1. A wall-mountable electrical load control structure for controlling the power to be applied to an electrical load, said load control structure comprising:
a support frame having a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface defining an elongated rectangular opening therein, the rectangular opening having a length which is greater than its width;
an enclosure secured to and extending from the rear surface of said support frame;
a generally-flat cover plate secured relative to the front surface of said support frame, said cover plate defining a plane and having a centrally disposed rectangular opening;
an elongated rectangular pushbutton slidably received with respect to said elongated opening of said support frame and passing through said rectangular opening in said cover plate, said pushbutton moveable perpendicularly to the plane of said cover plate;
a switch mechanism supported in said enclosure and coupled to said elongated pushbutton, such that said pushbutton is operable to cause said switch mechanism to turn the power to said electrical load on and off in response to the operation of said pushbutton;
a source of illumination supported behind said support frame and located adjacent said switch mechanism, said source of illumination electrically energized when the power to said electrical load is turned off, said pushbutton having at least a translucent surface portion which is positioned to be illuminated by said source of illumination when said source of illumination is energized;
an actuator assembly operatively coupled between said pushbutton and said switch mechanism, at least a portion of said actuator assembly operable to transmit light from said source of illumination to said translucent surface portion of said pushbutton;
a variable-intensity control circuit coupleable to said electrical load; and
a slider control for varying said intensity control circuit to control the amount of power delivered to said electrical load, said support frame having a vertical slot extending parallel to its said elongated opening and laterally spaced therefrom, said slider control comprising a shaft that extends perpendicularly through said slot and having an operating knob at its outer end and connected to said variable-intensity control circuit at its other end, said slot adapted to be illuminated by said source of illumination when said source of illumination is energized.
2. The control structure of claim 1, wherein said operating knob is rectangular in shape.
3. The control structure of claim 2, wherein said knob has a top rectangular surface, the vertical sides of said knob being chamfered.
4. The control structure of claim 3, wherein said pushbutton has a top rectangular surface, the parallel side edges of said top rectangular surface being chamfered.
5. The control structure of claim 4, wherein said pushbutton has a top rectangular surface that is translucent.
6. The control structure of claim 2, wherein said knob has a width equal to the width of said pushbutton.
7. The control structure of claim 6, wherein said rectangular opening in said cover plate has a length only slightly larger than the length of said pushbutton and a width only slightly larger than the sum of the widths of said pushbutton and said knob.
8. The control structure of claim 6, wherein the length of said knob is less than one half the length of said pushbutton.
9. The control structure of claim 1, wherein said frame has a thin rectangular shroud section extending therefrom and into said rectangular opening in said cover plate, said elongated rectangular pushbutton extending through and at least partly surrounded by said shroud, said shroud preventing the application of binding force to said rectangular pushbutton from the interior edges of said rectangular opening in said cover plate due to a lateral displacement of said rectangular cover plate relative to said frame.
10. The control structure of claim 9, wherein said operating knob is rectangular in shape.
11. The control structure of claim 10, wherein said operating knob has a width equal to the width of said pushbutton.
12. The control structure of claim 11, wherein the length of said operating knob is less than one half the length of said pushbutton.
13. The control structure of claim 10, wherein the top surface of said pushbutton is adapted to be substantially coplanar with a top surface of said knob when said pushbutton is fully depressed.
14. The control structure of claim 9, wherein said frame and said thin shroud are formed as an integrally molded plastic part.
15. A method of illuminating a slider slot of a wall-mounted dimmer switch to identify the location of said dimmer switch in a darkened room, said dimmer switch comprising a dimmer slider knob that is moveable between the ends of said slot, said method comprising the steps of:
coupling said slider knob to a potentiometer contained interiorly of said dimmer switch via a slide member, said potentiometer offset laterally from said slot, such that said slide member is not visible in the portions of said slot which are unoccupied by said slider knob;
illuminating a light source contained interiorly of said dimmer switch; and
directing said light source towards the rear of said slot;
wherein illumination is visible in the portions of said slot which are unoccupied by said slider knob.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of illuminating further comprises illuminating said light source contained interiorly of said dimmer switch when said dimmer switch is turned off.
17. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of:
directing said light source to illuminate said slot and a toggle actuator of said dimmer switch.
18. A wall-mountable electrical load control structure for controlling the power to be applied to an electrical load, said load control structure comprising:
a support frame having an elongated rectangular opening therein, said rectangular opening having a length which is greater than its width;
an enclosure secured to and extending from the rear surface of said support frame;
a cover plate secured to the front surface of said support frame, said cover plate having a centrally disposed rectangular opening;
an elongated rectangular pushbutton having a translucent surface slidably received with respect to said elongated opening and passing through said rectangular opening in said cover plate and moveable perpendicularly to the plane of said cover plate;
a switch mechanism supported in said enclosure and coupled to said elongated pushbutton, such that said pushbutton is operable to cause said switch mechanism to turn the power to said electrical load on and off in response to the operation of said pushbutton;
a source of illumination supported behind said support frame and located adjacent said switch mechanism, said source of illumination electrically energized when the power to said electrical load is turned off;
an actuator assembly operatively coupled between said pushbutton and said switch mechanism, at least a portion of said actuator assembly operable to transmit light from said source of illumination to said translucent surface portion of said pushbutton;
a thin shroud extending from said frame and into said rectangular opening in said cover plate, said elongated rectangular pushbutton extending through and at least partly surrounded by said shroud, said shroud preventing the application of binding force to said rectangular pushbutton from the interior edges of said rectangular opening in said cover plate due to a lateral displacement of said cover plate relative to said frame;
a variable-intensity control circuit coupleable to said electrical load; and
a slider control for varying said intensity control circuit to control the amount of power delivered to said electrical load, said support frame having a vertical slot extending parallel to its said elongated opening and laterally spaced therefrom, said slider control comprising a shaft that extends perpendicularly through said slot and having an operating knob at its outer end and connected to said variable-intensity control circuit at its other end, said operating knob being enclosed on its outer side by a respective portion of said shroud.
19. The control structure of claim 18, wherein said operating knob is rectangular in shape.
20. The control structure of claim 19, wherein said knob has a width substantially equal to the width of said pushbutton.
21. The control structure of claim 19, wherein said knob has a top rectangular surface, the lateral edges of the top rectangular surface of said knob being chamfered.
22. The control structure of claim 18, wherein said pushbutton has a top rectangular surface that is translucent.
23. The control structure of claim 18, wherein said pushbutton has a top rectangular surface, the parallel side edges of said top rectangular surface being chamfered.
24. A wall-mountable electrical load control structure for controlling the power to be applied to an electrical load, said load control structure comprising:
a support frame having a front surface and a rear surface, the front surface defining an elongated rectangular opening therein, the rectangular opening having a length which is greater than its width;
an enclosure secured to and extending from the rear surface of said support frame;
a generally-flat cover late secured relative to the front surface of said support frame, said cover plate defining a plane and having a centrally disposed rectangular opening;
an elongated rectangular pushbutton slidably received with respect to said elongated opening of said support frame and passing through said rectangular opening in said cover plate, said pushbutton moveable perpendicularly to the plane of said cover plate;
a switch mechanism supported in said enclosure and coupled to said elongated pushbutton, such that said pushbutton is operable to cause said switch mechanism to turn the power to said electrical load on and off in response to the operation of said pushbutton;
a source of illumination supported behind said support frame and located adjacent said switch mechanism, said source of illumination electrically energized when the power to said electrical load is turned off, said pushbutton having at least a translucent surface portion which is positioned to be illuminated by said source of illumination when said source of illumination is energized; and
an actuator assembly operatively coupled between said pushbutton and said switch mechanism, at least a portion of said actuator assembly operable to transmit light from said source of illumination to said translucent surface portion of said pushbutton, said actuator assembly comprising a retainer and a return spring coupled between said retainer and said pushbutton to outwardly bias said pushbutton, said retainer operable to transmit light from said source of illumination to said translucent surface portion of said pushbutton.
25. The control structure of claim 24, wherein said retainer portion comprises a first Fresnel lens pattern arranged in a longitudinal direction and a second Fresnel lens pattern arranged in a lateral direction, said first and second Fresnel lens patterns operable to redirect the light emitted from said source of illumination towards said translucent surface portion of said pushbutton.
26. The control structure of claim 24, wherein said source of illumination is offset longitudinally from said switch mechanism and is positioned to emit light towards said translucent surface portion of said pushbutton.
27. The control structure of claim 24, wherein said switch mechanism comprises a switch plate and a pivot member operable to cause the switch plate to pivot between a first position in which power is applied to said electrical load and a second position in which power is not applied to said electrical load.
28. A wall-mountable electrical load control structure for controlling the power to be applied to an electrical load, said load control structure comprising:
a support frame having an elongated rectangular opening therein, said rectangular opening having a length which is greater than its width;
an enclosure secured to and extending from the rear surface of said support frame;
a cover plate secured to the front surface of said support frame, said cover plate having a centrally disposed rectangular opening;
an elongated rectangular pushbutton having a translucent surface slidably received with respect to said elongated opening and passing through said rectangular opening in said cover plate and moveable perpendicularly to the plane of said cover plate;
a switch mechanism supported in said enclosure and coupled to said elongated pushbutton, such that said pushbutton is operable to cause said switch mechanism to turn the power to said electrical load on and off in response to the operation of said pushbutton;
a source of illumination supported behind said support frame and located adjacent said switch mechanism, said source of illumination electrically energized when the power to said electrical load is turned off;
an actuator assembly operatively coupled between said pushbutton and said switch mechanism, at least a portion of said actuator assembly operable to transmit light from said source of illumination to said translucent surface portion of said pushbutton; and
a thin shroud extending from said frame and into said rectangular opening in said cover plate, said elongated rectangular pushbutton extending through and at least partly surrounded by said shroud, said shroud preventing the application of binding force to said rectangular pushbutton from the interior edges of said rectangular opening in said cover plate due to a lateral displacement of said cover plate relative to said frame;
wherein said actuator assembly comprises a retainer and a return spring coupled between said retainer and said pushbutton to outwardly bias said pushbutton, said retainer operable to transmit light from said source of illumination to said translucent surface portion of said pushbutton.
29. The control structure of claim 28, wherein said retainer portion comprises a first Fresnel lens pattern arranged in a longitudinal direction and a second Fresnel lens pattern arranged in a lateral direction, said first and second Fresnel lens patterns operable to redirect the light emitted from said source of illumination towards said translucent surface portion of said pushbutton.
30. The control structure of claim 28, wherein said source of illumination is offset longitudinally from said switch mechanism and is positioned to emit light towards said translucent surface portion of said pushbutton.
31. The control structure of claim 28, wherein said switch mechanism comprises a switch plate and a pivot member operable to cause the switch plate to pivot between a first position in which power is applied to said electrical load and a second position in which power is not applied to said electrical load.
32. A control structure for an electrical circuit for controlling the power to be applied from an AC power source to an electrical system, said control structure comprising:
a toggle button having a flat rectangular hollow plastic body and a translucent outer front surface;
a support structure for supporting said toggle button for linear motion perpendicular to said front surface;
an optically-conductive structure supported within said hollow plastic body of said toggle button, said optically-conductive structure having a first end surface facing an interior surface of said translucent outer top surface and a second end surface opposite to said first end surface;
at least one light-emitting diode facing said second end surface for illuminating said second end surface whereby the light illumination on said second end surface is conducted to said first end surface to illuminate said translucent outer top surface;
a circuit for energizing said at least one light-emitting diode when said electrical circuit is off;
a switch mechanism supported in said enclosure and located adjacent said at least one light-emitting diode, said switch mechanism operatively coupled to said toggle button, such that actuations of said toggle button cause said switch mechanism to turn the power to said electrical system on and off; and
an actuator assembly operatively coupled between said toggle button and said switch mechanism, said actuator assembly comprising a lens structure disposed adjacent said at least one light emitting for directing ht through said optically-conductive structure to more uniformly illuminate said translucent outer top surface, said actuator assembly comprising a retainer and a return spring coupled between said retainer and said pushbutton to outwardly bias said pushbutton, said retainer operable to transmit light from said source of illumination to said translucent surface portion of said pushbutton.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A majority determination circuit comprising:
a first determination unit suitable for determining a first majority between bits of a first logic value and a second logic value in a first odd-bit data, wherein the first odd-bit data is an even-bit data with absence of first bit;
a second determination unit suitable for determining a second majority between bits of the first logic value and the second logic value in a second odd-bit data, wherein the second odd-bit data is the even-bit data with absence of second bit; and
a result combination unit suitable for determining a third majority between bits of the first logic value and the second logic value in an even-bit data based on the first majority and the second majority.
2. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the first determination unit determines the first majority in response to the first odd-bit data and inverted first odd-bit data, and
wherein the second determination unit determines the second majority in response to the second odd-bit data and inverted second odd-bit data.
3. The circuit of claim 1, wherein the result combination unit determines that the first logic value is the third majority when the first majority and the second majority indicate the first logic value, and determines that the second logic value is the third majority when the first majority and the second majority indicate the second logic value.
4. The circuit of claim 3, wherein each of the first determination unit and the second determination unit outputs the first logic value when the first majority and the second majority indicate the first logic value, and outputs the second logic value when the first majority and the second majority indicate the second logic value, and
wherein the result combination unit outputs preset one from the first and second logic values when the first majority and the second majority are different from each other.
5. The circuit of claim 2, wherein current flowing through the first determination unit depends on a value of the first odd-bit data, and current flowing through the second determination unit depends on a value of the second odd-bit data.
6. The circuit of claim 5, wherein the first determination unit comprises:
a first current sourcing unit for sourcing a current flowing through a first node in response to a voltage of the first node;
a second current sourcing unit for sourcing a current flowing through a second node in response to the voltage of the first node;
a first current sinking unit for sinking the current flowing through the first node by an amount determined by the value of the first odd-bit data; and
a second current sinking unit for sinking the current flowing through the second node by an amount determined by a value of the inverted first odd-bit data, and
wherein the first majority corresponds to a voltage of the second node.
7. The circuit of claim 6, wherein the first current sourcing unit comprises a first transistor configured to be coupled between the first node and a power supply voltage and to be controlled by the voltage of the first node,
the second current sourcing unit comprises a second transistor configured to be coupled between the second node and the power supply voltage and to be controlled by the voltage of the first node,
the first current sinking unit comprises one or more third transistors configured to be coupled between the first node and a first common node and to be controlled by values of corresponding bits of the first odd-bit data, and
the second current sinking unit comprises one or more fourth transistors configured to be coupled between the second node and the first common node and to be controlled by values of corresponding bits of the inverted first odd-bit data.
8. The circuit of claim 7, wherein the second determination unit comprises:
a third current sourcing unit for sourcing a current flowing through a third node in response to a voltage of the third node;
a fourth current sourcing unit for sourcing a current flowing through a fourth node in response to the voltage of the third node;
a third current sinking unit for sinking the current flowing through the third node by an amount determined by the value of the second odd-bit data; and
a fourth current sinking unit for sinking the current flowing through the fourth node by an amount determined by a value of the inverted second odd-bit data, and
wherein the second majority corresponds to a voltage of the fourth node.
9. The circuit of claim 8, wherein the third current sourcing unit comprises a fifth transistor configured to be coupled between the third node and the power supply voltage and to be controlled by the voltage of the third node,
the fourth current sourcing unit comprises a sixth transistor configured to be coupled between the fourth node and the power supply voltage and to be controlled by the voltage of the third node;
the third current sinking unit comprises one or more seventh transistors configured to be coupled between the third node and a second common node and to be controlled by values of corresponding bits of the second odd-bit data; and
the fourth current sinking unit comprises one or more eighth transistors configured to be coupled between the fourth node and the second common node and to be controlled by values of corresponding bits of the inverted second odd-bit data.
10. The circuit of claim 9, wherein the result combination unit comprises a logic gate for outputting a combination of the first majority and the second majority, wherein the combination corresponding to a determination result of the result combination unit.
11. A majority determination method comprising:
determining a first majority between bits of a first logic value and a second logic value in a first odd-bit data, wherein the first odd-bit data is an even-bit data with absence of first bit;
determining a second majority between bits of the first logic value and the second logic value in a second odd-bit data, wherein the second odd-bit data is the even-bit data with absence of second bit; and
determining a third majority between bits of the first logic value and the second logic value in an even-bit data based on the first majority and the second majority.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the first majority determines the first majority in response to the first odd-bit data and inverted first odd-bit data, and
wherein determining the second majority determines the second majority in response to the second odd-bit data and inverted second odd-bit data.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the third majority determines that the first logic value is the third majority when the first majority and the second majority indicate the first logic value and determines that the second logic value is the third majority when the first majority and the second majority indicate the second logic value.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein each of determining the first majority and determining the second majority outputs the first logic value when the first majority and the second majority indicate the first logic value and outputs the second logic value when the first majority and the second majority indicate the second logic value, and
wherein determining the third majority outputs preset one from the first and second logic values when the first majority and the second majority are different to each other.
15. A semiconductor device comprising:
a plurality of first data lines;
a plurality of second data lines;
a majority determination unit suitable for combining a first majority between bits of a first logic value and a second logic value in a first odd-bit data with a second majority between bits of the first logic value and the second logic value in a second odd-bit data and for determining a third majority between bits of the first logic value and the second logic value in an even-bit data based on the first majority and the second majority; and
a data transmission unit suitable for transmitting the even-bit data transmitted through the plurality of first data lines to the plurality of second data lines after selectively inverting the even-bit data based on the third majority,
wherein the first odd-bit data is the even-bit data with absence of the first bit, and the second odd-bit data is the even-bit data with absence of the second bit.
16. The device of claim 15, wherein the data transmission unit delays the even-bit data until the majority determination unit to determine the third majority.
17. The device of claim 16, wherein the majority determination unit comprises:
a first determination unit for determining the first majority;
a second determination unit for determining the second majority; and
a result combination unit for determining the third majority.
18. The device of claim 16, wherein the data transmission unit comprises:
a delay unit for delaying the even-bit data until the majority determination unit to determine the third majority; and
a selection unit for selecting one from an output and an inverted output of the delay unit in response to the third majority and transmitting an output of the selection unit to the plurality of second data lines.