CN219958849U - Knob type light modulator - Google Patents

Abstract

The knob type dimmer includes: a circuit board assembly; the switch assembly is coupled to the circuit board assembly and used for controlling the connection or disconnection of the dimmer and the power supply end; the shell is used for accommodating the circuit board assembly and the switch assembly, and the first side of the shell is provided with an adjusting and matching part; a knob assembly assembled to the first side of the housing, including a knob body and primary and secondary adjustment portions; a trigger assembly for triggering or releasing the trigger switch assembly in response to the knob assembly; when the knob assembly is fully assembled to the first side of the housing, the primary adjustment portion mates with the adjustment mating portion, and the trigger assembly triggers the switch assembly to control the dimmer to communicate with the power end, when the knob assembly is applied a first force away from the first side of the housing, the primary adjustment portion and the adjustment mating portion are disengaged, and then the secondary adjustment portion mates with the adjustment mating portion, and the trigger assembly releases the trigger switch assembly to control the dimmer to disconnect from the power end. The dimmer has a higher external surface simplicity and a lower probability of malfunction.

Description

Knob type light modulator

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the technical field of lighting control equipment, in particular to a knob type light modulator.

Background

A dimmer refers to an electric device for changing luminous flux of a light source in a lighting device and adjusting illumination level, and the basic principle is to change the effective value of current input to the light source so as to achieve the purpose of dimming. The knob of current conventional knob dimmers is typically a single component, such as a knob cap with a recess in the middle. When in assembly, the knob is directly sleeved on the rotating shaft of the main body part of the dimmer. However, with the continued improvement of the function and structure of the dimmer body, such conventional knob structures and their assembly methods have not been compatible with the improved dimmer body. In addition, conventional knob dimmers typically provide a trigger mechanism, such as a push button or toggle switch, on the exterior surface of the product for triggering the connection or disconnection of the dimmer from the power supply, which increases the complexity of the exterior surface of the dimmer product.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve one or more of the above-described problems in the prior art, various embodiments of the present utility model provide an improved knob dimmer.

According to one aspect of the present utility model, a knob dimmer includes: a circuit board assembly; a switch assembly coupled to the circuit board assembly and configured to control the turn-knob dimmer to be connected or disconnected from a power supply terminal; a housing configured to house the circuit board assembly and the switch assembly, the housing having an adjustment mating portion disposed on a first side thereof; a knob assembly configured to be assembled to the first side of the housing, the knob assembly including a knob body and a primary adjustment portion and a secondary adjustment portion disposed on the knob body; and a trigger assembly configured to trigger or deactivate the switch assembly to control the connection or disconnection of the knob dimmer from a power supply terminal in response to the knob assembly; wherein when the knob assembly is fully assembled to the first side of the housing, the primary adjustment portion mates with the adjustment mating portion, and the trigger assembly triggers the switch assembly to control the knob dimmer to communicate with the power supply end, when the knob assembly is applied a first force away from the first side of the housing, the primary adjustment portion unmates with the adjustment mating portion, and then the secondary adjustment portion mates with the adjustment mating portion, and the trigger assembly unmates the switch assembly to control the knob dimmer to disconnect from the power supply end.

In one embodiment, when the knob assembly is applied with a second force away from the first side of the housing, the secondary adjustment portion disengages the adjustment mating portion to disengage the knob assembly from the housing.

In one embodiment, the trigger assembly comprises: a pushing part arranged on the knob body; and a trigger member disposed adjacent the first side of the housing, the trigger member being configured to move in response to the action of the push portion between a first position in which the trigger member triggers the switch assembly to control the knob dimmer to communicate with a power supply terminal and a second position in which the trigger member de-triggers the switch assembly to control the knob dimmer to disconnect from the power supply terminal.

In one embodiment, the first-stage adjustment portion includes a first-stage clamping portion, the second-stage adjustment portion includes a second-stage clamping portion, and the adjustment mating portion includes a clamping mating portion, wherein when the knob assembly is fully assembled to the first side of the housing, the first-stage clamping portion forms a clamping with the clamping mating portion, when the knob assembly is applied with a first force away from the first side of the housing, the first-stage clamping portion disengages from the clamping mating portion, and then the second-stage clamping portion forms a clamping with the clamping mating portion.

In one embodiment, the primary and secondary detents are formed on resilient arms extending outwardly from a first side of the knob body, the primary detent being disposed more adjacent the first side of the knob body than the secondary detent.

In one embodiment, the first side of the housing is formed with a through hole, the snap fit portion is formed on an inner wall of the through hole, the second and first snap fit portions on the elastic arm sequentially enter the through hole when the knob assembly is assembled, and the first snap fit portion forms a snap fit with the snap fit portion on the inner wall of the through hole when the knob assembly is completely assembled to the first side of the housing.

In one embodiment, the primary clamping portion is of a triangular structure, and the secondary clamping portion is of a barb structure.

In one embodiment, the housing comprises: a chassis configured to house the circuit board assembly and the switch assembly; and a cover plate disposed on the base and configured to confine the circuit board assembly and the switch assembly within the base, wherein the adjustment fitting is located on the cover plate.

In one embodiment, the angle between the second force and the first force is obtuse.

In the knob type dimmer according to the embodiments of the present utility model, the triggering member for triggering the dimmer to be connected to or disconnected from the power supply terminal is provided inside the dimmer instead of being exposed to the outside (e.g., provided on the outer surface of the dimmer), thereby increasing the simplicity of the outer surface of the dimmer and reducing the possibility of false triggering.

Drawings

The embodiments are shown and described with reference to the drawings. The drawings serve to illustrate the basic principles and thus only show aspects necessary for understanding the basic principles. The figures are not to scale. In the drawings, the same reference numerals have been used to indicate the same or similar features.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary knob dimmer according to an embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the example knob dimmer in a fully assembled state along line A-A of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the example knob dimmer in a fully assembled state along line B-B of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the half-assembled state of the exemplary knob dimmer along the line A-A of fig. 1.

Fig. 5 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of a half-assembled state of the exemplary knob dimmer along the line B-B of fig. 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of an exemplary knob assembly according to an embodiment of the present utility model.

Detailed Description

The making and using of the embodiments are discussed in detail below. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples, while indicating specific ways of making and using the utility model, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the utility model. The structural position of the various components as described, such as the directions of up, down, top, bottom, etc., is not absolute, but rather relative. When the individual components are arranged as shown in the figures, these directional expressions are appropriate, but when the position of the individual components in the figures changes, these directional expressions also change accordingly.

The knob of a conventional knob dimmer is typically a single component, such as a knob cap with a recess in the middle. However, with the continued improvement of the function and structure of the dimmer body part, such conventional knob structures and their assembly methods have not been compatible with the improved dimmer body part. In addition, conventional knob dimmers typically provide a trigger mechanism, such as a push button or toggle switch, on the exterior surface of the product for triggering the connection or disconnection of the dimmer from the power supply, which reduces the simplicity of the exterior surface of the dimmer product and may be prone to false triggering.

In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, the present utility model provides a knob type dimmer, and features and advantages of the present utility model can be better understood with reference to the detailed description of the embodiments of fig. 1 to 6.

Referring to fig. 1 to 5, the knob type dimmer 10 includes a housing 11, a knob assembly 12, a circuit board assembly 13, a switch assembly 14, and a trigger assembly 15. The housing 11 defines a receiving chamber for receiving mechanical components and/or electronic components and the like. The housing 11 includes a first side and a second side opposite the first side. On this first side, an adjustment fitting 112 is provided. The knob assembly 12 is assembled to the first side of the housing 11 to form a fit with the adjustment fitting 112. The trigger assembly 15 is at least partially housed within the housing cavity of the housing 11. The switch assembly 14 is coupled to the circuit board assembly 13 and is accommodated in the accommodating chamber of the housing 11 together with the circuit board assembly 13. The circuit board assembly 13 may have disposed thereon, for example, a power module, a dimming control module, or other suitable functional module. These functional modules may be integrated into the monolithic block PCBA (Printed Circuit Board Assembly) or may be implemented separately on a separate PCBA.

In installation use, the housing 11 may be first installed to a desired location, such as within a wall box of a wall or the like. The housing 11 may be secured in a desired position by a screw connection or other suitable means. In some embodiments, a mounting bracket 16 may be provided on the second side of the housing 11. The mounting bracket 16 may be secured to the second side of the housing 11 by a snap fit or other suitable means. The housing 11 can be mounted to a desired position by means of the mounting bracket 16. For example, the mounting bracket 11 may be formed with a plurality of screw holes through which a plurality of screws are respectively passed to fix the housing 11 to a desired position. The knob assembly 12 is then fully assembled to the first side of the housing 11. Here, "fully assembled" means that the knob assembly 12 is coupled in place with the housing 11.

In some embodiments, to protect and/or decorate the dimmer, the knob dimmer 10 may include an inner plate 17 and a face plate 18. In installation use, the housing 11 is first mounted to a desired location by the mounting bracket 16; then fixing the inner plate 17 to the mounting bracket 16; next, the panel 18 is fixed to the inner panel 17; finally, the knob assembly 12 is completely assembled to the first side of the housing 11. The inner plate 17 may be secured to the mounting bracket 16 by, for example, a screw connection or other suitable means. The panel 18 may be secured to the inner panel 17 by, for example, a snap-fit connection or other suitable means.

After installation, the knob dimmer 10 is coupled to the power supply and the lighting load, respectively. The illuminance of the lighting load can be adjusted by turning the knob assembly 12.

The power supply end is coupled to the mains supply to obtain electric energy. The mains may be, for example, 220V ac in china, 120V ac in north america, or ac at other volts in other countries/regions. In some cases, it is necessary to directly disconnect the knob dimmer 10 from the mains. To this end, the knob dimmer 10 may be controlled to be connected to or disconnected from the power supply by activating the switch assembly 14. For example, the trigger assembly 15 triggers the switch assembly 14 to control the knob dimmer 10 to communicate with the power supply terminal, or releases the trigger assembly 14 to control the knob dimmer 10 to disconnect from the power supply terminal, in response to the force of the knob assembly 12.

Referring to fig. 6 in combination with fig. 1 to 5, the knob assembly 12 includes a knob body 122 and a primary adjustment portion 124 and a secondary adjustment portion 126 provided on the knob body 122. Upon assembly of the knob assembly 12, a force may be applied to the knob body 122 until the primary adjustment portion 124 mates with the adjustment mating portion 112 on the first side of the housing 11, thereby achieving a fully assembled state (i.e., the knob assembly 12 is coupled in place with the housing 11), as shown in fig. 2. In this fully assembled state, the trigger assembly 15 triggers the switch assembly 14 in response to the force of the knob assembly 12 to control the knob dimmer 10 to communicate with the power supply, as shown in fig. 2 and 3.

In some embodiments, the primary adjustment portion 124 may include a primary snap fit portion 1242 and the secondary adjustment portion 126 may include a secondary snap fit portion 1262. Accordingly, the adjustment fitting 112 on the first side of the housing 11 may include a snap fitting 1122.

In some embodiments, the primary and secondary detents 1242, 1262 may be formed on a resilient arm 125 extending outwardly from a first side of the knob body 122. The primary detent 1242 may be disposed more adjacent to the first side of the knob body 122 than the secondary detent 1262. The primary latch 1242 may be, for example, a triangular structure or other suitable structure. The secondary clip 1262 may be, for example, a barb structure or other suitable structure.

It will be appreciated that the pair of primary and secondary adjustment portions 124, 126 shown in fig. 6 are merely illustrative and not limiting, and that the number of primary and secondary adjustment portions may be set as desired in practical applications.

It is understood that the engagement between the primary adjustment portion 124, the secondary adjustment portion 126 and the adjustment engagement portion 112 is not limited to a snap fit, and other suitable engagement means, such as a threaded engagement, are also suitable for use with the concepts of the present utility model.

In some embodiments, the housing 11 may include a base 114 and a cover 116 disposed on the base 114. The cover 116 may be secured to the base 114 by, for example, a screw connection, a snap connection, or other suitable means. The first side of the housing 11 may be the side on which the cover 116 is located. The snap-fit portion 1122 may be formed on the cover plate 116. In some embodiments, the cover 116 may have a through hole 1162 formed therein. The snap-fit portion 1122 may be formed on an inner wall of the through hole 1162.

In some embodiments, trigger assembly 15 may include a push portion 152 and a trigger member 154. The push portion 152 may be disposed on a first side of the knob body 122. For example, the push portion 152 may be a tab extending outwardly from a first side of the knob body 122. The triggering element 154 may be disposed adjacent to the cover 116. In some embodiments, the cover 116 may have an opening 1164 formed therein, with the activating member 154 disposed within the opening 1164. The trigger 154 may be, for example, a trigger lever 1544 that is sleeved with a spring 1542. In other embodiments, the pushing portion 152 may not be disposed on the knob body 122, but coupled with the triggering member 154.

In some embodiments, the switch assembly 14 may include a micro-switch 142. The microswitch 142 is provided with a spring 144. By pressing the spring 144, the micro switch 142 can be triggered to close or open. It will be appreciated that the type of switch assembly 14 is not limited to microswitches, but may be other types of switches, such as mechanical switches, etc.

When the knob assembly 12 is assembled, a first side of the knob assembly 12 is directed toward the cover plate 116, exerting a force on the knob body 122 to push the resilient arms 125 into the through holes 1162. The second-stage snap-fit portion 1262 on the resilient arm 125 first enters the through hole 1162, and the second-stage snap-fit portion 1242 enters the through hole 1162 and forms a snap-fit with the snap-fit portion 1122 on the inner wall of the through hole 1162, thereby achieving a fully assembled state (i.e., the knob assembly 12 is coupled in place with the housing 11), as shown in fig. 2. In this fully assembled state, the lever 1544 is urged by the urging portion 152 from the second position to the first position. In this first position, the lever 1544 presses the tab 144 to trigger the micro switch 142 to close, thereby controlling the knob dimmer 10 to communicate with the power supply, as shown in fig. 2 and 3.

When the knob dimmer 10 needs to be disconnected from the mains supply, a first force may be applied to the knob assembly 12 away from the first side of the housing 11 to disengage the primary snap fit portion 1242 on the resilient arm 125 from the snap fit portion 1122, and then the secondary snap fit portion 1262 forms a snap fit with the snap fit portion 1122, thereby achieving a semi-assembled state, as shown in fig. 4. Here, "half-assembled" means that the knob assembly 12 is still coupled to the housing 11, but is spaced apart from the housing 11 by a distance. In this semi-assembled state, the pusher 152 is moved away from the lever 1544, and the lever 1544 is retracted from the first position to the second position under the force of the spring 1542 sleeved thereon. In this second position, the spring 144 resets to cause the micro switch 142 to open, thereby disconnecting the control knob dimmer 10 from the power supply, as shown in fig. 4 and 5.

When it is desired to remove the knob assembly 12 from the housing 11, a second force may be applied to the knob assembly 12 away from the first side of the housing 11 to disengage the secondary adjustment portion 1262 on the resilient arm 125 from the snap-fit portion 1122 to achieve a disengaged condition. Here, "disassembled" means that the knob assembly 12 is completely disengaged from the housing 11.

In some embodiments, the included angle between the second force and the first force applied to the knob assembly 12 is obtuse. For example, the first force may be a horizontal rightward force applied to the knob assembly 12 and the second force may be a force applied by a tool, such as the in-line screwdriver S shown in FIG. 4, to the resilient arm 125 that is obliquely downward and at an obtuse angle to the horizontal rightward force.

After the knob assembly 12 is removed from the housing 11, if further removal of the remainder is required, the faceplate 18, inner plate 17 and housing 11 may be removed in sequence until the entire knob dimmer 10 is removed from the installed position.

The knob type dimmer according to the embodiments of the present utility model is distinguished from various dimming products existing. In particular, in the knob type dimmer according to the embodiments of the present utility model, the trigger assembly for triggering the dimmer to be connected to or disconnected from the power supply terminal is provided inside the dimmer, not exposed to the outside, thereby increasing the simplicity of the outer surface of the dimmer and reducing the possibility of false triggering.

The knob type dimmer according to the embodiments of the present utility model can be applied to various occasions requiring adjustment of illuminance of a load, for example, residential buildings, office buildings, malls or other places.

It is to be understood that the embodiment shown in fig. 1 to 6 only shows and labels the main implementation units or components of the knob dimmer according to the present utility model, the shape and arrangement of the units or components are only illustrative and not limiting, and that other shapes and sizes of the units or components may be adopted in the knob dimmer without departing from the spirit and scope of the present utility model.

While the foregoing has described the technical content and features of the present utility model, it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art, upon attaining the teachings of the present utility model, may make variations and improvements to the concepts disclosed herein, which fall within the scope of the present utility model. The above description of embodiments is illustrative and not restrictive, and the scope of the utility model is defined by the claims.

Claims (9)

1. A knob dimmer, the knob dimmer comprising:

a circuit board assembly;

a switch assembly coupled to the circuit board assembly and configured to control the turn-knob dimmer to be connected or disconnected from a power supply terminal;

a housing configured to house the circuit board assembly and the switch assembly, the housing having an adjustment mating portion disposed on a first side thereof;

a knob assembly assembled to the first side of the housing, the knob assembly including a knob body and a primary adjustment portion and a secondary adjustment portion disposed on the knob body; and

a trigger assembly configured to trigger or de-trigger the switch assembly to control the turn-knob dimmer to be connected or disconnected from a power supply terminal in response to the knob assembly;

wherein when the knob assembly is fully assembled to the first side of the housing, the primary adjustment portion mates with the adjustment mating portion, and the trigger assembly triggers the switch assembly to control the knob dimmer to communicate with the power supply end, when the knob assembly is applied a first force away from the first side of the housing, the primary adjustment portion unmates with the adjustment mating portion, and then the secondary adjustment portion mates with the adjustment mating portion, and the trigger assembly unmates the switch assembly to control the knob dimmer to disconnect from the power supply end.

2. The knob dimmer according to claim 1, wherein the secondary adjustment portion is disengaged from the adjustment engagement portion when the knob assembly is applied with a second force away from the first side of the housing, such that the knob assembly is disengaged from the housing.

3. The knob dimmer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the trigger assembly comprises:

a pushing part arranged on the knob body; and

a trigger member disposed adjacent the first side of the housing, the trigger member being configured to move in response to the push portion between a first position in which the trigger member triggers the switch assembly to control the knob dimmer to communicate with a power supply terminal and a second position in which the trigger member de-triggers the switch assembly to control the knob dimmer to disconnect from the power supply terminal.

4. The knob dimmer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the primary adjustment portion comprises a primary snap-fit portion, the secondary adjustment portion comprises a secondary snap-fit portion, and the adjustment mating portion comprises a snap-fit mating portion, wherein the primary snap-fit portion forms a snap-fit with the snap-fit mating portion when the knob assembly is fully assembled to the first side of the housing, and wherein the primary snap-fit portion disengages from the snap-fit mating portion when the knob assembly is applied a first force away from the first side of the housing, which in turn forms a snap-fit with the snap-fit mating portion.

5. The knob dimmer according to claim 4, wherein the primary and secondary snap-ins are formed on resilient arms extending outwardly from a first side of the knob body, the primary snap-ins being disposed more adjacent the first side of the knob body than the secondary snap-ins.

6. The knob type dimmer according to claim 5, wherein the first side of the housing is formed with a through hole, the snap-fit portion is formed on an inner wall of the through hole, the secondary snap-fit portion and the primary snap-fit portion on the elastic arm sequentially enter the through hole when the knob assembly is assembled, and the primary snap-fit portion forms a snap-fit with the snap-fit portion formed on the inner wall of the through hole when the knob assembly is completely assembled to the first side of the housing.

7. The knob dimmer according to claim 5, wherein the primary clip portion has a triangular configuration and the secondary clip portion has a barb configuration.

8. The knob dimmer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the housing comprises:

a chassis configured to house the circuit board assembly and the switch assembly; and

a cover plate disposed on the base and configured to confine the circuit board assembly and the switch assembly within the base, wherein the adjustment fitting is located on the cover plate.

9. The knob dimmer according to claim 2, wherein the angle between the second force and the first force is obtuse.