appliance 135 and 145 upon monitoring change in the state of the selected switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 from the from the second position to the first position wherein selected value at the first position is lower than the selected value at the second position.

[0030] The system 100 can be employed as switching means to control the operation of various electrical devices such as a light  a heater  an air conditioning unit  a music player  a fan and opening and closing of a curtain for example. In an exemplary embodiment  when the control unit 105 receives instructions from the regulator switching unit 107 to operate the electrical appliance 135 and monitors the state change in the regulator switching unit 107 from first position to second position wherein selected value at the second position is higher than the selected value at the first position  the control unit 105 operates the switching means 132 to bring about an incremental transition in the operation of the electrical appliance 135. In an exemplary embodiment  when the electrical appliance 135 is a lighting device  the control unit 105 operates the switching means 132 to result in enhancing the brightness of the lighting device.

[0031] Similarly  when the control unit 105 receives instructions from the regulator switching unit 107 to operate the electrical appliance 135 and monitors the state change in the regulator switching unit 107 from second position to first position wherein selected value at the first position is lower than the selected value at the second position  the control unit 105 operates the switching means 132 to bring about a decremented transition in the operation of the electrical appliance 135. In an exemplary embodiment  when the electrical appliance 135 is a lighting device  the control unit 105 operates the switching means 132 to result in dimming the brightness of the lighting device.

[0032] The control unit 105 is configured to continuously monitor its ports for state changes and further to actuate the switching of switching means 132 and 142 accordingly. The logic is embedded into the micro operating system 100 framework that enables error checking and prevention of malfunction.

[0033] Each of the switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 is configured to communicate the state change via a wired serial interface or a wireless interface. The control unit 105 is configured to continuously monitor the state changes in each of the switching units 107  110  115 and 120 in order to accordingly control the operation of the electrical appliance 135 and 145. The system 100 is configured to receive state change inputs from any of the multiple switching units 107  110  115 and 120 and the remote control unit 105 and yet provide option to override the existing states.

[0034] In one embodiment  the control unit 105 is capable of comparing the state of the electrical appliance 135 and 145 and the state of the selected switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 prior to actuating a transition of the electrical appliance 135 and 145. Accordingly  actuating incremental transition of the electrical appliance 135 and 145 may not result in operation of the switching means 132 and 142. The control unit 105 may compare the present state of the electrical appliance 135 and 145 with the monitored state change of the selected switching unit 107  110  115 and 120 and in a scenario where the two state matches  the operation of the switching means 132 and 142 may not be commissioned.

[0035] In yet another embodiment  a method of controlling power delivered to an electrical appliance is provided. The method comprises steps of receiving an AC signal from a variable voltage power source  receiving input from at least one of a switching unit  the input indicating an input value for controlling the power supplied to the electrical appliance  modifying received AC signal  based on the input value set using the switching unit and controlling the power supplied to the electrical appliance using modified AC signal.

[0036] The method of modifying the AC signal comprises steps of rectifying the AC signal using a rectification unit  digitizing rectified signal using a Schmitt trigger  monitoring state changes in digitized signal to determine predetermined parameters  comparing the predetermined parameter with a stored value to detect changes and initiating the operation of the switching means  upon detecting changes  so as to control the power supplied to the electrical appliance.

[0037] It is to be noted that each block and combination of blocks can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems which perform the specified functions or steps  or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0038] Skilled artisans shall appreciate that the system and method described herein for providing control are not restricted to the operation of an electrical appliance and can as well be used in operating any powered electrical  mechanical or electronic appliance.

[0039] This written description uses examples to describe the subject matter herein  including the best mode  and also to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the subject matter. The patentable scope of the subject matter is defined by the claims  and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims  or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.

CLAIMS
What is claimed is:
1.A system for controlling operation of at least one electrical appliance  the system comprising:
a control unit configured to receive input from at least one of a switching unit  the control unit being coupled to the electrical appliance via at least one switching means  the control unit configured for receiving inputs from the switching units and subsequently controlling the operation of the electrical appliance based on received inputs.

2.The system of claim 1  wherein the switching unit comprises one of a regulator switching unit  an automation system and a remote control unit.

3.The system of claim 2  wherein the control unit is further configured for receiving inputs from multiple regulator switching units.

4.The system of claim 1  wherein the control unit is further configured for selecting an electrical appliance among a plurality of electrical appliances based on the input received from a switching unit.

5.The system of claim 1  further comprises a variable voltage power source  the control unit being coupled to the variable voltage power source for receiving power.

6.A system for controlling operation of at least one electrical appliance  the system comprising:
multiple switching units  each switching unit capable of independently controlling the operation of the electrical appliance;
at least one switching means connected in series with the electrical appliance  the switching means capable of operating the electrical appliance; and
a control unit configured for receiving one or more inputs from at least one of a switching unit  automatically selecting the switching unit  monitoring state changes in the selected switching unit and operating the switching means based on the state changes in the selected switching unit thereby controlling the operation of the electrical appliance.

7.The system of claim 6  wherein the switching unit comprises one of a regulator switching unit  an automation system and a remote control unit.

8.The system of claim 7  wherein the control unit is further configured for receiving inputs from multiple regulator switching units.

9.The system of claim 7  wherein the control unit is further configured for selecting an electrical appliance among a plurality of electrical appliances based on the input received from a switching unit.

10.The system of claim 7  wherein the control unit comprises wired and wireless interfaces for receiving commands for controlling the operation of the electrical appliance.

11.A method of operating an electrical appliance  the method comprising:
receiving an input from at least one of a switching unit;
automatically selecting the switching unit;
selecting an electrical appliance among a plurality of electrical appliances based on the input received from selected switching unit;
monitoring state changes in the selected switching unit; and
operating a switching means coupled to a selected electrical appliance based on the state changes in the selected switching unit thereby controlling the operation of the electrical appliance.

12.A method of controlling power delivered to an electrical appliance  the method comprising:
receiving an AC signal from a variable voltage power source;
receiving input from at least one of a switching unit  the input indicating an input value for controlling the power supplied to the electrical appliance;
modifying received AC signal  based on the input value set using the switching unit; and
controlling the power supplied to the electrical appliance using modified AC signal.

13.The method of claim 12  wherein modifying the AC signal comprises steps of:
rectifying the AC signal using a rectification unit;
digitizing rectified signal using a schmitt trigger;
monitoring state changes in digitized signal to determine predetermined parameters;
comparing the predetermined parameter with a stored value to detect changes; and
initiating the operation of the switching means  upon detecting changes  so as to control the power supplied to the electrical appliance.