Consolidation of lamp power conversion and external communication control
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- one or more light emitting diodes;
a switching power converter coupled to the one or more light emitting diodes;
a controller, coupled to the switching power converter, configured to (i) control a switch in an input switching stage of the switching power converter to regulate current for a lamp to provide power for the lamp and (ii) control the same switch in the input switching stage of the switching power converter to modulate a line current supplied to the switching power converter to carry data related to a state of the lamp, andwherein the controller is configured to increase an average value of the line current during periods when a supply voltage supplied to the switching power converter is decreasing and decreasing an average value of the line current during periods when the supply voltage is increasing.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A lighting system includes one or more methods and systems to control an input switching stage of a power converter to provide power for a lamp and modulate a line current supplied to the power converter to carry data related to a state of the lamp. In at least one embodiment, a single controller consolidates the functions of controlling an input stage of the power converter and communicating to an external device by modulating the line current supplied to the power converter to carry data related to a state of the lamp. The particular type of current modulation and communication protocol utilized by the consolidated power conversion-communication controller is a matter of design choice. In at least one embodiment, the lamp includes one or more electronic light sources, such as one or more light emitting diodes (LEDs) and/or one or more compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).
16 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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one or more light emitting diodes; a switching power converter coupled to the one or more light emitting diodes; a controller, coupled to the switching power converter, configured to (i) control a switch in an input switching stage of the switching power converter to regulate current for a lamp to provide power for the lamp and (ii) control the same switch in the input switching stage of the switching power converter to modulate a line current supplied to the switching power converter to carry data related to a state of the lamp, and wherein the controller is configured to increase an average value of the line current during periods when a supply voltage supplied to the switching power converter is decreasing and decreasing an average value of the line current during periods when the supply voltage is increasing. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An apparatus comprising:
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one or more light emitting diodes; a switching power converter coupled to the one or more light emitting diodes; a controller, coupled to the switching power converter, configured to (i) control a switch in an input switching stage of the switching power converter to regulate current for a lamp to provide power for the lamp and (ii) control the same switch in the input switching stage of the switching power converter to modulate a line current supplied to the switching power converter to carry data related to a state of the lamp, wherein the controller is configured to modulate the line current by modifying a slope of the line current and generating an extended zero crossing.
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7. An apparatus comprising:
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one or more light emitting diodes; a switching power converter coupled to the one or more light emitting diodes; a controller, coupled to the switching power converter, configured to (i) control a switch in an input switching stage of the switching power converter to regulate current for a lamp to provide power for the lamp and (ii) control the same switch in the input switching stage of the switching power converter to modulate a line current supplied to the switching power converter to carry data related to a state of the lamp, wherein the controller is configured to modulate the line current at a frequency within a range of 1 to 2 times a frequency of an input voltage to the switching power converter.
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8. An apparatus comprising:
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one or more light emitting diodes; a switching power converter coupled to the one or more light emitting diodes; a controller, coupled to the switching power converter, configured to (i) control a switch in an input switching stage of the switching power converter to regulate current for a lamp to provide power for the lamp and (ii) control the same switch in the input switching stage of the switching power converter to modulate a line current supplied to the switching power converter to carry data related to a state of the lamp, and a central communications system coupled to the lamp and configured to receiving the line current and decoding modulation of the line current by the controller. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A method comprising:
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generating a control signal with a controller; controlling a switch in an input switching stage of a switching power converter with the control signal to regulate current for one or more light emitting diodes of a lamp and provide power for the lamp; and controlling the same switch in the input switching stage of the switching power converter to modulate a line current supplied to the switching power converter to carry data related to a state of the lamp, and wherein controlling the input switching stage of the switching power converter to modulate a line current supplied to the switching power converter further includes increasing an average value of the line current during periods when a supply voltage supplied to the switching power converter is decreasing and decreasing an average value of the line current during periods when the supply voltage is increasing. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method comprising:
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generating a control signal with a controller; controlling a switch in an input switching stage of a switching power converter with the control signal to regulate current for one or more light emitting diodes of a lamp and provide power for the lamp; and controlling the same switch in the input switching stage of the switching power converter to modulate a line current supplied to the switching power converter to carry data related to a state of the lamp, and wherein controlling the input switching stage of the switching power converter to modulate a line current supplied to the switching power converter further comprises; modifying a slope of the line current and generating an extended zero crossing.
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18. A method comprising:
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generating a control signal with a controller; controlling a switch in an input switching stage of a switching power converter with the control signal to regulate current for one or more light emitting diodes of a lamp and provide power for the lamp; and controlling the same switch in the input switching stage of the switching power converter to modulate a line current supplied to the switching power converter to carry data related to a state of the lamp, and wherein controlling the input switching stage of the switching power converter to modulate a line current supplied to the switching power converter further comprises; modulating the line current at a frequency within a range of 1 to 2 times a frequency of an input voltage to the switching power converter.
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Specification