PROXIMITY SENSOR FOR CONTROLLING LIGHT SWITCHES AND OTHER DEVICES

摘要

The present invention is an apparatus for controlling an aspect of a device. In one embodiment of the invention, a device for controlling the on/off state and the intensity of a device such as an incandescent lamp is disclosed. In this embodiment, the invention includes a sensor for sensing the amount of time an object is present in the vicinity and for providing a sense signal that is proportional to such time. The invention also includes a controller, responsive to the sense signal, for changing the on/off state of the device, for modifying an attribute of the device (e.g., the intensity of a lamp) as a function of the period of duration an object is sensed within the electric field. In another embodiment, a device for activating/not activating a power tool or an alarm state related to the tool is disclosed.