Electric control equipment for electrical system and electrical system

Abstract

The embodiment of the invention provides electric control equipment for an electrical system and the electrical system. The electric control equipment comprises a wireless chip which comprises a plurality of pins and is configured to perform channel scanning when a pair of preset pins in the plurality of pins are provided with preset electric signals; the knob is suitable for being operated to rotate around the axis direction, and comprises a rotating shaft which is rotatably coupled to a shell of the electric control equipment; the shifting wheel is coupled to one end of the rotating shaft and is aligned with the rotating shaft in the axis direction; the plurality of bulges radially protrude out of the peripheral surface of the dial wheel at preset intervals, and the number of the plurality of bulges is associated with the number of channels supported by the wireless chip; and the power generation mechanism is at least coupled to a pair of preset pins of the wireless chip, and comprises a shifting piece which is suitable for being pushed by the bulge during the rotation of the knob so as to enable the power generation mechanism to intermittently provide preset electric signals for the preset pins. Therefore, the convenience of network distribution of the electric control equipment can be improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of electrical devices, and in particular, to an electrically controlled device for an electrical system and the electrical system. BACKGROUND

[0002] Self-power generation technology, also known as energy harvesting technology, is a technology for obtaining electric energy from an external environment. It can provide power supply for some small electronic devices. With the continuous maturity and development of various self-power generation technologies, self-power generation technology has been more and more widely applied to furniture products, especially in the intelligent lighting industry. SUMMARY

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, an electrically controlled device for an electrical system is provided. The electrically controlled device comprises: a wireless chip comprising a plurality of pins and configured to perform channel scanning when a pair of predetermined pins of the plurality of pins is provided with a predetermined electrical signal; a knob adapted to be manipulated to rotate about an axis direction, comprising: a rotating shaft rotatably coupled to a housing of the electrically controlled device; a dial wheel coupled to one end of the rotating shaft and aligned with the rotating shaft in the axis direction; and a plurality of protrusions radially protruding from a peripheral surface of the dial wheel at a predetermined interval, a number of the plurality of protrusions being associated with a number of channels supported by the wireless chip; and a power generation mechanism coupled to at least the pair of predetermined pins of the wireless chip and comprising: a dial piece adapted to be pushed by the protrusions during rotation of the knob to intermittently provide the predetermined electrical signal to the predetermined pins.

[0004] In some embodiments, the power generation mechanism further comprises: a power generation module arranged in the housing and adapted to generate a potential difference during being extruded; a pair of electrodes respectively coupled between the power generation module and the pair of predetermined pins of the wireless chip; wherein the dial piece is coupled to the power generation module to extrude the power generation module during rotation of the knob to intermittently provide the predetermined electrical signal to the predetermined pins.

[0005] In some embodiments, the plurality of protrusions are evenly distributed along a circumferential direction of the dial wheel on the peripheral surface of the dial wheel.

[0006] In some embodiments, the electrically controlled device further comprises: a plurality of grooves, a number of the plurality of grooves corresponding to a number of the plurality of protrusions, the plurality of grooves being respectively arranged between intervals between adjacent protrusions of the plurality of protrusions, and each groove of the plurality of grooves extending towards a center of the dial wheel.

[0007] In some embodiments, the electrically controlled device further comprises: an inverter arranged between the pair of electrodes and the wireless chip.

[0008] In some embodiments, the electrically controlled device further comprises: a direct current voltage stabilizing unit arranged between the inverter and the wireless chip.

[0009] In some embodiments, the electric control device further comprises a pulse detection unit arranged between the pair of electrodes and the wireless chip and adapted to send a pulse signal to the wireless chip during a change in the direction of the potential difference between the pair of electrodes.

[0010] In some embodiments, the wireless chip further comprises a pair of direction detection pins coupled to the knob and adapted to detect a rotation direction of the knob.

[0011] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a user can provide electric energy to the electric control device by rotating the knob, so that the wireless chip inside the electric control device performs the operations of commissioning and controlling the electric device. When the user commissions the electric control device, the user can rotate the knob, so that the wireless chip scans all channels to quickly match to a corresponding channel, thereby improving the convenience of the user in performing the commissioning operation.

[0012] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, an electric system is provided. The electric system comprises: at least one electric device; and at least one electric control device according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.

[0013] In some embodiments, the electric system further comprises: a gateway device arranged to communicate with the at least one electric device and the at least one electric control device.

[0014] It should be understood that the content described in this section is not intended to limit the key features or important features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] The above and other features, advantages, and aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in detail some embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. In the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements, in which:

[0016] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an overall structure of an electric system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0017] Figure 2 A partial schematic diagram of an electric control device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown; and

[0018] Figure 3 A simplified schematic diagram of a circuit structure of an electric control device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below in more detail with reference to accompanying drawings. While certain embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it is understood that the present disclosure can be embodied in various forms and should not be interpreted as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so as to more completely and thoroughly understand the present disclosure. It is understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are for exemplary purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure.

[0020] It should be noted that the titles of any sections / sub-sections provided herein are not limiting. Various embodiments are described throughout, and any type of embodiment can be included under any section / sub-section. Furthermore, embodiments described in any section / sub-section can be combined with any other embodiment described in the same section / sub-section and / or a different section / sub-section in any manner.

[0021] In the description of embodiments of the present disclosure, the term "includes" and its derivatives, shall be understood to be open terms, i.e., "including, but not limited to." The term "based on" shall mean "based, at least in part, on." The term "one embodiment" or "the embodiment" shall not, unless otherwise indicated, be construed as having a limiting meaning. The term "some embodiments" shall not, unless otherwise indicated, be construed as having a limiting meaning. Other explicit or implicit definitions can also be included below. The terms "first", "second", etc. can refer to different or same objects. Other explicit and implicit definitions can also be included below.

[0022] As briefly mentioned before, self-power generation technology is a process of obtaining electric energy by utilizing environmental energy sources such as solar energy, thermal energy, wind energy, salinity gradient, and kinetic energy. Some common self-power generation technologies can convert natural energy into electric energy based on magnetic induction effect, photovoltaic effect, piezoelectric effect, Hall effect, etc. In some smart home appliances (e.g., smart switches, etc.), the smart home appliances can obtain kinetic energy from user operations and convert the kinetic energy into electric energy to drive the smart home appliances to work.

[0023] On the other hand, the smart home appliances need to be commissioned before the first use. For example, the user needs to pair the smart switch with the corresponding smart lighting fixture. In some traditional pairing process, the user needs to first confirm the channel of the gateway, and operate the smart switch according to the channel table attached in the product manual, so that the smart switch switches to the corresponding channel and is commissioned with the gateway device.

[0024] Specifically, in some smart home devices, if it is found that the channel of the gateway device is 20 (all channels in the gateway device are channel 11 to channel 26), the user needs to switch the channel of the smart switch to 20 according to the configuration requirements of the channel table (for example, the user can switch the channel of the smart switch by pressing the switch multiple times, if the user needs to pair with the gateway device located at channel 20, the user needs to press the switch 5 times in succession. That is, each press can control the smart switch to scan two channels, and the smart switch reaches channel 20 after 10 scans from channel 11 and pairs with the gateway device). Such an operation mode makes the process of network configuration cumbersome and is not conducive to user self-network configuration.

[0025] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide an electric control device for an electrical system and an electrical system to solve or at least partially solve the above-mentioned problems and other potential problems in the prior art. According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, during the rotation of the knob, the protrusion on the dial presses the paddle of the power generation mechanism, thereby causing the power generation module to generate a potential difference between a pair of electrodes, thereby providing the wireless chip with electric energy for network configuration or for controlling the electric device.

[0026] During the rotation of the knob under the operation of the user (for example, clockwise), the paddle is periodically switched between the pressed state of being pressed by the protrusion and the rebound state of rebounding into the groove, thereby causing the potential difference coupled between the pair of electrodes of the power generation module to periodically change. After detecting the periodic change of the potential difference, the wireless chip can scan the network channel. In this way, the electric control device can be paired with the electric device and / or the gateway device in a more convenient and fast manner.

[0027] Figure 1 The overall structure of the electrical system according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. As shown in Figure 1 The electrical system 1 generally includes at least one electric control device 2 and at least one electric device 3. The electric control device 2 can be paired with the electric device 3 for network configuration, thereby controlling the working condition of the electric device 3. In some embodiments, the electric device 3 can be a smart lighting fixture, and the electric control device 2 can be a smart switch. After the smart lighting fixture is matched with the smart switch for network configuration, the smart switch can be used to regulate the parameters such as switching, brightness, and color temperature of the smart lighting fixture.

[0028] In some embodiments, the electrical system 1 further includes a gateway device 4, and the pairing condition between multiple electric control devices 2 and multiple electric devices 3 can be configured through the gateway device 4. For example, the user can modify the configuration in the software through a mobile phone, a computer, or the like, so that one electric control device 2 can control the working of multiple electric devices 3. The user can also configure the electric control device 2 to control different electric devices 3 under different conditions (for example, different time periods) as needed, which will not be described here.

[0029] Before using electrical control device 2 to control the user equipment 3, the user needs to configure the network for electrical control device 2 so that electrical control device 2, gateway device 4, and user equipment 3 are on the same network channel. The following will combine... Figure 2 and Figure 3 A more detailed description is provided of the power distribution network between electrical control equipment 2, electrical equipment 3, and / or gateway equipment 4.

[0030] Figure 2 A partial schematic diagram of an electronically controlled device 2 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 3 A simplified schematic diagram of the circuit structure of the electronically controlled device 2 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For example... Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the electronic control device 2 generally includes a wireless chip 21 for at least performing channel scanning, a power generation mechanism 23 for supplying power to the wireless chip 21, and a knob 22 for being operated by the user and driving the power generation mechanism 23 to generate electricity.

[0031] The knob 22 includes a rotating shaft 221, a dial 222 coupled to one end of the rotating shaft 221, and a plurality of protrusions 223 coupled to the circumferential surface of the dial 222. The rotating shaft 221 and the dial 222 are aligned in the axial direction, and the rotating shaft 221 is rotatably coupled to the housing of the electronic control device 2, so that the rotating shaft 221 and the dial 222 can rotate about the axial direction. The plurality of protrusions 223 are evenly arranged on the circumferential surface of the dial 222, and each protrusion 223 protrudes from the circumferential surface of the dial 222 in the radial direction. Adjacent protrusions 223 are spaced apart by a predetermined distance. Furthermore, the number of the plurality of protrusions 223 is related to the number of channels that the wireless chip 21 needs to scan, and the relationship between the number of the plurality of protrusions 223 and the number of channels that the wireless chip 21 needs to scan will be explained in detail below.

[0032] The power generation mechanism 23 includes a lever 232, which is pushed by a protrusion 223 during rotation of the knob 22, causing the power generation mechanism 23 to intermittently provide a predetermined electrical signal to a predetermined pin. In some embodiments, the power generation mechanism 23 may further include a power generation module 231 and a pair of electrodes 233 coupled to the power generation module 231. In some embodiments, the power generation module 231 may be a piezoelectric material, and a potential difference can be generated between the pair of electrodes 233 when the power generation module 231 is compressed. The end of the lever 232 away from the power generation module 231 abuts against the circumferential surface of the dial 222. As the knob 22 is rotated, the lever 232 is compressed by the protrusion 223 on the dial 222 and transmits pressure to the power generation module 231. Further, the lever 232 compresses the power generation module 231, causing the power generation module 231 to generate a potential difference between the pair of electrodes 233.

[0033] The wireless chip 21 is coupled to the pair of electrodes 233, and when the power generation module 231 generates a potential difference between the pair of electrodes 233, the potential difference can be used as power supply for the wireless chip 21 to drive the wireless chip 21 to at least perform channel scanning during network configuration and control the electric device 3 after network configuration.

[0034] In some embodiments, a plurality of grooves 224 can be further formed on the circumferential surface of the dial 222, the number of the plurality of grooves 224 corresponds to the number of the plurality of protrusions 223, and the plurality of grooves 224 are respectively arranged in the intervals between adjacent protrusions 223, and each groove 224 extends along the radial direction of the dial 222. In this way, the distance between the highest point of the protrusion 223 (i.e. the position farthest from the axis direction) and the lowest point of the groove 224 (i.e. the position closest to the axis direction) can be increased. When the dial 222 rotates, the paddle 232 sequentially passes through the highest point of the protrusion 223 and the lowest point of the groove 224, so that the power generation module 231 generates two opposite potential differences (i.e. alternating current) at the pair of electrodes 233.

[0035] In some embodiments, the electric control device 2 further comprises an inverter 24 arranged between the pair of electrodes 233 and the wireless chip 21, and the inverter 24 is adapted to convert the alternating current generated by the power generation module 231 into direct current.

[0036] Further, in some embodiments, a direct current voltage stabilizing unit 25 is further connected in series between the inverter 24 and the wireless chip 21, and the direct current voltage stabilizing unit 25 is adapted to stabilize the voltage output by the inverter 24. For example, the direct current voltage stabilizing unit 25 can output a stable 2.1V direct current as the input voltage of the wireless chip 21. In this way, when the user rotates the knob 22, the power generation mechanism 23 can generate electric energy and at least supply power to the wireless chip 21, and the wireless chip 21 can perform functions such as network configuration and control of the electric device 3 after being powered.

[0037] In some embodiments, the electric control device 2 further comprises a pulse detection unit 26 arranged between the pair of electrodes 233 and the wireless chip 21, and the pulse detection unit 26 is adapted to send a pulse signal to the wireless chip 21 during the change of the potential difference between the pair of electrodes 233. For example, as the knob 22 rotates, the paddle 232 changes from the extrusion state of being extruded by the protrusion 223 to the rebound state of the paddle 232 rebounding into the groove 224, at which time the potential difference between the pair of electrodes 233 reverses, so that the pulse detection unit 26 detects the change of the potential difference and sends a pulse signal to the wireless chip 21. When the wireless chip 21 receives a pulse signal indicating the change of the potential difference, it can scan one network channel.

[0038] As mentioned above, the number of protrusions 223 is related to the number of channels to be scanned by the chip. In some embodiments, the chip needs to scan 16 channels, then the number of protrusions 223 can be eight, and the number of corresponding grooves 224 can also be eight. Therefore, when the knob 22 rotates one circle, the paddle 232 sequentially passes through the eight protrusions 223 and the eight grooves 224, and the corresponding power generation module 231 generates 16 changes in the direction of potential difference, that is, the wireless chip 21 receives 16 pulse signals, and the wireless chip 21 can sequentially scan 16 channels. During the scanning, if the wireless chip 21 scans the channel corresponding to the electrical equipment 3 and / or the gateway device 4, the electrical control device 2 can complete the network configuration with the electrical equipment 3 and / or the gateway device 4. In other words, the user only needs to rotate the knob 22 one circle to complete the network configuration of the electrical control device 2 and the electrical equipment 3 and / or the gateway device 4, thereby greatly reducing the difficulty of network configuration installation and improving the efficiency of network configuration.

[0039] In some other embodiments, according to actual needs, the number of protrusions 223 (and grooves 224) and the positions of the protrusions 223 (and grooves 224) arranged on the circumferential surface of the dial 222 can also be adjusted accordingly. For example, the protrusions 223 and the grooves 224 can be arranged with 16 respectively, and the protrusions 223 and the grooves 224 are uniformly distributed on the circumferential surface of the dial 222, so that the user can rotate the knob 22 half a circle to complete the scanning of 16 channels. For another example, the protrusions 223 and the grooves 224 can be arranged with 8 respectively, and the protrusions 223 and the grooves 224 can be distributed only on the half of the circumferential surface on the same side of the dial 222. Similarly, the user can also rotate the knob 22 half a circle to complete the scanning of 16 channels.

[0040] In some embodiments, the network configuration protocol between the electrical control device 2 and the electrical equipment 3 and / or the gateway device 4 can include at least one of a wireless protocol, which can include a wireless fidelity (WiFi), a low-rate wireless personal area network (ZigBee), a Bluetooth low energy network (BLE Mesh) protocol, and a router protocol.

[0041] In some embodiments, the wireless chip 21 further includes a pair of direction detection pins coupled to the knob 22 and adapted to detect the rotation direction of the knob 22 (for example, the knob 22 rotates clockwise or the knob 22 rotates counterclockwise). In some embodiments, the wireless chip 21 can memorize the current state of the knob 22. If the knob 22 rotates in the clockwise direction, a first direction detection pin of the pair of direction detection pins sends a signal to the wireless chip 21. And if the knob 22 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, a second direction detection pin of the pair of direction detection pins sends a signal to the wireless chip 21. In this way, the wireless chip 21 can help determine the rotation direction of the knob 22.

[0042] When the wireless chip 21 completes the network configuration, the wireless chip 21 detects that the user rotates the knob 22, and the wireless chip 21 can also be used to adjust the working state of the electric device 3. For example, if the user rotates the knob 22 clockwise, the first direction pin sends a signal to the wireless chip 21, so that the wireless chip 21 can control the electric device 3 (for example, a smart lighting device) to become brighter. If the user rotates the knob 22 counterclockwise, the second direction pin sends a signal to the wireless chip 21, so that the wireless chip 21 can control the electric device 3 (for example, a smart lighting device) to become dimmer.

[0043] Having described various implementations of the disclosure above, the descriptions are exemplary and not exhaustive, and are not limited to the disclosed implementations. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described implementations. The choice of words in this document is intended to best explain the principles of the implementations, practical application, or improvement to the technology in the market, or to enable other ordinary skilled persons in the art to understand the various implementations disclosed herein.

Claims

1. An electric control device for an electric system, comprising: a wireless chip (21) comprising a plurality of pins and configured to perform channel scanning when a pair of predetermined pins among the plurality of pins is provided with a predetermined electrical signal; a knob (22) adapted to be manipulated to rotate about an axis direction, comprising: a rotating shaft (221) rotatably coupled to a housing of the electric control device (2); a dial (222) coupled to one end of the rotating shaft (221) and aligned with the rotating shaft (221) in the axis direction; and a plurality of protrusions (223) radially protruding from a peripheral surface of the dial (222) at predetermined intervals, a number of the plurality of protrusions (223) being associated with a number of channels supported by the wireless chip (21); and a power generation mechanism (23) coupled to at least the pair of predetermined pins of the wireless chip (21) and comprising a dial piece (232) adapted to be pushed by the protrusions (223) during rotation of the knob (22) to intermittently provide the predetermined electrical signal to the predetermined pins.

2. The electric control device of claim 1, wherein the power generation mechanism (23) further comprises: a power generation module (231) arranged in the housing and adapted to generate a potential difference during being pressed; a pair of electrodes (233) respectively coupled between the power generation module (231) and the pair of predetermined pins of the wireless chip (21), wherein the dial piece (232) is coupled to the power generation module (231) to press the power generation module (231) during rotation of the knob (22) to intermittently provide the predetermined electrical signal to the predetermined pins.

3. The electric control device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of protrusions (223) are evenly distributed along a circumferential direction of the dial (222) on the peripheral surface of the dial (222).

4. The electric control device of claim 3, further comprising: a plurality of grooves (224) corresponding to the number of the plurality of protrusions (223), the plurality of grooves (224) being respectively arranged between the intervals of adjacent protrusions (223) among the plurality of protrusions (223), and each groove (224) of the plurality of grooves (224) extending towards a center of the dial (222).

5. The electric control device of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising an inverter (24) arranged between the pair of electrodes (233) and the wireless chip (21).

6. The electric control device of claim 5, further comprising a direct current voltage stabilizing unit (25) arranged between the inverter (24) and the wireless chip (21).

7. The electric control device of any one of claims 1-4 and 6, further comprising a pulse detection unit (26) arranged between the pair of electrodes (233) and the wireless chip (21) and adapted to send a pulse signal to the wireless chip (21) during a change in direction of the potential difference between the pair of electrodes (233).

8. The electrically controlled device according to claim 7, wherein said wireless chip (21) further comprises a pair of direction detection pins coupled to said knob (22) and adapted to detect a direction of rotation of said knob (22).

9. An electrical system comprising: at least one electrically powered device (3); and at least one electrically controlled device (2) according to any one of claims 1-8.

10. The electrical system according to claim 9, further comprising: a gateway device (4) arranged in communication with said at least one electrically powered device (3) and said at least one electrically controlled device (2). ​

Images