EP4641534A1

EP4641534A1 - Apparatus and method for managing a wattage tap setting of an audio device

Info

Publication number: EP4641534A1
Application number: EP24172873.2A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Bo Chao Liu; Guo Liang HAN; Shao Chen LIN; Ning Gao
Original assignee: Siemens Schweiz AG
Current assignee: Siemens Schweiz AG
Priority date: 2024-04-26
Filing date: 2024-04-26
Publication date: 2025-10-29
Also published as: WO2025226809A1

Abstract

An apparatus and method for managing a wattage tap setting of an audio device (100). The apparatus comprises a circuit board (154) and a mechanical switch (156) supported by the circuit board (154). The circuit board (154) includes a wattage setting circuit (210) including an audio connection for audio signaling and a wattage detecting circuit including a signaling connection (158) for addressable signaling. The wattage setting circuit (210) and the wattage detecting circuit are electrically isolated from each other. The mechanical switch (156) has multiple positions adjacent concurrently to the wattage setting and wattage detecting circuits (210, 220). The mechanical switch (156) controls an electrical connection at the wattage setting circuit (210) based on a current position. The audio device (100) may include the audio module (110) which, in turn, may include the apparatus (150).

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This application relates to the field of conventional and addressable audio systems and, more particularly, to a speaker apparatus capable of setting, recognizing, and indicating a wattage tap setting.

BACKGROUND

Speaker systems are capable of communicating with occupants of a building at times of emergencies, safety risks, or other needs for broadcasting a public message. Each speaker of a speaker system may include a set of power ratings, also referred to as wattage taps, to configure each speaker based on varying sizes of building space. Each speaker may be a conventional or addressable variant. For both conventional and addressable speakers, a power rating for each speaker may be set manually before being commissioned. For an addressable speaker, a control panel coupled to the speaker may automatically set and recognize the power rating of each speaker even after commissioning.
Conventional speaker may use a first switch to set the wattage tap at installation and commissioning. For some speakers, a second separate switch may allow addressable functions to be added for each speaker. However, such speakers require significant space on a printed circuit board due to the need for safe electric clearance and creepage distance. Also, these complex designs may be cost prohibitive.

SUMMARY

There is provided an intelligent approach for addressable and conventional speakers using a platform design for fire systems. The concept of reading wattage taps is a distinguishing feature in the fire safety industry and, among other things, solves possible misreading issues. For some embodiments, a conventional speaker may be implemented simply from an addressable speaker design by removal or omission of one or more components. For an end customer, the conventional and addressable speakers of this platform will have similar user interfaces and the design is cost-effective to manufacture, install, commission, and operate.
One aspect is an apparatus for managing a wattage tap setting of an audio device comprising a circuit board and a mechanical switch. The circuit board includes a wattage setting circuit and a wattage detecting circuit. The wattage setting circuit including an audio connection capable of coupling to an audio output component for audio signaling. The wattage detecting circuit includes a signaling connection capable of coupling to an addressable system for addressable signaling. The wattage setting circuit and the wattage detecting circuit are electrically isolated from each other. The mechanical switch is supported by the circuit board. The mechanical switch has multiple positions adjacent concurrently to the wattage setting circuit and the wattage detecting circuit. The mechanical switch controls an electrical connection at the wattage setting circuit based on a current position of the plurality of positions.
Another aspect is a method for managing a wattage tap setting of an audio device. The method comprises isolating a wattage setting circuit of a circuit board and a wattage detecting circuit of the circuit board from each other, and controlling an electrical connection at the wattage setting circuit based on a current position of a mechanical switch. The wattage setting circuit includes an audio connection capable of coupling to an audio output component for audio signaling. The wattage detecting circuit includes a signaling connection capable of coupling to an addressable system for addressable signaling. The mechanical switch is supported by the circuit board. The mechanical switch has multiple positions adjacent concurrently to the wattage setting circuit and the wattage detecting circuit. The multiple positions including the current position.
A further aspect is an audio device having a wattage tap setting. The audio device comprises a device housing, a main circuit supported by the device housing, and an audio module coupled to the main circuit and supported by the housing. The audio module comprises an audio output component, an electrical transformer coupled to the audio output components, and an audio circuit coupled to the electrical transformer. The audio circuit comprises a circuit board and a mechanical switch supported by the circuit board, as described above.
The above described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. While it would be desirable to provide one or more of these or other advantageous features, the teachings disclosed herein extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the above-mentioned advantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers designate like objects.

FIG. 1A is an exploded view of an audio device in an example implementation that is operable to employ techniques described herein.
FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the audio module of FIG. 1A in an example implementation.
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a wattage setting circuit, a wattage detecting circuit, and mechanical switch in an example implementation.
FIG. 3 is a partial exploded view of the perspective view of FIG. 1B showing first and second electrical contacts of the mechanical switch.
FIG. 4 is a partial exploded view and corresponding non-exploded view of FIG. 1B showing on a visual indicator of the mechanical switch.
FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting an operation of the audio device and the audio apparatus in an example implementation that is operable to employ techniques described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various technologies that pertain to systems and methods that facilitate wattage setting, recognizing, and indicating for addressable and convention speakers will now be described with reference to the drawings, where like reference numerals represent like elements throughout. The drawings discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged apparatus. It is to be understood that functionality that is described as being carried out by certain system elements may be performed by multiple elements. Similarly, for instance, an element may be configured to perform functionality that is described as being carried out by multiple elements. The numerous innovative teachings of the present application will be described with reference to exemplary non-limiting embodiments.
Referring to FIG. 1A, there is shown an exploded view of an audio device 100 in an example implementation that is operable to employ techniques described herein. The audio device 100 includes a speaker module 110 supported by and within a device housing 120. For example, the device housing 110 may include a front housing 122, such as a faceplate with an audio grill and an optical assembly, and a back housing 124, such as a circuit board cover. The speaker module 110 may be supported in the housing 120 by, for example, positioning a speaker 112 of the speaker module adjacent to the audio grill of the front housing 122. The audio device may also include a main circuit board 130, such as a PCBA, to manage power and general operation of the speaker module 110 as well as one or more other components of the device, such as the optical assembly of the front housing 122. The audio device 100 may be mounted or placed on a structural surface. For some embodiments, the audio device 100 may include a mounting plate assembly 140 affixed to the structure surface so that the remainder of the audio device, particularly the rear housing 120, may be attached to and removed from the mounting plate assembly. It is to be understood that at least a portion of the speaker module 110 may be exposed through the rear housing 120, the main circuit board 130, and/or the mounting plate assembly 140 for wired connections and/or accessibility by a technician.
Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown an audio apparatus 150, such as speaker module 110 of FIG. 1A, for managing a wattage tap setting of the audio device 100. The audio apparatus 150 includes an audio output component 152, such as the speaker 112 of FIG. 1A, a module circuit board 154, and a mechanical switch 156. The module circuit board 154 includes an audio connection capable of being coupled to the audio output component 152 for audio signaling and a signaling connection 158 capable of being coupled to the addressable system for addressable signaling. The mechanical switch 156 may be supported by the module circuit board 154. The mechanical switch 154 controls an electrical connection at the module circuit board 154 based on a current position of the mechanical switch 156 on the circuit board 154. The audio apparatus 150 may also include a transformer 160 to transfer electrical energy between module circuit board 154 and another circuit or power source external to the audio apparatus 150.
The audio apparatus 150 may further include a circuit board housing 162 to support the module circuit board 154 and provide visual indicators associated with the position of the mechanical switch 156. For example, the circuit board housing 162 may include a visual indicator 164 to indicate to a technician or user the wattage setting associated with the current position of the mechanical switch 156 on the module circuit board 154. The visual indicator 164 may include a corresponding visual guide 166 to specify the wattage setting at each position of the mechanical switch 156.
Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown an audio circuit 200 including a wattage setting circuit 210, a wattage detecting circuit 220, and mechanical switch 230 in an example implementation. The module circuit board 154 of FIG. 1B includes a wattage setting circuit 210 including the audio connection for audio signaling and a wattage detecting circuit 220 including the signaling connection 158 for addressable signaling. It is important to note that the wattage setting circuit 210 and the wattage detecting circuit 220 are electrically isolated from each other by some type of barrier 240. For some embodiments, the wattage setting circuit 210 is located at a first layer of the circuit board 154 and the wattage detecting circuit 220 is located at a second layer of the circuit board 154 different from the first layer. For example, the wattage setting circuit 210 may be located at one side of the circuit board 154 and the wattage detecting circuit 220 may be located at an opposite side of the circuit board 154, such that a middle layer of the circuit boards insulates the circuits from each other. The mechanical switch 230 is supported by the module circuit board 154. The mechanical switch 230 has multiple positions adjacent concurrently to the wattage setting circuit 210 and the wattage detecting circuit 220. The mechanical switch 230 controls an electrical connection at the wattage setting circuit 210 based on a current position of the multiple positions.
The audio apparatus 150 recognizes wattage by linking the wattage setting circuit 210 with a wattage detecting circuit 220. For an addressable audio device (of a, for example, a fire safety system), the audio circuit 200 utilizes both the wattage setting circuit 210 and the wattage detecting circuit 220. For a conventional audio device, the audio circuit 200 may utilize just the wattage setting circuit 210 since there is no addressable system to receive the addressable signaling from the wattage detecting circuit 220. Even so, for a common platform used for both addressable and conventional audio devices, the audio circuit 200 may still include both circuits 210, 220 in which both circuit are utilized for the addressable version and only the wattage setting circuit 210 is used for the convention version. The mechanical switch 230 which links and controls both circuits 210, 220 will operate the same way for the addressable audio device and the convention audio device but one or more components of the conventional audio device may be omitted. For example, the addressable audio device may include two separate electrical contacts for contacting components of both circuits 210, 220 but the convention audio device may include only one electrical contact for the wattage setting circuit 210. An electrical contact for the wattage detecting circuit 220 is not needed for the conventional audio device since the device would not need to provide any addressable signaling to a remote addressable system.
Referring to FIG. 2, the wattage setting circuit 210 is on the right and the wattage detecting circuit 220 is on the left. As the two circuits 210, 220 are linked by the mechanical switch 230, the wattage detecting circuit 220 will change as the wattage setting circuit 210 is adjusted. The mechanical switch 230 has multiple positions (i.e., setting taps 250) adjacent to the wattage setting circuit 210 and, concurrently, corresponding positions (i.e., detecting taps 252) adjacent to the wattage detecting circuit 220. The mechanical switch controls an electrical connection between a setting power source 254 and a setting ground 256 based on a current position among these positions. By modifying the inductive coils 258 between the source 254 and ground 256, the mechanical switch 230 sets the appropriate power or wattage provided to the audio component 260.
Similarly, the mechanical switch 230 controls another electrical connection between a detecting power source 262 and a setting ground 264 based on the current position among these positions. By modifying the resistance via resistors 266 between the source 262 and ground 264, the mechanical switch 230 sets the appropriate addressable signal or voltage provided to the port 268. For some embodiments, the port may include an analog-to-digital circuit to convert the changed voltage to a corresponding digital signal. Accordingly, the wattage detecting circuit 220 utilizes a voltage divider principle using the resistors 266 to provide to the addressable system the current position of wattage setting of the mechanical switch 230. Based on the specific voltage level provided to the port 268, may determine the current position of the mechanical switch 360 as each tap has a unique voltage value. Since the two circuits are physical insulated or otherwise isolated from each other, therefore there is minimal risk for damage to the addressable system by the wattage detecting circuit 220 which caused by, for example, a high voltage from an audio amplifier.
Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown a partial exploded view of the audio apparatus 150. As described above, the audio apparatus 150 includes the module circuit board 154, the mechanical switch 156, the signaling connection 158, the transformer 160, and the circuit board housing 162. The audio apparatus 150 includes a power supply connection, which may be included with or separate from the signaling connection 158. The mechanical switch 156 includes a first electrical contact 310 supported by the mechanical switch 156 that provides conductive contact between electrical elements of the wattage setting circuit 210 at the current switch position. For example, the first electrical contact 210 may be positioned to modify the number of inductive coils 258 between the source 254 and ground 256 (shown in FIG. 2).
In addition to the first electrical contact 310, the mechanical switch 156 includes non-electrical components 320, 330 to support the switch relative to the circuit board 154 and provide touch and visual access to a technician or user. The mechanical switch 156 may include a first non-electrical component 320 supporting the first electrical contact 310 adjacent to the wattage setting circuit 210 of the circuit board 154. Likewise, the mechanical switch 156 may include a second non-electrical component 330 providing further support to the circuit board 154. The second non-electrical component 330 may couple to the first non-electrical component 320 to support the first and second non-electrical components in a linear slot 340 of the circuit board 154.
The above configuration of the mechanical switch 156 applies to addressable and convention versions of the audio apparatus 150. The addressable version may include one or more components that are not part of the convention version. In particular, the mechanical switch 156 of the addressable audio apparatus may include a second electrical contact 350 supported by the switch. The second electrical contact 350 may provide conductive contact between electrical elements of the wattage detecting circuit 220 at the current switch position. By this configuration, the second electrical contact 350 remains electrically isolated from the first electrical contact 310. For some embodiments, the first electrical contact 310 may be a metal flake is used to connect the circuit for wattage setting. For embodiments that include the second electrical contact 350, the second electrical contact may be another metal flake used for wattage recognizing by connecting different voltage circuit in different positions. Since the apparatus may be addressable or conventional, both metal flakes may be implemented for the addressable and only the first metal flake may be implemented for the conventional.
For assembly of the mechanical switch 156, the first and second non-electrical components 320, 330 are coupled to each other with one or both of the electrical contacts 310, 350 secured to their respective circuits, specifically the wattage setting circuit 210 and the wattage detecting circuit 220. The second non-electrical component 330 couples to the first non-electrical component 320 to support the first and second non-electrical components and the appropriate contact(s) to the circuit board 154. For example, the circuit board 154 may include a linear slot 340, and the non-electrical components 320, 330 may be secured to each other by one or more integrated clips as they pass through a portion of the linear slot. In this manner, one or more inner parts of the non-electrical components 320, 330 may be positioned adjacent to the surface of the circuit board 154 and/or inner walls of the linear slot 340 for support by the circuit board while allowing movement within the linear slot.
For some embodiments, the second non-electrical component 330 may include a base to provide mechanical feedback to the remainder of the mechanical switch 156, such as the first non-electrical component 320. The feedback by the base corresponds to the positions of the mechanical switch, thus facilitating the identification of each position by a user manipulating the first non-electrical component 320. The mechanical feedback is created as the base 360 traverses a rail 370 of the housing 162 when the mechanical switch 156 moves along the linear slot 340.
Referring to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a dual perspective 400 showing a partial exploded view and corresponding non-exploded view of a visual indicator 410 of the mechanical switch 156. For example, the second non-electrical component 330 of the mechanical switch 156 may include a visual indicator 410 that is visible through an aperture 420 of the housing 162 by a user. The housing 162 includes multiple apertures 420 corresponding to the configuration of the linear slot 340 (shown in FIG. 3). A current position of the mechanical switch 156, particularly its second non-electrical component 330 and the visual indicator 410, indicates the current position of the mechanical switch. Accordingly, the circuit board housing 162 may include a visual indicator 164 to indicate to a technician or user the wattage setting associated with the current position of the mechanical switch 156 on the module circuit board 154. For some embodiments, the housing 162 may include a corresponding visual guide 430 to specify the wattage setting at each position of the mechanical switch 156. The visual guide 430 may include a position ID for each position and one or more power values (e.g., wattage tap) corresponding to one or more position IDs.
Referring to FIG. 5, there is shown a flow diagram depicting an operation 500 of the audio device 100 and the audio apparatus 150 in an example implementation that is operable to employ techniques described herein. The operation 500 represents a method for managing a wattage tap setting of an audio device. The circuits of the audio device 100 and the audio apparatus 150, including the wattage setting circuit 210 and the wattage detecting circuit 220, are created (502) at the circuit board 154. When creating the circuits, the wattage setting circuit 210 of the circuit board 154 is isolated from the wattage detecting circuit 220 of the circuit board. The wattage setting circuit 210 includes an audio connection capable of coupling to an audio output component for audio signaling. The wattage detecting circuit 220 includes a signaling connection capable of coupling to an addressable system for addressable signaling. For some embodiments, the wattage setting circuit 210 is located (504) at a first layer of the circuit board and the wattage detecting circuit 220 is located (504) at a second layer of the circuit board different from the first layer. For example, the wattage setting circuit 210 may be provided at a first side of the circuit board, and the wattage detecting circuit 220 may be provided at a second side of the circuit board opposite the first side.
In response to creating the circuits, ensuring that they are isolated from each other, the audio apparatus 150 is assembled (506). The assembly process of the addressable audio apparatus is (508) different from the assembly process of the conventional audio apparatus. For both processes (510, 512), conductive contact between electrical elements of the wattage setting circuit (210) are provided. The conductive contact is provided by a first electrical contact 310 of the mechanical switch 156 at the current position of the multiple positions. The addressable audio apparatus is assembled by providing (510) conductive contact between the electrical elements of the wattage setting circuit 210 and providing conductive contact between electrical elements of the wattage detecting circuit 220. The conductive contacts are provided by the first and second electrical contacts 310, 350 of the mechanical switch 156 at the current position. The second electrical contact is electrically isolated from the first electrical contact. The conventional audio apparatus is assembled by providing (512) conductive contact between the electrical elements of the wattage setting circuit 210 without regard to any type of conductive contact for the wattage detecting circuit 220. The conductive contact is provided solely by the first electrical contacts 310 of the mechanical switch 156 at the current position.
In response to providing the appropriate electrical contact component(s), the operation 500 couples (514) the first non-electrical component 320 to a second non-electrical component 330 to support the first and second non-electrical components in a linear slot 340 of the circuit board 154. The first non-electrical component 320 of the mechanical switch 156 supports the first electrical contact 310 adjacent to the wattage setting circuit 210 of the circuit board 154. Likewise, the second non-electrical component 330 of the mechanical switch 156 supports the second electrical contact 350 adjacent to the wattage detecting circuit 220 of the circuit board 154. Thereafter, the remainder of the audio device 100 as described above in reference FIG. 1A are assembled (516).
Subsequent to assembly of the audio device 100, a user (such as a technician) may control (518) install, configure, and/or otherwise commission the audio device 100 and the audio apparatus 150. For both the addressable and conventional versions, the electrical connection at the wattage setting circuit 210 is controlled (520) based on the current position of the mechanical switch 156. For the addressable version, the electrical connection at the wattage detecting circuit 220 is also controlled (522) based on the switch's current position. The mechanical switch 156 is supported by the circuit board 154 and has multiple positions adjacent concurrently to the wattage setting circuit 210 and the wattage detecting circuit 220, in which the multiple positions including the current position.
For some embodiments, the base 360 of the second non-mechanical component 330 provides mechanical feedback to the first non-electrical component 320. The mechanical feedback corresponds to the positions of the mechanical switch 156. For some embodiments, the current wattage setting of the wattage setting circuit 210 is indicated at a housing 162 of the apparatus by a visual indicator 410 of the second non-electrical component 330.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that, for simplicity and clarity, the full structure and operation of all data processing systems suitable for use with the present disclosure are not being depicted or described herein. Also, none of the various features or processes described herein should be considered essential to any or all embodiments, except as described herein. Various features may be omitted or duplicated in various embodiments. Various processes described may be omitted, repeated, performed sequentially, concurrently, or in a different order. Various features and processes described herein can be combined in still other embodiments as may be described in the claims.
It is important to note that while the disclosure includes a description in the context of a fully functional system, those skilled in the art will appreciate that at least portions of the mechanism of the present disclosure are capable of being distributed in the form of instructions contained within a machine-usable, computer-usable, or computer-readable medium in any of a variety of forms, and that the present disclosure applies equally regardless of the particular type of instruction or signal bearing medium or storage medium utilized to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of machine usable/readable or computer usable/readable mediums include nonvolatile, hard-coded type mediums such as read only memories (ROMs) or erasable, electrically programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), and user-recordable type mediums such as floppy disks, hard disk drives and compact disk read only memories (CD-ROMs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs).
Although an example embodiment of the present disclosure has been described in detail, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, substitutions, variations, and improvements disclosed herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure in its broadest form.

Claims

Apparatus for managing a wattage tap setting of an audio device, the apparatus comprising:
a circuit board including a wattage setting circuit including an audio connection for audio signaling and a wattage detecting circuit including a signaling connection for addressable signaling, the wattage setting circuit and the wattage detecting circuit being electrically isolated from each other; and

a mechanical switch supported by the circuit board, the mechanical switch having a plurality of positions adjacent concurrently to the wattage setting circuit and the wattage detecting circuit, the mechanical switch controlling an electrical connection at the wattage setting circuit based on a current position of the plurality of positions.
The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wattage setting circuit is located at a first layer of the circuit board and the wattage detecting circuit is located at a second layer of the circuit board different from the first layer.
The apparatus according to claims 1 or 2, wherein the mechanical switch comprises an electrical contact supported by the mechanical switch, the electrical contact providing conductive contact between electrical elements of the wattage setting circuit at the current position of the plurality of positions.
The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein:
the electrical contact is a first electrical contact;

the mechanical switch comprises a second electrical contact supported by the mechanical switch, the second electrical contact providing conductive contact between electrical elements of the wattage detecting circuit at the current position of the plurality of positions; and

the second electrical contact being electrically isolated from the first electrical contact.
The apparatus according to any of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the mechanical switch comprises:
a first non-electrical component of the mechanical switch supporting the first electrical contact adjacent to the wattage setting circuit of the circuit board; and

a second non-electrical component of the mechanical switch supporting the second electrical contact adjacent to the wattage detecting circuit of the circuit board, the second non-electrical component coupling to the first non-electrical component to support the first and second non-electrical components in a linear slot of the circuit board.
The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second non-electrical component comprises a base to provide mechanical feedback to the first non-electrical component corresponding to the plurality of positions of the mechanical switch.
The apparatus according to claims 5 or 6, wherein:
the circuit board is supported by a housing of the apparatus; and

the second non-electrical component comprises a visual indicator to indicate a current wattage setting of the wattage setting circuit at the housing of the apparatus.
A method for managing a wattage tap setting of an audio device, the method comprising:
isolating a wattage setting circuit of a circuit board and a wattage detecting circuit of the circuit board from each other, the wattage setting circuit including an audio connection for audio signaling and the wattage detecting circuit including a signaling connection for addressable signaling; and

controlling an electrical connection at the wattage setting circuit based on a current position of a mechanical switch, the mechanical switch being supported by the circuit board and having a plurality of positions adjacent concurrently to the wattage setting circuit and the wattage detecting circuit, the plurality of positions including the current position.
The method according to claim 8, wherein isolating the wattage setting circuit and the wattage detecting circuit from each other includes locating the wattage setting circuit at a first layer of the circuit board and locating the wattage detecting circuit at a second layer of the circuit board different from the first layer.
The method according to claims 8 or 9, further comprising providing conductive contact between electrical elements of the wattage setting circuit, the conductive contact being provided by an electrical contact of the mechanical switch at the current position of the plurality of positions.
The method according to claim 10, wherein the electrical contact is a first electrical contact, the method further comprising:
providing conductive contact between electrical elements of the wattage detecting circuit, the conductive contact being provided by a second electrical contact of the mechanical switch at the current position of the plurality of positions, the second electrical contact being electrically isolated from the first electrical contact.
The method according to claim 11, further comprising coupling to a first non-electrical component to a second non-electrical component to support the first and second non-electrical components in a linear slot of the circuit board, the first non-electrical component of the mechanical switch supporting the first electrical contact adjacent to the wattage setting circuit of the circuit board and the second non-electrical component of the mechanical switch supporting the second electrical contact adjacent to the wattage detecting circuit of the circuit board.
The method according to claim 12, wherein controlling electrical connections at the circuit board by the mechanical switch including providing mechanical feedback to the first non-electrical component by a base of the second non-mechanical component, the mechanical feedback corresponding to the plurality of positions of the mechanical switch.
The method according to claims 12 or 13, wherein controlling electrical connections at the circuit board by the mechanical switch including indicating a current wattage setting of the wattage setting circuit at a housing of the apparatus by a visual indicator of the second non-electrical component, the housing supporting the circuit board.
An audio device having a wattage tap setting, the audio device comprising:
a device housing;

a main circuit supported by the device housing; and

an audio module coupled to the main circuit and supported by the housing, the audio module comprising:
an audio output component;

an electrical transformer coupled to the audio output components; and

an audio circuit coupled to the electrical transformer, the audio circuit comprising:
a circuit board including a wattage setting circuit including an audio connection for audio signaling and a wattage detecting circuit including a signaling connection for addressable signaling, the wattage setting circuit and the wattage detecting circuit being electrically isolated from each other; and

a mechanical switch supported by the circuit board, the mechanical switch having a plurality of positions adjacent concurrently to the wattage setting circuit and the wattage detecting circuit, the mechanical switch controlling an electrical connection at the wattage setting circuit based on a current position of the plurality of positions.