Lighting apparatus

Abstract

A lighting apparatus includes a light source, a bridge circuit, a voltage node, a filter circuit, a dimmer check circuit and a control circuit. The light source includes a LED module. The bridge circuit generates a DC power at a voltage node by converting an AC power. The filter circuit is connected to the voltage node for converting the DC power to a driving current to the LED module. The dimmer check circuit is coupled to the voltage node for generating a dimmer check signal by detecting whether a wall dimmer is electrically coupled to the lighting apparatus. The control circuit adjusts a setting of the filter circuit according to the dimmer check signal.

Claims

1. A lighting apparatus comprising: a light source comprising multiple types of LED modules; a bridge circuit for generating a DC power at a voltage node by converting an AC power; a filter circuit connected to the voltage node for converting the DC power to a driving current to the multiple types of LED module; a dimmer check circuit coupled to the voltage node for generating a dimmer check signal by detecting whether a wall dimmer is electrically coupled to the lighting apparatus; and a control circuit for adjusting a setting of the filter circuit according to the dimmer check signal, wherein the setting is related to a mixed light color temperature of the multiple types of LED modules.

2. The lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wall dimmer is a TRIAC dimmer.

3. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the DC power is a sine wave DC power.

4. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the filter circuit comprises a constant current circuit for generating the driving current.

5. The lighting apparatus of claim 4, wherein the filter circuit comprises a PI filter.

6. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the dimmer check circuit detects a voltage drop at the voltage node, wherein when the voltage drop over a first threshold is detected, the dimmer check signal indicates the wall dimmer is existed.

7. The lighting apparatus of claim 6, wherein the dimmer check circuit comprises multiple resistors and a capacitor, wherein the multiple resistors are used for dividing a Vbus voltage at the voltage node, and the capacitor is used for filter the sine wave DC power.

8. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the dimmer check circuit detects a voltage cut angle at the voltage node, wherein when the voltage cut angle is detected, the dimmer check signal indicates the wall dimmer is existed.

9. The lighting apparatus of claim 8, wherein the dimmer check circuit has a integral circuit for accumulating a voltage variation to detect the voltage cut angle.

10. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the dimmer check circuit detects a phase cut angle at the voltage node, wherein when the phase cut angle is detected, the dimmer check signal indicates the wall dimmer is existed.

11. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the dimmer check circuit comprises a comparator for retrieving a Vcc voltage of the filter circuit, wherein the comparator compares the Vcc voltage with a Vbus voltage at the voltage node to detect whether the wall dimmer is existed.

12. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the control circuit increases a support current when the wall dimmer is detected.

13. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the control circuit transmits a command to indicate an external the existence of the wall dimmer.

14. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the control circuit transmit the dimmer check signal to another lighting apparatus via a wireless channel, wherein said another lighting apparatus is also electrically connected to AC power.

15. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein a TRIAC setting is detected by the dimmer check circuit, wherein the control circuit converts the TRIAC setting to a PWM signal supplied to the filter circuit to change the driving current to the LED module.

16. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a manual switch, wherein when the manual switch is turned on, the dimmer check circuit is disabled.

17. The lighting apparatus of claim 2, wherein the control circuit detects a TRIAC value variation of the wall dimmer within a time period to switch among multiple working modes of the filter circuit.

18. The lighting apparatus of claim 17, wherein the LED module has multiple types of LED units with different light parameters, wherein in a first working mode, a TRIAC setting of the wall dimmer is used for adjusting a first type of LED units.

19. The lighting apparatus of claim 17, wherein the LED module has multiple types of LED units with different light parameters, wherein in a second working mode, a TRIAC setting of the wall dimmer is used for adjusting a first type of LED units.

20. The lighting apparatus of claim 17, wherein the LED module has multiple types of LED units with different light parameters, wherein in a third working mode, a TRIAC setting is used for adjusting a color temperature of the LED module.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 illustrates a circuit diagram of a driver circuit.

(2) FIG. 2 illustrates a detailed circuit example.

(3) FIG. 3 illustrates another circuit diagram of a driver circuit in another embodiment.

(4) FIG. 4 illustrates another circuit diagram of a driver circuit in another embodiment.

(5) FIG. 5 illustrates a detailed circuit diagram of a driver circuit in another embodiment.

(6) FIG. 6 illustrates another detailed circuit example.

(7) FIG. 7 illustrates a dimmer check circuit example.

(8) FIG. 8 illustrates an embodiment of a lighting apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(9) In FIG. 8, a lighting apparatus includes a light source 604, a bridge circuit 601, a filter circuit 602, a dimmer check circuit 608 and a control circuit 607.

(10) The light source 604 includes a LED module that may include multiple types of LED units 605, 606.

(11) The bridge circuit 601 generates a DC power at a voltage node 616 by converting an AC power.

(12) The filter circuit 602 is connected to the voltage node 616 for converting the DC power to a driving current to the LED module.

(13) The dimmer check circuit 608 is coupled to the voltage node 616 for generating a dimmer check signal by detecting whether a wall dimmer 610 is electrically coupled to the lighting apparatus.

(14) The control circuit 607 adjusts a setting 699 of the filter circuit according to the dimmer check signal. The control circuit 607 may increase a current when the wall dimmer 610 is detected for compensating a current loss due to the wall dimmer 610. For example, a common TRIAC dimmer may cause certain safety issue for dropping the voltage current in an unexpected case.

(15) In some embodiments, the wall dimmer is a TRIAC dimmer.

(16) In some embodiments, the DC power is a sine wave DC power. For example, a bridge circuit converts negative parts of an AC sine wave to positive parts to form a DC power of a sine power signal which negative parts are converted to positive counterparts.

(17) In some embodiments, the filter circuit 604 includes a constant current circuit for generating the driving current. The sine wave power signal still has larger variation and thus a constant current source may be used for generating a final driving current supplied to the light source 604. In some embodiments, PMW (Pulse Width Modulation) signals are used for adjusting a DC output by selecting a certain portion of time to turn off the DC output.

(18) In some embodiments, the filter circuit 602 includes a PI filter 603.

(19) In some embodiments, the dimmer check circuit detects a voltage drop at the voltage node. TRIAC dimmer usually causes a voltage drop. When the voltage drop is detected by the dimmer check circuit 608, the wall dimmer 610 is determined existed.

(20) When the voltage drop over a first threshold is detected, the dimmer check signal indicates the wall dimmer is existed.

(21) In some embodiments, the dimmer check circuit includes multiple resistors and a capacitor. A detailed

(22) The multiple resistors are used for dividing a Vbus voltage at the voltage node, and the capacitor is used for filter the sine wave DC power.

(23) In some embodiments, the dimmer check circuit detects a voltage cut angle at the voltage node.

(24) When the voltage cut angle is detected, the dimmer check signal indicates the wall dimmer is existed.

(25) In some embodiments, the dimmer check circuit has a integral circuit for accumulating a voltage variation to detect the voltage cut angle.

(26) In some embodiments, the dimmer check circuit detects a phase cut angle at the voltage node.

(27) When the phase cut angle is detected, the dimmer check signal indicates the wall dimmer is existed.

(28) In some embodiments, the dimmer check circuit includes a comparator for retrieving a Vcc voltage of the filter circuit.

(29) The comparator compares the Vcc voltage with a Vbus voltage at the voltage node to detect whether the wall dimmer is existed.

(30) In some embodiments, the control circuit increases a support current when the wall dimmer is detected.

(31) Sometimes, TRIAC dimmer causes current drop that is not expected by common LED light drivers. Therefore, a compensation current is increased to keep the current output stable and prevents blinking of the light source.

(32) In some embodiments, the control circuit 607 transmits a command to indicate an existence of the wall dimmer 610.

(33) In some embodiments, the control circuit transmit the dimmer check signal to another lighting apparatus 609 via a wireless channel. For example, multiple light devices are grouped and thus the resource is shared for multiple light devices.

(34) Said another lighting apparatus is also electrically connected to AC power.

(35) In some embodiments, a TRIAC setting is detected by the dimmer check circuit.

(36) The control circuit converts the TRIAC setting to a PWM signal supplied to the filter circuit to change the driving current to the LED module.

(37) In some embodiments, the lighting apparatus may also include a manual switch 611.

(38) When the manual switch 611 is turned on, the dimmer check circuit 608 is disabled.

(39) In some embodiments, the control circuit 607 detects a TRIAC value variation of the wall dimmer 610 within a time period to switch among multiple working modes of the filter circuit. For example, if the TRIAC dimmer is detected to turn on and to turn off within 2 seconds, the control circuit 607 activates a mode switch operation to switch among multiple operation modes.

(40) In some embodiments, the LED module has multiple types of LED units with different light parameters.

(41) In a first working mode, a TRIAC setting of the wall dimmer is used for adjusting a first type of LED units.

(42) In some embodiments, the LED module has multiple types of LED units with different light parameters.

(43) In a second working mode, a TRIAC setting of the wall dimmer is used for adjusting a first type of LED units.

(44) In some embodiments, the LED module has multiple types of LED units with different light parameters.

(45) In a third working mode, a TRIAC setting is used for adjusting a color temperature of the LED module.

(46) Please refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 7, which show some variations of embodiments.

(47) In FIG. 1, an AC power 11 is supplied to a bridge circuit 20 to generate a DC current at a power node, VBUS. A voltage divider circuit 31 is used for dividing a voltage of VBUS to be detected. An integral circuit 32 may be used as the function mentioned above. A control circuit 33 is used for providing compensation to power supply to light sources.

(48) FIG. 2 illustrates a detailed circuit example. In FIG. 2, the lighting apparatus includes a voltage divider circuit 31, a first comparator 321, a reference voltage unit 324, an integral unit 322 and a second comparator unit 323.

(49) FIG. 3 shows another embodiment.

(50) In FIG. 3, the AC power 11 is supplied to a bridge circuit 20. A dimmer check circuit 110 is used for checking whether a wall dimmer is attached. A RF circuit 50 is used for sending and receiving a wireless signal to communicate with other devices like another lighting apparatus or a remote control.

(51) A power circuit 90 is provided for generating constant currents to RF circuit 50 or other circuits. The light source 80 receives power from the constant current source 60.

(52) FIG. 4 shows another embodiment. In addition to the components mentioned in FIG. 3, a PI circuit 91 is used for filtering output current of the bridge circuit 20.

(53) FIG. 5 shows another circuit example.

(54) In FIG. 5, a power protection circuit 92 prevents sudden peak of voltage input. The bridge circuit 20 converts an AC power to a DC power. A PI filter 90 is used for filtering the DC power. A constant current circuit 60 is used for generating a constant current. A chip U3 is used for generating corresponding PWM signals for adjusting driving currents to mix a required light parameter.

(55) FIG. 6 shows another part of the example in FIG. 5.

(56) FIG. 7 shows a voltage divider circuit example for detecting a voltage drop when a wall dimmer is attached to the lighting apparatus.

(57) The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has been described with reference to specific embodiments. However, the illustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings.

(58) The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the techniques and their practical applications. Others skilled in the art are thereby enabled to best utilize the techniques and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.

(59) Although the disclosure and examples have been fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as being included within the scope of the disclosure and examples as defined by the claims.