Load control device with capacitive touch surface

Abstract

The invention relates to a load control device with a capacitive touch surface. A control device configured for use in a load control system to control an electrical load external to the control device may include an actuation member having a front surface defining a capacitive touch surface configured to detect a touch actuation along at least a portion of the front surface. The control device includes a main printed circuit board (PCB) including a control circuit, a haptic switch, a controllable conductive device, and a drive circuit operably coupled to a control input of the controllable conductive device for making the controllable conductive device conductive or non-conductive to control an amount of power delivered to the electrical load. The control device further includes a capacitive touch PCB including a touch sensitive circuit including one or more receiving capacitive touch pads located on the capacitive touch PCB and arranged in a linear array adjacent to the capacitive touch surface.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese invention patent application with application date of May 29, 2020, application number 202080050039.8, and invention name “Load control device with capacitive touch surface”.

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application claims the benefit of Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 855,463 filed on May 31, 2019, Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 885,062 filed on August 9, 2019, Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 910,932 filed on October 4, 2019, Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 929,742 filed on November 1, 2019, and Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 62 / 968,421 filed on January 31, 2020, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Background Art

[0004] A load control system may include one or more electrical loads that a user may wish to control via a single load control device. These electrical loads may include, for example, lighting loads, HVAC units, electric window treatments or projection screens, humidity control units, audio systems or amplifiers, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and the like. The electrical loads may have advanced features. For example, a lighting load may be controlled to emit light of varying intensities and / or colors in response to a user command. The amount of power delivered to an electrical load may be adjusted to an absolute level or to a relative amount. Multiple electrical loads may be manipulated so that one or more presets or scenes (e.g., a combination of specific lighting conditions, temperature settings, speaker volumes, etc.) may be created, and a user may desire the ability to browse presets or scenes and activate a preset or scene that is appropriate for a particular occasion. With conventional load control devices such as mechanical toggle switches, a user would not be able to perform any of the aforementioned functions, let alone multiple of them, with one device.

[0005] The deficiencies of conventional load control devices are at least partially caused by the actuation mechanisms used in those devices. More specifically, conventional load control devices are typically only capable of responding to simple user actions, such as moving a lever or pressing a button. Therefore, the number and / or type of controls that can be applied by the load control device are limited. In order to meet the needs of advanced electrical loads, it is necessary to adopt alternative user interface technologies, such as those that can detect a person's gestures and convert the gestures into control data (e.g., control signals) to control the electrical load. For example, these technologies can expand the capabilities of load control devices while enhancing their usability and aesthetic appeal.

[0006] Conventional load control devices may also lack the ability to provide visual feedback to a user regarding the operation of the load control device and / or the electrical load controlled by the load control device. This capability is an important aspect of the user experience in advanced load control systems where a user may be able to manipulate multiple operating parameters of an electrical load or control multiple electrical loads via a single control device. Providing feedback in these environments can inform the user of the status and / or mode of the control device and the electrical load, and can help the user navigate the various functions of the control device. Summary of the invention

[0007] As described herein, a control device configured for use in a load control system to control one or more electrical loads external to the control device may include an actuation member having a front surface defining a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a capacitive touch surface) configured to detect touch actuation (e.g., point actuation) along at least a portion of the front surface. The control device may include a main printed circuit board (PCB) including a control circuit; a tactile switch; a controllable conductive device; and a drive circuit operably coupled to a control input of the controllable conductive device for causing the controllable conductive device to be conductive or non-conductive to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load. The control device may also include a capacitive touch PCB fixed to the actuation member. The capacitive touch PCB may include a touch-sensitive circuit including one or more receiving capacitive touch pads located on the capacitive touch PCB behind the actuation member and arranged in a linear array adjacent to the capacitive touch surface. The capacitive touch PCB may include a ground plane on the back side of the capacitive touch PCB. The actuation member may be configured to pivot about the pivot axis in response to actuation of the actuation member to actuate a tactile switch on the main PCB, such that the capacitive touch surface and the capacitive touch PCB are configured to move with the actuation member in response to actuation of the actuation member. The actuation member may be further configured to substantially maintain its position (e.g., not pivot about the pivot axis) in response to a user input applied to the pivot axis, such that the tactile switch is not actuated by the user input. In response to such user input, the control device may enter a programming mode to allow a user to configure or adjust an operating characteristic of the control device. The control device may also be configured to perform a specific operation (e.g., switch from an intensity control mode to a color control mode) in response to the user input.

[0008] The control device may include an actuation member, a main printed circuit board, and / or a capacitive touch printed circuit board fixed to the actuation member. The actuation member has a front surface that can define a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a capacitive touch surface) that is configured to detect touch actuation along at least a portion of the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a portion above a light bar of the control device). The main printed circuit board may include a first control circuit, a tactile switch, a controllable conductive device, and / or a drive circuit. The drive circuit may be operably coupled to a control input of the controllable conductive device for making the controllable conductive device conductive or non-conductive to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load. The actuation member may be configured to pivot about a pivot axis in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member to actuate the tactile switch on the main printed circuit board.

[0009] The capacitive touch printed circuit board may include one or more receiving touch-sensitive pads, such as capacitive touch pads, located on the capacitive touch printed circuit board. The touch-sensitive pads may be located behind the actuating member and / or may be arranged in a linear array adjacent to the touch-sensitive surface. The capacitive touch printed circuit board may also include a second control circuit configured to receive input from the capacitive touch pad and provide an output signal to the first control circuit in response to the input received from the capacitive touch pad. The capacitive touch printed circuit board may be configured to move with the actuating member in response to tactile actuation of the actuating member. The first control circuit may be configured to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load in response to the position of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface indicated by the output signal from the second control circuit.

[0010] The capacitive touch printed circuit board also includes a proximity pad that, for example, may extend parallel to the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads and / or be positioned farther away from the touch-sensitive surface than the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads. The second control circuit is configured to ignore input received from the receiving capacitive touch pad in response to receiving input from the proximity pad.

[0011] The second control circuit can be configured to compare the measured voltage provided via the capacitive touch pad to a voltage threshold and generate an output signal indicating when the measured voltage exceeds the voltage threshold. The second control circuit can be configured to use different voltage thresholds for different capacitive touch pads. For example, the receiving capacitive touch pad can be separated from the capacitive touch surface by different distances, and different voltage thresholds can be used based on the distance between the capacitive touch pad and the capacitive touch surface.

[0012] The first control circuit may be configured to not respond to (eg, ignore) output signals received via the capacitive touch surface during times when the controllably conductive device is rendered conductive and / or during times when wired or wireless communications are transmitted or received via the communication circuitry of the control device.

[0013] The first control circuit can be configured to operate in one of a plurality of touch actuation modes. For example, when the lighting load is disconnected, the first control circuit can be configured to operate in a first touch actuation mode and is configured to turn the electrical load on in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface. Additionally, and for example, when the lighting load is disconnected, the first control circuit can be configured to operate in a second touch actuation mode and the first control circuit is not configured to turn the electrical load on in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface.

[0014] The first control circuit is configured to detect touch actuation applied to the area of ​​the front surface of the actuation member characterized by limited pivoting for a predetermined period of time and enter the advanced programming mode in response to detecting user input applied to the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting.

[0015] In some examples, the first control circuit is configured to ignore output signals received from the second control circuit when the electrical load is disconnected. For example, when the electrical load is disconnected, the first control circuit may be configured to ignore input from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation above a position along the touch-sensitive actuator corresponding to a predetermined level, and may be configured to respond to input from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation below a position along the touch-sensitive actuator corresponding to the predetermined level.

[0016] The first control circuit can be configured to prioritize input received in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member over output signals received from the second control circuit by ignoring the output signals when tactile actuation of the tactile switch is received within a blanking period following initial detection of touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface.

[0017] The first control circuit may be configured to determine that the position of the touch actuation on the touch-sensitive surface is maintained for an amount of time shorter than a blanking period without detecting tactile actuation of the actuation member, and the control device may be configured to switch on the electrical load to a power level associated with the position of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface.

[0018] The first control circuit may be configured to initiate a blanking period in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member to switch the electrical load on or off, and to ignore output signals received from the second control circuit during the blanking period.

[0019] The control device may include an actuation member, a touch-sensitive device, and a control circuit. The actuation member may have a front surface that defines a touch-sensitive surface along at least a portion of the front surface. The actuation member may be configured to move in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member. The touch-sensitive device may be configured to detect touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface. The control circuit may be configured to determine the position of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface in response to the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface. The control circuit may be configured to determine the position of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface in response to the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface, turn the electrical load on or off in response to actuation of the tactile switch, and control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load based on input received from the touch-sensitive device.

[0020] In some examples, the control circuitry can be configured to prioritize input received in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member over input received from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface. For example, the control circuitry can be configured to prioritize input received in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member over input received from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface by ignoring input received from the touch-sensitive device when tactile actuation is received within a blanking period following initial detection of touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface.

[0021] In some examples, the control circuit can be configured to initiate a blanking period in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member to switch the electrical load on or off, and ignore input received from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface during the blanking period.

[0022] In some examples, the control circuit can be configured to ignore input from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation along at least a portion of the touch-sensitive surface when the electrical load is disconnected.

[0023] In some examples, when the electrical load is disconnected, the control circuit can be configured to ignore input from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface that lasts less than a predetermined period of time. In addition, the control circuit can be configured to determine that the position of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface is maintained for a predetermined period of time when the electrical load is disconnected, and can be configured to turn the electrical load on to a power level associated with the position in response to actuation of the tactile switch.

[0024] In some examples, the actuation member may include an upper portion and a lower portion and may be configured to pivot about a pivot axis in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion or the lower portion. In such examples, the actuation member may be configured to substantially maintain its position relative to the base portion in response to a user input applied via an area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting proximate the pivot axis. The control circuit may be configured to detect touch actuation applied to the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting for a predetermined period of time, and may be configured to change an operating mode of the control device or control an electrical load in response to detecting a user input applied to the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting. Alternatively or additionally, the control circuit may be configured to change an operating mode of the control device in response to detecting touch actuation applied above the pivot axis, wherein the operating mode allows a user of the control device to adjust an operating characteristic of the control device.

[0025] In some examples, the actuation member may be supported by the base portion and may be configured to actuate the first tactile switch in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion and to actuate the second tactile switch in response to tactile actuation of the lower portion. The touch-sensitive surface (e.g., and the control circuit) may be configured to detect user input applied to an area of ​​the touch-sensitive region approximately midway between the first tactile switch and the second tactile switch. The control circuit may be configured to change an operating mode in response to detecting user input in an area of ​​the touch-sensitive surface, wherein the operating mode allows a user of the control device to adjust an operating characteristic of the control device.

[0026] In some examples, a touch-sensitive device may include multiple touch elements (e.g., such as capacitive touch elements). The distance between the front surface of the actuation member and the multiple touch elements may not be uniform. For example, the distance may be shorter in the middle of the actuation member and longer toward the top and / or bottom of the actuation member. Alternatively, the distance may be shortest at the top and longest at the bottom, or vice versa. The touch-sensitive device may be configured to use different sensitivities, such as different thresholds (e.g., voltage thresholds), when detecting touch actuation along different touch elements (e.g., to detect the location of the touch actuation along the touch surface).

[0027] In some examples, the control circuit may be configured to not respond to an output signal during times when the controllably conductive device is being rendered conductive and / or during times when wired or wireless communications are being transmitted or received via the control device's communications circuitry.

[0028] In some examples, the control circuitry may be configured to prioritize input received in response to tactile actuation of an actuation member over input received from a touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation of a touch-sensitive surface by ignoring input received from the touch-sensitive device when tactile actuation is received within a blanking period after initial detection of touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] Figure 1 An exemplary load control system including one or more exemplary control devices is depicted.

[0030] Figure 2 Can be deployed as Figure 1 A perspective view of an exemplary control device for a dimmer switch and / or a remote control device of a load control system is shown.

[0031] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 Front view of the control unit.

[0032] Figure 4 It passes through Figure 3 The line shown is cut Figure 2 A top cross-sectional view of a control device.

[0033] Figure 5 is through the center of the control device (for example, through Figure 3 The line shown) Figure 2 A right-side cross-sectional view of the control device.

[0034] Figure 6 yes Figure 2 Rear view of the actuator and capacitive touch PCB of the control device.

[0035] Figure 7 yes Figure 2 Front view of the capacitive touch printed circuit board of the control unit.

[0036] Figure 8 is a perspective view of another exemplary control device (eg, a dual dimmer switch).

[0037] Fig. 9 yes Figure 8 Front view of the front side of the capacitive touch printed circuit board of the control device.

[0038] Fig.10 is a perspective view of an exemplary remote control device mounted on a mechanical switch.

[0039] Fig.11 yes Fig.10 A front view of an exemplary remote control device is shown.

[0040] Fig.12 yes Fig.10 A side view of an exemplary remote control device is shown.

[0041] Fig.13 yes Fig.10 A partially exploded front perspective view of an exemplary remote control device is shown.

[0042] Fig.14 yes Fig.10 Another partially exploded front perspective view of an exemplary remote control device is shown.

[0043] Fig.15 yes Fig.10 A partially exploded rear perspective view of an exemplary control unit of an exemplary remote control device is shown.

[0044] Fig.16 It can be implemented as Figure 2 The controls shown and / or Figure 8 A simplified block diagram of an exemplary control device (eg, a dimmer switch) is shown.

[0045] Fig.17 It can be implemented as Fig.10 A simplified block diagram of an exemplary control device (eg, a remote control device) is shown.

[0046] Figures 18 to 23 is a flow chart of an exemplary control routine that may be executed by the control circuit of the control device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] Figure 1 1 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary load control system. As shown, the load control system is configured as a lighting control system 100 for controlling one or more lighting loads, such as a lighting load 102 installed in a ceiling mounted downlight fixture 103 and a controllable lighting load 104 installed in a desk lamp 105. Figure 1 The lighting loads 102, 104 shown may include different types of light sources (e.g., incandescent lamps, fluorescent lamps, and / or LED light sources). The lighting loads may have advanced features. For example, the lighting loads may be controlled to emit light of different intensities and / or colors in response to user commands. The amount of power delivered to the lighting loads may be adjusted to an absolute level or a relative amount. The lighting control system 100 may be configured to control one or more of the lighting loads (e.g., and / or other electrical loads) according to one or more configurable presets or scenes. These presets or scenes may correspond to, for example, predefined light intensities and / or colors, predefined entertainment settings (such as music selections and / or volume settings), predefined window treatment settings (such as the position of shades), predefined environmental settings (such as HVAC settings), or any combination thereof. The presets or scenes may correspond to one or more specific electrical loads (e.g., bedside lamps, ceiling lamps, etc.) and / or one or more specific locations (e.g., rooms, entire houses, etc.).

[0048] Lighting load 102 may be an example of a lighting load that is wired into a power control and / or delivery path of lighting control system 100. Thus, lighting load 102 may be controlled by a wall mounted control device such as a dimmer switch. Lighting load 104 may be an example of a lighting load that is equipped with integrated load control circuitry and / or wireless communication capabilities such that the lighting load may be controlled via a wireless control mechanism (e.g., by a remote control device).

[0049] The lighting control system 100 may include one or more control devices for controlling the lighting loads 102, 104 (e.g., controlling the amount of power delivered to the lighting loads). The lighting loads 102, 104 may be controlled substantially in unison, or individually. For example, the lighting loads may be partitioned such that the lighting load 102 may be controlled by a first control device and the lighting load 104 may be controlled by a second control device. The control devices may be configured to switch the lighting loads 102, 104 on and off. The control devices may be configured to control the magnitude of the load current conducted through the lighting loads (e.g., so as to provide a constant current at a low-end intensity level L). LE and high-end strength level L HE The control device may be configured to control the intensity level of the lighting loads 102, 104 between 10 and 20%. The control device may be configured to control the amount of power delivered to the lighting loads to an absolute level (e.g., to a maximum allowable amount), or to control by a relative amount (e.g., increase by 10% from a current level). The control device may be configured to control the color of the lighting loads 102, 104 (e.g., by controlling the color temperature of the lighting loads or by applying full color control to the lighting loads).

[0050] The control device may be configured to activate presets associated with the lighting loads 102, 104. The preset may be associated with one or more predetermined settings of the lighting load, such as the intensity level of the lighting load and / or the color of the lighting load. The preset may be configured via the control device and / or via an external device (e.g., a mobile device) through the wireless communication circuit of the control device. The control device may be configured to activate control of a zone. A zone may correspond to one or more electrical loads configured to be controlled by the control device. A zone may be associated with a specific location (e.g., a living room) or multiple locations (e.g., an entire house with multiple rooms and hallways). The control device may be configured to switch between different operating modes. The operating modes may be associated with controlling different types of electrical loads or different operating aspects of one or more electrical loads. Examples of operating modes may include a lighting control mode for controlling one or more lighting loads (e.g., which in turn may include a color control mode and an intensity control mode), an entertainment system control mode (e.g., for controlling music selection and / or volume of an audio system), an HVAC system control mode, a winter treatment device control mode (e.g., for controlling one or more window shades), and the like.

[0051] One or more characteristics of the control device and / or lighting load 102, 104 described herein may be customized via an advanced programming mode (APM). Such characteristics may include, for example, intensity levels associated with presets, fade-in / fade-out times, enablement / disablement of visual indicators, low-end trims (e.g., a minimum intensity level to which the control device may set the lighting load 102, 104), high-end trims (e.g., a maximum intensity level to which the control device may set the lighting load 102, 104), and the like. An example of an advanced programming mode for a wall-mounted load control device may be found in U.S. Patent No. 7,190,125, issued March 13, 2007, entitled "PROGRAMMABLE WALLBOX DIMMER," the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The control device may be manipulated in a variety of ways to enter the advanced programming mode. For example, the control device may be moved to the advanced programming mode via a press and hold or double-click applied to the front area of ​​the control device. The manner in which the advanced programming mode of the control device is activated will be described in more detail below.

[0052] The control devices described herein may be, for example, a dimmer switch 110, a retrofit remote control 112, a wall mounted remote control 114, a desktop remote control 116, and / or a handheld remote control 118, such as Figure 1 The dimmer switch 110 can be configured to be mounted to a standard electrical wall box (e.g., via a yoke) and coupled in series electrical connection between an alternating current (AC) power source 105 and a lighting load (e.g., such as lighting load 102) wired into a control path of the dimmer switch 110. The dimmer switch 110 can receive an AC mains voltage V from the AC power source 105. AC, and may generate a control signal for controlling the lighting load 102. The control signal may be generated by various phase control techniques (e.g., forward phase control dimming technique or reverse phase control dimming technique). The dimmer switch 110 may be configured to receive a wireless signal (e.g., from a remote control device) representing a command to control the lighting load 102, and generate a corresponding control signal for executing the command. Examples of wall mounted dimmer switches are described in more detail in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 7,242,150, entitled “DIMMER HAVING A POWER SUPP LYMONITORING CIRCUIT,” issued on July 10, 2007, U.S. Patent No. 7,546,473, entitled “DIMMER HAVING A MICROPROC ESSORCONTROLLED POWER SUPPLY,” issued on June 9, 2009, and U.S. Patent No. 8,664,881, entitled “TWO-WIRE DIMMER SWITCH FOR LOW-POWER LOADS,” issued on March 4, 2014, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

[0053] The retrofit remote control 112 may be configured to mount to a mechanical switch (e.g., a toggle switch 122) that may be pre-existing in the lighting control system 100. Such a retrofit solution may provide energy savings and / or advanced control features, e.g., without requiring extensive electrical rewiring and / or without requiring replacement of an existing mechanical switch. As an example, a consumer may replace an existing lamp with a controllable lighting load 104, switch a toggle switch 122 coupled to the lighting load 104 to an on position, position (e.g., install) the remote control 112 to the toggle switch 122, and associate the remote control 112 with the lighting source 104. The retrofit remote control 112 may then be used to perform advanced functions that the toggle switch 122 may not be able to perform (e.g., such as dimming the intensity level of the light output, changing the color of the light output, providing feedback to the user, etc.). As shown, the toggle switch 122 is coupled (e.g., via a series electrical connection) between the AC power source 105 and an electrical outlet 120 into which the lighting load 104 may be plugged (e.g., such as a power source 105). Figure 1 Alternatively, the toggle switch 122 may be coupled between the AC power source 105 and one or more of the lighting loads 102 , 104 without the electrical outlet 120 .

[0054] The wall mounted remote control device 114 may be configured to be mounted to a standard electrical wall box and electrically connected to the AC power source 105 to receive power. The wall mounted remote control device 114 may be configured to receive user inputs and may generate and transmit control signals (e.g., control data such as digital messages) for controlling the lighting loads 102, 104 in response to the user inputs. The desktop remote control device 116 may be configured to be placed on a surface (e.g., a coffee table or a nightstand) and may be powered by a direct current (DC) power source (e.g., a battery or an external DC power supply plugged into an electrical outlet). The desktop remote control device 116 may be configured to receive user inputs and may generate and transmit signals (e.g., digital messages) for controlling the lighting loads 102, 104 in response to the user inputs. The handheld remote control device 118 may be sized to fit in a user's hand and may be powered by a direct current (DC) power source (e.g., a battery or an external DC power supply plugged into an electrical outlet). The handheld remote control device 118 may be configured to receive user inputs and, in response to the user inputs, may generate and transmit signals (e.g., digital messages) for controlling the lighting loads 102, 104. Examples of battery-powered remote controls are described in more detail in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,330,638, entitled “Wireless Battery Powered Remote Control Having Multiple Mounting Means,” issued Dec. 11, 2012, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,573,208, entitled “Method Of Programming A Lighting Preset From A Radio-Frequency Remote Control,” issued Aug. 11, 2009, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

[0055] It should be understood that although a lighting control system with two lighting loads is provided above as an example, a load control system as described herein may include more or fewer lighting loads, other types of lighting loads, and / or other types of electrical loads that can be configured to be controlled by one or more control devices. For example, the load control system may include one or more of the following: a dimming ballast for driving a gas discharge lamp; an LED driver for driving an LED light source; a dimming circuit for controlling the intensity level of a lighting load; a screw-in lamp including a dimmer circuit and an incandescent or halogen lamp; a screw-in lamp including a ballast and a compact fluorescent lamp; a screw-in lamp including an LED driver and an LED light source; an electronic switch, a controllable circuit breaker, or other switching device for turning the fixture on and off; a plug-in control device, a controllable electrical outlet, or a controllable power strip for controlling one or more plug-in loads; a motor control unit for controlling a motor load (such as a ceiling fan or exhaust fan); a motor control unit for controlling an electric window treatment or projection screen drive units for curtains; one or more electric interior and / or exterior blinds; thermostats for heating and / or cooling systems; temperature control devices for controlling the set point temperature of heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; air conditioners; compressors; electric baseboard heater controllers; controllable dampers; variable air volume controllers; fresh air intake controllers; ventilation controllers; one or more hydraulic valves for radiators and radiant heating systems; humidity control units; humidifiers; dehumidifiers; water heaters; boiler controllers; pool pumps; refrigerators; freezers; television and / or computer monitors; video cameras; audio systems or amplifiers; elevators; power supplies; generators; chargers, such as electric vehicle chargers; alternative energy controllers; and the like.

[0056] Figure 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary control device 200 that may be deployed as a dimmer switch 110 and / or a retrofit remote control device 112 in a lighting control system 100, and Figure 3 200 may include a user interface 202 and a panel 204. The control device 200 may be configured to control the amount of power delivered to the lighting load (e.g., turn the lighting load on or off, or adjust the intensity level of the lighting load by transmitting a message for controlling the lighting load via a communication circuit (e.g., a wireless signal via a wireless communication circuit) and / or by controlling the lighting load via an internal load control circuit (e.g., a controllable conductive device of the control device 200)). The user interface 202 may include a light bar 220 extending along the length of the actuating member. The light bar 220 may be configured to be illuminated by one or more light sources (e.g., one or more LEDs) to visually display information. When the control device 200 is a wall-mounted dimmer switch, the control device 200 may include a housing 230 for housing the load control circuit of the dimmer switch.

[0057] The user interface 202 of the control device 200 may include an actuation member 210 configured to be mounted to a base portion 212 (e.g., a bezel). The actuation member 210 may include a front surface 214 including an upper portion 216 and a lower portion 218. The actuation member 210 may be configured to pivot about a pivot axis 222 (e.g., a central axis) in response to tactile actuation (e.g., tactile input) of the upper portion 216 and the lower portion 218. The control device 200 may be configured to control a lighting load of the lighting control system 100 to turn the lighting load on in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 216 and to turn the lighting load off in response to tactile actuation (e.g., tactile input) of the lower portion 218 (or vice versa). For example, the control device 200 can be configured to turn the lighting load on to a previous intensity level (e.g., before the lighting load was previously turned off) or to a preset intensity level (e.g., a predetermined or locked preset intensity level) in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 216 of the actuation member 210. The control device 200 may include one or more tactile switches that are actuated in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 216 and / or the lower portion 218 of the actuation member 210.

[0058] The actuation member 210 may also receive user inputs that do not cause the actuation member to pivot (e.g., about the pivot axis 222). For example, at least a portion of the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210 may be configured as a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a capacitive touch surface) that is configured to receive (e.g., detect) inputs (e.g., touch actuation / inputs) from a user of the control device 200, such as point actuation or gestures. The touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 210 may be positioned adjacent to and / or overlap the light bar 220. In response to these inputs, the actuation member 210 may substantially maintain its position (e.g., relative to the base portion 212), and depending on the position of the input, the control device may enter a different operating mode and / or perform a different control function in response. For example, during a normal operating mode of the control device 200, the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210 may be actuated along the light bar 220 (e.g., along the touch-sensitive surface) to adjust the amount of power delivered to the lighting load according to the position of the actuation, and thus adjust the intensity level of the lighting load. For example, the control device 200 can control the magnitude of the load current conducted through the lighting load based on the location of the touch actuation (eg, touch input) along the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 210 to increase the intensity level L at the low end. LE and high-end strength level L HEThe control device 200 can control the amount of power delivered to the lighting load to an absolute level (e.g., to a maximum allowable amount) or to a relative amount (e.g., increase by 10% from a current level) based on the position of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 210. Examples of control devices with capacitive touch surfaces are described in more detail in commonly assigned U.S. Patent No. 10,109,181, issued on October 23, 2018, entitled “GESTURE-BASED CONTROL DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING AN ELECTRICAL LOAD,” the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Although primarily described in the context of a capacitive touch surface, it should be appreciated that the control device 200 is not limited thereto, and in some examples, at least a portion of the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210 may be configured as a different type of touch-sensitive surface, such as a resistive touch surface, an inductive touch surface, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) touch surface, an infrared touch surface, an acoustic pulse touch surface, or the like.

[0059] The control device 200 may control the magnitude of the load current conducted through the lighting load based on a single discrete input along the touch-sensitive surface and / or based on multiple continuous inputs along the touch-sensitive surface. For example, a user may tap their finger at a location along the touch-sensitive surface, and in response, the control device 200 may turn the lighting load on to a certain intensity level based on the location of the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 210. As an example, if the lighting load is off, the control device 200 may turn the lighting load on to a certain intensity level based on the location of the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 210. When the lighting load is on, the user may move (e.g., slide) their finger along the touch-sensitive surface, and in response, the control device 200 may adjust (e.g., continuously control) the magnitude of the load current conducted through the lighting load based on the location of the multiple inputs along the touch-sensitive surface.

[0060] Additionally, in the color control mode, the control device 200 may control the color of the lighting load based on the location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 210 (e.g., by controlling the color temperature of the lighting load or by applying full color control to the lighting load). For example, the light bar 220 may be configured to illuminate a color spectrum (e.g., spanning the entire visible color spectrum, a subset of the visible color spectrum, and / or a spectrum associated with the color temperature of a black body radiator) across the length of the light bar 220. Thus, the control device 200 may control the color of the lighting load based on the location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface, and in turn control the corresponding color at that location on the light bar 220.

[0061] The control device 200 may be configured to prioritize user inputs that cause the actuation member 210 to pivot over user inputs that do not cause the actuation member 210 to pivot, or vice versa. For example, when the lighting load is off and the user moves a finger close to the upper portion 216 of the actuation member 210, causing the control device 200 to detect a touch actuation via the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., along the light bar 220), the control device 200 may temporarily delay responding to the touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface to see if the user is attempting to actuate the upper portion 216 of the actuation member 210 to turn on the lighting load. Thus, if the user's finger happens to sweep across the light bar 220 while actuating the upper portion 216 of the actuation member 210, or if the user's finger actuates the upper portion 216 of the actuation member 210 too close to the light bar 220, the control device 200 may avoid turning on the lighting load to a certain intensity level based on the location of the actuation on the light bar 220 (e.g., in response to the touch-sensitive surface). Furthermore, when the lighting load is turned on and the user moves a finger close to the lower portion 218 of the actuation member 210, thereby causing the control device 200 to detect a touch actuation via the touch-sensitive surface, the control device 200 may temporarily ignore the touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface after the actuation of the lower portion 218. Thus, if the user's finger happens to sweep across the light bar 220 while moving away from the lower portion 218 of the actuation member 210, the control device 200 may avoid turning the lighting load on again.

[0062] For example, the control device 200 can be configured to prioritize input received in response to actuation of the actuation member 210 over input received via the capacitive touch surface by ignoring input received via the capacitive touch surface when a tactile actuation of the actuation member 210 is received within a blanking period (e.g., a first blanking period or a post-touch blanking period) after an initial detection of a touch actuation received via the capacitive touch surface. For example, the blanking period can be approximately 200 milliseconds. The blanking period can occur after (e.g., in response to) a touch actuation (e.g., an initial detection of a touch actuation). That is, when a touch actuation of the actuation member 210 is received within the blanking period (e.g., a touch actuation initiated during the blanking period), the control device 200 can ignore the touch actuation received via the capacitive touch surface. For example, in some examples, the control device 200 can start a blanking period (e.g., a timer) in response to receiving a touch actuation via the capacitive touch surface, and if the control device 200 receives a touch actuation of the actuation member 210 during the blanking period (e.g., the touch actuation starts during the blanking period), the touch actuation received via the capacitive touch surface during the blanking period is ignored. Thus, the control device 200 can prioritize user inputs that cause the actuation member 210 to pivot over user inputs that do not cause the actuation member 210 to pivot during the blanking period.

[0063] In addition, the control device 200 can be configured to respond to quick "taps" along the touch-sensitive surface even if a blanking period is implemented. For example, the control device 200 can be configured to determine that touch actuation continues at a location on the touch-sensitive surface for an amount of time that is shorter than the blanking period without the actuation member 210 being actuated (e.g., the touch actuation begins and completes before the blanking period ends), and in response, turns on the lighting load to an intensity level associated with the location in response to the touch actuation. Thus, the control device 200 can simultaneously implement a blanking period to avoid unintentional touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface, and still respond quickly to intentional touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface.

[0064] The control device 200 may be configured to turn on the lighting load in response to a touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface even when a blanking period is implemented. For example, the control device 200 may be configured to receive a touch actuation via the touch-sensitive surface at a certain location for an amount of time greater than the blanking period without actuating the tactile switch (e.g., the touch actuation begins during the blanking period and ends after the blanking period), and in response, turn on the lighting load to an intensity level associated with the location in response to the touch actuation. In addition, the control device 200 may adjust the length of the blanking period, for example, by user input (e.g., touch actuation and / or tactile actuation) received while in the advanced programming mode. For example, in some examples, the blanking period may be configured to be greater than one second (e.g., multiple seconds). In such examples, the control device 200 may respond to a pressed and held touch actuation along the light bar 220 by turning on the lighting load to an intensity level associated with the location of the pressed and held actuation.

[0065] The control device 200 may be configured to temporarily ignore input received via the capacitive touch surface after tactile actuation of the actuation member 210 that causes the lighting load to be turned on or off. The control device 200 may be configured in this manner, for example, to avoid erroneously turning the lighting load back on and / or adjusting the power delivered to the lighting load (e.g., the intensity level of the lighting load) after tactile actuation of the actuation member 210. For example, the control device 200 may be configured to ignore input received via the capacitive touch surface during a blanking period (e.g., a second blanking period or a post-touch period) after detecting tactile actuation of the actuation member to turn the lighting load on or off. For example, in some examples, the control device 200 may start a blanking period in response to turning the lighting load on or off, and ignore input received via the capacitive touch surface during the blanking period during the blanking period. Therefore, by using a blanking period, the control device 200 may be able to avoid unintentional touch actuation along the capacitive touch surface after tactile actuation of the actuation member 210. In summary, the control device 200 may be configured with one or more blanking periods, such as a first blanking period (e.g., a blanking period that occurs after touch actuation (e.g., in response to touch actuation)) and / or a second blanking period (e.g., a blanking period that occurs after tactile actuation (e.g., in response to tactile actuation)), wherein the first blanking period is used to avoid unintentional touch actuation after initial detection of touch actuation received via the capacitive touch surface and before tactile actuation of the actuation member 210, and the second blanking period is used to avoid unintentional touch actuation after tactile actuation of the actuation member 210.

[0066] The control device 200 can be configured to detect receipt of a touch actuation (e.g., a tactile actuation that causes the actuation member 210 to substantially maintain its position relative to the base portion 212) at a location of the touch-sensitive surface defined by the limited pivot, and in response, change an operating mode of the control device 200 and / or control a lighting load. An example of a location defined by the limited pivot is an area 215 of the front surface 214 above the pivot axis 222. Touch actuations (e.g., touch inputs) detected by the control device 200 can include press-and-hold actuations (e.g., pressing and holding a finger in the area 215 for a non-instantaneous period of time such as a few seconds), double-tap actuations (e.g., two instantaneous actuations of the area 215 performed in rapid succession), swipe gestures (e.g., continuous contact with multiple locations of the area 215 within a brief period of time), and the like. Because the touch actuation is applied to the region 215 above the pivot axis 222 of the actuation member 210, the touch actuation does not cause the actuation member 210 to pivot (e.g., about the pivot axis 222) or otherwise change its position relative to the base portion. Therefore, the touch actuation applied to the pivot axis 222 can be clearly distinguished from the tactile actuation of the upper portion 216 or the lower portion 218 to prevent accidental triggering of the control function associated with the tactile actuation of the upper portion 216 or the lower portion 218. It should be noted that although the description is provided herein in the context of a control device having a central pivot axis, the proposed technology can also be used with other types of control devices, including those configured to pivot about an axis located at the top or bottom end of the control device. That is, although shown at the approximate midpoint of the actuation member 210, the region 215 and / or the pivot axis 222 can be located elsewhere on the actuation member 210, such as closer to the upper portion 216 or the lower portion 218 of the actuation member 210.

[0067] The control device 200 may turn the lighting load on or off in response to receiving a touch actuation at a position of the touch-sensitive surface defined by the limit pivot. In addition, the control device 200 may change the operating mode of the control device 200 in response to receiving a touch actuation at a position of the touch-sensitive surface defined by the limit pivot. An example of a change in operating mode is a change between an intensity control mode and a color control mode (e.g., a color temperature control mode and / or a full color spectrum control mode). Another example of a change in operating mode is a change between a normal operating mode and a debug mode for associating the control device 200 with an electrical load. Yet another example of a change in operating mode is a change between a normal operating mode and an advanced programming mode. As described herein, the advanced programming mode may allow configuration and / or adjustment of one or more operating characteristics of the lighting load of the control device and / or the lighting control system 100, such as low-end fine-tuning (e.g., minimum intensity level) and / or high-end fine-tuning (e.g., maximum intensity level) of the lighting load.

[0068] During an advanced programming mode as described herein, the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210 can be actuated along the light bar 220 (e.g., touch actuation on a touch-sensitive surface) to adjust an operating characteristic of the control device (e.g., low-end fine adjustment). The light bar 220 can be fixed to the actuation member 210, and thus, the light bar 220 can be configured to move when the actuation member 210 is pivoted. An example of a control device with an advanced programming mode is described in more detail in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 7,190,125, entitled “PROGRAMMABLE WALLBOX DIMMER,” issued on Mar. 13, 2007, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.

[0069] When in the advanced programming mode, a user may set (e.g., store) a locked preset intensity level. The locked preset intensity level may be a programmable intensity level setting to which the control will turn the lighting load on in response to a tactile actuation of the actuation member 210 (e.g., a tactile actuation of the upper portion 214 of the actuation member 210) to turn the lighting load on, regardless of the intensity level to which the lighting load was set when it was last turned off. Once the control 200 has entered the advanced programming mode (e.g., by pulling out a service switch, such as Figure 2 200 ), the control device 200 may allow the user to select between different features to adjust, such as a locked preset intensity level. Once the user selects the locked preset intensity level for configuration, the control device 200 may indicate that the locked current intensity level configuration has been activated (e.g., by flashing an internal light source). Next, the control device 200 may receive a touch actuation corresponding to the intensity level from the user via the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a point actuation along the light bar 220), and in response, the control device 200 will set the locked preset intensity level based on the touch actuation. Finally, the user may exit the advanced programming mode. Thereafter, each time the control device 200 receives a tactile actuation to turn on the lighting load, the control device 200 turns the lighting load on to the locked preset intensity level.

[0070] Additionally, through the advanced programming mode, the control device 200 can be configured to use an unlocked preset intensity level. When using an unlocked preset intensity level, the control device 200 can be configured to turn the lighting load on to the intensity level that was set when the lighting load was last turned off (e.g., the previous intensity level). When using an unlocked preset intensity level and when the lighting load is turned off, the control device 200 can illuminate one of the internal light sources (e.g., and / or a portion of the light bar 220) to a greater intensity than the rest to indicate the unlocked preset intensity level to the user.

[0071] The control device 200 may be configured to ignore touch actuation via the touch-sensitive surface when the lighting load is disconnected (e.g., disable the capacitive touch circuit when the lighting load is disconnected). For example, the control device 200 may ignore touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface as long as the lighting load is disconnected, and the control device may turn on the lighting load in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 216 of the actuation member 210. However, in some examples, the control device 200 may turn on the lighting load in response to special touch actuation such as long press and hold actuation (e.g., touch actuation exceeding a predetermined period of time) or double-click touch actuation. In addition, the control device 200 may ignore touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface during a blanking period after detecting tactile actuation of the tactile switch to turn on the lighting load, and respond to touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface after the blanking period.

[0072] Furthermore, in some examples, and before the lighting load is turned on, the control device 200 may be configured to allow a user to adjust the intensity level for turning the lighting load on by touch actuation received via the capacitive touch surface. For example, the control device 200 may be configured to receive touch actuation via the capacitive touch surface when the lighting load is in the off state, and in response, adjust the on intensity level of the lighting load, but not actually turn the lighting load on. Then, upon subsequent actuation of the actuation member 210, the control device 200 may turn the lighting load on to the on intensity level that was set when the lighting load was in the off state.

[0073] The control device 200 may be configured to set a locked preset power level (e.g., intensity level) for the lighting load, such that the control device 200 is configured to automatically switch the lighting load on to the locked intensity level during a subsequent switch-on event. For example, if the control device 200 is configured to have a 20% locked intensity level and the lighting load is in an off state, the control device 200 may be configured to switch the lighting load on to the 20% intensity level, e.g., in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member 210, regardless of whether the user contacts the touch-sensitive surface when actuating the actuation member 210. The locked preset intensity level may be configured by the user, e.g., through an advanced programming mode of the control device 200.

[0074] The control device 200 may be configured to determine whether to ignore touch actuations received via the touch-sensitive surface based on the location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface. That is, the control device 200 may be configured to respond to touch actuations received at some locations on the touch-sensitive surface while ignoring touch actuations received at other locations on the touch-sensitive surface. For example, the control device 200 may be configured to respond to those touch actuations received via the touch-sensitive surface only when those touch actuations are received at a location associated with an intensity level less than a default intensity level (e.g., the default intensity level is the intensity level to which the control device 200 will turn on the lighting load in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member 210, such as a locked current intensity level, a previous intensity level, and / or an on intensity level). Such a feature may be helpful if the control device 200 controls lighting loads used in hallways or bathrooms to ensure that the lighting loads are not turned on to an intensity level that will interfere with the user (e.g., too bright for the user at midnight). In addition, in some examples, the control device 200 may also take into account the time at which the touch actuation is received. Thus, control device 200 may determine whether to ignore touch actuations received via the touch-sensitive surface based on the location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface as well as the time of day and / or day of the week (e.g., control device 200 may ignore touch actuations at locations corresponding to certain intensity levels at night).

[0075] The control device 200 may be configured to operate in one or more touch actuation modes (e.g., capacitive touch modes). The control device 200 may be configured to operate in a manner similar to different dimmer switches, such as a smart dimmer switch (e.g., a processor-controlled dimmer switch) when in a first touch actuation mode (e.g., a smart dimmer mode) and a traditional dimmer switch (e.g., an analog dimmer and / or a non-smart dimmer) when operating in a second touch actuation mode (e.g., a traditional dimmer mode). In the first touch actuation mode, the control device 200 may be configured to turn on the lighting load in response to (e.g., respond to) touch actuation via the capacitive touch surface when the lighting load is disconnected (e.g., enable the capacitive touch circuit when the lighting load is disconnected). In the second touch actuation mode, the control device 200 may not be configured to turn on the lighting load in response to (e.g., ignore) touch actuation via the capacitive touch surface when the lighting load is disconnected (e.g., disable the capacitive touch circuit when the lighting load is disconnected). In addition, the control device 200 can be configured to adjust the on-intensity level of the lighting load when operating in the second touch actuation mode (e.g., the lighting load will be turned on to the on-intensity level in response to subsequent tactile actuation of the actuation member 210). In addition, the control device 200 can be configured to have different operating characteristics (e.g., the number and / or length of blanking periods, the type and / or characteristics of the filtering mode, etc.) when operating in the first touch actuation mode compared to the second actuation mode.

[0076] The control device 200 may be configured to change between a first touch actuation mode and a second touch actuation mode. For example, the control device 200 may select one of the touch actuation modes based on user input (e.g., touch actuation and / or tactile actuation) received while in the advanced programming mode. In addition, the control device 200 may select (e.g., automatically select) one of the touch actuation modes in response to a selection of another operating characteristic in the advanced programming mode. For example, the control device 200 may be configured to operate in a first touch actuation mode when a locked preset intensity level is not set, and to operate in a second touch actuation mode when a locked preset intensity level is set (e.g., via the advanced programming mode).

[0077] In addition, the control device 200 may be configured to operate in additional touch actuation modes. For example, in another touch actuation mode, the control device 200 may be configured to respond to (e.g., respond to) touch actuation to turn the lighting load on when the lighting load is off and the location of the touch actuation is below the location along the capacitive touch surface associated with the locked current intensity level. In addition, the control device 200 may not be configured to respond to (e.g., ignore) touch actuation to turn the lighting load on when the lighting load is off and the location of the touch actuation is above the location along the capacitive touch surface associated with the locked current intensity level.

[0078] The control device 200 may be configured to change operating characteristics (e.g., the number and / or length of blanking periods, the type and / or characteristics of filtering modes, etc.) and / or operating modes (e.g., intensity control mode, color control mode, advanced programming mode, debug mode, etc.) of the control device 200 in various ways. For example, the control device 200 may change operating characteristics and / or operating modes based on the time of day and / or day of the week (e.g., clock information) and / or based on a learning algorithm using an advanced programming mode in response to receiving a touch actuation at a location of the touch-sensitive surface defined by limited pivoting (e.g., region 215). For example, once in the advanced programming mode, the control device 200 may be configured to change between operating modes (e.g., intensity control mode and color control mode) and / or change operating characteristics (e.g., the number and / or length of blanking periods, the type and / or characteristics of filtering modes, etc.). Alternatively or additionally, the control device 200 may change between operating modes and / or change operating characteristics in response to receiving an input at a location of the touch-sensitive surface defined by limited pivoting. In addition, the control device 200 can change between operating modes and / or change operating characteristics based on the time of day and / or day of the week. For example, the control device 200 can be configured to operate in a first touch actuation mode during the day and in a second touch actuation mode during the night.

[0079] In addition, the control device 200 may change the operating characteristics and / or operating mode based on the learning algorithm. As another example, the control device 200 may be configured to learn that when the control device 200 receives an input (e.g., tactile actuation) to turn on the lighting load at certain times of the day, the user will subsequently reduce the intensity level to a specific level (e.g., from the on intensity level to 25% intensity), and as a result, the control device 200 may be configured to initially turn on the lighting load to 25% intensity when the control device 200 receives an input to turn on the lighting load at that time of the day.

[0080] As another example, the control device 200 may be configured to adjust the length of a blanking period (e.g., a blanking period that occurs after (e.g., in response to) a touch actuation and / or a blanking period that occurs after (e.g., in response to) a tactile actuation based on a learning algorithm. For example, the control device 200 may determine that a blanking period is too short and, in response, extend the blanking period to avoid unintentional operation caused by an accidental touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface. One way that the control device 200 may determine that a blanking period is too short is by identifying a series of events indicating that an accidental touch actuation was received via the touch-sensitive surface. For example, after turning on a lighting load in response to a first actuation (e.g., touch actuation) of an actuation member 210 (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface), the control device may receive (e.g., consistently receive) a second actuation (e.g., touch actuation) that cancels or adjusts the control initiated by the first actuation (e.g., adjusts the intensity level). The control device may determine that the user has intended to apply tactile actuation to the actuation member 210 and extend the blanking period after receiving the touch actuation (e.g., the blanking period that occurs after (e.g., in response to) the touch actuation). In addition, after turning off the lighting load in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member 210, the control device then determines that it has received two subsequent inputs via the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch actuation)—a first input that controls the lighting load in some manner (e.g., turns the lighting load on) and a second input that cancels the control initiated by the first input (e.g., turns the lighting load off). Therefore, the control device 200 may determine that this series of events occurs frequently, and in response, extend the blanking period after receiving the tactile actuation (e.g., the blanking period that occurs after (e.g., in response to) the tactile actuation).

[0081] Figure 4 It passes through Figure 3 A top cross-sectional view of the control device 200 is taken along the line shown. Figure 5 is through the center of the control device (for example, along Figure 32. A right side cross-sectional view of control device 200 is shown in FIG. 2, taken along the line shown in FIG. 2. As described herein, rear housing 230 can house the load control circuitry of control device 200. Although shown with rear housing 230, in some examples, such as when control device 200 is a wireless remote control device, housing 230 can be omitted. In such examples, control device 200 can be connected to a base that is secured to a toggle actuator or rocker actuator of a standard light switch.

[0082] When the control device 200 is a wall mounted dimmer switch, the control device 200 may include a yoke 232 that may be connected to the housing 230 and may be configured to mount the control device 200 to an electrical wall box. Figure 4 As shown, the control device 200 may include a diffuser 234 including a protruding portion 235 that extends through an elongated opening in the actuation member 210 to form the light bar 220. The control device 200 may also include a light pipe 236 that may be configured to conduct light from one or more light sources 238 located inside the housing 230 to the light bar 220. For example, the light source 238 may include one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) mounted to a main printed circuit board (PCB) 260 housed in the housing 230.

[0083] The control device 200 may include a main PCB 260 including a load control circuit for controlling the power delivered to the electrical load. For example, the main PCB 260 may include any combination of a control circuit (e.g., a main control circuit), a memory, a drive circuit, one or more controllable conductive devices, a zero crossing detector, a low voltage power supply, etc. (e.g., Figure 6 ). The control circuit of the main PCB 260 may be operably coupled to the control input of the controllable conductive device, for example, via a drive circuit. The control circuit may be used to make the controllable conductive device conductive or non-conductive, for example, to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load. The control device 200 (e.g., the main PCB 260) may also include a mechanical switch, such as a first tactile switch 262 and a second tactile switch 264, which are configured to be actuated in response to actuation (e.g., tactile actuation) of the upper portion 216 and the lower portion 218 of the actuating member 210, respectively (e.g., to control turning the load on and off). In some examples, the control device 200 may be configured to control the lighting load of the lighting control system 100 to turn the load on in response to actuation of the first tactile switch 262, and to turn the load off in response to actuation of the second tactile switch 264 (or vice versa).

[0084] When a user input (e.g., touch actuation) is applied to an area of ​​the front surface 214 that is located away from the first tactile switch 262 and the second tactile switch 264 (e.g., area 215 above the pivot axis 222), the first tactile switch 262 and the second tactile switch 264 may not be actuated, and the control device 200 may be configured to enter an advanced programming mode (e.g., as described herein) or change an operating mode (e.g., switch from an intensity control mode to a color control mode) in response to the touch actuation. For example, the area 215 may be located farthest from the first tactile switch 262 and the second tactile switch 264 on the front surface 214. It should be noted that although the touch actuation is described as being applied to the area 215 above the pivot axis 222, such touch actuation may also be applied to other locations of the front surface 214 as long as these locations are sufficiently spaced apart (e.g., farthest away) from the tactile switches to prevent accidental triggering of unintended control functions. For example, touch actuation (e.g., press and hold actuation) can be applied to an area of ​​the front surface 214 approximately halfway between the first tactile switch 262 and the second tactile switch 264 (e.g., equidistant from the first tactile switch and the second tactile switch) to prevent accidental actuation of the tactile switches.

[0085] The control device 200 may further include a capacitive touch printed circuit board (PCB) 240 . Figure 6 is a rear view of the actuation member 210 showing the rear side 242 of the capacitive touch PCB 240 . Figure 7 is a front view of the front side 241 of the capacitive touch PCB 240 (ie, Figure 6 240). The capacitive touch PCB 240 can be located behind the actuation member 210 (e.g., along the rear surface of the actuation member) for detecting actuation of the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210. The capacitive touch PCB 240 can be planar. The capacitive touch pad 244 of the capacitive touch PCB 240 can be located adjacent to (e.g., but not immediately behind) the light bar 220 for detecting touch actuation of the light bar 220 (e.g., and / or touch actuation of the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210 adjacent to the light bar 220), as indicated by Figure 3 240 (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface). In some examples, since the light pipe 236 can extend from the light source 238 in the housing 230 to the light bar 220, the capacitive touch PCB 240 is not located immediately behind the light bar 220. In addition, the capacitive touch PCB 240 can be mounted or fixed to the actuation member 210, for example, so that movement of the actuation member 210 causes movement of the capacitive touch PCB 240. That is, the capacitive touch PCB 240 creates a touch-sensitive surface on the front side of the actuation member 210, and therefore, the touch surface also moves with the tactile actuation of the actuation member 210.

[0086] The capacitive touch PCB 240 may include a capacitive touch controller 252 and one or more receiving capacitive touch pads 244 for detecting touch actuations on or near the light bar 220. The receiving capacitive touch pads 244 may be arranged in a linear array extending from the top to the bottom (e.g., below the area 249) of the capacitive touch PCB 240. The capacitive touch controller 252 may be configured to detect the location of the touch actuation along the length of the light bar 220 in response to the touch actuation received from the one or more receiving capacitive touch pads 244, and control an electrical load based on the determined location. For example, the capacitive touch controller 252 may provide an output signal (e.g., output signal V OUT ), and the main PCB 260 can control the electrical load based on the determined position (e.g., by controlling the drive circuit of the control device 200, by sending a message such as a digital message to the electrical load and / or to the system controller, etc.). The capacitive touch pad 244 may include one or more electrodes. For example, Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the diffuser 234 may be located between the actuation member 210 and the capacitive touch pad 244 on the capacitive touch PCB 240 so that there may not be any air between the actuation member 210 and the capacitive touch pad 244 to increase the sensitivity of the capacitive touch controller 252. The capacitive touch PCB 240 may include a proximity capacitive touch pad 245 for detecting when a touch actuation of the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210 is a certain distance from the light bar 220 (e.g., on the side of the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads 244 opposite to the light bar 220). The proximity capacitive touch pad 245 may include one or more electrodes. The capacitive touch controller 252 may not respond to a touch actuation of the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210 that is too far from the light bar 220 (e.g., when the capacitive touch controller 252 detects the touch actuation at a certain distance from the light bar 220 in response to the proximity capacitive touch pad 245). In some examples, proximity capacitive touch pad 245 may be omitted. Capacitive touch PCB 240 may include connector 254 configured to receive power from a power supply of main PCB 260 to power components of capacitive touch PCB 240.

[0087] The actuation member 210 may include pivot arms 250 that enable the actuation member 210 to pivot about a pivot axis 222 in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 216 and the lower portion 218. As described herein, the capacitive touch PCB 240 may be mounted to the actuation member 210. Thus, when the actuation member 210 pivots in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 216 or the lower portion 218, the capacitive touch PCB 240 may move (e.g., pivot). The pivot arms 250 may define the pivot axis 222 of the actuation member 210. The PCB 240 may create a touch-sensitive surface on the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210, and thus, the touch-sensitive surface may also move with tactile actuation of the actuation member 210. In some examples, the capacitive touch PCB 240 may be a flexible PCB to enable the capacitive touch PCB 240 to further move or bend in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member 210.

[0088] Tactile actuation of the actuation member 210 may cause one of the first tactile switch 262 and the second tactile switch 264 of the main PCB 260 to be actuated (eg, as shown in FIG. 2 ). Figure 5 For example, when the upper portion 216 of the actuation member 210 is actuated, the diffuser 234 may move toward the main PCB 260. The diffuser 234 may include a first column 255 that may contact a first rubber membrane 256, which may deflect inwardly and contact a first spacing bar 266. Figure 4 As shown, the first spacing bar 266 can be connected to the housing 230 via the first arm 267. The deflection of the first rubber membrane 256 can cause the first spacing bar 266 to move toward the first tactile switch 262 of the main PCB 260 and actuate the first tactile switch. Similarly, when the lower portion 218 of the actuation member 210 is actuated, the diffuser 234 can move toward the main PCB 260. The diffuser 234 can include a second column 257 that can contact the second rubber membrane 258, which can deflect inward and contact the second spacing bar 268. The second spacing bar 268 can be connected to the housing 230 via a second arm (not shown), which can be similar to the first arm 267. The deflection of the second rubber membrane 258 can cause the second spacing bar 268 to move toward the second tactile switch 264 of the main PCB 260 and actuate the second tactile switch. Thus, a capacitive touch PCB 240 having a capacitive touch pad 244 that creates a touch-sensitive surface on the actuation member 210 may be secured to the actuation member 210, and the actuation member 210, when actuated, may pivot to actuate a tactile switch on a separate main PCB 260 of the control device 200. Thus, tactile actuation of the actuation member 210 may cause movement of the capacitive touch PCB 240 (e.g., and the diffuser 234).

[0089] In addition, it should be understood that the diffuser 234 can be configured to perform a variety of functions. For example, the diffuser 234 can be configured to diffuse light emitted from the light source 238 located inside the housing 230 to the light bar 220 located on the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210, and can also be configured to cause actuation of one or more tactile switches 262, 264 located on the main PCB 260.

[0090] In an alternative example, the capacitive touch PCB 240 may include a tactile switch on the back side of the capacitive touch PCB 240. In such an embodiment, the spacer bars 266, 268 would be fixed, and the tactile switch of the capacitive touch PCB 240 would be actuated by the fixed spacer bars 266, 268 in response to tactile actuation of the upper and lower portions 216, 218 of the actuation member 210. That is, tactile actuation of the actuation member 210 would cause the capacitive touch PCB 240, and in turn the tactile switch of the capacitive touch PCB 240, to move into and be actuated by the fixed spacer bars 266, 268.

[0091] Although described as a capacitive touch PCB 240, in some examples, the control device 200 may include a capacitive touch PCB 240 in a Figures 4 to 7 240, such as the main PCB 260. In such examples, the PCB may be located behind the actuation member 210 (along the rear surface of the actuation member). The PCB may include any combination of circuits, such as any combination of circuits described with reference to the capacitive touch PCB 240, the main PCB 260, communication circuits (e.g., wireless communication circuits), and / or sensing circuits (e.g., proximity sensing circuits, ambient light sensing circuits, etc.). Thus, the PCB may move in response to actuation of the actuation member 210 and perform functions enabled by the associated circuits (e.g., controlling an internal or external light source based on feedback from an ambient light sensor and / or a proximity sensor, wirelessly transmitting a control signal to an external electrical load, etc.).

[0092] In an example, a user input (e.g., touch actuation) applied to the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210 may not cause the first tactile switch 262 or the second tactile switch 264 of the main PCB 260 to be actuated. For example, when the touch actuation is applied to an area 215 of the front surface 214 that is located away from (e.g., farthest from) the first tactile switch 262 and the second tactile switch 264 (e.g., an area above the central pivot axis 222 or an area approximately midway between the first tactile switch and the second tactile switch), the user input may not cause the actuation member 210 to move (e.g., pivot). As a result, the spacing rods 266, 268 do not move toward the tactile switches 262, 264 of the main PCB 260 and do not actuate these tactile switches. As described herein, the control device 200 may regard such a touch actuation as an indication to enter an advanced programming mode, change the operating mode of the control device 200, and / or perform a specific operation.

[0093] Capacitive touch PCB 240 may include substrate 243, receiving capacitive touch pads 244, and / or one or more ground planes. Figure 6 As shown, the back side 242 of the capacitive touch PCB 240 may include a ground plane 270 (e.g., which may be located on a side of the capacitive touch PCB 240 opposite to the receiving capacitive touch pad 244). That is, the capacitive touch PCB 240 (e.g., the substrate 243 of the capacitive touch PCB 240) may be located between the capacitive touch pad 244 and the ground plane 270. Therefore, the receiving capacitive touch pad 244 may be separated from the ground plane 270 by the capacitive touch PCB 240. In addition, as shown in FIG. Figure 7As shown, the front side 241 of the capacitive touch PCB 240 may include a ground plane 272 that may be electrically coupled to the ground plane 270 on the back side 242 of the capacitive touch PCB 240. Because the capacitive touch PCB 240 may be mounted to the back side of the actuation member 210, and because the actuation member 210 is configured to pivot in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 216 and the lower portion 218, the distance between the receiving capacitive touch pad 244 and the yoke 232 may change when the actuation member 210 is actuated. Without including a ground plane, the change in distance between the receiving capacitive touch pad 244 and the yoke 232 may cause the receiving capacitive touch pad 244 to provide noisy feedback, which in turn may cause erroneous operation of the control device 200. The ground plane may shield the receiving capacitive touch pad 244 from any noise that may be generated by the yoke 232 when the receiving capacitive touch pad 244 is moving in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member 210. For example, the ground plane can shield the non-functional portion (e.g., the backside) of the receiving capacitive touch pad 244 from noise. Finally, in some examples, one or more of the ground planes can be internal to the capacitive touch PCB 240 (i.e., between two or more layers of the substrate 243 of the capacitive touch PCB 240).

[0094] In addition, in some cases, the yoke 232 can be grounded. In such examples, the ground plane 270 on the back side 242 of the capacitive touch PCB 240 and / or the ground plane 272 on the front side 241 of the capacitive touch PCB 240 can prevent the yoke 232 (e.g., the grounded yoke) from generating touch actuation when the capacitive touch pad 244 moves closer to and further away from the yoke 232. Additionally or alternatively, a metal panel can be mounted on the control device 200 and can be in contact with the yoke 232 (e.g., connected to the yoke). In such examples, the ground plane 270 on the back side 242 of the capacitive touch PCB 240 and / or the ground plane 272 on the front side 241 of the capacitive touch PCB 240 can prevent the yoke 232 from generating touch actuation via the capacitive touch pad 244 when contacting the metal panel when it is not grounded.

[0095] The load control device 200 may include an insulator 259. The insulator 259 may prevent reflection of light from the light bar 220 away from the yoke.

[0096] The capacitive touch PCB 240 may include five receiving capacitive touch pads 244 (eg, capacitive touch areas A to E), such as Figure 7As shown. The receiving capacitive touch pads 244 may each be triangular in shape and may be arranged in a linear array extending from the top to the bottom of the capacitive touch PCB 240 (e.g., on the right side of the capacitive touch PCB 240). For example, regions A and E of the receiving capacitive touch pads 244 may be electrically coupled together. The proximity capacitive touch pads 245 may extend from the top to the bottom of the capacitive touch PCB 240 and be positioned farther away from the light bar 220 (which may be on the right side of the touch pads 244) than the linear array of the receiving capacitive touch pads 244 (e.g., positioned to the left side of the receiving capacitive touch pads 244). The linear array of the receiving capacitive touch pads 244 and the proximity capacitive touch pads 245 may extend along the longitudinal axis of the control device 200 and may be oriented parallel to each other.

[0097] The receiving capacitive touch pad 244 and the proximity capacitive touch pad 245 may be configured according to mutual capacitance sensing technology. The receiving capacitive touch pad 244 may be surrounded by the first transmission trace 246, and the proximity capacitive touch pad 245 may be surrounded by the second transmission trace 248. The control device 200 and the proximity capacitive touch pad 245 may be configured separately, which may reduce the influence of other objects in the environment of the control device 200 that affect capacitive touch sensing. The first transmission trace 246 and the second transmission trace 248 may be electrically coupled together.

[0098] The actuation member 210 and the diffuser 234 may be located between a touch-sensitive surface (eg, the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210) and a receiving capacitive touch pad 244 on the capacitive touch PCB 240. Figure 5 As shown, the distance between the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210) and the receiving capacitive touch pads 244 on the capacitive touch PCB 240 may not be uniform over the length of the actuation member 210 (e.g., the combined assembly formed by the actuation member 210 and the diffuser 234 may not have a uniform thickness). For example, the thickness of the actuation member 210 and the diffuser 234 may be thinnest in the middle (e.g., near the pivot axis 222) and may gradually thicken toward the top and bottom of the actuation member 210. In examples where the distance between the touch-sensitive surface and the receiving capacitive touch pads 244 on the capacitive touch PCB 240 is not uniform, the capacitive touch controller 252 may apply different sensitivities to the receiving capacitive touch pads 244 based on, for example, the distance between the touch-sensitive surface and each respective receiving capacitive touch pad 244. For example, the capacitive touch controller 252 on the capacitive touch PCB 240 may use different voltage thresholds V for one or more of the capacitive touch pads 244. TH, for example, to ensure that the capacitive touch PCB 240 reacts in a similar or identical manner to similar touches at different locations along the length of the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 210. As described in more detail below, the capacitive touch controller 252 on the capacitive touch PCB 240 can set the corresponding voltage threshold V of the capacitive touch pad 244. TH .

[0099] For example, as described in more detail below, the capacitive touch controller 252 may compare the measured voltage with a voltage threshold V TH compares and generates a voltage that indicates when the measured voltage exceeds the voltage threshold V TH The output signal V OUT . The voltage threshold V for the capacitive touch pad 244 separated from the touch-sensitive surface by the thinner portion of the actuation member 210 and the diffuser 234 TH In contrast, capacitive touch controller 252 may use a smaller voltage threshold V for capacitive touch pad 244 that is separated from the touch-sensitive surface by actuation member 210 and a thicker portion of diffuser 234. TH Therefore, the capacitive touch controller 252 can apply different sensitivities to the capacitive touch pad 244 (for example, using different voltage thresholds V TH ) to offset the effect of the different thicknesses of the actuation member 210 and the diffuser 234, which separate the capacitive touch pads from the touch-sensitive surface by the different thicknesses of the actuation member 210 and the diffuser 234. For example, the capacitive touch controller 252 may use a first voltage threshold V for the capacitive touch pads 244 labeled “A” and “E”. TH , a second voltage threshold V is used for the capacitive touch pads 244 labeled “B” and “D” TH , and a third voltage threshold V is used for the capacitive touch pad 244 labeled “C” TH In such an example, the first voltage threshold V TH can be less than the second voltage threshold V TH , and the second voltage threshold V TH can be less than the third voltage threshold V TH .

[0100] Electrical noise can affect the accuracy of the touch-sensitive surface of the control device 200. To avoid inaccurate readings, the control device 200 can be configured to detect the output signal V from the capacitive touch controller 252 during certain times and not during other times. OUTFor example, the control device 200 may be configured to stop sampling the output signal V from the capacitive touch controller 252 during situations and environments that are more likely to be affected by electrical noise (e.g., noise events), such as when a controllable conductive device of the control device 200 is made conductive and / or when wired or wireless communications are transmitted and / or received via the communication circuit of the control device 200. OUT For example, the control device 200 may sample the output signal V from the capacitive touch controller 252 during a time window before or after the AC mains voltage crosses zero. OUT Sampling is performed, for example, to avoid sampling the output signal V during the time when the controllable conductive device of the control device 200 is made conductive. OUT In addition, the control device 200 may also or alternatively be configured to sample the output signal V based on the actual time when the controllable conductive device is enabled. OUT For example, the control device 200 may be configured to sample the output signal V during a time window just before or after an event that causes the controllable conductive device of the control device 200 to be conductive. OUT Similarly, in some examples, the control device 200 may detect an event characterized by an increase in electrical noise within the control device 200 (e.g., a noise event), and in response, may not sample the output signal V for a certain period of time based on the noise event. OUT The sampling is performed (eg, where the time period may encompass the noise event). Thus, the control device 200 may ignore less accurate (eg, inaccurate) output from the capacitive touch controller 252 that occurs due to the noise event.

[0101] Figure 8 is a perspective view of another exemplary control device 280 that may be a dual dimmer switch. The control device 280 may include a user interface 282 that includes an actuating member 284 having a first light strip 286′ and a second light strip 286″ on opposite sides of the actuating member 284. The actuating member 284 may have a touch-sensitive surface defined by two different touch-sensitive areas, such as a first area adjacent to and / or overlapping the first light strip 286′ and a second area adjacent to and / or overlapping the second light strip 286″ (e.g., the second area may be located on a side of a front surface 288 of the actuating member 284 opposite the first area).

[0102] Fig. 92 is a front view of a front side 291 of a capacitive touch PCB 290 of a control device 280. The capacitive touch PCB 290 may be located behind (e.g., along a rear surface of) an actuation member 284 for detecting actuation of a front surface 288 of the actuation member 284. The capacitive touch PCB 290 may include a substrate 292 and a first array 294′ of receiving capacitive touch pads that may be located adjacent to (e.g., but not immediately behind) a first light bar 286′ for detecting touch actuation of the first light bar 286′ (e.g., and / or touch actuation adjacent to the first light bar 286′ in a first area on a front surface 288 of the actuation member 284). The capacitive touch PCB 290 may also include a second array 294″ of receiving capacitive touch pads, which may be positioned adjacent to (e.g., but not immediately behind) the second light bar 286″ for detecting touch actuation of the second light bar 286″ (e.g., and / or touch actuation adjacent to the second light bar 286″ in a second area on the front surface 288 of the actuation member 284). The first array 294′ and the second array 294″ of receiving capacitive touch pads may be surrounded by corresponding transmission traces 296′, 296″, which may be energized to charge the corresponding receiving capacitive touch pads.

[0103] In addition, the capacitive touch PCB 290 may include a first proximity capacitive touch pad 295′ and a second proximity capacitive touch pad 295″ adjacent to the first array 294′ and the second array 294″ of receiving capacitive touch pads, respectively. The first proximity capacitive touch pad 295′ and the second proximity capacitive touch pad 295″ may be surrounded by corresponding transmission traces 298′, 298″, which may be energized to charge the corresponding receiving capacitive touch pads. The substrate 292 may include openings 299, and the posts (e.g., posts 255) may extend through the openings to actuate mechanical switches (e.g., tactile switches 262, 264) when the actuation member 284 is actuated with tactile actuation (e.g., as described above for the actuation member 210). The proximity capacitive touch pads 295′, 295″ may be used to detect when touch actuation of the front surface 288 of the actuation member 210 is between a first area and a second area on the touch-sensitive surface, for example to ensure accurate control based on input received via the first area or the second area (e.g., on the first light bar 286′ or the second light bar 286″, respectively). In other examples, the control device 280 may include a single proximity capacitive touch pad located between the first array 294′ and the second array 294″ of receiving capacitive touch pads.

[0104] The control device 280 may control two different loads in response to touch actuation on two corresponding areas of a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., front surface 288). For example, the control device 280 may be configured to control a lighting load based on touch actuation received via a first area of ​​the touch-sensitive surface, and to control a motor load (e.g., an exhaust fan and / or a ceiling fan) based on touch actuation received via a second area of ​​the touch-sensitive surface. As another example, the control device 280 may be configured to control two different characteristics of the same load based on touch actuation received via a first area of ​​the touch-sensitive surface and a second area of ​​the touch-sensitive surface. For example, the control device 280 may be configured to control the intensity level of the lighting load based on touch actuation received via a first area of ​​the touch-sensitive surface, and to control the color of the lighting load (e.g., color temperature and / or full color control) based on touch actuation received via a second area of ​​the touch-sensitive surface. The control device 280 may operate similarly to the control device 200 and include similar functionality as the control device 200, but includes a user interface 282 and a capacitive touch PCB 290. Furthermore, in some examples, control device 200 may include user interface 282 and capacitive touch PCB 290 and be configured to control two different loads in response to touch actuation on two corresponding areas of the touch-sensitive surface.

[0105] Figures 10 to 15 Another example of a remote control device 1200 that can be installed in a load control system such as a lighting control system is depicted. For example, the remote control device 1200 can be installed in Figure 1 The load control system 100 may include a mechanical switch 1290 that may be in place prior to installing the remote control device 1200, such as pre-existing in the load control system. As shown, the mechanical switch 1290 may be a standard decorative rocker switch. The load control system may also include one or more electrical loads, such as a lighting load. The mechanical switch 1290 may be coupled in series electrical connection between an alternating current (AC) power source and one or more electrical loads.

[0106] The mechanical switch 1290 may include a seesaw actuator 1292 that can be actuated to turn on and / or off one or more electrical loads. The mechanical switch 1290 may include a frame 1293 surrounding the seesaw actuator 1292. When the electrical load is turned off, the upper portion of the seesaw actuator 1292 may protrude from the frame 1293 (e.g., in a first orientation), and when the electrical load is turned on, the lower portion of the seesaw actuator 1292 may protrude from the frame 1293 (e.g., in a second orientation, such as Figure 41290 ). The mechanical switch 1290 may include a yoke (not shown) that enables the mechanical switch 1290 to be mounted to a structure. For example, the yoke may be fastened to a single-gang wall box mounted in an opening of a structure (e.g., a wall, a ceiling, etc.). As shown, a panel 1296 may be secured to the mechanical switch 1290, for example, to the yoke. The panel 1296 may define a front surface 1261 and an opposing rear surface 1263. The front surface 1261 may alternatively be referred to as the outer surface of the panel 1296, and the rear surface 1263 may alternatively be referred to as the inner surface of the panel 1296. The panel 1296 may be made of any suitable material, such as plastic. The remote control device 1200 may be configured to be mounted above the rocker actuator 1292 of the mechanical switch 1290 (e.g., mounted to the rocker actuator 1292, the frame 1293, and / or the panel 1296).

[0107] The remote control device 1200 may include a base 1220 and a control unit 1230 (e.g., a control module). The control unit 1230 may be mounted to the base 1220. For example, the base 1220 may be configured to attach the remote control device 1200 to the mechanical switch 1290. The remote control device 1200 may also include a spacer 1210, which may be a gasket and may be configured to compensate for a mechanical switch having a rocker actuator 1292 that protrudes from the bezel 1293 with a greater length. The control unit 1230 may be mounted to the base 1220 with or without the spacer 1210. When the spacer 1210 is used, the spacer 1210 may be attached to the base 1220 and the control unit 1230 may be attached to the spacer 1210.

[0108] The base 1220 may alternatively be referred to as a base portion, a mounting frame, or a mounting assembly. The control unit 1230 and the base 1220 may be configured such that the control unit 1230 may be removably attached to the base 1220. The base 1220 may be mounted above (e.g., attached to) the rocker actuator 1292 of the mechanical switch 1290 without removing the panel 1296. In this regard, the remote control device 1200 may be mounted above an installed mechanical switch such as the mechanical switch 1290 without removing the panel 1296 and / or performing any electrical rewiring of the mechanical switch 1290. For example, the base 1220 may be attached to the frame 1293 of the mechanical switch 1290 using an adhesive 1205. The adhesive 1205 may be configured to secure the base 1220 to the frame 1293.

[0109] As shown, the base 1220 may define a frame 1221. The frame 1221 may define a primary attachment tab 1222. The primary attachment tab 1222 may be configured to releasably secure the control unit 1230 to the base 1220. The primary attachment tab 1222 may be configured to engage the control unit 1230 (e.g., a complementary structure of the control unit 1230). The frame 1221 may further define a hole 1224. The hole 1224 may be configured to engage the spacer 1210 (e.g., a complementary structure of the spacer 1210).

[0110] The spacer 1210 may define an auxiliary attachment tab 1212. The auxiliary attachment tab 1212 may be configured to engage the control unit 1230 (e.g., a complementary structure of the control unit 1230). The spacer 1210 may define a primary snap 1214. The primary snap 1214 may be configured to engage the primary attachment tab 1222 of the base 1220. For example, the primary snap 1214 may be releasably secured with the primary attachment tab 1222 of the base 1220 such that the spacer 1210 is releasably attached to the base 1220. The spacer 1210 may define a clamp 1216. The clamp 1216 may be configured to engage the base 1220 when the spacer 1210 is attached to the base 1220. For example, the clamp 1216 may be configured to secure the spacer 1210 to the base 1220. The spacer 1210 may define a pin 1218. The pin 1218 can be configured to align and / or maintain alignment between the spacer 1210 and the base 1220. The pin 1218 can extend from a perimeter of the spacer 1210. The pin 1218 can be configured to be received by the base 1220 (e.g., a complementary structure of the base 1220). For example, when the spacer 1210 is attached to the base 1220, the pin 1218 can be received by the hole 1224.

[0111] The control unit 1230 may include a user interface including an actuation member 1232, a housing 1234, and a battery holder 1270. For example, the actuation member 1232 may be attached to the housing 1234. The housing 1234 may define an upper wall 1241, a lower wall 1242, and opposing side walls 1243. The upper wall 1241, the lower wall 1242, and the side walls 1243 of the housing 1234 may extend from respective edges of the actuation member 1232 (e.g., from a perimeter defined by the actuation member 1232). The housing 1234 may define a primary snap 1252 and / or an auxiliary snap 1254. For example, the upper wall 1241 and the lower wall 1242 may define a primary snap 1252 and / or an auxiliary snap 1254. The control unit 1230 may be attached to the base 1220 using the primary snap 1252 and / or to the spacer 1210 using the auxiliary snap 1254. The primary snap 1252 can be configured to engage the primary attachment tab 1222 of the base 1220. For example, when the spacer 1210 is not in use, the primary snap 1252 can engage the primary attachment tab 1222 of the base 1220. The secondary snap 1254 can be configured to engage the secondary attachment tab 1212 of the spacer 1210. For example, when the spacer 1210 is in use, the secondary snap 1254 can engage the secondary attachment tab 1212 of the spacer 1210.

[0112] The housing 1234 of the control unit 230 may include a pivot bar 1250. The pivot bar 1250 may extend between opposing side walls 1243 of the housing 1234. The pivot bar 1250 may be configured to receive a battery holder 1270. For example, the battery holder 1270 may be pivotally mounted to the pivot bar 1250. The battery holder 1270 may pivot about the pivot bar 1250 between a first position and a second position. The first position may correspond to the battery holder being proximate to the lower wall 1242 of the housing 1234, and the second position may correspond to the battery holder 1270 being proximate to the upper wall 1241 of the housing 1234.

[0113] The control unit 1230 may include a printed circuit board (PCB) 1244 (e.g., a flexible or rigid printed circuit board). The PCB 1244 may include a processor or controller and a touch-sensitive device (e.g., which itself may include a separate processor). Thus, in some examples, the PCB 1244 may act as both a main PCB and a capacitive touch PCB (e.g., may operate similarly to the main PCB 240 and the capacitive touch PCB 260 of the control device 200). The control unit 1230 may also include a light bar 1239 configured to be illuminated by one or more light sources 1237 (e.g., one or more LEDs). The light bar 1239 may be illuminated via a light guide film 1246 on the printed circuit board 1244. For example, the light source 1237 on the printed circuit board 1244 may illuminate the light bar 1239 through the light guide film 1246. The light bar 1239 may be illuminated to visually display information to a user of the control unit 1230. The front surface 1235 of the actuation member 1232 can be actuated along the light strip 1239 to adjust the amount of power delivered to the lighting load depending on the position of actuation.

[0114] like Figures 10 to 15 As shown, the control unit 1230 can be rectangular in shape and elongated between an upper wall 1241 and a lower wall 1242. It should be understood that the control unit 1230 is not limited to the rectangular geometry shown, and the control unit can alternatively be configured with other suitable geometries. According to the illustrated orientation of the control unit 1230, the upper wall 1241 can be referred to as the upper end of the control unit 1230, and the lower wall 1242 can be referred to as the lower end of the control unit 1230. The upper wall 1241 and the lower wall 1242 of the control unit 1230 can also be referred to as the first end and the second end of the housing 1234, respectively. The control unit 1230 (e.g., the housing 1234) can define a gap 1248 ( Fig.15 ). The void 1248 can be configured to receive the printed circuit board 1244 in an attached position. The void 1248 can be defined by the upper wall 1241, the lower wall 1242, and the opposing side walls 1243. The void 248 can include an upper portion defined between the pivot bar 1250 and the upper wall 1241, and a lower portion defined between the pivot bar 1250 and the lower wall 1242. The housing 1234 can be made of any suitable material, such as plastic or metal.

[0115] The control unit 1230 can operate in a similar manner to the control device 200. For example, the actuation member 1232 can include a front surface 1235 having an upper portion 1236 and a lower portion 1238, and the control unit 1230 can be configured to control the electrical load in response to actuation of the upper portion 1236 or the lower portion 1238 of the actuation member 1232. The actuation member 1232 can also receive user input that does not cause the actuation member 1232 to pivot. For example, the control unit 1230 can be configured to control the electrical load in response to touch actuation along the front surface 1235 of the actuation member 1232.

[0116] The control unit 1230 (e.g., PCB 1244) may include mechanical switches, such as a first tactile switch 1245a and a second tactile switch 1245b, which are configured to be actuated in response to actuation (e.g., tactile actuation) of the upper portion 1236 and the lower portion 1238 of the actuation member 1232, respectively (e.g., to control turning the load on and off). For example, the control unit 1230 may be configured to control the lighting load of the lighting control system 100 to turn the load on in response to actuation of the first tactile switch 1245a, and to turn the load off in response to actuation of the second tactile switch 1245b (or vice versa). For example, the control device 1200 may be configured to turn the lighting load on to a previous intensity level (e.g., before the lighting load was previously turned off) or to a preset intensity level (e.g., a predetermined or locked preset intensity level) in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 1236 of the actuation member 1232. The tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232 may cause one of the first tactile switch 1245a and the second tactile switch 1245b of the PCB 1244 to be actuated. For example, the control unit 1230 (e.g., the housing 1234) may define a first bump 1259a and a second bump 1259b. When the upper portion 1236 of the actuation member 1232 is actuated, the first tactile switch 1244a may move toward the first bump 1259a. Therefore, the actuation of the upper portion 1236 of the actuation member 1232 may cause the first tactile switch 1244a to move toward the first bump 1259a and contact the first bump. Similarly, when the lower portion 1238 of the actuation member 1232 is actuated, the second tactile switch 1244b may move toward the second bump 1259b. Thus, actuation of the lower portion 1238 of the actuation member 1232 can cause the second tactile switch 1244b to move toward and contact the second protrusion 1259b.

[0117] The actuation member 1232 can be configured to pivot in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 1236 and the lower portion 1238. The actuation member 1232 can pivot about a lower axis in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 1236 of the actuation member, and pivot about an upper axis in response to tactile actuation of the lower portion 1238 of the actuation member 1232 (e.g., as opposed to pivoting about a midpoint of the actuation member). For example, the upper wall 1241 of the housing 1234 can include a first recess and a second recess (not shown), and the lower wall 1242 of the housing 1234 can include a first recess 1253a and a second recess 1253b, respectively. In addition, the actuation portion 1232 can include a first top recess 1231a and a second top recess 1231b, respectively, and include a first bottom recess 1233a and a second bottom recess 1233b, respectively. Therefore, when the upper portion 1236 of the actuating member 1232 is actuated, the first bottom recess 1233a and the second bottom recess 1233b of the actuating member 1232 can pivot around the first recess 1253a and the second recess 1253b of the lower wall 1242, and the first tactile switch 1244a can move toward the first protrusion 1259a and contact the first protrusion. Similarly, when the lower portion 1238 of the actuating member 1232 is actuated, the first top recess 1231a and the second top recess 1231b of the actuating member 1232 can pivot around the first recess and the second recess (not shown) of the upper wall 1241, and the second tactile switch 1244b can move toward the second protrusion 1259b and contact the second protrusion.

[0118] The actuation member 1232 may also receive user input that does not cause the actuation member 1232 to pivot. The control unit 1230 may be configured to control the electrical load in response to touch actuation along the front surface 1235 of the actuation member 1232. For example, at least a portion of the front surface 1235 of the actuation member 1232 may be configured as a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a capacitive touch surface) that is configured to receive (e.g., detect) input (e.g., touch actuation / input) from a user of the control device 1200, such as a point actuation or a gesture. The touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 1232 may be positioned adjacent to and / or overlap the light bar 1239. For example, during a normal operating mode of the control device 1200, the front surface 1232 of the actuation member 1232 may be actuated along the light bar 1239 (e.g., along the touch-sensitive surface) to adjust the amount of power delivered to the lighting load according to the location of the actuation, and thereby adjust the intensity level of the lighting load, for example at a low-end intensity level L LE and high-end strength level L HEAlthough primarily described in the context of a capacitive touch surface, it should be appreciated that control device 1200 is not limited thereto, and in some examples, at least a portion of front surface 1235 of actuation member 1232 can be configured as a different type of touch-sensitive surface, such as a resistive touch surface, an inductive touch surface, a surface acoustic wave (SAW) touch surface, an infrared touch surface, an acoustic pulse touch surface, etc.

[0119] The control device 1200 may control the magnitude of the load current conducted through the lighting load based on a single discrete input along the touch-sensitive surface and / or based on multiple continuous inputs along the touch-sensitive surface. For example, a user may tap their finger at a location along the touch-sensitive surface, and in response, the control device 1200 may turn the lighting load on to a certain intensity level based on the location of the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 1232. As an example, if the lighting load is off, the control device 1200 may turn the lighting load on to a certain intensity level based on the location of the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 1232 of the touch actuation. When the lighting load is on, the user may move (e.g., slide) their finger along the touch-sensitive surface, and in response, the control device 1200 may adjust (e.g., continuously control) the magnitude of the load current conducted through the lighting load based on the location of the multiple inputs along the touch-sensitive surface.

[0120] Additionally, in the color control mode, the control device 1200 may control the color of the lighting load based on the location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 1232 (e.g., by controlling the color temperature of the lighting load or by applying full color control to the lighting load). For example, the light bar 1239 may be configured to illuminate a color spectrum (e.g., spanning the entire visible color spectrum, a subset of the visible color spectrum, and / or a spectrum associated with the color temperature of a black body radiator) across the length of the light bar 1239. Thus, the control device 1200 may control the color of the lighting load based on the location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface, and in turn control the corresponding color of that location on the light bar 1239.

[0121] PCB 1244 may be secured to actuation member 1232 and may be actuated in response to touch, and may include a capacitive touch pad that creates a touch-sensitive surface on actuation member 1232. Front surface 1235 of actuation member 1232 of control unit 1230 may define a user interface that is configured to receive input, such as gestures, from a user of remote control device 1200. The user interface may be configured as a touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a capacitive touch surface) that is configured to receive (e.g., detect) input, such as gestures, from a user of control unit 1230. For example, printed circuit board 1244 may include one or more capacitive touch areas or surfaces (e.g., similar to receiving capacitive touch pads 244 and / or proximity capacitive touch pads 245 of capacitive touch PCB 240 mounted to control device 200). Printed circuit board 1244 may include one or more linear capacitive touch areas that face the inner surface of actuation member 1232 when printed circuit board 1244 is disposed in void 1248. The front surface 1235 of the actuation member 1232 can be configured to detect touch along the x-axis, the y-axis, or both the x-axis and the y-axis. Thus, the actuation member 1232 can pivot when actuated to actuate one of the first tactile switch 1244a or the second tactile switch 1244b, so that the tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232 can cause movement of the PCB 1244.

[0122] The control unit 1230 may also include a control circuit (e.g., a processor, not shown) and a wireless communication circuit (e.g., an RF transceiver, not shown). The control unit 1230 may be configured to convert one or more inputs (e.g., user inputs) from a user interface into corresponding control signals that can be used to control a load control device of the load control system. One or more inputs may be applied via a touch or press of the upper portion 1236 and / or the lower portion 1238 of the actuation member 1232. For example, the control circuit may be configured to receive an input signal (e.g., corresponding to the user input) in response to actuation of the upper portion 1236 and / or the lower portion 1238 by a user of the remote control device 1200. For example, the input signal received by the control circuit may be a corresponding control signal converted from a control interface input. The control circuit may be configured to generate a command that the user desires the control unit 1230 to execute in response to the input signal, the input signal being generated in response to actuation of the upper portion 1236 and / or the lower portion 1238. The control unit 1230 may be configured to cause the wireless communication circuit to transmit one or more control signals including the command generated by the control circuit.

[0123] The control circuitry may be configured to cause the wireless communication circuitry to transmit a corresponding command corresponding to the input and / or gesture received by the upper portion 1236 and / or the lower portion 1238. For example, the remote control device 1200 may be operable to transmit a wireless signal (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) signal) to a load control device, one or more electrical loads, and / or a central processor of a load control system. During a configuration procedure of the load control system, the remote control device 1200 may be associated with the load control device and one or more electrical loads.

[0124] The control circuitry may be configured to cause the wireless communication circuitry to transmit a corresponding command corresponding to the interpreted gesture received at the touch-sensitive surface. For example, the remote control device 1200 may be operable to transmit a wireless signal (e.g., a radio frequency (RF) signal) to a load control device, one or more electrical loads, and / or a central processor of a load control system. During a configuration procedure of the load control system, the remote control device 1200 may be associated with the load control device and the one or more electrical loads.

[0125] The light bar 1239 of the control unit 1230 may be configured to provide a visual indication of the command issued by the remote control device 1200. For example, the control circuitry may be configured to indicate the amount of power delivered to the electrical load by temporarily illuminating a plurality of LEDs corresponding to a desired amount of power (e.g., a desired dimming level of the lighting load) upon receiving a gesture indicating a command to change the amount of power delivered to the electrical load (e.g., a command to dim the lighting load). In such an example, the control circuitry may be configured to cause the LEDs to be illuminated simultaneously, illuminated sequentially with some or little overlap before fading away, or otherwise illuminated as desired. The control unit 1230 may be configured to be attached to the base 1220, with the light bar 1239 located on a predetermined side of the control unit 1230 (e.g., such as a Fig.10 The printed circuit board 1244 may define a bend 1247 so that the light source 1237 mounted thereon is irradiated to the light bar 1239 through the printed circuit board 1244 and the light guide film 1246.

[0126] The control unit 1230 may be configured to prioritize user input that causes the actuation member 1232 to pivot over user input that does not cause the actuation member 1232 to pivot, or vice versa. For example, when the lighting load is off and the user moves a finger close to the upper portion 1236 of the actuation member 1232, causing the control unit 1230 to detect a touch actuation via the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., along the light bar 1239), the control unit 1230 may temporarily delay responding to the touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface to see if the user is attempting to actuate the upper portion 1236 of the actuation member 1232 to turn on the lighting load. Thus, if the user's finger happens to sweep across the light bar 1239 when actuating the upper portion 1236 of the actuation member 1232, or if the user's finger actuates the upper portion 1236 of the actuation member 1232 too close to the light bar 1239, the control unit 1230 may avoid turning the lighting load on to a certain intensity level based on the location of the actuation on the light bar 1239 (e.g., in response to the touch-sensitive surface). In addition, when the lighting load is turned on and the user moves the finger closer to the lower portion 1238 of the actuation member 1232, causing the control unit 1230 to detect a touch actuation via the touch-sensitive surface, the control unit 1230 may temporarily ignore the touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface after the actuation of the lower portion 1238. Thus, if the user's finger happens to sweep across the light bar 1239 when moving away from the lower portion 1238 of the actuation member 1232, the control unit 1230 may avoid turning the lighting load on again.

[0127] For example, the control unit 1230 can be configured to prioritize input received in response to actuation of the actuation member 1232 over input received via the touch-sensitive surface by ignoring input received via the touch-sensitive surface when a tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232 is received within a blanking period (e.g., 200 ms) after an initial detection of a touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface. The blanking period can occur after (e.g., in response to) the touch actuation. That is, when a touch actuation of the actuation member 1232 is received within the blanking period (e.g., a touch actuation initiated during the blanking period), the control unit 1230 can ignore the touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface. For example, in some examples, control unit 1230 can start a blanking period (e.g., a timer) in response to receiving a touch actuation via the touch-sensitive surface, and if control unit 1230 receives a touch actuation of actuation member 1232 during the blanking period (e.g., the touch actuation starts during the blanking period), then the touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface during the blanking period is ignored. Thus, control unit 1230 can prioritize user input that causes actuation member 1232 to pivot over user input that does not cause actuation member 1232 to pivot during the blanking period.

[0128] In addition, the control unit 1230 can be configured to respond to quick "taps" along the touch-sensitive surface even if a blanking period is implemented. For example, the control unit 1230 can be configured to determine that a touch actuation continues at a location on the touch-sensitive surface for an amount of time that is shorter than the blanking period without actuating the actuation member 1232 (e.g., the touch actuation begins and completes before the blanking period ends), and in response, turns on the lighting load to an intensity level associated with the location in response to the touch actuation. Thus, the control unit 1230 can simultaneously implement a blanking period to avoid unintentional touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface, and still respond quickly to intentional touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface.

[0129] The control unit 1230 may be configured to turn on the lighting load in response to a touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface even when a blanking period is implemented. For example, the control unit 1230 may be configured to receive a touch actuation via the touch-sensitive surface at a certain position for an amount of time greater than the blanking period without actuating the tactile switch (e.g., the touch actuation begins during the blanking period and ends after the blanking period), and in response, turn on the lighting load to an intensity level associated with the position in response to the touch actuation. In addition, the control unit 1230 may adjust the length of the blanking period, for example, by user input (e.g., touch actuation and / or tactile actuation) received while in the advanced programming mode. For example, in some examples, the blanking period may be configured to be greater than one second (e.g., multiple seconds). In such examples, the control unit 1230 may respond to a press-and-hold touch actuation along the light bar 1239 by turning on the lighting load to an intensity level associated with the position of the press-and-hold actuation.

[0130] The control unit 1230 may be configured to temporarily ignore input received via the touch-sensitive surface after tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232 that causes the lighting load to be turned on or off. The control unit 1230 may be configured in this manner, for example, to avoid erroneously turning the lighting load back on and / or adjusting the power delivered to the lighting load (e.g., the intensity level of the lighting load) after tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232. For example, the control unit 1230 may be configured to ignore input received via the touch-sensitive surface during a blanking period after detecting tactile actuation of the actuation member to turn the lighting load on or off. For example, in some examples, the control unit 1230 may start a blanking period in response to turning the lighting load on or off, and ignore input received via the touch-sensitive surface during the blanking period during the blanking period. Therefore, by using a blanking period (e.g., a second blanking period), the control unit 1230 may be able to avoid unintentional touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface after tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232. In summary, the control unit 1230 may be configured with one or more blanking periods, such as a first blanking period (e.g., a blanking period occurring after touch actuation (e.g., in response to touch actuation)) and / or a second blanking period (e.g., a blanking period occurring after tactile actuation (e.g., in response to tactile actuation)), wherein the first blanking period is used to avoid unintentional touch actuation after initial detection of touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface and before tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232, and the second blanking period is used to avoid unintentional touch actuation after tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232.

[0131] The control unit 1230 may be configured to detect receipt of a touch actuation (e.g., a tactile actuation that causes the actuation member 1232 to substantially maintain its position relative to the base 1220) at a location of the touch-sensitive surface defined by the limited pivot, and in response, change an operating mode of the control unit 1230 and / or control a lighting load. An example of a location defined by the limited pivot is an area of ​​the front surface 214 above the central axis or midpoint of the actuation member 1232. The touch actuation (e.g., touch input) detected by the control unit 1230 may include a press and hold actuation (e.g., pressing and holding a finger in the area above the central axis for a non-instantaneous period of time such as a few seconds), a double-tap actuation (e.g., two instantaneous actuations of the area above the central axis performed in rapid succession), a swipe gesture (e.g., continuous contact with multiple locations of the area above the central axis within a brief period of time), and the like. Because touch actuation is applied to an area above the central axis above the pivot axis of the actuation member 1232, touch actuation does not cause the actuation member 1232 to pivot or otherwise change its position relative to the base portion. Therefore, touch actuation applied to the area above the central axis can be clearly distinguished from tactile actuation of the upper portion 1236 or the lower portion 1238 to prevent accidental triggering of control functions associated with tactile actuation of the upper portion 1236 or the lower portion 1238. It should be noted that although the description is provided herein in the context of a control device having a central pivot axis, the presented technology can also be used with other types of control devices, including those that are configured to pivot about an axis located at the top or bottom end of the control device. That is, although shown at approximately the midpoint of the actuating member 1232, the area may be located elsewhere on the actuating member 1232, such as closer to the upper portion 1236 or the lower portion 1238 of the actuating member 1232 (e.g., directly above one or more of the pivot axes of the actuating member 1232).

[0132] The control unit 1230 may turn the lighting load on or off in response to receiving a touch actuation at a position of the touch-sensitive surface defined by the limit pivot. In addition, the control unit 1230 may change the operating mode of the control unit 1230 in response to receiving a touch actuation at a position of the touch-sensitive surface defined by the limit pivot. One example of a change in operating mode is a change between an intensity control mode and a color control mode (e.g., a color temperature control mode and / or a full color spectrum control mode). Another example of a change in operating mode is a change between a normal operating mode and a debug mode for associating the control unit 1230 with an electrical load. Yet another example of a change in operating mode is a change between a normal operating mode and an advanced programming mode. As described herein, the advanced programming mode may allow configuration and / or adjustment of one or more operating characteristics of the lighting load of the control device and / or the lighting control system 100, such as low-end fine-tuning (e.g., minimum intensity level) and / or high-end fine-tuning (e.g., maximum intensity level) of the lighting load.

[0133] During an advanced programming mode as described herein, the front surface 1235 of the actuation member 1232 can be actuated along the light bar 1239 (e.g., touch actuation on a touch-sensitive surface) to adjust an operating characteristic of the control device (e.g., low-end fine adjustment). The light bar 1239 can be fixed to the actuation member 1232, and thus, the light bar 1239 can be configured to move when the actuation member 1232 is pivoted.

[0134] When in the advanced programming mode, the user may set a locked preset intensity level. The locked preset intensity level may be a programmable intensity level setting to which the control will turn the lighting load on in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232 (e.g., tactile actuation of the upper portion 1236 of the actuation member 1232) to turn the lighting load on, regardless of the intensity level to which the lighting load was set when it was last turned off. Once the control unit 1230 has entered the advanced programming mode (e.g., by pulling out a service switch, such as Figure 2 1230 ). The control unit 1230 may allow the user to select between different features to adjust a preset intensity level, such as a lock, using the air gap actuator shown, possibly in combination with other actuations. Once the user selects the preset intensity level for the lock to be configured, the control unit 1230 may indicate that the current intensity level configuration for the lock has been activated (e.g., by flashing an internal light source). Next, the control unit 1230 may receive a touch actuation corresponding to the intensity level from the user via the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., a point actuation along the light bar 1239), and in response, the control unit 1230 will set the preset intensity level for the lock based on the touch actuation. Finally, the user may exit the advanced programming mode. Thereafter, each time the control unit 1230 receives a tactile actuation to turn on the lighting load, the control unit 1230 turns the lighting load on to the preset intensity level for the lock.

[0135] Additionally, through the advanced programming mode, the control unit 1230 can be configured to use an unlocked preset intensity level. When using an unlocked preset intensity level, the control unit 1230 can be configured to turn the lighting load on to the intensity level that was set when the lighting load was last turned off (e.g., the previous intensity level). When using an unlocked preset light level and when the lighting load is turned off, the control unit 1230 can illuminate one of the internal light sources (e.g., and / or a portion of the light bar 1239) to a greater intensity than the rest to indicate the unlocked preset intensity level to the user.

[0136] The control unit 1230 may be configured to ignore touch actuation via the touch-sensitive surface when the lighting load is disconnected (e.g., disable the capacitive touch circuit when the lighting load is disconnected). For example, the control unit 1230 may ignore touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface as long as the lighting load is disconnected, and the control unit may turn on the lighting load in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 1236 of the actuation member 1232. However, in some examples, the control unit 1230 may turn on the lighting load in response to special touch actuation such as long press and hold actuation (e.g., touch actuation exceeding a predetermined time period) or double-click touch actuation. In addition, the control unit 1230 may ignore touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface during a blanking period after detecting tactile actuation of the tactile switch to turn on the lighting load, and respond to touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface after the blanking period.

[0137] The control unit 1230 may be configured to set a locked preset power level (e.g., intensity level) for the lighting load, such that the control unit 1230 is configured to automatically switch the lighting load on to the locked intensity level during a subsequent switch-on event. For example, if the control unit 1230 is configured to have a locked intensity level of 20% and the lighting load is in an off state, the control unit 1230 may be configured to switch the lighting load on to the 20% intensity level, e.g., in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232, regardless of whether the user contacts the touch-sensitive surface when actuating the actuation member 1232. The locked preset intensity level may be configured by the user, e.g., through an advanced programming mode of the control unit 1230.

[0138] Furthermore, in some examples, and before the lighting load is turned on, the control unit 1230 may be configured to allow a user to adjust the intensity level for turning the lighting load on by a touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface. For example, the control unit 1230 may be configured to receive a touch actuation via the touch-sensitive surface when the lighting load is in the off state, and in response, adjust the on intensity level of the lighting load, but not actually turn the lighting load on. Then, upon subsequent actuation of the actuation member 1232, the control unit 1230 may turn the lighting load on to the on intensity level that was set when the lighting load was in the off state.

[0139] The control unit 1230 may be configured to determine whether to ignore touch actuations received via the touch-sensitive surface based on the location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface. That is, the control unit 1230 may be configured to respond to touch actuations received at some locations on the touch-sensitive surface while ignoring touch actuations received at other locations on the touch-sensitive surface. For example, the control unit 1230 may be configured to respond to those touch actuations received via the touch-sensitive surface only when those touch actuations are received at a location associated with an intensity level that is less than a default intensity level (e.g., the default intensity level is the intensity level to which the control unit 1230 will turn the lighting load on in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232, such as a locked current intensity level, a previous intensity level, and / or an on intensity level). Such a feature may be helpful if the control unit 1230 controls lighting loads used in hallways or bathrooms to ensure that the lighting loads are not turned on to an intensity level that will interfere with a user (e.g., too bright for the user) at midnight. In addition, in some examples, the control unit 1230 may also consider the time at which the touch actuation is received. Thus, control unit 1230 may determine whether to ignore touch actuations received via the touch-sensitive surface based on the location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface as well as the time of day and / or day of the week (e.g., control unit 1230 may ignore touch actuations at locations corresponding to certain intensity levels at night).

[0140] The control unit 1230 may be configured to change the operating characteristics (e.g., the number and / or length of blanking periods, the type and / or characteristics of the filtering mode, etc.) and / or the operating mode (e.g., intensity control mode, color control mode, advanced programming mode, debug mode, etc.) of the control unit 1230 in various ways. For example, the control unit 1230 may change the operating characteristics and / or the operating mode based on the time of day and / or day of the week (e.g., clock information) and / or based on the learning algorithm by using the advanced programming mode in response to receiving a touch actuation at a position of the touch-sensitive surface defined by limited pivoting (e.g., the central axis of the actuation member 1232). For example, once in the advanced programming mode, the control unit 1230 may be configured to change and / or change the operating characteristics (e.g., the number and / or length of blanking periods, the type and / or characteristics of the filtering mode, etc.) between operating modes (e.g., intensity control mode and color control mode). Alternatively or additionally, the control unit 1230 may change and / or change the operating characteristics between operating modes in response to receiving an input at a position of the touch-sensitive surface defined by limited pivoting. Additionally, the control unit 1230 may change between operating modes and / or change operating characteristics based on the time of day and / or day of the week.

[0141] In addition, the control unit 1230 may change the operating characteristics and / or operating mode based on a learning algorithm. As another example, the control unit 1230 may be configured to learn that when the control unit 1230 receives an input (e.g., tactile actuation) to turn on the lighting load at certain times of the day, the user subsequently reduces the intensity level to a specific level (e.g., from the on intensity level to 25% intensity), and as a result, the control unit 1230 may be configured to initially turn on the lighting load to 25% intensity when the control unit 1230 receives an input to turn on the lighting load at that time of the day.

[0142] As another example, the control unit 1230 may be configured to adjust the length of a blanking period (e.g., a blanking period that occurs after (e.g., in response to) a touch actuation and / or a blanking period that occurs after (e.g., in response to) a tactile actuation based on a learning algorithm). For example, the control unit 1230 may determine that a blanking period is too short and, in response, extend the blanking period to avoid unintentional operation caused by an accidental touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface. One way that the control unit 1230 may determine that a blanking period is too short is by identifying a series of events indicating that an accidental touch actuation was received via the touch-sensitive surface. For example, after turning on a lighting load in response to a first actuation (e.g., touch actuation) of an actuation member 1232 (e.g., a touch-sensitive surface), the control device may receive (e.g., consistently receive) a second actuation (e.g., touch actuation) that cancels or adjusts the control initiated by the first actuation (e.g., adjusts the intensity level). The control device may determine that the user has intended to apply tactile actuation to the actuation member 1232 and extend a blanking period after receiving the touch actuation (e.g., a blanking period that occurs after (e.g., in response to) the touch actuation). In addition, after turning off the lighting load in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member 1232, the control device then determines that it has received two subsequent inputs via the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., touch actuation)—a first input that controls the lighting load in some manner (e.g., turns the lighting load on) and a second input that cancels the control initiated by the first input (e.g., turns the lighting load off). Therefore, the control unit 1230 may determine that this series of events occurs frequently, and in response, extend a blanking period after receiving the tactile actuation (e.g., a blanking period that occurs after (e.g., in response to) the tactile actuation).

[0143] When a user input (e.g., touch actuation) is applied to an area of ​​the front surface 1235 that is located away from the first tactile switch 1245a and the second tactile switch 1245b (e.g., the central axis of the actuation member 1232), the first tactile switch 1245a and the second tactile switch 1245b may not be actuated, and the control unit 1230 may be configured to enter an advanced programming mode (e.g., as described herein) or change an operating mode (e.g., switch from an intensity control mode to a color control mode) in response to the touch actuation. For example, the area may be located farthest from the first tactile switch 1245a and the second tactile switch 1245b on the front surface 214. It should be noted that although the touch actuation is described as being applied to an area above the central axis of the actuation member 1232, such touch actuation may also be applied to other locations on the front surface 1235 as long as these locations are sufficiently spaced apart from the tactile switches (e.g., farthest away) to prevent accidental triggering of unintended control functions.

[0144] The distance between the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., the front surface 1235 of the actuating member 1232) and the receiving capacitive touch pads on the printed circuit board 1244 may not be uniform over the length of the actuating member 1232 (e.g., the actuating member 1232 may not have a uniform thickness and / or the actuating member 1232 and the printed circuit board 1244 may be shaped differently). For example, although shown as a curved shape with bends 1247, in some examples, the printed circuit board 1244 may be straight. In the case where the distance between the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., the front surface 1235 of the actuating member 1232) and the receiving capacitive touch pads on the printed circuit board 1244 is not uniform, the printed circuit board 1244 may use different voltage thresholds V for one or more of the capacitive touch pads. TH , for example, to ensure that the printed circuit board 1244 reacts in a similar or identical manner to similar touches at different locations along the length of the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 1232. As described in more detail below, the printed circuit board 1244 can set the corresponding voltage threshold V of the capacitive touch pad. TH .

[0145] For example, the printed circuit board 1244 can compare the measured voltage with the voltage threshold V TH compares and generates a voltage that indicates when the measured voltage exceeds the voltage threshold V TH The output signal V OUT . The voltage threshold V for a capacitive touch pad that is separated from the touch-sensitive surface by a small distance TH In contrast, printed circuit board 1244 may use a smaller voltage threshold V for capacitive touch pads that are further separated from the touch-sensitive surface. TH Therefore, the printed circuit board 1244 can be configured to use different voltage thresholds V for the capacitive touch pads. TH To offset the effect of the different distances between the front surface 1235 of the actuating member 1232 and the printed circuit board 1244 .

[0146] The control unit 1230 shown may be battery powered. A battery 1280 (e.g., a button cell shown) may be placed in electrical communication with circuits mounted to the printed circuit board 1244, for example, to power the capacitive touch area, control circuitry, wireless communication circuitry, and / or other circuitry of the control unit 1230.

[0147] The control unit 1230 may be configured to receive a battery holder 1270. The battery holder 1270 may include a housing 1274, a retaining fixture 1272, a positive battery contact 1281, and a negative battery contact 1282 (e.g., a back plate). The positive battery contact 1281 may be a positive electrical contact, and the negative battery contact 1282 may be a negative electrical contact. For example, the positive battery contact 1281 and the negative battery contact 1282 may be connected to the housing 1274. The battery holder 1270 may be configured to hold the battery 1280 therein. The battery holder 1270 may define a cavity 1277. For example, the housing 1274 and the negative battery contact 1282 may define the cavity 1277. The negative battery contact 1282 may be configured to be attached to the housing 1274. The negative battery contact 1282 may be configured to define the rear surface of the cavity 1277. The cavity 1277 may be configured to receive the battery 1280. The retaining clamp 1272 can be configured to secure the battery 1280 within the cavity 1277. The retaining clamp 1272 can define a pivot clamp 1271 and a locking clamp 1273. The pivot clamp 1271 can pivotally mount the retaining clamp 1272 to the battery holder 1270. For example, the retaining clamp 1272 can be pivoted using the pivot clamp 1271. The locking clamp 1273 can be configured to secure the retaining clamp 1272 to the housing 1274 so that the battery 1280 is retained therein. The pivot clamp 1271 can include a retaining tab 1279 that can retain the pivot clamp 1271 in the battery holder 1270 when the retaining clamp 1272 is moved to the open position.

[0148] The battery holder 1270 may be configured to be mounted within a void 1248 defined by the control unit 1230 (e.g., the housing 1234). For example, the void 1248 may be configured to receive the battery holder 1270. The battery holder 1270 may be configured to hold the battery 1280 therein. The battery holder 1270 may include an attachment clamp 1276. The attachment clamp 1276 may be a c-shaped clamp (e.g., a right-angle c-shaped clamp). The attachment clamp 1276 may be configured to be rotatably attached to the pivot bar 1250. For example, the attachment clamp 1276 may be configured to pivot around the pivot bar 1250, such as when the battery holder moves between the first position and the second position. The pivot bar 1250 may define a pivot axis. The battery holder 1270 may be configured to pivot around the pivot axis. The pivot axis may be located at the midpoint of the control unit 1230. Alternatively, the pivot bar 1250 can be a pin (e.g., a rod) and the battery holder 1270 can include a completely closed loop instead of the attachment clamp 1276. The pin can be slid into the closed loop of the battery holder and then the end of the pin can be attached to the housing 1234.

[0149] The battery holder 1270 may be configured to electrically connect the battery 1280 to the control unit 1230 (e.g., the printed circuit board 1244) to power the circuit of the control unit 1230. The battery holder 1270 may be configured to maintain electrical contact between the battery 1280 and the printed circuit board 1244 when the battery holder 1270 moves between the first position and the second position. For example, the positive battery contact 1281 and the negative battery contact 1282 of the battery holder 1270 may be configured to be electrically connected to the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the battery 1280, respectively, when the battery is received in the cavity 1277. When the battery is received in the cavity 1277, the positive battery contact 1281 may operate as a spring biased toward the battery 1280.

[0150] The control unit 1230 may include a flexible cable (not shown) that is attached (e.g., mechanically and electrically connected) to the printed circuit board 1244. The flexible cable may be attached (e.g., mechanically and electrically connected) to the battery holder 1270. The flexible cable may include at least two electrical conductors (not shown) for electrically connecting the circuit of the control unit 1230 on the printed circuit board 1244 to the positive terminal and the negative terminal of the battery 1280. For example, a first electrical conductor of the electrical conductors of the flexible cable may be electrically connected to the positive battery contact 1281, and a second electrical conductor of the electrical conductors of the flexible cable may be electrically connected to the negative battery contact 1282. Alternatively, the retaining fixture 1272 may operate as a positive battery contact of the battery holder 1270.

[0151] It should be appreciated that the electrical connection between the battery 1280 and the printed circuit board 1244 can be achieved in other ways. For example, the battery holder 1270 can abut a first post (not shown) on the control unit 1230 in the second position, and can abut a second post (not shown) on the control unit 1230 in the first position. The first post and the second post can be configured to provide an electrical connection between the battery 1280 and the printed circuit board 1244. The first post can be proximate to the upper wall 1241, and the second post can be proximate to the lower wall 1242.

[0152] The battery holder 1270 may be configured to adjust the position of the battery 1280 within the control unit 1230. For example, when power is delivered to an electrical load associated with the mechanical switch 1290, the position of the battery 1280 may be adjusted based on the position of the rocker actuator 1292. The battery holder 1270 may be operated between a first position and a second position. For example, the battery holder 1270 may be configured to pivot between a first position and a second position. The first position may be defined as the battery holder 1270 being close to the lower wall 1242 (e.g., the lower portion of the gap 1248). For example, when the battery holder 1270 is in the first position, the battery holder 1270 may be in the lower portion of the gap 1248. The second position may be defined as the battery holder 1270 being close to the upper wall 1241 (e.g., the upper portion of the gap 1248). For example, when the battery holder 1270 is in the second position, the battery holder 1270 may be in the upper portion of the gap 1248.

[0153] The control unit 1230 (e.g., housing 1234) may define stops 1256a, 1256b in the upper and lower portions of the void 1248. The stops 1256a, 1256b may extend from the upper wall 1241 and the lower wall 1242 into the void 1248. The stops 1256a, 1256b may be configured to prevent the battery holder 1270 from pivoting beyond the first position and the second position, respectively. The stops 1256a, 1256b may be configured to prevent the battery holder 1270 from abutting the printed circuit board 1244. The stops 1256a, 1256b may be configured to snap into the outer edge 1257 of the housing 1274 of the battery holder 1270 when the battery holder 1270 is in the first position or the second position. The control unit 1230 may be configured to be attached to the base 1220, wherein the light bar 1239 is located on a predetermined side of the control unit (e.g., such as Fig.10 The control unit 1230 may be configured to be attached to the base 1220, wherein the light bar 1239 is located on a predetermined side of the control unit, regardless of the position of the rocker actuator 1292 of the mechanical switch 1290 (e.g., whether the upper or lower portion of the rocker actuator 1292 protrudes from the frame 1293). For example, the control unit 1230 may be configured such that the battery 1280 can be pivoted between a first position and a second position based on whether the upper or lower portion of the rocker actuator 1292 protrudes from the frame 1293.

[0154] The void 1248 of the control unit 1230 can be configured to receive a portion of the rocker actuator 1292 of the mechanical switch 1290 when the control unit 1230 is attached to the base 1220. The control unit 1230 can define separate portions of the void 1248, such as an upper portion and a lower portion. When the mechanical switch 1290 is in a first orientation (e.g., when the upper portion of the rocker actuator 1292 protrudes from the frame 1293), the upper portion can receive the upper portion of the rocker actuator 1292 and the lower portion can receive the battery holder 1270. When the mechanical switch 1290 is in a second orientation (e.g., when the lower portion of the rocker actuator 1292 protrudes from the frame 1293), the lower portion can receive a portion of the lower portion of the rocker actuator 1292 and the upper portion can receive the battery holder 1270.

[0155] In some installations, when the control unit 1230 is mounted to the base 1220, the control unit 1230 may not be offset a sufficient distance from the rocker actuator 1292 of the mechanical switch 1290, and the control unit 1230 may even contact the rocker actuator 1292. In this case, when the user actuates the actuation member 1232, the control unit 1230 may change the rocker actuator 1292 of the mechanical switch 1290 from the on position to the off position. The control unit 1230 (e.g., the housing 1234) may define flanges in the upper and lower portions of the void 1248. The flanges may extend from the opposing sidewalls 1243 into the void 1248. When the control unit 1230 is mounted to the base 1220 during installation of the remote control device 1200, the flanges 1268 may contact the rocker actuator 1292 to indicate to the installer that the control unit 1230 may not be offset a sufficient distance from the rocker actuator 1292. The installer may then install the spacer 1210 (or multiple spacers) onto the base 1220 to provide additional distance between the control unit 1230 and the rocker actuator 1292 .

[0156] Fig.16 is a simplified block diagram of an exemplary control device 300 (eg, a dimmer switch) that can be deployed, for example, as the dimmer switch 110 of the lighting control system 100, Figures 2 to 7 The control device 200 and / or Figures 8 to 9The control device 280 of FIG. 300 may include a hot terminal H, which may be adapted to be coupled to an AC power source 302. The control device 300 may include a dimmed hot terminal DH, which may be adapted to be coupled to an electrical load (such as a lighting load 304). The control device 300 may include a controllable conductive device 310 coupled in a series electrical connection between the AC power source 302 and the lighting load 304. The controllable conductive device 310 may control the power delivered to the lighting load. The controllable conductive device 310 may include a suitable type of bidirectional semiconductor switch, such as a triac, a field effect transistor (FET) in a rectifier bridge, two FETs in an anti-series connection, or one or more insulated gate bipolar junction transistors (IGBTs). An air gap switch 329 may be coupled in series with the controllable conductive device 310. The air gap switch 329 may open and close in response to actuation of an air gap actuator (e.g., not shown). When the air gap switch 329 is closed, the controllable conductive device 310 may be operated to conduct current to the load. When the air-gap switch 329 is opened, the lighting load 304 is disconnected from the AC power source 302 .

[0157] The control device 300 may include a dimmer control circuit 314. The dimmer control circuit 314 may include one or more of a processor (e.g., a microprocessor), a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any suitable controller or processing device. The dimmer control circuit 314 may be operably coupled to a control input of the controllable conductive device 310, for example, via a gate drive circuit 312. The dimmer control circuit 314 may be used to make the controllable conductive device 310 conductive or non-conductive, for example, to control the amount of power delivered to the lighting load 304. The dimmer control circuit 314 may receive a control signal representing a zero crossing of the AC mains voltage of the AC power source 302 from a zero crossing detector 316. The dimmer control circuit 314 may be operable to make the controllable conductive device 310 conductive and / or non-conductive at a predetermined time relative to the zero crossing of the AC waveform using a phase control dimming technique. The dimmer control circuit 314 may be configured to control the magnitude of the load current conducted through the lighting load so as to provide a constant current across the low-end intensity level L LE and high-end strength level L HE The dimming range between 0 and 1 controls the intensity level of the lighting load 304. For example, the dimmer control circuit 314 can be configured to control the intensity level of the lighting load 304 to a low-end intensity level L LE and high-end strength level L HE N INT (e.g., 255) intensity levels.

[0158] The control device 300 may include a memory 318. The memory 318 may be communicatively coupled to the dimmer control circuit 314 for storing and / or retrieving, for example, operational settings, such as lighting presets and associated preset light intensities. The memory 318 may be implemented as an external integrated circuit (IC) or as an internal circuit of the dimmer control circuit 314. The control device 300 may include a power supply 320. The power supply 320 may generate a direct current (DC) supply voltage V CC , for powering the dimmer control circuit 314 and other low voltage circuits of the control device 300. The power supply 320 can be coupled in parallel with the controllably conductive device 310. The power supply 320 can be operated to conduct a charging current through the lighting load 304 to generate a DC supply voltage V CC .

[0159] The dimmer control circuit 314 may be responsive to user input received from the actuator 330 and / or the touch sensitive device 350. It should be understood that in examples where the control device is a dual dimmer, the control device may include two touch sensitive devices 350 or a single touch sensitive device responsive to two sets of capacitive touch elements (such as a capacitive touch pad). The dimmer control circuit 314 may control the controllable conductive device 310 to adjust the intensity level of the lighting load 304 in response to user input (e.g., tactile actuation and / or touch actuation) received via the actuator 330 and / or the touch sensitive device 350. The dimmer control circuit 314 may receive a corresponding input signal from the actuator 330 in response to tactile actuation of the actuator 330 (e.g., in response to movement of the actuator 330). For example, the actuator 330 may be actuated in response to tactile actuation of an upper portion and / or a lower portion of an actuation member of the control device.

[0160] The touch-sensitive device 350 can be configured to detect touch actuations (e.g., point actuations and / or gestures, where, for example, gestures can be implemented with or without physical contact with the touch-sensitive device 350) and provide a corresponding output signal V indicative of the touch actuation (e.g., indicating the location of one or more touch actuations) to the dimmer control circuit 314. OUT . In addition, the touch-sensitive device 350 can detect touch actuation (e.g., press and hold actuation) applied to the area of ​​the front surface of the actuation member above the pivot axis and cause the dimmer control circuit 314 to enter an advanced programming mode, as described herein. The touch-sensitive device 350 can also detect touch actuation along the front surface of the light bar and cause the dimmer control circuit 314 to adjust the amount of power delivered to the lighting load 304 accordingly. The dimmer control circuit 314 can be configured to receive an input signal received from the actuator 330 and / or an output signal V received from the touch-sensitive device 350. OUTThe control circuit 314 may use the control data to drive the driver circuit 312 to control the controllable conductive device 310 to adjust the amount of power delivered to the lighting load 304 and / or cause the control data to be transmitted to the lighting load 304 or a central controller of the load control system.

[0161] The touch sensitive device 350 may include a capacitive touch circuit 352 and a user interface control circuit 354 (e.g., which may be an example of a capacitive touch controller 252). The capacitive touch circuit 352 includes one or more capacitive touch elements. For example, the capacitive touch circuit 352 may include one or more capacitive touch pads, such as a receiving capacitive touch pad 244 and / or a proximity capacitive touch pad 245 mounted to a capacitive touch PCB 240 of the control device 200. In addition, the capacitive touch circuit 352 may include one or more capacitive transmission traces, such as a first transmission trace 246 and a second transmission trace 248 on the capacitive touch PCB 240 of the control device 200. The capacitive touch circuit 352 may provide one or more capacitive receive signals V from the capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352 (e.g., from regions A to E of the receiving capacitive touch pads 242 mounted to the capacitive touch PCB 240 of the control device 200). RX-A To V RX-E , where each capacitor receives a signal V RX-A To V RX-E Indicates the capacitance of the capacitive touch pad. In addition, the capacitive touch circuit 352 can provide a proximity sensing signal V to the user interface control circuit 354. PROX (eg, based on a proximity capacitive touch pad 245 mounted to a capacitive touch PCB 240 of the control device 200).

[0162] The user interface control circuit 354 may include one or more of a processor (e.g., a microprocessor), a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any suitable controller or processing device. The user interface control circuit 354 may include a memory and / or may use the memory 318. The user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to determine or detect a change in the capacitance of the capacitive touch pad of the capacitive touch circuit 352 (e.g., due to a user's finger actuating the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210), and generate an output signal V based on the change in the capacitance of the capacitive touch pad. OUT . Output signal V OUTThe position of the touch actuation along the front surface of the actuation member (e.g., above the light bar 220) may be indicated. As described above, the user interface control circuit 354 may receive one or more capacitive receive signals V from the capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352 (e.g., from regions A to E of the receiving capacitive touch pads 242 mounted to the capacitive touch PCB 240 of the control device 200). RX-A To V RX-E , where each capacitor receives a signal V RX-A To V RX-E Indicates the capacitance of a capacitive touch pad.

[0163] The user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to respond to a received signal V generated by the receiving capacitive touch pad. RX-A To V RX-E To determine the location of the touch actuation along the front surface of the actuation member (eg, along the light bar 220). In response, the user interface control circuit 354 may generate an output signal V OUT and provide it to the dimmer control circuit 314. For example, the user interface control circuit 354 can be configured to charge the capacitance of the capacitive touch pad of the capacitive touch circuit 352. For example, although not shown, the capacitive touch pad of the capacitive touch circuit 352 can be coupled to the user interface control circuit 354 via a capacitive transmission circuit (not shown) and / or a capacitive receiving circuit (not shown). The user interface control circuit 354 can be configured to control the capacitive transmission circuit to charge the capacitance of the capacitive touch pad (e.g., the capacitive touch pad 242) of the capacitive touch circuit 352. For example, the capacitive transmission circuit can be configured to pull the transmission trace (e.g., the transmission trace 244) of the capacitive touch circuit 352 upward toward the supply voltage V CC , to charge the capacitance of the capacitive touch pad.

[0164] The user interface control circuit 354 can step through each of the capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352 and process the capacitive received signal V RX-A To V RX-E , to detect changes in the capacitance of the corresponding capacitive touch pad. For example, the user interface control circuit 354 may periodically charge the capacitance of each of the capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352 and then discharge the capacitance of the corresponding touch pad into a capacitor (not shown) of the user interface control circuit 354 (e.g., which may have a capacitance much larger than the capacitance of each of the capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352). The user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to compare the voltage across the capacitor of the touch sensitive device 350 with the voltage threshold V TH compares and generates an output signal V OUT, which output signal can indicate when the voltage across the capacitor of the touch sensitive device 350 exceeds the voltage threshold V TH For example, the user interface control circuit 354 may charge and discharge the capacitance of each capacitive touch pad a predetermined number of times (eg, 500 times) during a sensing interval (eg, 500 μsec) before moving onto the next capacitive touch pad of the capacitive touch circuit 352 .

[0165] The user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to determine the count N CAP , which indicates that the voltage across the capacitor of the touch sensitive device 350 exceeds the voltage threshold V TH How many times has the capacitance of the corresponding capacitive touch pad been charged and discharged before. Count N CAP The count N for each of the capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352 may indicate the current capacitance of the corresponding capacitive touch pad of the capacitive touch circuit 352. CAP may represent a sample of the current capacitance of the corresponding touch pad during the previous sensing interval. The user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to process the count N CAP , using a respective baseline count N for each of the capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352 BL To determine the current capacitance of the corresponding touch pad of the capacitive touch circuit 352. Baseline count N BL The idle capacitance of each of the capacitive touch pads may be indicated when the front surface of the actuation member (e.g., the light bar) is not actuated. The user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to determine a respective baseline count N for each of the capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352 when the front surface of the actuation member is not actuated. BL For example, the baseline count N BL The user interface control circuit 354 may receive the capacitive signal V RX-A To V RX-E Determine the count N CAP long-term average.

[0166] After stepping through each of the capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352 (e.g., after a round of capacitive sensing of the capacitive touch pads), the user interface control circuit 354 may process the determined count N for each of the corresponding capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352. CAP The user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to detect a touch actuation by determining a corresponding baseline count N BL The current count N of the corresponding capacitive touch pad CAP The difference between, for example, Δ CAP =|N CAP –N BL |, to determine the change in count ΔCAP (For example, it may indicate the capacitance of each of the capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352). The user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to generate a count change Δ CAP At least one of the above exceeds the capacitance change threshold TH CAP In order to determine that a capacitive sensing surface (e.g., a light bar) is being actuated, the capacitance change threshold may represent, for example, a 0.5% to 1% change in capacitance.

[0167] The user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to determine a change in count of one of the capacitive touch pads Δ CAP Exceeding the capacitance change threshold TH CAP The number of times N TOUCH-IN (eg, the number of consecutive rounds of capacitive sensing). The user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to TOUCH-IN Exceeding the touch entry threshold TH TOUCH-IN (e.g., two, three, four, five, six, seven, or eight). TOUCH-IN Exceeding the touch entry threshold TH TOUCH-IN When in active touch mode, the user interface control circuit 354 can detect touch actuation. When in active touch mode, the user interface control circuit 354 can be configured to determine a change in count of one of the capacitive touch pads Δ CAP Does not exceed the capacitance change threshold TH CAP The number of times N TOUCH-OUT (eg, the number of consecutive rounds of capacitive sensing). The user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to TOUCH-OUT Exceeding the touch exit threshold TH TOUCH-OUT Exit active touch mode.

[0168] When in active touch mode, user interface control circuit 354 may be configured to respond to a change in count of each of the capacitive touch pads of capacitive touch circuit 352 by Δ CAP The ratio of (eg, in response to a received signal V generated by a receiving capacitive touch pad RX-A To V RX-E ) to determine the location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., light bar). For example, the change in counts of region B of the receiving capacitive touch pad 244 of the control device 200 is Δ CAP The change in counts of region C is Δ CAP The ratio of may indicate the location of the touch actuation along light bar 220 between regions B and C.

[0169] Even though the user interface control circuit 354 may be responsive to a change in count of one or more of the receiving capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352, CAP (For example, in response to receiving the signal VRX-A To V RX-E ) and detects that the touch-sensitive surface is being actuated, the user may not actually touch the front surface of the actuation member (e.g., the user does not touch the portion of the front surface associated with touch actuation, such as the user does not touch the light bar 220 but touches another portion of the front surface and does not intend to control the load). In some examples, the user interface control circuit 354 can be configured to respond to the change Δ in the count of the proximity capacitive touch pad of the capacitive touch circuit 352. CAP-PROX To determine whether the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., light bar) is not actuated (e.g., the user's finger has moved too far to the left). If the user interface control circuit 354 determines that the user's finger is closer to the proximity capacitive touch pad of the capacitive touch circuit 352, the user interface control circuit 354 can stop processing the change in count of each of the receiving capacitive touch pads of the capacitive touch circuit 352. CAP , to determine the position of the actuation along the light bar (e.g., if the user interface control circuit 354 is closer to the proximity capacitive touch pad, the user interface control circuit may ignore the touch actuation). CAP-PROX Upon indicating that the user's finger is approaching the light bar, user interface control circuitry 354 may again begin determining the location of touch actuations along the touch-sensitive surface.

[0170] The user interface control circuit 354 may provide an output signal V to the dimmer control circuit 314 in response to detecting a touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface of the control device 300 (eg, in response to detecting a touch actuation along the light bar 220). OUT . Output signal V OUT The position of the touch along the front surface of the actuation member may be indicated. The dimmer control circuit 314 may be configured to output the signal V OUT The control data may be converted into control data (e.g., one or more control signals) to control one or more electrical loads. For example, the dimmer control circuit 314 may use the control data to drive the driver circuit 312 to control the controllable conductive device 310 to adjust the amount of power delivered to the lighting load 304 and / or may cause the control data to be transmitted to the lighting load 304, another load control device, and / or a system controller of the load control system via the communication circuit 322.

[0171] The user interface control circuit 354 can generate a touch actuation signal V ACT , which may indicate the presence of a touch along the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member of the control device. The user interface control circuit 354 may provide a touch actuation signal V to the dimmer control circuit 314. ACT For example, user interface control circuit 354 may detect touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface and send touch actuation signal VACT is driven high to indicate that the control device is operating in active touch mode, otherwise the touch actuation signal V ACT Driven low.

[0172] Although described with reference to user interface control circuit 354 , it should be understood that in some examples, control device 300 may include a single control circuit, such as dimmer control circuit 314 , and the processing performed by user interface control circuit 354 may be performed by dimmer control circuit 314 .

[0173] The control device 300 may include a wireless communication circuit 322. The wireless communication circuit 322 may include, for example, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver coupled to an antenna to transmit and / or receive RF signals. The wireless communication circuit 322 may also include an RF transmitter for transmitting RF signals, an RF receiver for receiving RF signals, or an infrared (IR) transmitter and / or receiver for transmitting and / or receiving IR signals. The wireless communication circuit 322 may be configured to transmit a control signal to the lighting load 304, the control signal including control data (e.g., a digital message) generated by the dimmer control circuit 314. As described herein, the control data may be generated in response to a user input (e.g., a point actuation or a gesture) to adjust one or more operational aspects of the lighting load 304. The control data may include commands and / or identification information (e.g., a unique identifier) ​​associated with the control device 300. In addition to or in lieu of transmitting the control signal to the lighting load 304, the wireless communication circuit 322 may be controlled to transmit the control signal to a central controller of the lighting control system.

[0174] The dimmer control circuit 314 may be configured to illuminate a visual indicator 360 (e.g., an LED) in response to receiving an indication of actuation of the capacitive touch pad to provide feedback of the state of the lighting load 304 to indicate the state of the control device 300 and / or to assist in control operations (e.g., providing a color gradient for controlling the color of the lighting load 304, presenting a backlit illuminated virtual button for preset, zone, or operating mode selection, etc.). The visual indicator 360 may be configured to illuminate a light bar (e.g., the light bar 220) and / or serve as an indicator of various conditions. As an example, the touch sensitive device 350 may be used to allow a user to control the dimming of the lighting load by illumination of the light bar 220 using the visual indicator 360 to display the degree of dimming (e.g., increased illumination of the light bar to display an increase in the intensity of the load).

[0175] Fig.17 Can be deployed as Figures 10 to 15 1300 (eg, a remote control device). In addition, it should be understood that the control device 1300 may be deployed as Figure 1The control device 1300 may include a remote control device 112, a wall mounted remote control device 114, a desktop remote control device 116, and / or a handheld remote control device 118 of the lighting control system 100. The control device 1300 may include a control circuit 1310, one or more actuators 1312 (e.g., buttons and / or switches), a touch sensitive device 1314, a wireless communication circuit 1316, one or more LEDs 1318, a memory 1320, and / or a battery 1322. The memory 1320 may be configured to store one or more operating parameters of the control device 1300 (e.g., a pre-configured color scene or a preset light intensity level). The battery 1322 may be configured to store one or more operating parameters of the control device 1300. Fig.17 One or more of the components shown provide electrical power.

[0176] The actuator 1312 (e.g., a mechanical tactile switch) can be actuated in response to tactile actuation of one or more corresponding buttons of a control device (e.g., an actuation member 1232 of the remote control device 1200). The actuator 1312 can be configured to send corresponding input signals to the control circuit 1310 in response to the actuation of the button. The touch-sensitive device 1314 can be an example of the touch-sensitive device 350, and thus, the touch-sensitive device 1314 can perform one or more of the functions described with reference to the touch-sensitive device 350. In addition, the control circuit 1310 can perform one or more of the functions described with reference to the dimmer control circuit 314 (e.g., without controlling the drive circuit or performing zero crossing detection).

[0177] The touch-sensitive device 1314 may include a capacitive or resistive touch element disposed, for example, behind the actuation member 1232 of the remote control device 1200. The touch-sensitive device 1314 may respond to touch actuation, for example, of a touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 1232. The touch-sensitive device 1314 may be configured to detect touch actuation, such as point actuation and / or gestures (e.g., gestures may be implemented with or without physical contact with the touch-sensitive device 1314), and provide a corresponding output signal (e.g., output signal V) to the control circuit 1310 indicating the detection (e.g., indicating the location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member 1232). OUT ).

[0178] The control circuit 1310 may be configured to convert an input signal provided by the actuator 1312 and / or an output signal provided by the touch sensitive device 1314 into control data (e.g., a digital control signal) to control one or more electrical loads. The control circuit 1310 may cause the control data (e.g., a digital control signal) to be transmitted to the electrical load via the wireless communication circuit 1316. For example, the wireless communication circuit 1316 may transmit a control signal including the control data to one or more electrical loads or to a central controller of an associated load control system. The control circuit 1310 may control the LED 1318 to illuminate a visual indicator (e.g., the light bar 1239 of the remote control device 1200) to provide feedback about various conditions.

[0179] It should be appreciated that the exemplary remote control device 1200 shown and described herein can provide a simple retrofit solution for existing switch control systems and can simplify the installation of a load control system or enhance an existing load control system installation. A load control system incorporating one or more remote control devices 1200 can provide energy savings and / or advanced control features, such as without requiring any electrical rewiring and / or without requiring replacement of any existing mechanical switches.

[0180] Fig.18 4 is a flow chart of an exemplary control procedure 400 that may be executed by a control circuit of a control device (e.g., any combination of the control circuit of control device 200, the control circuit of control device 280, the control circuit of control device 1200, the dimmer control circuit 314 or the user interface control circuit 354 of control device 300, and / or any combination of the control circuit 1310 of control device 1300 or the control circuit of touch-sensitive device 1314) in response to tactile actuation of an actuator member to turn a lighting load (e.g., lighting load 304) on or off. For example, at 410, the control circuit may execute the control program 400 in response to tactile actuation of an upper or lower portion of an actuating member (e.g., upper portion 216 or lower portion 218 of actuating member 210, upper portion or lower portion 284, and / or upper portion 1236 or lower portion 1238 of actuating member 1232), which tactile actuation causes the actuating member to pivot to actuate a tactile switch (e.g., one of tactile switches 262, 264, or one of tactile switches 1245a, 1245b).

[0181] If the on actuator is actuated at 412 (e.g., the upper portion 216 of the actuation member 210 is pressed to actuate the first tactile switch 262), the control circuit may determine at 414 whether the lighting load is currently on. If so, the control procedure 400 may simply exit. If the lighting load is off at 414, the control circuit may turn the lighting load on at 416 (e.g., by controlling the controllable conductive device 310 and / or by sending a message such as a digital message to the load control device to control the lighting load). For example, at 416, the dimmer control circuit 314 of the control device 300 may control the controllable conductive device 310 to turn the lighting load on. In addition, at 416, the control circuit 1310 of the control device 1300 may transmit a message including control data for turning the lighting load on via the wireless communication circuit 1316. If the on actuator is not actuated at 412, but the off actuator is actuated at 418 (e.g., the lower portion 218 of the actuation member 210 is pressed to actuate the second tactile switch 264), then at 420 the control circuit may determine whether the lighting load is currently off. If so, the control procedure 400 may simply exit. If the lighting load is on at 420, then at 422 the control circuit may turn the lighting load off (e.g., by controlling the controllable conductive device 310 and / or by sending a message such as a digital message to the load control device to control the lighting load). For example, at 422, the dimmer control circuit 314 of the control device 300 may control the controllable conductive device 310 to turn the lighting load off. In addition, at 422, the control circuit 1310 of the control device 1300 may transmit a message including control data for turning the lighting load off via the wireless communication circuit 1316.

[0182] The control device may also include a touch-sensitive device (e.g., touch-sensitive device 350, and in the example where the control device is a dual dimmer, the control device may include multiple touch-sensitive devices) that responds to actuation of a touch-sensitive surface of an actuator (e.g., actuation of a touch-sensitive surface along light strips 220 to 210). After the lighting load is turned on at 416 or turned off at 422, the control circuit may disable the touch-sensitive device at 424. That is, after the lighting load is turned on at 416 or turned off at 422, the control circuit may ignore input received via the touch-sensitive device (e.g., not respond to input received via the touch-sensitive surface) at 424. After the time period (e.g., 200 ms) during which the control circuit ignores input received via the touch-sensitive device ends at 426, the control circuit may enable the touch-sensitive device (e.g., respond to input received via the touch-sensitive surface) at 428, and the control procedure 400 may exit. Thus, the touch-sensitive device may be temporarily disabled (i.e., the control circuit may ignore input received via the touch-sensitive device) following actuation of the actuator to turn the lighting load on and off to avoid turning the lighting load back on and / or otherwise adjusting the intensity level of the lighting load if the user's finger happens to sweep across the light bar 220 while moving away from the actuator. In addition, the control circuit may adjust the length of the time period used at 426, for example, by the user using an advanced programming mode and / or based on a learning algorithm and historical usage patterns.

[0183] Fig.19 Flowchart of an exemplary control procedure 500 that may be executed by a control circuit of a control device (e.g., any combination of the control circuit of control device 200, the control circuit of control device 280, the control circuit of control device 1200, the dimmer control circuit 314 or the user interface control circuit 354 of control device 300, and / or any combination of the control circuit 1310 of control device 1300 or the control circuit of touch sensitive device 1314) in response to touch actuation along a touch sensitive surface of the control device. In an example where the control device includes multiple touch sensitive devices (e.g., a dual dimmer including two touch sensitive devices, each including a corresponding control circuit), the control procedure 500 may be executed by each of the touch sensitive devices of the control device. During the control procedure 500, the control circuit may operate in an active touch mode when the touch sensitive surface is actuated. For example, at 510, the control circuit may periodically execute the control procedure 500. The control circuit may repeat the control procedure 500 for each of a plurality of regions of the capacitive touch circuit (eg, regions A through E of the capacitive touch circuit 352 ).

[0184] At 512, the control circuit may first determine the current count N of the current capacitive touch pad. CAP With baseline count N BL The capacitive touch circuit determines the change in count of the current capacitive touch pad by the difference betweenCAP When the control circuit is not operating in the active touch mode at 514, the control circuit may perform a touch entry procedure at 516 to determine a change in count of the current capacitive touch pad Δ CAP The capacitance change threshold TH has been exceeded CAP The number of times N TOUCH-IN When at 518, the value N determined at 516 TOUCH-IN Does not exceed the touch entry threshold TH TOUCH-IN (e.g., two, three, four, five, six, seven, or eight), control routine 500 may simply exit. When at 518, the value N determined at 516 TOUCH-IN Exceeding the touch entry threshold TH TOUCH-IN At 520, the control circuit may begin a blanking period (e.g., a period of time during which the control circuit ignores input received via the capacitive touch circuit, e.g., as will be described below with reference to Fig.13 For example, at 520, the user interface control circuit 354 may ACT is driven high to indicate that the user interface control circuit 354 is operating in active touch mode. In addition, it should be understood that when the value N determined at 516 is TOUCH-IN Exceeding the touch entry threshold TH TOUCH-IN , the control circuitry may detect a touch actuation. The blanking period may be, for example, 200 ms. Then, at 522, the control circuitry may enter active touch mode, and the control routine 500 may exit. By ignoring input received via the capacitive touch circuitry during the blanking period, the control circuitry may, for example, avoid turning on the lighting load to a certain intensity level based on the location of the touch actuation on the actuation member (e.g., along the light bar 220) if the user's finger happens to sweep over the actuation member (e.g., light bar 220) when actuating the upper portion of the actuation member, or if the user's finger actuates the upper portion of the actuation member too close to the light bar.

[0185] When the control circuit is operating in the active touch mode at 514, the control circuit may perform a touch exit procedure at 524 to determine the change in count of the current capacitive touch pad Δ CAP The capacitance change threshold TH is not exceeded CAP The number of times N TOUCH-OUT When at 526, the value N determined at 524 TOUCH-OUT The touch exit threshold TH is not exceeded TOUCH-OUT , the control circuitry may execute a slider position engine at 528, for example, to determine and update the position of the actuator along the front surface of the actuation member (e.g., along the light bar 200) before the control routine 500 exits. TOUCH-OUT Exceeding the touch exit threshold TH TOUCH-OUTWhen the active touch mode is reached, the control circuit may exit the active touch mode at 530 and the control procedure 500 may exit.

[0186] Fig. 20 6 is a flow chart of an exemplary control procedure 600 that may be executed by a control circuit of a control device (e.g., any combination of the control circuit of control device 200, the control circuit of control device 280, the control circuit of control device 1200, the dimmer control circuit 314 or the user interface control circuit 354 of control device 300, and / or any combination of the control circuit 1310 of control device 1300 or the control circuit of touch sensitive device 1314) in response to a touch actuation along a front surface of an actuation member of the control device (e.g., a touch actuation of a touch sensitive surface of the actuation member 210 along light bar 220). In an example where the control device includes multiple touch sensitive devices (e.g., a dual dimmer including two touch sensitive devices, each of which includes a corresponding control circuit), the control procedure 600 may be executed by each of the touch sensitive devices of the control device. For example, at 610, the control circuit may execute the control procedure 600 at the beginning of a blanking period (e.g., the blanking period that begins at 520 of control procedure 500). For example, the dimmer control circuit 314 can be configured to determine the beginning of the blanking period and, in response to detecting the touch actuation signal V ACT has been driven high to execute the control procedure 600. In addition, the dimmer control circuit 314 can be configured to determine the beginning of the blanking period and, in response to detecting that the output signal V OUT . When in the blanking period, the control circuitry may determine at 612 whether the on-actuator or the off-actuator has been actuated, at 614 whether the active touch mode has been exited, and / or at 616 whether the blanking period has expired. When the on-actuator or the off-actuator is actuated before the end of the blanking period at 612, the control circuitry may process the tactile actuation (e.g., by executing Fig.18 Control routine 400 shown).

[0187] When the active touch mode is exited before the end of the blanking period at 614, the control circuitry may adjust the intensity level of the lighting load based on the location of the touch actuation (e.g., the location of the touch actuation along the light bar 220) at 620. For example, at 620, the dimmer control circuitry 314 of the control device 300 may control the controllably conductive device 310 to adjust the intensity level of the lighting load based on the location of the touch actuation. Additionally, at 620, the control circuitry 1310 of the control device 1300 may transmit a message including control data for adjusting the intensity level of the lighting load based on the location of the touch actuation via the wireless communication circuitry 1316. Thus, the control circuitry may be configured to adjust the intensity level of the lighting load based on the location of the touch actuation during the blanking period if the touch actuation is too fast to cause the control device to exit the active touch mode before the end of the blanking period. That is, the control circuitry may be configured to respond to the touch actuation if the touch actuation is less than the blanking time.

[0188] If the blanking period expires at 616 without the on or off actuator being actuated at 612 or the active touch mode being exited at 614, the control circuitry may adjust the intensity level of the lighting load based on the position of the touch actuation at 620 and the control procedure 600 may exit. If the control circuitry remains in the active touch mode at the end of the control procedure 600, the control circuitry may continue to adjust the intensity level of the lighting load based on the position of the touch actuation (e.g., as part of the slider position engine at 528 of the control procedure 500).

[0189] Fig.21 is a flow chart of an exemplary control procedure 700 that may be executed by a control circuit of a control device (e.g., any combination of the control circuit of control device 200, the control circuit of control device 280, the control circuit of control device 1200, the dimmer control circuit 314 or the user interface control circuit 354 of control device 300, and / or any combination of the control circuit 1310 of control device 1300 or the control circuit of touch-sensitive device 1314) in response to touch actuation along a front surface of an actuation member of the control device (e.g., touch actuation of a touch-sensitive surface of actuation member 210 along light bar 220). In examples where the control device includes multiple touch-sensitive devices (e.g., a dual dimmer including two touch-sensitive devices, each touch-sensitive device including a corresponding control circuit), the control procedure 700 may be executed by each of the touch-sensitive devices of the control device. For example, at 710, the control circuit may periodically execute the control procedure 700 when the control circuit is operating in an active touch mode (e.g., when the touch-sensitive surface is actuated). In addition, the control procedure 700 may be executed at any time during the control period. Fig.19528 of the control routine 500 shown. During the control routine 700, when the control circuit has detected a change in the position of the actuation of the touch-sensitive surface (e.g., in response to receiving capacitive touch pad 244 to operate in active touch mode), but the position is determined to be too far from the light bar (e.g., in response to approaching capacitive touch pad 245), the control circuit can operate in the disengaged proximity mode.

[0190] At 712, the control circuit may first determine a baseline count N of the proximity capacitive touch pad. BL-PROX Current count N of proximity capacitive touch pad CAP-PROX The capacitive touch circuit determines the change in count of the proximity capacitive touch pad by the difference between CAP-PROX When the control circuit is not operating in the exit proximity mode at 714, the control circuit may perform a proximity exit procedure at 716 to determine a change in count of the proximity capacitive touch pad Δ CAP-PROX The number of times N does not exceed the threshold PROX-OUT When at 718, the value N determined at 716 PROX-OUT Does not exceed the departure proximity threshold TH PROX-OUT , at 720 the control circuitry may execute a slider position engine, for example, to determine and update the position of the touch actuation along the actuation member (e.g., light bar 200) before the control routine 700 exits. PROX-OUT Exceeding the departure approach threshold TH PROX-OUT , the control circuit may enter the disengagement approach mode at 722 and the control routine 700 may exit.

[0191] When the control circuit is operating out of the proximity mode at 714 , the control circuit may perform a proximity entry procedure at 724 to determine a change in count of the proximity capacitive touch pad Δ CAP-PROX Exceeds the threshold TH PROX-IN (eg, which may be the same threshold used in the proximity exit procedure at 716) a number of times N PROX-IN When at 726, the value N determined at 724 PROX-IN Does not exceed the threshold TH PROX-IN , the control routine 700 may simply exit. When at 726, the value N determined at 724 PROX-IN Exceeds the threshold TH PROX-IN , the control circuit may exit the disengagement approach mode at 728 , after which the control routine 700 exits.

[0192] Fig. 22is an area of ​​an actuation member of a control device (e.g., an area of ​​a control device that can be activated by a control circuit of a control device (e.g., any combination of the control circuit of control device 200, the control circuit of control device 280, the control circuit of control device 1200, the dimmer control circuit 314 or the user interface control circuit 354 of control device 300, and / or any combination of the control circuit 1310 of control device 1300 or the control circuit of touch sensitive device 1314) in response to a motion applied to the actuation member of the control device (e.g., Figure 2 Flowchart of an exemplary control routine 800 for executing in response to a user input (e.g., a touch actuation, such as a press and hold actuation) that does not result in movement of the actuation member (e.g., an area 215 of the front surface 214 of the actuation member 210, or a central axis of the front surface 1235 of the actuation portion 1232) that is not caused by a user input (e.g., a touch actuation, such as a press and hold actuation) at 810. For example, at 810, the control circuitry may periodically execute the control routine 800. During the control routine 800, the control circuitry may determine that a press and hold actuation (e.g., a user pressing and holding a finger against the front surface of the control device) has been applied to an area of ​​the front surface of the actuation member of the control device. For example, the control circuitry may determine that a press and hold actuation (e.g., a user pressing and holding a finger against the front surface of the control device) has been applied to ... Figure 2 The control circuitry may determine that the user input is a press and hold if the user input includes contact with the front surface for more than a preconfigured time period (e.g., approximately 10 seconds).

[0193] In response to detecting the press and hold, the control circuitry may enter the advanced programming mode at 814, at which point the control circuitry may flash one or more visual indicators to indicate that the control device is now operating in the advanced programming mode. While in the advanced programming mode, the control circuitry may further determine the configuration or adjustment of the operating characteristics of the control device desired by the user at 816. For example, while in the advanced programming mode, the user may actuate the front surface of the control device along a light bar (e.g., light bar 220) to indicate a desired value for a low-end fine adjustment of the control device, and the control circuitry may determine the desired value based on the location of the touch actuation.

[0194] At 818, the control circuitry may adjust the operating characteristic (e.g., low-end trim) based on the user input (e.g., by storing the desired value in memory). Subsequently, at 820, the control circuitry may detect another press applied and held at the pivot position indicating that the user wants to exit the advanced programming mode. In response, at 822, the control circuitry may exit the procedure 800. Additionally or alternatively, if no user input is detected for a period of time during the advanced programming mode (e.g., which may be configurable), the control circuitry may exit the procedure 800 at 822.

[0195] Fig.23 9 is a flow chart of an exemplary control procedure 900 that may be executed by a control circuit of a control device (e.g., any combination of the control circuit of control device 200, the control circuit of control device 280, the control circuit of control device 1200, the dimmer control circuit 314 or the user interface control circuit 354 of control device 300, and / or any combination of the control circuit 1310 of control device 1300 or the control circuit of the touch-sensitive device 1314) in response to tactile actuation of an actuator to turn on and / or off a lighting load (e.g., lighting load 304). The control device may include a touch-sensitive device (e.g., touch-sensitive device 350) that responds to touch actuation along a front surface of an actuation member (e.g., along a touch-sensitive surface of actuation member 210, along light bar 220).

[0196] When executing the control routine 900, the control device may ignore touch actuation received from the touch-sensitive device when the lighting load is off, and may respond to touch actuation received from the touch-sensitive device when the lighting load is on (e.g., only when the lighting load is on). For example, at 910, the control circuit may execute the control routine 900 in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion 216 or the lower portion 218 of the actuation member 210, which causes the actuation member 210 to pivot to actuate one of the tactile switches 262, 264. If the on actuator is actuated at 912 (e.g., the upper portion 216 of the actuation member 210 is pressed to actuate the first tactile switch 262), the control circuit may determine at 914 whether the lighting load is currently on. If so, the control routine 900 may simply exit. If the lighting load is off at 914, the control circuit may turn the lighting load on at 916 (e.g., by controlling the controllable conductive device 310 and / or by sending a message such as a digital message to the load control device to control the lighting load). For example, at 916, the dimmer control circuit 314 of the control device 300 may control the controllable conductive device 310 to turn the lighting load on. Additionally, at 916, the control circuit 1310 of the control device 1300 may transmit a message including control data for turning the lighting load on via the wireless communication circuit 1316.

[0197] After turning on the lighting load at 916, the control circuit may ignore input received via the touch-sensitive device at 918. In some examples, the control circuit may disable the touch-sensitive device at 918. After a blanking period (e.g., approximately 200 ms) during which the control circuit ignores input received via the touch-sensitive device at 918 ends, the control circuit may enable the touch-sensitive device (e.g., begin responding to input received via the touch-sensitive surface) at 920, and the control routine 900 may exit. Thus, the touch-sensitive device may be disabled when the lighting load is turned off to avoid adjusting the intensity level of the lighting load if a user's finger happens to sweep across the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member (e.g., light bar 220) when moving toward the actuation member, and the touch-sensitive device may be temporarily disabled (e.g., the control circuit may ignore input received via the touch-sensitive device) after tactile actuation of the actuation member to turn on the lighting load to avoid adjusting the intensity level of the lighting load if a user's finger happens to sweep across the touch-sensitive surface of the actuation member (e.g., light bar 220) when moving away from the actuation member. Furthermore, the length of the blanking period used at 918 may be adjusted, for example, by a user using an advanced programming mode and / or based on a learning algorithm and historical usage patterns.

[0198] If the on actuator is not actuated at 912, but the off actuator is actuated at 922 (e.g., the lower portion 218 of the actuation member 210 is pressed to actuate the second tactile switch 264), then at 924 the control circuit may determine whether the lighting load is currently off. If so, the control procedure 900 may simply exit. If the lighting load is on at 924, then at 926 the control circuit may turn the lighting load off (e.g., by controlling the controllable conductive device 310 and / or by sending a message such as a digital message to the load control device to control the lighting load). For example, at 926, the dimmer control circuit 314 of the control device 300 may control the controllable conductive device 310 to turn the lighting load off. In addition, at 926, the control circuit 1310 of the control device 1300 may transmit a message including control data for turning the lighting load off via the wireless communication circuit 1316. At 928, the control circuit may disable the capacitive touch circuit (e.g., begin ignoring inputs received via the touch-sensitive device) before exiting the control procedure 900. Thus, when the lighting load is disconnected, the control circuit may not respond to inputs received via the touch-sensitive device (i.e., the capacitive touch circuit is disabled). In such examples, the control circuit may not respond to (e.g., ignore) inputs received via the touch-sensitive device as long as the lighting load is disconnected. However, in some examples, the control device may turn on the lighting load in response to a touch actuation such as a special touch actuation like a long press and hold actuation (e.g., a touch actuation that exceeds a predetermined period of time), a double-click touch actuation, etc.

Claims

1. A control device configured to control an electrical load, the control device comprising: an actuation member having a front surface defining a touch-sensitive surface configured to detect touch actuation along at least a portion of the touch-sensitive surface; a main printed circuit board, the main printed circuit board comprising a first control circuit, a tactile switch, a controllably conductive device, and a drive circuit operatively coupled to a control input of the controllably conductive device for rendering the controllably conductive device conductive or non-conductive to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load; as well as a capacitive touch printed circuit board secured to the actuation member, the capacitive touch printed circuit board comprising one or more receiving capacitive touch pads located on the capacitive touch printed circuit board behind the actuation member and arranged in a linear array adjacent to the touch sensitive surface, wherein the capacitive touch printed circuit board further comprises a second control circuit configured to receive input from the capacitive touch pads and to provide an output signal to the first control circuit in response to the input received from the capacitive touch pads; wherein the actuation member is configured to pivot about a pivot axis in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member to actuate the tactile switch on the main printed circuit board; wherein the capacitive touch printed circuit board is configured to move with the actuation member in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member; and Wherein the first control circuit is configured to control an amount of power delivered to the electrical load in response to a location of a touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface indicated by the output signal from the second control circuit.

2. The control device of claim 1 , wherein the capacitive touch printed circuit board includes a ground plane on the capacitive touch printed circuit board, the ground plane being configured to shield the capacitive touch pad from noise caused by a yoke of the control device when the capacitive touch printed circuit board moves with the actuation member in response to actuation of the actuation member.

3. The control device of claim 2, wherein the ground plane comprises a first ground plane on a rear side of the capacitive touch printed circuit board.

4. The control device of claim 3, wherein the first ground plane is located on a side of the capacitive touch printed circuit board opposite the receiving capacitive touch pad.

5. The control device of claim 3, wherein the capacitive touch printed circuit board includes a second ground plane on a front side of the capacitive touch printed circuit board.

6. The control device of claim 1 , wherein the capacitive touch printed circuit board further comprises a proximity capacitive touch pad extending parallel to the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads and positioned further away from the touch-sensitive surface than the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads. 7 . The control device of claim 6 , wherein the second control circuit is configured to ignore input received from the receiving capacitive touch pad in response to receiving input from the proximity capacitive touch pad.

8. The control device of claim 1 , wherein the second control circuit is configured to compare a measured voltage provided via the capacitive touch pad with a voltage threshold and to generate an output signal indicating when the measured voltage exceeds the voltage threshold; and The second control circuit is configured to use different voltage thresholds for different capacitive touch pads.

9. The control device of claim 8, wherein the receiving capacitive touch pad is separated from the touch sensitive surface by different distances, and the different voltage thresholds are used based on the distance between the capacitive touch pad and the touch sensitive surface.

10. A control device as described in claim 1, wherein the first control circuit is configured not to respond to the output signal received via the second control circuit during the time when the controllable conductive device is rendered conductive or during the time when wired or wireless communication is transmitted or received via the communication circuit of the control device.

11. A control device as described in claim 1, wherein the second control circuit is configured to determine the position of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface in response to the receiving capacitive touch pad, and wherein the output signal indicates the position of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface.

12. The control device of claim 11, wherein the first control circuit is configured to enter an advanced programming mode for changing one or more operating characteristics of the control device.

13. The control device of claim 12, wherein the first control circuit is configured to operate in one of a plurality of touch actuation modes; and Wherein when the lighting load is turned off, the first control circuit is configured to operate in a first touch actuation mode and is configured to turn on the electrical load in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface.

14. A control device as claimed in claim 13, wherein when the lighting load is disconnected, the first control circuit is configured to operate in a second touch actuation mode, and the first configuration circuit is not configured to turn on the electrical load in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface.

15. A control device as described in claim 13, wherein the first control circuit is configured to switch the electrical load on to a predetermined level in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member, and when in the advanced programming mode, is configured to receive input from a user to configure the predetermined level to which one or more electrical loads are switched on.

16. A control device as described in claim 15, wherein when the lighting load is disconnected in the second touch actuation mode, the first control circuit is configured to turn on the lighting load in response to the touch actuation when the position of the touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface is lower than the position along the touch-sensitive surface associated with the predetermined level, and is not configured to turn on the lighting load in response to the touch actuation when the position of the touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface is lower than the position along the touch-sensitive surface associated with the predetermined level.

17. A control device as described in claim 12, wherein the first control circuit is configured to detect touch actuation applied to the area of ​​the front surface of the actuating member characterized by limited pivoting for a predetermined time period, and enter the advanced programming mode in response to detecting user input applied to the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting.

18. The control device of claim 1, wherein the first control circuit is configured to ignore an output signal received from the second control circuit when the electrical load is disconnected.

19. The control device of claim 1, wherein when the electrical load is disconnected, the first control circuit is configured to: ignoring input from the touch sensitive device in response to touch actuation above a location along the touch sensitive actuator corresponding to the predetermined level; and The response is to input from the touch sensitive device in response to touch actuation beneath the location along the touch sensitive actuator corresponding to the predetermined level.

20. The control device of claim 1, wherein the first control circuit is configured to prioritize input received in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member over the output signal received from the second control circuit.

21. A control device as described in claim 20, wherein the first control circuit is configured to give priority to input received in response to tactile actuation of the actuating member over the output signal received from the second control circuit by ignoring the output signal when tactile actuation of the tactile switch is received within a blanking period after initial detection of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface.

22. A control device as claimed in claim 21, wherein the first control circuit is configured to determine that the position of the touch actuation on the touch-sensitive surface is maintained for an amount of time shorter than the blanking period without detecting tactile actuation of the actuation member; Wherein the electrical load is turned on to a power level associated with the location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface.

23. The control device of claim 1, wherein the first control circuit is configured to initiate a blanking period in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member to switch the electrical load on or off, and to ignore output signals received from the second control circuit during the blanking period.

24. A control device configured to control an electrical load, the control device comprising: an actuation member having a front surface defining a touch-sensitive surface along at least a portion of the front surface, the actuation member being configured to move in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member; a touch-sensitive device configured to detect touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface; as well as a control circuit configured to determine a location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface in response to the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface, the control circuit configured to prioritize input received in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member over input received from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface; Wherein an amount of power delivered to the electrical load is controlled in response to the location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface.

25. A control device as described in claim 24, wherein the control circuit is configured to prioritize input received in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member over input received from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface by ignoring input received from the touch-sensitive device when tactile actuation is received within a blanking period after initial detection of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface.

26. A control device as claimed in claim 25, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine that the position of the touch actuation on the touch-sensitive surface is maintained for an amount of time shorter than the blanking period without detecting tactile actuation of the actuation member; Wherein the electrical load is turned on to a power level associated with the location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface.

27. A control device as claimed in claim 25, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine that the position of the touch actuation on the touch-sensitive surface is maintained for an amount of time longer than the blanking period if the actuation member does not move in response to the tactile actuation; and Wherein the electrical load is turned on to a power level associated with the location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface.

28. The control device of claim 24, wherein the control circuit is configured to initiate a blanking period in response to detecting touch actuation via the touch-sensitive device, and configured to ignore input received from the touch-sensitive device during the blanking period.

29. The control device of claim 28, wherein the control circuit is configured to enter an advanced programming mode and, when in the advanced programming mode, is configured to receive input from a user to adjust the length of the blanking period.

30. The control device of claim 28, wherein the control circuit is configured to automatically adjust the length of the blanking period using a learning algorithm.

31. The control device of claim 24, wherein the electrical load is switched on to a predetermined level in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member.

32. A control device as claimed in claim 31, wherein the control circuit is configured to enter an advanced programming mode and, when in the advanced programming mode, is configured to receive input from a user to configure the predetermined level to which the electrical load is switched.

33. A control device as claimed in claim 32, wherein when in the advanced programming mode, the control circuit is configured to adjust the predetermined level in response to the location of touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface.

34. A control device as described in claim 32, wherein the control circuit is configured to detect touch actuation applied to the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting for a predetermined time period, and to enter the advanced programming mode in response to detecting user input applied to the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting.

35. A control device as described in claim 24, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine that the position of the touch actuation on the touch-sensitive surface is maintained for a predetermined time period when the electrical load is disconnected, and is configured to turn on the electrical load to a power level associated with the position in response to the tactile actuation.

36. The control device of claim 24, wherein the actuation member includes an upper portion and a lower portion, and the actuation member is configured to pivot about a pivot axis in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion to actuate a first tactile switch, and is configured to pivot about the pivot axis in response to tactile actuation of the lower portion to actuate a second tactile switch; and Wherein the control circuit is configured to switch the electrical load on in response to input received in response to the tactile actuation of the upper portion of the actuation member, and to switch the electrical load off in response to input received in response to the tactile actuation of the lower portion of the actuation member.

37. The control device of claim 24, wherein the electrical load comprises a lighting load, and wherein the control circuit is configured to control an intensity level of the lighting load between a low-end intensity level and a high-end intensity level.

38. The control device of claim 24, further comprising: a communication circuit configured to transmit a message; The control circuit is configured to transmit, via the communication circuit, a message including control data for controlling the electrical load.

39. The control device of claim 24, wherein the control circuit comprises a first control circuit configured to generate an output signal indicative of a location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface, the control device further comprising: a second control circuit, the second control circuit being configured to switch one or more electrical loads on or off in response to tactile actuation of the actuating member, the second control circuit being configured to receive the output signal from the first control circuit and to control the amount of power delivered to the one or more electrical loads in response to the position of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface.

40. The control device of claim 39, further comprising: a load control circuit for controlling the electrical load; Wherein the second control circuit is configured to adjust the amount of power delivered to the electrical load by controlling the load control circuit.

41. The control device of claim 24, further comprising: a load control circuit for controlling the electrical load; wherein the control circuit is configured to control the load control circuit to switch the electrical load on or off in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member, and to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load in response to the location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface.

42. A control device configured to control an electrical load, the control device comprising: an actuation member having a front surface defining a touch-sensitive surface along at least a portion of the front surface, the actuation member being configured to move in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member to actuate a tactile switch of the control device; a touch-sensitive device configured to detect touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface; as well as a control circuit configured to determine, in response to the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface, a location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface; wherein the control circuit is configured to initiate a blanking period in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member to switch the electrical load on or off, and to ignore input received from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface during the blanking period; Wherein an amount of power delivered to the electrical load is controlled in response to the location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface.

43. A control device as claimed in claim 42, wherein the control circuit is configured to not turn on the electrical load in response to receiving input from the touch-sensitive device during the blanking period after detecting tactile actuation of the actuation member to turn off the electrical load.

44. A control device as claimed in claim 42, wherein the control circuit is configured to enter an advanced programming mode and, when in the advanced programming mode, is configured to receive input from a user to adjust the length of the blanking period.

45. The control device of claim 42, wherein the control circuit is configured to automatically adjust the length of the blanking period using a learning algorithm.

46. ​​The control device of claim 42, wherein the actuation member includes an upper portion and a lower portion, and the actuation member is configured to pivot about a pivot axis in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion to actuate the tactile switch, and is configured to pivot about the pivot axis in response to tactile actuation of the lower portion to actuate a second tactile switch; and Wherein the control circuit is configured to switch the electrical load on in response to input received in response to actuation of the first tactile switch, and to switch the electrical load off in response to input received in response to actuation of the second tactile switch.

47. A control device configured to control an electrical load, the control device comprising: an actuation member having a front surface defining a touch-sensitive surface along at least a portion of the front surface, the actuation member being configured to move in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member to actuate a tactile switch of the control device; a touch-sensitive device configured to detect touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface; as well as a control circuit configured to determine a location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface in response to the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface, to switch the electrical load on or off in response to actuation of the tactile switch, and to control an amount of power delivered to the electrical load based on input received from the touch-sensitive device; wherein the control circuit is configured to ignore input from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation along at least a portion of the touch-sensitive surface when the electrical load is disconnected; Wherein when the electrical load is turned on, an amount of power delivered to the electrical load is controlled in response to the location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface.

48. The control device of claim 47, wherein the actuation member includes an upper portion and a lower portion, and the actuation member is configured to pivot about a pivot axis in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion to actuate the tactile switch, and is configured to pivot about the pivot axis in response to tactile actuation of the lower portion to actuate a second tactile switch; and Wherein the control circuit is configured to switch the electrical load on in response to input received in response to actuation of the first tactile switch, and to switch the electrical load off in response to input received in response to actuation of the second tactile switch.

49. A control device as described in claim 47, wherein the control circuit is configured to ignore input received from the touch-sensitive device during a blanking period after detecting actuation of the tactile switch to turn on the electrical load, and to respond to input received from the touch-sensitive device after the blanking period.

50. A control device as described in claim 47, wherein the control circuit is configured to ignore input received from the touch-sensitive device during a blanking period after detecting actuation of the tactile switch to turn the electrical load on or off, and to respond to input received from the touch-sensitive device after the blanking period.

51. The control device of claim 47, wherein the electrical load comprises a lighting load, and the lighting load is switched on to a predetermined intensity level in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member.

52. The control device of claim 51, wherein when the electrical load is disconnected, the control circuit is configured to: ignoring input from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation at a location along the touch-sensitive surface above a location along the touch-sensitive surface corresponding to the predetermined level; and Responding to input from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation at a location along the touch-sensitive surface below the location along the touch-sensitive surface corresponding to the predetermined level.

53. A control device as described in claim 52, wherein when the lighting load is turned off and the position of the touch actuation is below the position corresponding to the predetermined level, the lighting load is turned on to the intensity level associated with the position of the touch actuation.

54. A control device as claimed in claim 51, wherein the control circuit is configured to enter an advanced programming mode and, when in the advanced programming mode, is configured to receive input from a user to configure the predetermined intensity level.

55. A control device as claimed in claim 54, wherein when in the advanced programming mode, the control circuit is configured to adjust the predetermined level in response to the location of touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface.

56. The control device of claim 51, wherein the control circuit is configured to control the electrical load to a level associated with a location of a touch actuation on the touch-sensitive surface.

57. A control device as described in claim 56, wherein when the lighting load is disconnected, the control circuit is configured to respond to the touch actuation based on determining that the touch actuation received via the touch-sensitive surface is associated with an intensity level less than the predetermined intensity level, and is configured to ignore the touch actuation based on determining that the touch actuation is associated with an intensity level greater than the predetermined intensity level.

58. A control device configured to control an electrical load, the control device comprising: an actuation member having a front surface defining a touch-sensitive surface along at least a portion of the front surface, the actuation member being configured to move in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member to actuate a tactile switch of the control device; a touch-sensitive device configured to detect touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface; as well as a control circuit configured to determine a location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface in response to the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface, to switch the electrical load on or off in response to actuation of the tactile switch, and to control an amount of power delivered to the electrical load based on input received from the touch-sensitive device; wherein when the electrical load is disconnected, the control circuit is configured to ignore input from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface that lasts less than a predetermined period of time; and wherein the control circuit is configured to determine that a position of touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface is maintained for the predetermined time period when the electrical load is disconnected, and is configured to switch the electrical load on to a power level associated with the position in response to the actuation of the tactile switch.

59. A control device configured for use in a load control system to control an electrical load external to the control device, the control device comprising: an actuation member defining a front surface, the actuation member including an upper portion and a lower portion and configured to pivot about a pivot axis in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion or the lower portion, the actuation member further configured to substantially maintain its position relative to the base portion in response to a user input applied via a region of the front surface proximate the pivot axis characterized by limited pivoting; a touch-sensitive device configured to detect touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface; as well as A control circuit configured to detect touch actuation applied to the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting for a predetermined period of time, and configured to change an operating mode of the control device or control the electrical load in response to detecting the user input applied to the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting.

60. The control device of claim 59, further comprising: a first tactile switch configured to be actuated in response to actuation of the upper portion of the actuation member; a second tactile switch configured to be actuated in response to actuation of the lower portion of the actuation member; and Wherein the first tactile switch and the second tactile switch are configured to not actuate in response to the user input applied to the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting.

61. The control device of claim 60, wherein the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting is located at a midpoint between the first tactile switch and the second tactile switch of the actuation member.

62. The control device of claim 59 wherein the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting is located at a midpoint of the actuation member.

63. The control device of claim 59, wherein the area of ​​the front surface characterized by limited pivoting is located at a position above the pivot axis.

64. The control device of claim 59, wherein the control circuitry configured to change the operating mode of the control device comprises the control circuitry configured to enter an advanced programming mode.

65. The control device of claim 64, wherein the advanced programming mode comprises a low-end fine-tune adjustment mode or a high-end fine-tune adjustment mode.

66. The control device of claim 59, wherein the control circuit configured to change the operating mode of the control device includes the control circuit configured to change between intensity control and color control of the electrical load.

67. The control device of claim 59, wherein the control circuitry configured to change the operating mode of the control device comprises the control circuitry configured to enter a debug mode for associating the control device with the electrical load.

68. The control device of claim 59, further comprising: A control circuit is configured to switch the electrical load on or off in response to actuation of the upper portion or the lower portion of the actuation member.

69. The control device of claim 59, wherein the pivot axis is located at a midpoint of the actuation member.

70. The control device of claim 59, wherein the pivot axis is located near the top of the actuation member or near the bottom of the actuation member.

71. A control device configured for use in a load control system to control an electrical load external to the control device, the control device comprising: base part; an actuation member supported by the base portion and defining a front surface, the actuation member including an upper portion and a lower portion and configured to pivot about a pivot axis in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion or the lower portion, the actuation member further configured to substantially maintain its position relative to the base portion in response to tactile actuation applied via an area of ​​the front surface above the pivot axis; as well as A control circuit is configured to switch the electrical load on or off in response to actuation of the upper portion or the lower portion of the actuating member, the control circuit being further configured to change an operating mode of the control device in response to detecting the touch actuation applied to the pivot axis, wherein the operating mode allows a user of the control device to adjust the operating characteristics of the control device.

72. A control device as described in claim 71, further comprising a tactile switch, the tactile switch being configured to be actuated in response to actuation of the upper portion or the lower portion of the actuation member and not actuated in response to user input applied to the pivot axis.

73. A control device as claimed in claim 71, wherein the control circuit is configured to change the operating mode in response to detecting that a user presses and holds a finger against the area of ​​the front surface above the pivot axis.

74. A control device as described in claim 71, wherein the electrical load includes a lighting load, and adjusting the operating characteristic of the control device includes adjusting a low-end intensity level of the lighting load.

75. A control device configured for use in a load control system to control an electrical load external to the control device, the control device comprising: base part; a first tactile switch and a second tactile switch; an actuation member supported by the base portion and defining a front surface, the actuation member including an upper portion and a lower portion and configured to actuate the first tactile switch in response to tactile actuation of the upper portion and configured to actuate the second tactile switch in response to tactile actuation of the lower portion, the front surface including a touch-sensitive surface configured to detect user input applied to an area of ​​the touch-sensitive region approximately midway between the first tactile switch and the second tactile switch; as well as A control circuit is configured to switch the electrical load on or off in response to actuation of the upper portion or the lower portion of the actuation member, the control circuit being further configured to change an operating mode in response to detecting the user input in the area of ​​the touch-sensitive surface, wherein the operating mode allows a user of the control device to adjust an operating characteristic of the control device.

76. A control device configured for use in a load control system to control an electrical load external to the control device, the control device comprising: an actuation member having a front surface defining a capacitive touch surface along at least a portion of the front surface; a touch-sensitive device comprising a plurality of capacitive touch elements, the touch-sensitive device being configured to detect a position of a touch actuation along the capacitive touch surface in response to measurements of the capacitive touch elements; as well as a control circuit configured to control an amount of power delivered to the electrical load based on input received from the touch-sensitive device; wherein the distance between the front surface of the actuation member and the plurality of capacitive touch elements is not uniform; and Wherein the touch sensitive device is configured to use different sensitivities for the measurement of different capacitive touch elements to detect the position of a touch actuation along the capacitive touch surface.

77. A control device as claimed in claim 76, wherein the touch sensitive device is configured to use different thresholds for the measurement of different capacitive touch elements to detect the location of touch actuation along the capacitive touch surface.

78. The control device of claim 76, wherein the distance between the front surface of the actuation member and the plurality of capacitive touch elements is smallest in the middle of the actuation member and greater at the top and bottom of the actuation member.

79. The control device of claim 76, further comprising: A diffuser is located between the front surface of the actuation member and the touch sensitive device, wherein the diffuser has a non-uniform thickness.

80. A control device as described in claim 79, wherein the thickness of the diffuser is thinnest in the middle of the diffuser and is thicker at the top and bottom of the diffuser.

81. A control device as described in claim 76, wherein the touch sensitive device is configured to detect the location of a touch actuation along the capacitive touch surface by comparing a measurement value received from one of the capacitive touch elements to a voltage threshold, and wherein different voltage thresholds are used for different capacitive touch elements.

82. A control device as described in claim 81, wherein the touch-sensitive device is configured to use a smaller voltage threshold for capacitive touch elements closer to the front surface of the actuation member than for capacitive touch elements farther away from the front surface of the actuation member.

83. The control device of claim 81, wherein the touch sensitive device is configured to use different voltage thresholds for at least two capacitive touch elements of the plurality of capacitive touch elements.

84. The control device of claim 81, wherein the touch sensitive device is configured to use a different voltage threshold for each capacitive touch element in the plurality of capacitive touch elements.

85. The control device of claim 76, wherein the actuation member is configured to move to actuate a tactile switch of the control device, and wherein the control circuit is configured to switch the electrical load on or off in response to actuation of the tactile switch.

86. A control device configured to control an electrical load, the control device comprising: an actuation member having a front surface defining a touch-sensitive surface configured to detect touch actuation along at least a portion of the touch-sensitive surface; a main printed circuit board, the main printed circuit board comprising a control circuit, a controllable conductive device, and a drive circuit operatively coupled to a control input of the controllable conductive device for rendering the controllable conductive device conductive or non-conductive to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load; a touch-sensitive device configured to detect touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface and to generate an output signal indicative of a location of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface; wherein the control circuit is configured to control an amount of power delivered to the electrical load in response to the output signal; and Wherein the control circuit is configured not to respond to the output signal during a time when the controllably conductive device is rendered conductive or during a time when wired or wireless communications are transmitted or received via the communication circuit of the control device.

87. A control device configured to control an electrical load, the control device comprising: an actuation member having a front surface defining a touch-sensitive surface along at least a portion of the front surface, the actuation member being configured to move in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member; a touch-sensitive device configured to detect touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface; as well as a control circuit configured to determine, in response to the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface, a location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface; wherein an amount of power delivered to the electrical load is controlled in response to the location of the touch actuation along the length of the touch-sensitive surface; and wherein the control circuit is configured to prioritize input received in response to tactile actuation of the actuation member over input received from the touch-sensitive device in response to touch actuation of the touch-sensitive surface by ignoring input received from the touch-sensitive device when tactile actuation is received within a blanking period following initial detection of the touch actuation along the touch-sensitive surface.

88. A control device configured for use in a load control system to control one or more electrical loads external to the control device, the control device comprising: an actuation portion having a front surface defining a touch-sensitive surface configured to detect point actuation along at least a portion of the front surface; a touch sensitive circuit comprising one or more receiving capacitive touch pads located behind the actuating portion and arranged in a linear array adjacent to the touch sensitive surface, the touch sensitive circuit further comprising a proximity capacitive touch pad extending parallel to the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads and positioned further away from the capacitive touch surface than the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads; control circuitry configured to determine a location of the point actuation along the touch-sensitive surface in response to the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads; The control circuit is further configured as follows: responsive to the proximity capacitive touchpad to determine that the location of the point actuation is not on a portion of the front surface defining the touch-sensitive surface, and When the location of the point actuation is not on a portion of the front surface defining the capacitive touch surface, determining the location of the point actuation along the capacitive touch surface ceases in response to the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads.

89. A control device as described in claim 88, wherein the control circuit is configured to operate in a disengaged proximity mode in response to determining in response to the proximity capacitive touch pad that the location of the point actuation is not on the portion of the front surface that defines the touch-sensitive surface.

90. A control device as claimed in claim 89, wherein the control circuit is not configured to determine the position of the point actuation along the touch-sensitive surface in response to the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads when operating in the disengaged proximity mode.

91. A control device as described in claim 90, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine the position of the point actuation along the touch-sensitive surface in response to the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads when not operating in the disengagement proximity mode.

92. The control device of claim 88, wherein the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads comprises a first linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads, the control device comprising: a first light bar and a second light bar extending along a length of the actuation member on opposite sides of the actuation member, the first linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads being disposed adjacent to the first light bar; a second linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads, the second linear array being disposed adjacent the second light bar; The proximity capacitive touch pad is arranged between the first linear array and the second linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads.

93. A control device as described in claim 92, wherein the control circuit is further configured to determine, in response to the proximity capacitive touch pad, that the location of the point actuation is not in a first area of ​​the front surface adjacent to the first light bar and is not in a second area of ​​the front surface adjacent to the second light bar.

94. The control device of claim 93, wherein the proximity capacitive touch pad comprises a first proximity capacitive touch pad extending parallel to the first linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads, the control device further comprising: a second proximity capacitive touch pad extending parallel to said second linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads; wherein the control circuit is further configured to: determine, in response to the first proximity capacitive touch pad, that the location of the point actuation is not in the first region of the front surface adjacent to the first light bar, and determine, in response to the second proximity capacitive touch pad, that the location of the point actuation is not in the second region of the front surface adjacent to the second light bar.

95. The control device of claim 88, further comprising: a light strip extending along the length of the actuation member; Wherein the touch-sensitive surface of the front surface of the actuation member is disposed adjacent the light bar, and the proximity capacitive touch pad is positioned on a side of the linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads opposite the light bar.

96. The control device of claim 88, further comprising: a capacitive touch printed circuit board having a linear array of the receiving capacitive touch pads and the proximity capacitive touch pads; The linear array of receiving capacitive touch pads and the proximity capacitive touch pads extend from the top to the bottom of the capacitive touch printed circuit board.

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