Solid-state lighting with commands and controls

Abstract

A light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller comprising a transceiver circuit, a power converter circuit, and a control circuit is adopted to convert remote control signals into a pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal and a controllable DC voltage to operate an external LED luminaire by turning it on and off and controlling its luminous intensity. The LED luminaire controller further comprises a remote controller. When the remote control signals are initiated by the remote controller with phase-shift keying (PSK) signals transmitted, the transceiver circuit can demodulate such PSK signals and subsequently send the PWM signal, the controllable DC voltage, and a metering command to the control circuit to request responses accordingly.

Claims

1. A light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller, comprising: a power converter circuit configured to couple to alternate-current (AC) mains and convert a line voltage from the AC mains into a first direct-current (DC) voltage; a control circuit comprising a first voltage converter circuit, a relay switch, and an optocoupler circuit configured to receive a pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal and to control luminous intensity of an external LED luminaire; and a first transceiver circuit comprising a first transceiver and a decoder and controller, the first transceiver circuit coupled to the control circuit and configured to receive and demodulate various phase-shift keying (PSK) band-pass signals and to output the PWM signal and a signal voltage, wherein: the first voltage converter circuit is configured to up-convert the first DC voltage into a second DC voltage; the relay switch comprises a coil controlled by the signal voltage to turn on and off the line voltage from the AC mains with respect to the external LED luminaire; and the optocoupler circuit comprises an LED and a photo-transistor, the LED configured to emit a light signal responsive to the PWM signal, and the photo-transistor configured to receive the light signal and to interface the PWM signal with the first DC voltage.

2. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 1, wherein the control circuit further comprises a first transistor and a low-pass filter circuit operated by the second DC voltage, and wherein the first transistor is coupled to the photo-transistor and configured to receive the first DC voltage and to convert the first DC voltage into a modulated voltage according to the PWM signal.

3. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 2, wherein the low-pass filter circuit comprises a voltage follower, an operational amplifier, and at least one stage of a resistor-capacitor (RC) filter coupled to the operational amplifier as an input, wherein the low-pass filter circuit is configured to convert the modulated voltage into a 0-to-10-volt (V) voltage, and wherein the voltage follower is configured to serve as a buffer to output the 0-to-10-V voltage to the external LED luminaire without affecting stability of the low-pass filter circuit.

4. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 1, wherein the control circuit further comprises a metering circuit coupled to the relay switch and configured to measure an operating voltage and an electric current flowing into the external LED luminaire, and wherein the metering circuit comprises a metering device that collects data of the operating voltage and the electric current and calculates power consumption of the external LED luminaire.

5. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 4, wherein the metering device comprises a data register and an input/output interface, wherein the data register is configured to store data of the operating voltage, the electric current, and a calculated power consumption of the external LED luminaire, and wherein the input/output interface serially transfers the data out to the first transceiver circuit when requested.

6. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 5, wherein the metering circuit further comprises a voltage transformer and an AC current transducer respectively configured to measure the operating voltage and the electric current flowing into the external LED luminaire.

7. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 1, wherein the relay switch further comprises an AC input electrical terminal, an output electrical terminal, and a pair of DC electrical terminals, wherein the AC input electrical terminal is configured to couple to a hot wire of the line voltage from the AC mains, wherein the output electrical terminal is configured to relay the hot wire of the line voltage to the external LED luminaire, and wherein the pair of DC electrical terminals are coupled to the coil with one of the pair of DC electrical terminals coupled to the first DC voltage and the other one of the pair of DC electrical terminals coupled to a controllable DC voltage compatible to the first DC voltage.

8. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 7, wherein the control circuit further comprises a second transistor coupled to the first DC voltage and controlled by the signal voltage, wherein the second transistor is configured to generate the controllable DC voltage, and wherein, when the signal voltage is absent, the controllable DC voltage disables the coil and relays the hot wire of the line voltage to the external LED luminaire to operate thereof.

9. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 1, wherein the control circuit further comprises a second voltage converter circuit coupled to the first DC voltage and configured to regulate the first DC voltage into a third DC voltage to operate the first transceiver circuit.

10. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 1, wherein the decoder and controller comprises a microcontroller, a microchip, or a programmable logic controller.

11. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 1, further comprising: a remote controller comprising a remote user interface and a second transceiver circuit, the remote controller configured to send the PSK band-pass signals to the first transceiver circuit in response to a plurality of signals from the remote user interface, wherein the second transceiver circuit comprises a second transceiver and an encoder and controller coupled between the remote user interface and the second transceiver and configured to convert the plurality of signals into a plurality of sets of binary data characters, and wherein each of the plurality of sets of binary data characters comprises command data.

12. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 11, wherein the remote user interface comprises keyboards in a computer-based lighting control management system, the keyboards configured to generate the plurality of signals.

13. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 11, wherein at least two of the plurality of signals are respectively configured to turn on and off the controllable DC voltage, subsequently turning on and off the external LED luminaire.

14. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 11, wherein at least two of the plurality of signals are respectively configured to dim up and to dim down the external LED luminaire.

15. The light-emitting diode (LED) luminaire controller of claim 11, wherein at least one of the plurality of signals is configured to request metering and responding.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present disclosure are described with reference to the following figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various figures unless otherwise specified. Moreover, in the section of detailed description of the invention, any of a “first”, a “second”, a “third”, and so forth does not necessarily represent a part that is mentioned in an ordinal manner, but a particular one.

(2) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an LED luminaire controller according to the present disclosure.

(3) FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a PWM-to-voltage converter according to the present disclosure.

(4) FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a metering circuit according to the present disclosure.

(5) FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a remote controller according to the present disclosure.

(6) FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a second transceiver according to the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(7) FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an LED luminaire controller according to the present disclosure. In FIG. 1, an LED luminaire controller 200 is coupled to an external LED luminaire 300 comprising one or more LED arrays 314 (external one or more LED arrays 314, hereinafter) and a power supply unit 310 (external power supply unit 310, hereinafter) that may comprise a pair of dimming ports D+D−. The LED luminaire controller 200 comprises a power supply unit 201 comprising two electrical conductors “L” and “N” and a power converter circuit 210. The two electrical conductors “L” and “N” are configured to couple to the AC mains. The power converter circuit 210 is configured to couple to the two electrical conductors “L” and “N” to convert a line voltage from the AC mains into a first direct-current (DC) voltage appeared at a port 407. The LED luminaire controller 200 further comprises a control circuit 400 comprising a relay switch 401. The relay switch 401 comprises a coil 402 with a set voltage and is configured to couple the line voltage from the AC mains to the external power supply unit 310 to operate thereof when enabled, subsequently powering up the external one or more LED arrays 314 coupled with the external power supply unit 310. The external power supply unit 310 comprises an input operating voltage range such as 100-347 volts (AC or DC). The external power supply unit 310 comprises two electrical conductors “Lo” and “N”. The pair of dimming ports D+D− are configured to receive a 0-to-10-V voltage for luminaire dimming applications. The external power supply unit 310 is a current source, providing various LED driving current to the external one or more LED arrays 314 to dim up or dim down thereof according to the 0-to-10-V voltage. The first DC voltage is a low DC voltage such as 5 V, which is less than 10 V. To convert the low DC voltage into the 0-to-10-V voltage, it is necessary to boost the low DC voltage to a higher operating voltage such as 12 V. For this purpose, the control circuit 400 further comprises a first voltage converter circuit 420 configured to up-convert the first DC voltage into a second DC voltage. Both the first DC voltage and the second DC voltage are with respect to a ground reference 254.

(8) In FIG. 1, the LED luminaire controller 200 further comprises a first transceiver circuit 500 comprising a first transceiver 501 and a decoder and controller 502. The first transceiver circuit 500 is coupled to the control circuit 400 and configured to demodulate various phase-shift keying (PSK) band-pass signals and to output a pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal and a signal voltage via the decoder and controller 502 in response to the various PSK band-pass signals received by the first transceiver 501. The first transceiver 501 requires an operating voltage such as 3.3 V to operate. To convert the first DC voltage into the 3.3 V, it is necessary to down-convert the first DC voltage. For this purpose, the control circuit 400 further comprises a second voltage converter circuit 430 configured to down-convert the first DC voltage into a third DC voltage. Both the first DC voltage and the third DC voltage share the ground reference 254. The second voltage converter circuit 430 may be a type of a low-dropout (LDO) regulator featuring linearity to maintain a steady voltage, free of switching noises, simplicity, small size, high efficiency, etc.

(9) The PWM signal is configured to control the external power supply unit 310 to provide the various LED driving current to dim up or dim down the external one or more LED arrays 314. However, the pair of dimming ports D+D− are configured to accept the 0-to-10-V voltage. For this purpose, the control circuit 400 further comprises a PWM-to-voltage converter 440 coupled to the first transceiver circuit 500 and configured to convert the PWM signal into the 0-to-10-V voltage in response to one of the various PSK band-pass signals. The PWM-to-voltage converter 440 comprises a first transistor 441, a low-pass filter circuit 460, and an optocoupler circuit 450 coupled between the first transceiver circuit 500 and the first transistor 441. The optocoupler circuit 450 is configured to buffer the PWM signal in a way that the low-pass filter circuit 460 powered by the second DC voltage can be operated without affecting an operation of the first transceiver circuit 500 powered by the third DC voltage. The first transistor 441 is configured to receive the first DC voltage and to convert the first DC voltage into a modulated voltage according to the PWM signal. The low-pass filter circuit 460 is configured to convert the modulated voltage into the 0-to-10-V voltage to operate a dimming circuit in the external power supply unit 310 without affecting stability of the low-pass filter circuit 460.

(10) In FIG. 1, the first transceiver circuit 500 further comprises an antenna 505 embedded on a printed circuit board (PCB) and a radio-frequency (RF) front-end transmitter/receiver 504 configured to provide a single-ended matched impedance between an input to the RF front-end transmitter/receiver 504 and an output from the first transceiver 501 for maximum transmit/receive efficiency. In other words, this important process is designed to ensure signals to transmit without signal reflections and with a required transmission power. The decoder and controller 502 comprises a microcontroller, a microchip, or a programmable logic controller.

(11) In FIG. 1, the relay switch 401 further comprises an AC input electrical terminal 403, an output electrical terminal 406, and a pair of DC electrical terminals 404, in which the AC input electrical terminal 403 is configured to couple to a hot wire (i.e., “Li”) of the line voltage from the AC mains. The output electrical terminal 406 is configured to relay the hot wire of the line voltage to the external LED luminaire 300 from “Li” to “Lo”. The pair of DC electrical terminals 404 are coupled to the coil 402 with one of the pair of DC electrical terminals coupled to the first DC voltage and the other one of the pair of DC electrical terminals coupled to a controllable DC voltage compatible to the first DC voltage. The control circuit 400 further comprises a second transistor 410 coupled to the first DC voltage and controlled by the signal voltage that the first transceiver circuit 500 outputs. The second transistor 410 is configured to generate the controllable DC voltage. When the signal voltage is absent, the controllable DC voltage disables the coil 402 and relays the hot wire of the line voltage to the external LED luminaire 300 to operate thereof. On the other hand, when the signal voltage is present, the second transistor 410 is on, and the controllable DC voltage is pulled down. The coil 402 thus receives the set voltage to operate, which disconnects the hot wire of the line voltage from coupling to the external LED luminaire 300.

(12) In FIG. 1, the control circuit 400 further comprises a metering circuit 470 coupled to the relay switch 401 and configured to measure an operating voltage and an electric current flowing into the external LED luminaire 300. The metering circuit 470 comprises a metering device 471 that collects data of the operating voltage and the electric current and calculates power consumption of the external LED luminaire 300. The metering device 471 serially transfers the data out to the first transceiver circuit 500 via a port “T” when requested via a port “R”. The metering circuit 470 further comprises a primary wire 472 connected between “L” and “Li”, configured to couple the line voltage to the relay switch 401, furthering down to the external LED luminaire 300 when the relay switch 401 is set to relay the line voltage from “Li” to “Lo”. The primary wire 472 is configured to measure the electric current flowing through the primary wire and to the external LED luminaire 300.

(13) FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a PWM-to-voltage converter according to the present disclosure. The PWM-to-voltage converter 440 is coupled to the first transceiver circuit 500 via a port “P” and configured to convert the PWM signal into the 0-to-10-V voltage in response to one of the various PSK band-pass signals. The PWM-to-voltage converter 440 further comprises a first transistor 441, a low-pass filter circuit 460, and an optocoupler circuit 450 coupled between the transceiver circuit 500 and the first transistor 441. The optocoupler circuit 450 comprises an LED 451 and a photo-transistor 452. The LED 451 is configured to emit a light signal responsive to the PWM signal whereas the photo-transistor 452 is configured to receive the light signal and to interface the PWM signal with the first DC voltage (Vi) via the first transistor 441. In other words, the optocoupler circuit 450 is configured to buffer the PWM signal in a way that the low-pass filter circuit 460 powered by the second DC voltage can be operated without affecting an operation of the first transceiver circuit 500 powered by the third DC voltage. The first transistor 441 is coupled to the photo-transistor 452 and configured to receive the first DC voltage and to convert the first DC voltage into a modulated voltage according to the PWM signal.

(14) The low-pass filter circuit 460 comprises a voltage follower 464, an operational amplifier 462, and at least one stage of a resistor and a capacitor (RC) filter 461 coupled to the operational amplifier 462 as an input. The low-pass filter circuit 460 is configured to convert the modulated voltage into the 0-to-10-V voltage whereas the voltage follower 464 is configured to serve as a buffer to output the 0-to-10-V voltage to the external LED luminaire 300 to operate a dimming circuit in the external power supply unit 310 without affecting stability of the low-pass filter circuit 460. The low-pass filter circuit 460 further comprises a voltage divider 463 with two resistors (not shown) connected in series. A signal feedback from the voltage divider 463 to the other input of the operational amplifier 462 to set up a maximum voltage of 10 V for the 0-to-10-V voltage.

(15) FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a metering circuit according to the present disclosure. In FIG. 3, the metering circuit 470 comprises the metering device 471 that collects data of the operating voltage and the electric current and calculates power consumption of the external LED luminaire 300. The metering device 471 comprises a data register 473 and an input/output interface 474. The data register 473 is configured to store data of the operating voltage, the electric current, and a calculated power consumption of the external LED luminaire 300. The input/output interface 474 serially transfers the data out via the port “T” to the first transceiver circuit 500 when requested via the port “R”. The metering circuit 470 further comprises a voltage transformer 475 and an AC current transducer 476 respectively configured to measure the operating voltage and the electric current flowing into the external LED luminaire 300. The voltage transformer 475 comprises a turns ratio of 1000:1000 configured to isolate an input from a measuring output and to provide an acceptable linearity for an accurate voltage measurement. The AC current transducer 476 comprises a coil winding wound around the primary wire 472 connected between “L” and “Li”. The electric current flowing through the primary wire 472 induces a voltage that is proportional to the rate of change of the electric current enclosed by the coil winding. It is, therefore, necessary to integrate the voltage in order to acquire information of the electric current.

(16) FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a remote controller according to the present disclosure The remote controller 600 comprises a remote user interface 610 and a second transceiver circuit 620. The remote controller 600 is configured to send the PSK band-pass signals to the first transceiver circuit 500 in response to a plurality of signals generated from the remote user interface 610. The second transceiver circuit 620 comprises a second transceiver 622 and an encoder and controller 621. The encoder and controller 621 is coupled between the remote user interface 610 and the second transceiver 622 and configured to convert the plurality of signals into a plurality of sets of binary data characters. Each of the plurality of sets of binary data characters comprises command data.

(17) The remote user interface 610 comprises keyboards 611 in a computer-based lighting control management system. The keyboards 611 are configured to generate the plurality of signals. At least two of the plurality of signals are respectively configured to turn on and off the controllable DC voltage, subsequently turning on and off the external LED luminaire 300. At least two of the plurality of signals are respectively configured to dim up and to dim down the external LED luminaire 300. At least one of the plurality of signals is configured to request metering and responding. The remote controller 600 further comprises a voltage regulator 626 with an enable input. The voltage regulator 626 is configured to supply a voltage to operate the second transceiver 622 in response to an enable signal from the encoder and controller 621.

(18) FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a second transceiver according to the present disclosure. The second transceiver 622 comprises a mixer 623, a front-end transmitter/receiver 624, an antenna 627 embedded on a PCB, and two or more inductors 625 interconnected in series. The mixer 623 is configured to modulate the plurality of sets of binary data characters onto a carrier wave with a carrier phase shifted by 180 degrees whenever a binary data character “0” is transmitted. It should be appreciated that PSK signaling outperforming amplitude-shift keying (ASK) and frequency-shift keying (FSK) can be found in Digital Communication Theory. Owing to simplicity and reduced error probability, the PSK signaling is widely used in wireless local area network (LAN) standard, IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.15 using two frequency bands: at 868-915 MHz with binary PSK (BPSK) and at 2.4 GHz with offset quadrature PSK (OQPSK).

(19) Whereas preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it will be realized that alterations, modifications, and improvements may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the following claims. Another kind of schemes with an LED luminaire controller that incorporates remote commands and controls for power switching, metering, and luminaire dimming or various kinds of combinations adopted to operate an LED luminaire to accomplish the same or different objectives could be easily adapted for use from the present disclosure. Accordingly, the foregoing descriptions and attached drawings are by way of example only and are not intended to be limiting.