NZ757731A - Switch interface element - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a user interface for a switch, the user interface comprising a base and a cap, separable from the base. In some embodiments, a side portion is disposed between the base and the cap. Also disclosed is a face plate comprising one or more switches having the user interface. The arrangements described allow for convenient tailoring of the user interface of the switch and face plate to accommodate different environments of use and user preferences, without the need of replacing an entire switch or face plate. s described allow for convenient tailoring of the user interface of the switch and face plate to accommodate different environments of use and user preferences, without the need of replacing an entire switch or face plate.

Description

SWITCH INTERFACE ELEMENT PRIORITY This application claims priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No 2018903769 entitled “Switch Interface Element”, filed on 5 October 2018.

The entire content of this Provisional Application is hereby incorporated by reference.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE The following publications are referred to in the present application: - Australian Patent Application No. 2015275227.

The entire content of this document is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD The present application relates to electrical switch assemblies and in one application, to wall switch assemblies.

BACKGROUND In plate switch assemblies (including sockets and general power outlets having switch assemblies), there are switch products with various appearances and styles, such as large plate switches, square switches and round switches. There is also a large range of types of switches, such as rocker switches, push-button switches, rotary switches, and toggle switches.

Once a switch assembly of a specific type and appearance is installed, a user has to replace the switch assembly with a completely new assembly if the user wishes to change the type or appearance of the switch assembly. Management and updates of switch assembly products in a factory is also difficult because an update of a certain part of a switch assembly means an update of the switch assembly as a whole.

Furthermore, if a user wishes to change his or her current switch types, it is necessary to have a professional or certified person, such as an electrician, to perform the work. This can be expensive for the user.

SUMMARY According to a first aspect, there is provided a user interface for an operational part of a switch assembly, the user interface comprising: a user interface base; and a user interface cap connected to the user interface base.

In some embodiments, the user interface further comprises a user interface side disposed between the user interface base and the user interface cap.

In some embodiments, the user interface cap is removably connected to the user interface base.

In some embodiments, the user interface cap is connected to the user interface base via the user interface side.

In some embodiments, the user interface side is opaque.

In some embodiments, user interface side is translucent.

In some embodiments, the user interface cap is metal.

In some embodiments, the user interface cap is plastic.

In some embodiments, the user interface base is plastic.

In some embodiments, the user interface cap is connected to the user interface base via an adhesive strip.

According to another aspect, there is provided a face plate comprising at least one user interface according to the first aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Embodiments of the various aspects described herein will be detailed with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1A - shows a generalised exploded view of the two sub-assembly parts of a switch assembly according to one aspect; Figure 1B – shows a generalised exploded view of the main components of the two sub-assemblies of the switch assembly of Figure 1A; Figure 2A - shows a perspective front view of one embodiment of a switch system with assembly (push-button switch assembly) according to a first aspect; Figure 2B - shows a perspective rear view of the embodiment of Figure 2A; Figure 3A - shows a perspective front view of another embodiment of a switch system with switch assembly (rocker switch assembly); Figure 3B - shows a perspective rear view of the embodiment of Figure 3A; Figure 4 - shows an example of a round rocker switch being converted to a square rocker switch; Figure 5A – shows a user interface according to some embodiments; Figure 5B – shows a user interface according to some other embodiments; Figure 5C - shows a user interface according to some other embodiments; Figure 5D - shows a user interface according to some other embodiments; Figure 5E - shows a user interface according to some other embodiments; Figure 5F - shows a user interface according to some other embodiments; Figure 6 – shows an exploded view of some embodiments of the user interface; Figure 7 – shows an exploded view of some other embodiments of the user interface; Figure 8 – shows a face plate according to some embodiments; and Figure 9 – shows a face plate according to some other embodiments.

DESCRIPTION Various embodiments will now be described in detail in accordance with the accompanying drawings. The relative arrangement of components and shapes of devices in the embodiments are described merely as examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention to these examples. Further, similar reference numerals and letters refer to similar items in the figures, and thus once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be discussed for following figures.

Australian Patent Application No. 2015275227 (previously incorporated by reference in its entirety) describes a number of embodiments of switch assemblies 500 as shown in Figures 1A and 1B.

Figures 1A and 1B show a general representation of the components of an embodiment of switch assembly 500 according to one aspect. Broadly, in this aspect, switch assembly 500 comprises two sub-assemblies, being base unit switch part 510 and operational part 200. As shown in Figure 1A, base unit switch part 510 comprises a functional part 100 and an interface 300. Operational part 200 is for actuation by a user and for controlling the functional part 100, via the interface 300, for interfacing the functional part 100 and the operational part 200.

It will be noted that the operational part 200 is not fixed to the interface 300 or the functional part and is able to move freely with respect thereto, for reasons as will be described further below.

Figure 1B shows a further exploded general view of an embodiment of the switch assembly 500 of Figure 1A, in which it can be seen that in this embodiment, operational part 200 itself comprises two parts, namely user interface 201and carrier 202. In some embodiments, the user interface 201 and the carrier 202 are fixed together and in other embodiments, the user interface 201 and the carrier 202 are separable as will be described in more detail below. is an exploded perspective front view of a switch system 1000, comprising a base unit, base plate or grid plate 1100 and a cover unit, face plate or switch plate 1200. The switch assembly 500 (push-button switch assembly in this embodiment) is shown distributed between the base unit 1100 and cover unit or switch plate 1200, with the base unit switch part 510 being provided in the base unit 1100 and the functional part 200 (of which only the user interface 201 is visible in this view) being provided in the cover unit or switch plate 1200. is an exploded perspective rear view of the switch system 1000. As shown in Figs 2A, the switch assembly 500 includes the functional part 100, which in an embodiment is a switch mechanism, the operational part 200 which in this embodiment is a push button, and the interface 300.

As can be seen in Figures 2A and 2B, the operational part 200 can be freely removed from the base unit switch part (specifically the interface 300) and/or the functional part 100 as there is no connection between the operational part 200 and the interface 300/functional part 100.

In this embodiment, the operational part 200 comprises a user interface 201 (in this embodiment, a push-button 201A) and a carrier 202, as shown in and 2B. The operational part 200 is engaged in the plate 1000 through the carrier 202 which can be fitted into the plate 1000, as shown in . The push-button 201A is operated by a user to effect a switch on/off operation. shows one embodiment of the engagement of the carrier 202 to the plate 1200. However, a person skilled in the art will understand that the engagement of the operational part 200 and the plate 1200 can be provided in any way which can connect the operational part 200 and the plate 1200 together. The details of the connection between the plate 1200 and the operational part 200 is described in more detail with reference to FIGs. 14A, 14B and A, 15B of Australian Patent Application No. 2015275227 and is not repeated herein.

When the cover unit or plate 1200 is connected to the base unit 1100, the functional part 100 and interface 300 are located behind the operational part 200 when viewed from the side of the cover unit 1200. The functional part 100 is controlled by the actuation of the operational part 200 to implement switch on/off operation through the interface 300.

The interface 300 is disposed between the operational part 200 and the functional part 100, and is connected with the functional part 100 as described further below. Interface 300 is for interfacing the functional part 100 and the operational part 200 so as to transfer the user’s actuation operation (such pushing the button or actuating the dolly) on the operational part 200 to the functional part 100.

In a conventional switch assembly, the operational part 200, especially, the push button 201 is fixed to the functional part 100 and cannot be removed or detached from the functional part 100.

However, according to an aspect described Australian Patent Application No. 2015275227, as shown in and 2B, the operational part 200 is not fixed or connected to the interface 300 or to the functional part 100, but can be removed from the functional part 100 or the interface 300. For example, the operational part 200 can be caused to contact or engage with the functional part 100 or the interface 300 by only connecting the plate 1200 to the base unit 1100. Similarly, the operational part 200 can be removed or disengaged from the functional part 100 or the interface 300 by simply separating the plate 1200 from the base unit 1100. The details of the relationship of the three parts and principles of how the switch assembly 500 works are explained in more detail in Australian Patent Application No. 2015275227 with reference to FIGs. 5, 7, 11 and 13 and will not be repeated herein. and 3B illustrate another embodiment of the switch system 1000 with switch assembly 500, with the operational part 200 being provided by a rocker switch or dolly 201B. is an exploded perspective front view of this embodiment of the switch system 1000 with switch assembly (rocker switch assembly). is an exploded perspective rear view of the switch system 1000 with switch assembly 500 according to this embodiment.

The switch assembly 500 in and 3B includes the functional part 100, the operational part 200, and the interface 300. The difference between the rocker switch assembly in and the push-button switch assembly in lies only in the operational part 200 in this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the operational part 200 includes a dolly 201B and a carrier 202, as shown in and 3B. The operational part 200 is engaged in the cover unit or switch plate 1200 through the carrier 202 which can be fitted into the plate 1200, as shown in . The dolly 201B is operated by a user to effect switch on/off operation. shows the engagement implemented by the carrier 202. However, it will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art that the engagement of the operational part 200 and the plate 1200 can be in any way which can connect the operational part 200 and the plate 1200 together, including the direct connection of the operational part to the plate without an intervening carrier.

As with the embodiment shown in and 2B, the operational part 200 is not fixed to the base unit switch part 510 and in particular, to interface 300 or to the functional part 100, but can be removed or separated from the base unit switch part 510 being the functional part 100 or the interface 300. For example, the operational part 200 can be engaged with the functional part 100 through the interface 300 by only connecting the plate 1200 on the base 1100. Similarly, the operational part 200 can be disengaged or removed from the functional part 100 or the interface 300 by simply separating the plate 1200 from the base 1100.

Since the functional part 100 in is the same as that in and the operational part 200 can be removed from the same functional part 100, the push-button switch assembly as shown in can be converted to the rocker switch assembly as shown in simply by replacing the functional part 200 with push-button switch 201A with the functional part with the rocker switch 201B. Such replacement can be done by a user himself/herself without assistance of a professional or qualified tradesperson.

It will be understood that there can be any combination of different operational parts 200 and plates or cover units 1200. For example, a switch assembly 500 with a small dolly 201B might be converted to a switch assembly with a big dolly 201B by replacing the operational part 200 with a small dolly as described above. In another example, a switch assembly with a round push- button switch might be converted to a switch assembly with a square push-button/rocker switch by changing the operational part and the plate. In another combination, as shown in Figure 4, the appearance of switch system 1000 may be changed completely by changing the existing plate or cover unit 1200 with a plate or cover unit 1200’ of a different type. In one embodiment, the user interface 201 can be used, or a different user interface 201 can be used. In the example of Figure 4, the switch interface 201 is changed from a round dolly 201B to a square dolly 201B’.

The above has also provided examples of methods of changing the operational part of a switch assembly, and in some other embodiments, changing a cover unit or switch face plate to provide different functionality and/or appearance.

According to an aspect described in the present application, there is provided a method of further “tailoring” the appearance of a switch system, and in particular, the user interface 201 of the operational part 200.

Figures 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 5E and 5F show a number of different examples of user interfaces 201 for use in the system described in Australian Patent Application No. 2015275227. It will be appreciated that some of these user interfaces 201 are rocker switches and some are push- button switches which may be used for example, in the system described in Australian Patent Application No. 2015275227. The specific elements of the user interface 201 will be described in more detail below.

According to an aspect described herein, user interface 201 is able to be further tailored by the user or the manufacturer, by providing at least one interchangeable part which can be removed and replaced by another interchangeable part.

Figure 6 shows a user interface according to some embodiments of this aspect. There shown is user interface base 201-1 which in use, engages with interface 300 as previously described.

Also shown is user interface cap 201-2, which is able to be selectively connected to user interface base 201-1 by any suitable means. User interface cap 201-2 can be made from any suitable material as will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art. In some embodiments, user interface cap 201-2 is made of a metal, such as aluminium, steel, bronze or copper. In some embodiments, the metal is treated. For example, in the cases where the user interface cap 201-2 is aluminium, the aluminium may be anodised, blasted and machined. In some embodiments, user interface cap 201-2 is made of a plastic, such as polycarbonate. The plastic may be provided in different colours and textures. In some embodiments, the user interface cap 201-2 is wood. The wood may be treated to provide different colours, patterns and textures as well as resistance to moulds or fungus. Accordingly, the user interface 201 can be tailored to a multitude of styles by changing the user interface cap 201-2.

User interface cap 201-2 may be connected to the user interface base 201-1 by any suitable means, including gluing, snap-fit, and magnetic attachment as will be understood by the person skilled in the art.

It will be appreciated that in some embodiments, user interface cap 201-2 is permanently connected to user interface base 201-1 so that the user interface 201 is able to be tailored only once. In other embodiments, user interface cap 201-2 is removably connected to user interface base 201-1 to allow multiple options of tailoring the user interface 201.

It will also be appreciated that the user interface cap 201-2 can be tailored to suit the environment in which the switch is being used. For example, in dusty environments, or environments such as restaurant kitchens where greasy fingers are more likely to operate the switches, the user interface cap 201-2 is able to be selected to one which is more resistant to dirt attraction or showing finger print marks, for example by use of a blasted finish. This aspect provides for a much simpler manufacturing process in that a single base product can be manufactured regardless of the intended environment, and can subsequently be tailored for a specific environment, as opposed to manufacturing multiple product types to try to match multiple potential environments.

In some embodiments, user interface cap 201-2 is connected to user interface base 201-1 by user interface connector 201-3 such as a double-sided metal-to-plastic adhesive strip such as that sold under the trade mark VHB by 3M Company based in Minnesota, USA, as shown in Figure 6. In some embodiments, the adhesive strip is adhered on one side to a user interface cap receiving surface 201-1a of user interface base 201-1, and on the other side, to the underneath of user interface cap 201-2.

In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 7, user interface 201 also comprises a user interface side 201-4 as shown in Figure 7. In some embodiments, user interface side 201-4 is provided as a ring element and is disposed around a portion of user interface base 201-1. In some embodiments, user interface side 201-4 is disposed between user interface cap 201-2 and user interface base 201-1.

In some embodiments, the user interface end cap 201-2 is connected to the user interface base 201-1 via the user interface side 201-4, in that the user interface cap 201-2 is disposed or connected on the top of user interface side 201-4 which itself is connected to the user interface base 201-1.

In some embodiments, user interface side 201-4 is connected to user interface base 201-1 by a clipping arrangement. In some of these embodiments, user interface base 201-1 has one or more user interface base side connectors 201-1b as seen in Figure 7, which engage with a corresponding one or more user interface side base connectors 201-4b. In some embodiments still, user interface side 201-4 also has a user interface side base engager 201-4a which engages with corresponding user interface base side slot 201-1c to provide additional support and connection strength.

In some embodiments, user interface side 201-4 is opaque, and acts to block transmission of any LED or other light emanating from the switch assembly. In other embodiments, user interface side 201-4 is translucent or transparent, and acts to transmit LED or other light emanating from the switch assembly.

Accordingly, there is generally provided a user interface for an operational part of a switch assembly, the user interface comprising a user interface base and a user interface cap connected to the user interface base.

Referring back to Figure 5A, it can be seen that the example user interface 201 in this embodiment, is made up of user interface base 201-1, user interface cap 201-2 and user interface side 201-4.

Referring back to Figure 5B, in some embodiments, a user interface base flange 201- 1d is provided to provide further means for obscuring light from within the switch assembly.

According to another aspect, there is provided a face plate or switch plate 1200 for connection to a base unit or grid plate 1100, wherein the face plate has at least one user interface 201 as described herein. Figures 8 and 9 show two different embodiments of such a face plate 1200.

Figure 8 shows a face plate 1100 as a switch plate with one user interface 201, with user interface cap 201-2. Figure 9 shows a face plate 1200 having two electrical outlets 1201, and two corresponding user interface 201 switches, with user interface cap 201-2.

In these embodiments, it can be seen that user interface caps 201-2 have been selected to match the finish of the face plate 1200.

According to the various aspects described above with reference to multiple embodiments, a switch assembly is separated into a functional part and an operational part. These two parts can be combined and caused to engage through an interface. The switch assembly can be changed in type and appearance without changing the functional part attached to the base unit. A user can make such conversion without assistance of a professional installer. The production process is simplified and the production cost is also reduced by producing each part separately.

Although some specific embodiments of the various aspects have been demonstrated in detail with examples, it should be understood by a person skilled in the art that the above examples are only intended to be illustrative but not to limit the scope. It should be understood by a person skilled in the art that the above embodiments can be modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the various aspects described. The scope of the present invention is defined by the attached claims.

Throughout the specification and the claims that follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the words “comprise” and “include” and variations such as “comprising” and “including” will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers, but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement of any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

Claims (11)

1. A user interface for an operational part of a switch assembly, the user interface comprising: a user interface base; and a user interface cap connected to the user interface base.

2. A user interface as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a user interface side disposed between the user interface base and the user interface cap.

3. A user interface as claimed in any one of claims 1 or 2 wherein the user interface cap is removably connected to the user interface base.

4. A user interface as claimed in any one of claims 2 or 3 wherein the user interface cap is connected to the user interface base via the user interface side.

5. A user interface as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the user interface side is opaque.

6. A user interface as claimed in any one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the user interface side is translucent.

7. A user interface as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the user interface cap is metal.

8. A user interface as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein the user interface cap is plastic.

9. A user interface as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 wherein the user interface base is plastic.

10. A user interface as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 wherein the user interface cap is connected to the user interface base via an adhesive strip.

11. A face plate comprising at least one user interface as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 10.