Patents by Inventor Bart Reier

Bart Reier has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10813197
    Abstract: A lighting controller comprises power circuitry, transmitter circuitry, a touch-sensitive panel, and processing circuitry. The power circuitry is configured to relay power from the lighting controller to a solid state lighting fixture wired to the lighting controller. The transmitter circuitry is configured to wirelessly exchange signals with the solid state lighting fixture. The touch-sensitive panel is configured to emit light and receive touch input from a user. The processing circuitry is electrically coupled to the power circuitry, the transmitter circuitry, and the touch-sensitive panel. The processing circuitry is configured to wirelessly control, via the transmitter circuitry, the attribute of light emitted by the solid state lighting fixture in accordance with the touch input received via the touch-sensitive panel and control the light emitted from the touch-sensitive panel to indicate the attribute as the attribute is wirelessly controlled.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: IDEAL INDUSTRIES LIGHTING LLC
    Inventors: Bart Reier, Daniel James Van Epps, Jr., Yuan Fang, David Power, Leigh Herman, Thomas Gordon
  • Patent number: 10595380
    Abstract: A lighting wall controller can be a retrofit for existing light switches, and the lighting wall control replaces the conventional light switch and can still work as a conventional light switch or other power switch with “dumb” lights or appliances while providing the ability to control “smart” lights and/or other “smart” devices with voice commands. In addition to controlling lights and/or devices, voice commands can be used to provide information or actions back to the user in response to the voice command. The lighting wall controller thereby provides voice control functionality without requiring additional devices, such as additional voice control appliances.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2020
    Assignee: IDEAL Industries Lighting LLC
    Inventors: Bart Reier, David Power, Yuan Fang, Al Safarikas
  • Publication number: 20180295705
    Abstract: A lighting controller comprises power circuitry, transmitter circuitry, a touch-sensitive panel, and processing circuitry. The power circuitry is configured to relay power from the lighting controller to a solid state lighting fixture wired to the lighting controller. The transmitter circuitry is configured to wirelessly exchange signals with the solid state lighting fixture. The touch-sensitive panel is configured to emit light and receive touch input from a user. The processing circuitry is electrically coupled to the power circuitry, the transmitter circuitry, and the touch-sensitive panel. The processing circuitry is configured to wirelessly control, via the transmitter circuitry, the attribute of light emitted by the solid state lighting fixture in accordance with the touch input received via the touch-sensitive panel and control the light emitted from the touch-sensitive panel to indicate the attribute as the attribute is wirelessly controlled.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2017
    Publication date: October 11, 2018
    Inventors: Bart Reier, Daniel James Van Epps, JR., Yuan Fang, David Power, Leigh Herman, Thomas Gordon
  • Publication number: 20180092189
    Abstract: A lighting wall controller can be a retrofit for existing light switches, and the lighting wall control replaces the conventional light switch and can still work as a conventional light switch or other power switch with “dumb” lights or appliances while providing the ability to control “smart” lights and/or other “smart” devices with voice commands. In addition to controlling lights and/or devices, voice commands can be used to provide information or actions back to the user in response to the voice command. The lighting wall controller thereby provides voice control functionality without requiring additional devices, such as additional voice control appliances.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 25, 2017
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Inventors: Bart Reier, David Power, Yuan Fang, Al Safarikas
  • Patent number: 5883787
    Abstract: A user accessible connector includes a contact support frame shaped to fit in an external housing, a spring contact attached to the contact support frame for contacting the apparatus PCB, and a guide pin attached to the contact support frame and having a fixed positional relationship with the spring contact. When secured to the external housing, the connector is laterally shiftable by a predetermined distance. The apparatus PCB is provided with a guide slot that is shaped to receive the guide pin of the connector. When mating the exterior housing with the PCB, a tapered surface of the guide pin effects shifting of the connector in the lateral direction to properly align the spring contacts with the PCB contact pads. Because the guide pin has a fixed positional relationship with the spring contacts and the guide slot has a similar fixed positional relationship with the PCB contact pads, when the guide pin is inserted in the PCB guide slot, the spring contacts are accurately aligned with the PCB contact pads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 1997
    Date of Patent: March 16, 1999
    Assignee: Ericsson, Inc.
    Inventor: Bart Reier
  • Patent number: 5813520
    Abstract: An actuator button is mounted in a housing by a cantilevered beam fixedly attached to the intermediate portion of a torsion beam. The ends of the torsion beam are nonrotatably fixed with respect to the housing. The actuator button is maintained at a normal, spaced-apart position with respect to a switch positioned within the housing. Movement of the actuator toward the switch induces bending stress in the cantilevered beam and torsional stress in torsion beam. The actuator button arrangement permits direct, vertical insertion of the actuator button into the housing, does not require any secondary assembly operations, and has a unitary construction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 29, 1998
    Assignee: Ericsson, Inc.
    Inventors: Bart Reier, Patrick Nixon, Robert Doran