Did You Know...
...that several people are credited with the invention of the flush toilet? Most people have heard of Thomas Crapper (1837-1910), the sanitary engineer who invented the valve-and-siphon arrangement that made the modern toilet possible. Another claimant to "the throne" was British inventor Alexander Cumming who patented a toilet in 1775. Then there's a nameless Minoan (a native of ancient Crete) who lived 4,000 years ago who supposedly was ahead of his time and created the first flush toilet!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| D682795 | Remote control keypad | 05/21/2013 |
| 8441197 | Method of striking a lamp in an electronic dimming ballast circuit A method of striking a gas discharge lamp involves the steps of generating a high-frequency square-wave voltage having an operating frequency, generating a sinusoidal voltage from the high-frequency square-wave voltage, controlling the operating frequency to a low-e... | 05/14/2013 |
| D682131 | Wireless sensor | 05/14/2013 |
| 8427061 | Smart load control device having a rotary actuator A load control device for controlling the amount of power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical load comprises a rotary actuator, such as a rotary knob or a rotary wheel. The load control device increases and decreases the amount of power delivered to t... | 04/23/2013 |
| D680084 | Tabletop remote control keypad | 04/16/2013 |
| 8417388 | Load control system having an energy savings mode A load control system for a building having a heating and cooling system and a window located in a space of the building is operable to control a motorized window treatment in response to a demand response command in order to attempt to reduce the power consumption ... | 04/09/2013 |
| 8410706 | Method of calibrating a daylight sensor A wireless lighting control system comprises a daylight sensor for measuring a light intensity in a space and a dimmer switch for controlling the amount of power delivered to a lighting load in response to the daylight sensor. For example, the daylight sensor may be... | 04/02/2013 |
| D679261 | Tabletop remote control keypad | 04/02/2013 |
| 8389857 | Structure for mounting a wireless battery-powered remote control A mounting structure enables a portable remote control device, that operates a load control device of a wirelessly controlled lighting system, to be mounted to a vertical surface (e.g., to an opening of an electrical wallbox). The mounting structure comprises a moun... | 03/05/2013 |
| 8384297 | Method of controlling an operating frequency of an electronic dimming ballast An electronic ballast for driving a gas discharge lamp comprises an inverter circuit, a resonant tank circuit, and a control circuit operable to determine an approximation of a resonant frequency of the resonant tank circuit and to control the inverter circuit in re... | 02/26/2013 |
| 8368307 | Method for replacing a load control device of a load control system The invention regards a system and method for using a handheld programming device to configure a lighting control system wirelessly. In one embodiment, at least one device configured with a processing section is installed in the lighting control system. A communicat... | 02/05/2013 |
| 8354803 | Hybrid light source A hybrid light source comprises a discrete-spectrum lamp (for example, a fluorescent lamp) and a continuous-spectrum lamp (for example, a halogen lamp). A control circuit individually controls the amount of power delivered to the discrete-spectrum lamp and the conti... | 01/15/2013 |
| D674355 | Portion of a window blind control | 01/15/2013 |
| 8345400 | Surge suppression circuit for a load control device A surge suppression circuit for a load control device allows the load control device to pass hipot testing, while providing improved protection of the load control device during surge events. The load control device comprises a load control circuit and a filter circ... | 01/01/2013 |
| D673510 | Load control device having a nightlight | 01/01/2013 |
| 8339048 | Hybrid light source A hybrid light source comprises a discrete-spectrum lamp (for example, a fluorescent lamp) and a continuous-spectrum lamp (for example, a halogen lamp). A control circuit individually controls the amount of power delivered to the discrete-spectrum lamp and the conti... | 12/25/2012 |
| 8334663 | Power supply for a load control device A load control device adapted to be coupled between an AC power source and an electrical load for controlling the power delivered to the load includes a power supply having an energy storage capacitor and a charge pump circuit adapted to conduct an input charging cu... | 12/18/2012 |
| 8330638 | Wireless battery-powered remote control having multiple mounting means A remote control for a wireless load control system comprises a housing having a length and a width slightly smaller than the length and the width of an opening of a standard faceplate, respectively, such that the housing is adapted to be received within the opening... | 12/11/2012 |
| 8327159 | Dimmer having a microprocessor-controlled power supply A two-wire load control device for control of power delivered to an electrical load from a source of AC voltage, comprising a first controllably conductive device adapted to be operatively coupled to the source of AC voltage and to the electrical load for controllin... | 12/04/2012 |
| 8313219 | Ballasted lamp socket for a compact fluorescent lamp A ballasted lamp socket for a gas discharge lamp, such as a compact fluorescent lamp, is adapted to replace an Edison screw-in lamp socket in a ceiling mounted light fixture, or a table or floor lamp. The ballasted lamp socket comprises a lamp-receiving portion adap... | 11/20/2012 |
| 8306051 | Communication protocol for a lighting control system A communication protocol for a lighting control system having a plurality of control devices coupled to a communication link uses a polling technique to coordinate the transmission of digital messages between the control devices. When the control devices are powered... | 11/06/2012 |
| 8289192 | Keypad device having a removable button assembly A control device, such as a keypad device, for use in a load control system for controlling the power delivered from an AC power source to an electrical load comprises a switch, a yoke fixedly mounted with respect to the switch, and a removable button assembly that ... | 10/16/2012 |
| 8288981 | Method of automatically controlling a motorized window treatment while minimizing occupant distractions A load control system provides for automatically controlling a position of a motorized window treatment to control the amount of sunlight entering a space of a building through a window located in a façade of the building in order to control a sunlight penetration ... | 10/16/2012 |
| D669038 | Multi-zone tabletop remote load control device | 10/16/2012 |
| 8278839 | Switching circuit having delay for inrush current protection A two-wire switching circuit can handle a large inrush current, but does not require a neutral connection or a heavy-duty mechanical switch or relay. The switching circuit comprises a mechanical air-gap switch, a first controllably conductive device (e.g., a bidirec... | 10/02/2012 |
| 8274240 | Switching circuit having delay for inrush current protection A two-wire switching circuit can handle a large inrush current, but does not require a neutral connection or a heavy-duty mechanical switch or relay. The switching circuit comprises a mechanical air-gap switch and a controllably conductive device, which are coupled ... | 09/25/2012 |
| 8274233 | Load control device having a visual indication of energy savings and usage information A dimmer switch for controlling the amount of power delivered to and thus the intensity of a lighting load comprises a visual display operable to provide a visual indication representative of energy savings and usage information. The dimmer switch comprises an inten... | 09/25/2012 |
| D666978 | Load control device | 09/11/2012 |
| 8242714 | Two-wire dimmer circuit for a screw-in compact fluorescent lamp A dimmer switch for controlling the intensity of a dimmable screw-in compact fluorescent lamp provides smooth dimming of the fluorescent lamp and prevents flickering of the lamp due to multiple re-strikes. The dimmer switch prevents multiple re-strikes by avoiding m... | 08/14/2012 |
| 8242708 | Multiple location load control system A multiple location load control system comprises a main device and remote devices, which do not require neutral connections, but allow for visual and audible feedback at the main device and the remote devices. The main device and the remote devices are adapted to b... | 08/14/2012 |
| D665290 | Wireless sensor | 08/14/2012 |
| 8237069 | Control button having a single return spring for multiple buttons A control device, such as a wireless remote control for a load control system, comprises a return spring that operates to return multiple buttons to respective idle positions resulting in lower cost and complexity of the remote control. Specifically, the remote cont... | 08/07/2012 |
| D664933 | Button for a window blind control | 08/07/2012 |
| 8232734 | Electronic ballast having a partially self-oscillating inverter circuit An electronic ballast for driving a gas discharge lamp comprises an inverter circuit that operates in a partially self-oscillating manner. The inverter circuit comprises a push-pull converter having a main transformer having a primary winding for producing a high-fr... | 07/31/2012 |
| 8232733 | Hybrid light source A hybrid light source comprises a high-efficiency lamp, for example, a fluorescent lamp, and a low-efficiency lamp, for example, a halogen lamp. A control circuit individually controls the amount of power delivered to each of the high-efficiency lamp and the low-eff... | 07/31/2012 |
| 8228184 | Battery-powered occupancy sensor A load control system comprises a load control device and a battery-powered occupancy sensor, which transmits a first wireless signal to the load control device in response to detecting the presence of an occupant in a space. The load control system further comprise... | 07/24/2012 |
| 8228163 | Handheld programmer for lighting control system The invention regards a system and method for using a handheld programming device to configure a lighting control system wirelessly. In one embodiment, at least one device configured with a processing section is installed in the lighting control system. A communicat... | 07/24/2012 |
| 8228002 | Hybrid light source A hybrid light source comprises a discrete-spectrum lamp (for example, a fluorescent lamp) and a continuous-spectrum lamp (for example, a halogen lamp). A control circuit individually controls the amount of power delivered to the discrete-spectrum lamp and the conti... | 07/24/2012 |
