GB2618632A

GB2618632A - Luminaire with touch control switch and method for controlling the luminaire

Info

Publication number: GB2618632A
Application number: GB2216222.6A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Man Lee Chor
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2022-05-13
Filing date: 2022-11-01
Publication date: 2023-11-15
Also published as: GB202216222D0; WO2023216714A1

Abstract

The luminaire 10 comprises a light source 210, sensor 230 and one or more magnets 220 arranged in a body with a flat external surface. The magnet(s) enable the external surface to be attracted to a flat iron surface. The sensor is able to sense a change in capacitance and generate a signal to cause a PCB module 240 to turn the light source on or off or adjust its brightness. The sensor may include a rectangular copper plate, optionally 4.8-7.2cm in length and 0.8-1.2cm wide, which may be set between (e.g., equidistant between) two magnets set along an extension line of the length thereof. The body may include two wooden boards with the light source, magnets, sensor and PCB module arranged therebetween. The external surface may be on a first 120 of the boards, optionally close to (e.g., within 3mm of) the sensor. There may be a battery 250 and a wireless charging module 260.

Description

LUMINAIRE WITH TOUCH CONTROL SWITCH AND METHOD

FOR CONTROLLING THE LUMINAIRE

TECHNICAL FIELD

1011 The present disclosure relates to a field of luminaires, and in particular to a luminaire with touch control and a method for controlling the luminaire.

BACKGROUND

102INormally, a luminaire with touch control can be controlled by human touch. For example, the luminaire can be turned on or off by a short touch. The brightness of the luminaire can be adjusted by a long holding touch.

SUMMARY

103] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, a luminaire with touch control and a method for controlling the luminaire are provided 1041A luminaire with touch control, comprising: [051a luminaire body comprising a flat external surface, [061a light source arranged in the luminaire body; 1071one or more magnets arranged in the luminaire body, the magnets enable the flat external surface to be attracted to a flat iron surface; [081a sensor arranged in the luminaire body; when the flat external surface attracts to the flat iron surface, the sensor is able to sense change of capacitance and generate a signal, and 1091a PCB module communicatively connected to the light source and the sensor, when receiving the signal from the sensor, the PCB module is able to turn on or off the light source, or adjust brightness of the light source.

10101 A method for controlling a luminaire with touch control, the luminaire comprising: 10111 a luminaire body comprising a flat external surface; 10121 a light source arranged in the luminaire body; 10131 one or more magnets arranged in the luminaire body, the magnets enable the flat external surface to be attracted to a flat iron surface; 10141 a sensor arranged in the luminaire body; when the flat external surface attracts to the flat iron surface, the sensor is able to sense change of capacitance and generate a signal; and 10151 a PCB module communicatively connected to the light source and the sensor, when receiving the signal from the sensor, the PCB module is able to turn on or off the light source, or adjust brightness of the light source; 10161 the method comprising: 1017] the sensor senses change of capacitance, when the flat external surface attracts to the flat iron surface; 10181 the sensor generates a signal; and 10191 the PCB module obtains the signal and controls the light source according to the signal; wherein the signal is a short touch signal or a long holding touch signal, the short touch signal is for turning on control, the long holding touch signal is for dimming control.

10201 Details of one or more embodiments of the present disclosure will be given in the following description and attached drawings. Other features, objects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent from the description, drawings, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

10211 In order to better describe and illustrate the embodiments and/or examples of the contents disclosed herein, reference may be made to one or more drawings. Additional details or examples used to describe the drawings should not be considered as limiting the scope of any of the disclosed contents, the currently described embodiments and/or examples, and the best mode of these contents currently understood.

10221 FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of a luminaire with touch control according to an

embodiment of the present disclosure;

10231 FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of a first wooden board and components of the luminaire shown in FIG. 1; 10241 FIG. 3 illustrates a back view of the first wooden board of the luminaire shown in FIG. 2; 10251 FIG. 4 illustrates a back view of a second wooden board of the luminaire shown in FIG. 1; 10261 FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart for a method for controlling a luminaire with touch control according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

10271 In order to facilitate the understanding of the present disclosure, the present disclosure will be described more fully below with reference to the relevant drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. On the contrary, the purpose of providing these embodiments is to make the disclosure of the present disclosure more thorough and comprehensive.

10281 Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs The definitions are provided to aid in describing particular embodiments, and are not intended to limit the claimed invention. The term "and/or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items 10291 In order to understand this application thoroughly, detailed steps and structures will be provided in the description below to explain the technical solution proposed by this application. Preferred embodiments of this application are described in detail below. However, in addition to these details, there may be other embodiments of this application.

10301 It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it can be directly on another element or an intervening element may also be present there between. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it can be directly connected to another element or an intervening element may be present at the same time. Terms "inner", "outer", "upper", "lower", "left", "right-and similar expressions used herein are for illustrative purposes only, and do not mean that they are the only embodiments.

10311 Referring to FIGs.1-2, a luminaire 10 with touch control comprises a luminaire body 100 and components arranged in the luminaire body 100. The luminaire 10 can be a board lamp. The components include a light source 210, one or more magnets 220, a sensor 230 and a PCB module 240. In some embodiments, material of the luminaire body 100 is wood. In other embodiments, the luminaire body 100 can be made of plastic, glass or other non-conducting material. Referring to FIGs 3-4, the luminaire body 100 can include a first wooden board 120 and a second wooden board 140 layered on the first wooden board 120. The luminaire body 100 includes a flat external surface 122. In this embodiment, the flat external surface 122 can be arranged on the first wooden board 120. The flat external surface 122 includes a touch area 122A which corresponds to the sensor 230. The touch area 122A and the sensor 230 are located on either side of the first wooden board 120.

10321 The light source 210, the magnets 220, the sensor 230 and the PCB module 240 are arranged in the luminaire body 100. The magnets 220 enable the flat external surface 122 to be attracted to a flat iron surface, such as a refrigerator door, iron entry door or a steel peg board. When the flat external surface 122 attracts to the flat iron surface, the sensor 230 is able to sense change of capacitance and generate a signal. The PCB module 240 is communicatively connected to the light source 210 and the sensor 230, when receiving the signal from the sensor 230, the PCB module 240 is able to turn on or off the light source 210, or adjust brightness of the light source 210.

10331 The light of the light source 210 can be triggered and controlled by putting the luminaire 10 on a flat iron surface with a magnetic field to keep them in touch. The flat iron surface can touch the luminaire body 100, trigger sensor 230 and control the light instead of a human body. When a user puts or slides the luminaire 10 on the flat iron surface, the luminaire 10 turns on and brightens immediately. When the user puts the luminaire 10 off, the luminaire 10 is dimmed. Once the user puts the luminaire 10 on again, the luminaire 10 becomes brighter again.

10341 Therefore, the luminaire 10 can be controlled by putting on and off the flat iron surface by magnetic attraction quickly This saves the user's time to stand still and touch the luminaire 10 on and adjusting brightness. The users can then leave when they see the light is on and tuning to their preferred brightness trend, such as becoming bright or dim, once the luminaire 10 is held by magnetic field.

10351 Referring to FIG.2, in some embodiments, the luminaire 10 can further comprise a rechargeable battery 250 connected to the PCB module 240. The luminaire 10 is able to work without a external power supply. In an embodiment, the luminaire 10 can comprise a wireless charging module 260 connected to the battery 250 and the PCB module 240. The luminaire 10 can be recharged wireless.

10361 Referring to FIG.2, in some embodiments, the sensor 230 includes a rectangular copper plate. The rectangular copper plate can sense the change of the capacitance and generate a signal. In some embodiments, wherein a length of the rectangular copper plate is 4.8cm-7.2cm, a width of the rectangular copper plate is 0.8cm-1.2cm. The size of the sensor 230 is larger than sensors in normal touch switchable lamps. Increasing the size of the copper plate can increase sensitivity. The sensor 230 in this embodiment is more sensitive to touch on the touch area 122A. In an embodiment, the surface area of the rectangular copper plate is lcm 6cm.

10371 In the embodiment of FIG.2, the number of the magnets 220 is two. In other embodiments, the number of the magnets 220 also can be one, three or more than three. In this embodiment, the rectangular copper plate is set between two magnets 220, and two magnets 220 are located on an extension line of the rectangular copper plate along the length. When the luminaire 10 is on the flat iron surface, two magnets 220 produce magnetic attraction towards the flat iron surface. The luminaire body 100 can be firmly held and adhered with the flat iron surface. Two magnets 220 located on an extension line of the rectangular copper plate along the length help ensure that the touch area 122A can be touched by the flat iron surface. Further, in an embodiment, the distances from the rectangular copper plate to two magnets 220 are equal, which can provide better structural stability.

10381 In this embodiment, the light source 210, the magnets 220, the sensor 230 and the PCB module 240 are arranged between the first wooden board 120 and the second wooden board 140. The flat external surface 122 is on the first wooden board 120, and the sensor 230 is close to the flat external surface 122. Hence, the sensor 230 can accurately sense capacitance changes. In an embodiment, the magnets 220 are close to the flat external surface 122. The magnets 220 can stick firmly to the flat iron surface. In some embodiments, distance between the flat external surface 122 and the sensor 230 is less than 3mm. The first wooden board 120 and the second wooden board 140 can bond to each other by adhesive tapes. The adhesive tapes can be arranged in an adhesive area 160.

10391 In an embodiment, the luminaire body 100 can be an openwork with an empty space 180. The empty space 180 can be designed into a pattern. The light source 210 can be a LED soft rope light. The LED soft rope light can surround the empty space 180. The light from LED soft rope light can shine decoratively through the empty space 180.

10401 Referring to FIG. 5, a method for controlling the lumina ire 10 is also provided. The method comprises the following steps: 10411 S120: the sensor 230 senses change of capacitance, when the flat external surface 122 attracts to the flat iron surface.

10421 SI40: the sensor 230 generates a signal.

10431 S160: the PCB module 240 obtains the signal and controls the light source 210 according to the signal; wherein the signal is a short touch signal or a long holding touch signal, the short touch signal is for turning on control, the long holding touch signal is for dimming control.

10441 When the user puts or slides the flat external surface 122 to the flat iron surface, the flat iron surface will touch the touch area I 22A. The capacitance will changed suddenly and the sensor 230 will generate the short touch signal. Then, the light will be turned on immediately.

10451 After that, the luminaire 10 keeps adhering on the flat iron surface by magnetic field, so that the capacitance keeps changing and the brightness and the sensor 230 will generate the long holding touch signal. The brightness will be adjusted automatically. As a result, the luminaire 10 can be turned on immediately when the touch area 122A touches the flat iron surface and then brightness will be adjusted automatically 10461 The luminaire 10 also can be controlled by human touch. To turn off the luminaire 10, the user can put the luminaire 10 to the flat iron surface or just touch the touch area I 22A.

10471 The technical features in the foregoing embodiments may be randomly combined. For concise description, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiment are described. However, provided that combinations of the technical features do not conflict with each other, the combinations of the technical features are considered as falling within the scope recorded in this specification.

10481 The foregoing embodiments only describe several implementations of the disclosure, which are described specifically and in detail, and therefore cannot be construed as a limitation to the patent scope of the disclosure. It should be noted that, a person of ordinary skill in the art may further make variations and improvements without departing from the ideas of the disclosure, which all fall within the protection scope of the disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the disclosure is subject to the protection scope of the appended claims.

Claims

What is claimed is: I. A luminaire with touch control, comprising: a luminaire body comprising a flat external surface; a light source arranged in the luminaire body; one or more magnets arranged in the luminaire body, the magnets enable the flat external surface to be attracted to a flat iron surface; a sensor arranged in the luminaire body; when the flat external surface attracts to the flat iron surface, the sensor is able to sense change of capacitance and generate a signal; and a PCB module communicatively connected to the light source and the sensor, when receiving the signal from the sensor, the PCB module is able to turn on or off the light source, or adjust brightness of the light source.
2. The luminaire of claim I, wherein the sensor includes a rectangular copper plate.
3. The luminaire of claim 2, wherein a length of the rectangular copper plate is 4.8cm-7.2cm, a width of the rectangular copper plate is 0.8cm-1.2cm.
4. The luminaire of claim 2, wherein the rectangular copper plate is set between two magnets, and two magnets are located on an extension line of the rectangular copper plate along the length.
5. The luminaire of claim 4, wherein distances from the rectangular copper plate to two magnets are equal.
6. The luminaire of claim I, wherein the luminaire body includes a first wooden board and a second wooden board layered on the first wooden board; the light source, the magnets, the sensor and the PCB module are arranged between the first wooden board and the second wooden board.
7. The luminaire of claim 6, wherein the flat external surface is on the first wooden board; the sensor and the magnets are close to the flat external surface.
8. The luminaire of claim 7, wherein distance between the flat external surface and the sensor is less than 3mm.
9. The luminaire of claim 1, further comprising: a battery connected to the PCB module; a wireless charging module connected to the battery and the PCB module.
10. A method for controlling a luminaire with touch control, the luminaire comprising: a luminaire body comprising a flat external surface; a light source arranged in the luminaire body; one or more magnets arranged in the luminaire body, the magnets enable the flat external surface to be attracted to a flat iron surface; a sensor arranged in the luminaire body; when the flat external surface attracts to the flat iron surface, the sensor is able to sense change of capacitance and generate a signal; and a PCB module communicatively connected to the light source and the sensor, when receiving the signal from the sensor, the PCB module is able to turn on or off the light source, or adjust brightness of the light source; the method comprising: the sensor senses change of capacitance, when the flat external surface attracts to the flat iron surface; the sensor generates a signal; and the PCB module obtains the signal and controls the light source according to the signal; wherein the signal is a short touch signal or a long holding touch signal, the short touch signal is for turning on control, the long holding touch signal is for dimming control.