GB2510565A

GB2510565A - Switch or socket wall plate with integrated radio frequency antenna

Info

Publication number: GB2510565A
Application number: GB201302090A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mark Curtis
Original assignee: Wandsworth Group Ltd
Current assignee: Wandsworth Group Ltd
Priority date: 2013-02-06
Filing date: 2013-02-06
Publication date: 2014-08-13
Also published as: GB201302090D0

Abstract

A switch or socket unit 1 comprises an aerial 35 for connecting to an RF signal receiving or transmitting unit, an electrically conducting face plate 10 having a hole (20, fig 1), a switch or socket with an interface 30, and means 25 for connecting the switch or socket to a cable or power source. At least a part of the aerial 35 lies either on the side of the plate 10 with the interface 30, within the hole (20, fig 1), or on the other side but aligned with the hole (20, fig 1). Preferably, the interface 30 (e.g. rocker, push or touch switch) is provided in the hole (20, fig 1) and has an insulating border bezel 40 in which the aerial 35 is provided. The hole (20, fig 1) may provide a path for the RF signal to travel to or from the aerial 35 without electromagnetic shielding from the conducting face plate 10. The unit may be used for remote control heating and lighting systems.

Description

Radio frequency switch or socket The present invention relates to a radio frequency (RF) switch or socket.

In recent years control systems have been developed to control domestic heating or lighting systems using transmission of radio frequency signals between remote components of the system. These components include, for example, wall switches for operating the heating or lighting systems and sockets for connecting external cables thereto. These control systems make installation more convenient because the components of the system do not need to be connected to remote components by wires.

The aim of this invention is to provide an improved RF switch or socket, or a switch or socket that has the appearance of a conventional non-RF switch or socket, including the ones with a metallic front plate, but which can have RF switching or RF receiving/transmitting capabilities.

According to the present invention there is provided a switch or socket unit with an integrated aerial, the switch or socket unit comprising: a switch or socket; a plate made of electrically conducting material, the plate having a hole therein; a connection means for connecting the switch or socket to an electrically conductive cable or a power source; an interface for the switch or socket for being interacted with by a user, the interface being disposed at least partially on one side of the plate; an aerial for conductively connecting to an RF signal receiving or transmitting unit, the aerial being disposed such that at least a part of it lies in at least one of the following locations: a) on the one side of the plate, or b) within the hole, or c) on the other side of the hole, but aligned with the hole.

When the aerial is disposed such that at least a part of it lies in at least one of location a) and b), the aerial is preferably connected to the switch or socket via the hole.

Further, in this case, the hole may be blind on the other side of the plate.

Preferably, the connection means is disposed on the other side of the plate.

Preferably, the interface is aligned with the hole.

Preferably, the switch or socket unit comprises an RF signal receiving or transmitting unit located at least partially on the other side of the plate. This conveniently provides a unit to process the RF signals to be transmitted or received from the aerial.

Preferably, the switch or socket is provided at least partially on the other side of the plate.

Preferably, the aerial is conductively connected to the switch or socket.

The plate is preferably planar, although it could be curved or rounded.

The presence of the plate in the switch or socket unit provides RE shielding properties, which will interfere with RF transmissibility to or from an internal aerial. Thus, the provision of the aerial on the one side of the plate, or its location in the hole, or the provision of the hole in the plate itself through which the RE transmissions can pass and via which an internal aerial can receive or transmit RE signals external of the switch or socket unit, overcomes that problematic RE shielding characteristic. This has not previously been addressed for switch or socket units having an external user interface -i.e. one for being interacted with by a user by being disposed at least partially on the one side of the plate. For the invention, that interface is aligned with the hole.

This hole/aerial arrangement provides a significant advantage in that more conventional styles of switch or socket unit can now be utilised in a wider range of applications, i.e. ones where a RF receiver or transmitter is desired, without needing a separate RE receiver or transmitter to be provided.

This arrangement further allows a RE switch or socket having a plate of material that blocks RF signals to transmit or receive RF signals via the integrated aerial in which it is not even essential for the aerial to be disposed on the same side of the plate as the interface. This is because the hole provides a path along which RF signals can travel to or from the aerial.

Preferably the interface is one or more switch member. For example it may be a switch member such as a rocker, toggle, push, turn or touch switch. It may alternatively be one or more cable socket, for example a socket for receiving any one or more of the following cable connecting plug types: UK, US, Euro or other multi-pin mains plugs (typically a two pin -or three pin if earthed -plug), or telephone, network, TV, radio, satellite, cable TV, USB, HDMI, DVI, coaxial or scart plugs, or other single or multi-wire cable socket types, or combinations thereof.

Preferably the aerial or RF receiving or transmitting unit, or both, are switchably or conductively connected to the connection means by operation of the switch member.

The switch can thus turn the RF unit on or off, or override or supplement any switching that might be controlled by or sent to the RF receiving or transmitting unit.

Another arrangement may have the aerial or RE receiving or transmitting unit, or both, switchably or conductively connected via the hole to the connection means by operation of the switch member. This again may allow the switch to turn the RF unit on or ott, or override or supplement any switching that might be controlled by or sent to the RF receiving or transmitting unit.

The unit may be of a standardised size, such as a single socket size as shown, or a double socket size, or any other desired size, including larger or smaller sizes, whether wall mounted, or not, including wall mounting via a recessed back box or a surface mount.

The aerial may comprise wire. The wire may have a diameter of between 0.1 and 5mm, preferably between 0.5 and 2mm, more preferably between 0.75 and 1.5mm. The wire is preferably copper.

The switch member or interface may be provided in the hole, and preferably it extends through the hole and out both sides of the plate.

The switch member or interface may have a border made of electiically insulating material in which the aerial is provided. This provides a convenient arrangement in which the switch member and aerial are provided in a single piece. The electrically insulating material allows RF signals to pass therethrough.

The electrically insulating material may be a plastics material.

The hole may be fitted with a bezel. The bezel is preferably a plastic. However, it may be some other EF transmissive material.

The border may provide a or the bezel, or the bezel may be the, or a part of the, border, or vice versa.

When the switch member or interface is provided in the hole, the border or bezel may fill the part of the hole not occupied by the switch member. This provides an attractive finish and prevents dirt from passing through the hole.

The switch or interface may be provided with an insert or cover of conductive material, e.g. to match the material of the plate. The bezel or border or aerial, or at least a part thereof, preferably extends around at least part of the perimeter of that insert or cover.

When the switch member or interface is provided in the hole, the aerial may be provided equidistantly from the plate and the switch member, to minimise blocking of RF signals to or from the aerial.

The border or bezel may have a U-shaped cross-section within which the aerial is provided. This allows the aerial to be easily mounted within the border. Preferably the closed end of the U is on the "one side" facing side of the U, i.e. the U is externally closed to the user.

There may be an interference fit between the aerial and the U-shaped section of the border in which the aerial is received, to hold the aerial in position. The aerial may additionally or alternatively be fixed in place with a resin -the bezel/aerial arrangement may be a potted arrangement.

The aerial may pass around at least part of the perimeter of the switch member. The switch member may be square, rectangular, triangular, oval or round. The aerial may pass around one, two, three or four sides of the perimeter of the switch member, or around at least 90, 120, 180, 240, 270 or the full 36O of the perimeter.

The aerial may form a U shape around the perimeter of the switch member. This provides good exposure of the aerial for transmitting and/or receiving RF signals.

The aerial may comprise a length of wire provided substantially within a plane parallel with the plane of the plate.

The length of wire may be provided in the plane of the plate. This affords the aerial some protection by the plate and provides a more compact structure to that in which the aerial is provided outside the plane of the plate.

A surface of the length of wire may be flush with the surface of the one side of the plate. In this way the length of wire has good exposure to transmit and receive RF signals.

The aerial preferably has a length that can externally transmit RE signals from the switch or socket unit, or that can access RE signals from outside of the socket or switch unit, not being less than 10mm long, and preferably being at least 20mm long, and most preferably being at least 50mm long. Typically it does not need to be any longer than 100mm, 100mm being potentially the circumferential length of the bezel surrounding a single switch or socket. Longer bezels may be provided on units having multiple switches, and thus longer aerials are also achievable for such embodiments, if needed, without resorting to coiling the aerial. Coiling the aerial, however, is also possible where a longer aerial is needed.

The interface can be a switch member that comprises a rocker, a sliding member or a push button, or multiple such switch members.

The plate is preferably made of metal, and more preferably a ferrous metal or one comprising copper.

The present invention also provides a switch or socket unit with an integrated aerial, the switch or socket unit comprising: a switch or socket; a plate made of electrically conducting material, the plate having a hole therein; a connection means for connecting the switch or socket to an electrically conductive cable or a power source; an interface for the switch or socket for being interacted with by a user, the interface being disposed at least partially on one side of the plate; an aerial for conductively connecting to an RF signal receiving or transmitting unit, the aerial being in or around a bezel of the interface, switch or socket to reduce or avoid the influence of the plate with respect to RF signals to be received by or sent by the aerial.

Preferably the aerial is disposed such that at least a part of it lies in at least one of the following locations: a) on the one side of the plate, or b) within the hole, or c) on the other side of the hole, but aligned with the hole.

Further, this alternative or additional arrangement can also feature the corresponding features from the previous arrangement.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the drawings in which: Figure 1 is an oblique view of an RF switch unit according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The disclosed characteristics may also be applied to an embodiment in which the interface is a socket; Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view of the RF switch unit of Figure 1 taken along the line A-A; Figure 3 is an oblique view taken from above of the RF switch unit of Figure 1, but with the plastic bezel removed to show the aerial.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a RF switch unit 1 with an integrated aerial is provided.

The switch unit comprises a plate 10 made of electrically conducting material (in this embodiment a metal) having a hole 20 therein. It also has a connection means 25 for connecting the switch to a power source, which in this embodiment is a battery.. There is also a switch member 30 that is arranged to be manually operated by a user. It is disposed at least partially on one side of the metal plate (i.e. the side above the plate in the figures. The connection means 25 is disposed on the other side of the metal plate (the side below the plate in the figures). An aerial 35 is then disposed within the hole 20, the aerial 35 in this embodiment being switchably connected to the connection means 25 and battery, thus allowing its operation by means of the switch member 30.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the switch member 30 is provided in the hole 20. The switch member 30 is bordered or surrounded by a plastics bezel 40, the bezel 40 being provided around the periphery of the switch member 30 in the hole 20. The upper surface of the bezel stands proud of the upper surface of the metal plate 10. In this embodiment, the switch member 30 comprises a rocker switch.

In this embodiment, the plate 10 is generally flat and square, although it appears rectangular due to the angle of the perspective. However, the plate may have a different shape, including round, rectangular, triangular and curved (be that at its periphery or out of its plane).

Referring to Figure 2, the aerial 35 is provided within an inverted U-shaped channel -U-shaped in cross-section. That channel is formed by the bezel 40. Although the upper surface of the bezel 40 stands proud of the upper surface of the plate 10, the aerial is provided within the plane of the plate 10 as provided at the hole. It may be arranged more externally than this, or more internally, although this illustrated location is preferred for allowing the switch unit to have a generally traditional or conventional appearance for metal-finished switch units. The bezel, after all, is typically provided in such units to provide a layer of insulation between the cover plate and the switch. The metal plate, after all, is typically provided in the cover plate (although it might be in a back-plate too/instead (as can be seen in Figure 2, the plate has a front and back component, the front being snap fitted onto the back component in the manner disclosed in GB1 220559.7, the whole contents of which are incorporated herein by way of reference since it discloses other features of the assembly of the switch or socket unit.

In the preferred and illustrated arrangement, the upper surface of the aerial 35 is flush with the upper surface of the plate 10, thus providing a near 18O reception or transmission window for RF reception/transmission.

The bezel 40 is made of a plastics material, although any RF transmissive material would work, e.g. wood and some ceramics. This allows the aerial 35 to transmit or receive EF signals. Thus the RF switch unit 1, despite the metal plate 10, can transmit and receive RF signals.

Providing the aerial 35 within the bezel results in a compact RF switch unit 1 having the same appearance to the user as a conventional switch.

Referring finally to Figure 3, it can be seen that the aerial 35 comprises a length of wire that passes around three sides of the rocker 30 to form a U-shape in plan view. The length comprises three straight sections joined by two curved sections. At points along the straight sections the length of wire is equidistant from the plate 10 and the rocker 30. Other arrangements are within the scope of the invention, including coiled rather than straight wires, non planar arrangements, and wires that extend further or less far around the bezel, including arrangements where the wire coils around more than 36Q of the bezel, and thus might not be planar.

The present invention thus can provide a hard-wired switch or socket or a self-powered one, e.g. if fitted with a battery. By being self-powered, there is more freedom in the location of the switch or socket.

One use of a switch incorporating the present invention's arrangement is that the switch can be switched by the user to change or trigger a signal transmitted by the aerial. The change or commencement of the signal might then be picked up by a remote receiver that is adapted to control a circuit, for example by switching on or off that circuit, for example a lighting or heating circuit.

The present invention has therefore been described above purely by way of example.

Various modifications or additions to the invention can be made within the scope of the claims, as will be understood by one skilled in the art.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A switch or socket unit with an integrated aerial, the switch or socket unit comprising: a switch or socket; a plate made of electrically conducting material, the plate having a hole therein; a connection means for connecting the switch or socket to an electrically conductive cable or a power source; an interface for the switch or socket for being interacted with by a user, the interface being disposed at least partially on one side of the plate; an aerial for conductively connecting to an F1F signal receiving or transmitting unit, the aerial being disposed such that at least a part of it lies in at least one of the following locations: a) on the one side of the plate, or b) within the hole, or c) on the other side of the hole, but aligned with the hole.
2 A switch or socket unit according to claim 1, wherein the interface is provided in the hole.
3. A switch or socket unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the interface has a border made of electrically insulating material in which the aerial is provided.
4. A switch or socket unit according to claim 3, wherein the electrically insulating material is a plastics material.
5. A switch or socket unit according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the border provides a bezel.
6. A switch or socket unit according to claim 3, 4 or 5, when dependent on claim 2, wherein the border or bezel fills the part of the hole not occupied by the interface.
7. A switch or socket unit according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the border or bezel has a U-shaped cross-section within which the aerial is provided.
8. A switch or socket unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the aerial passes around at least part of the perimeter of the interface.
9. A switch or socket unit according to claim 8, wherein the aerial forms a U shape around the perimeter of the interface.
10. A switch or socket unit according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the aerial comprises a length of wire provided substantially within a plane parallel with the plane of the plate.
11. A switch or socket unit according to any preceding claim 10, wherein the plane substantially within which the length of wire is provided is the plane of the plate.
12. A switch or socket unit according to claim 11, wherein a surface of the length of wire is flush with the surface of the one side of the plate.
13. A switch or socket unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the interface is switch member that comprises a rocker.
14. A switch or socket unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the interface is a switch member that comprises a sliding member.
15. A switch or socket unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the interface is a switch member that comprises a push button.
16. A switch or socket unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the plate is metal.
17. A switch or socket unit, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows: CLAIMS: 1. A switch or socket unit with an integrated aerial, the switch or socket unit comprising: a switch or socket; a plate made of electrically conducting material, the plate having a hole therein; a connection means for connecting the switch or socket to an electrically conductive cable or a power source; an interface for the switch or socket for being interacted with by a user, the interlace being disposed at least partially on one side of the plate; an aerial for conductively connecting to an RF signal receiving or transmitting unit, the aerial being disposed such that at least a part of it lies in at least one of the following locations: a) within the hole, orb) on the other side of the hole, but aligned with the hole; and that no part of the aerial lies on the one side of the plate, wherein the interlace has a border made of electrically insulating material in which the aerial is provided, and the border provides a bezel.2. A switch or socket unit according to claim 1, wherein the interface is provided in the hole.3. A switch or socket unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the electrically insulating material is a plastics material. *4 * *s.,:: 25 4. A switch or socket unit according to claim 3 when dependent on claim 2, wherein the border or bezel fills the part of the hole not occupied by the interface. * S5. A switch or socket unit according to any one of claims I to 4, wherein the border or bezel has a U-shaped cross-section within which the aerial is provided. ass* 6. A switch or socket unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the aerial passes around at least part of the perimeter of the interface.7. A switch or socket unit according to claim 8, wherein the aerial forms a U shape around the perimeter of the interlace.S8. A switch or socket unit according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the aerial comprises a length of wire provided substantially within a plane parallel with the plane of the plate.9. A switch or socket unit according to claim 8, wherein the plane substantially within which the length of wire is provided is the plane of the plate.10. A switch or socket unit according to claim 9, wherein a surface of the length of wire is flush with the surface of the one side of the plate.11. A switch or socket unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the interface is switch member that comprises a rocker.12. A switch or socket unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the interface is a switch member that comprises a sliding member.13. A switch or socket unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the interface is a switch member that comprises a push button.14. A switch or socket unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the plate is metal.15. A switch or socket unit, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. ** S. S * SS 5a05* t S.. n..S t.S