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...and can match every decor
Prior to this design, wall dimmers were either stand-alone toggle switches or button pads with sliding or split buttons not relating to the switch in a meaningful way. Our solution merged the solo toggle dimmer switch and cored out the center for the load controls (discrete buttons).
Bigger buttons and more of them
The switch needed to fit into the small Decora form factor. Moving the dimmer function to the outside (top and bottom) meant accommodation for more and lager buttons.
Integrate and balance the features
The outer toggle dimmer frame included a necessary high voltage cut-off switch, a 2.4GHz antenna, and a light sensor... without looking too cluttered.
Here's where things got more interesting.
On the hunt for a low-cost programming aid for installers, the PM threw a seemingly unsolvable request into the air. We came back with off-the-shelf IR interrupter low-gap sensors that, in theory, could detect several shades of grey. A group of 4 sensors with 5 shades equals 625 custom configurable keypad serializations potentially reducing programming time by 50%.
Exploded view
of the preliminary switch internals and custom wallplate for a feasibility study.