Light control and indicating device

Claim 1

A unitary and self-contained device, for mounting in a cavity in the wall of a subject room, the wall having a surface exposed to the room and the cavity opening through that wall surface to the room substantially through its own full transverse area, and the wall having an interior structure defining the surface of the cavity, and the cavity being dimensioned and constructed for mounting therein of a conventional light switch, said device comprising, a main component and a cover plate, the main component including, (a) a frame forming a box extending into and positioned in the cavity and including lugs fitted to the wall adjacent said exposed surface and secured to the wall, (b) a plurality of sub-components mounted in said frame, the sub-components including, (1) a light switch having a manually actuating element disposed closely adjacent the plane of said exposed surface of the wall, (2) a block disposing the cavity, composed of heat insulating material continuously on all sides except an open front side, forming a cell opening through said open front side, the block being positioned with its open front side closely adjacent the plane of said exposed surface of the wall, a thermometer in the cell with a sensing element extending into and disposed entirely in the cell and a visual indicating element disposed closely adjacent the plane of said surface of the wall, the cover plate having apertures communicating with the cell at vertically spaced positions respectively adjacent the top and bottom of the cell to enable flow of air from the room through the cell in sensing engagement with the sensing element and to facilitate the free flow of such air, the cover plate being mounted to said frame over the cavity and secured to the frame, and being flat and essentially of planar form and lying close to said surface of the wall and blending into that surface, the cover plate having openings receiving the actuating element of the light switch, and the indicating element of the thermometer, and those elements thereby being exposed through those openings, and the elements substantially filling those openings and terminating closely adjacent the outer surface of the cover plate, the cover plate, except for said apertures, otherwise completely covering the cavity.