Current regulator for modulating brightness levels of solid state lighting
First Claim
1. A current regulator for providing variable power to solid state lighting, the current regulator couplable through a phase-modulating switch to an AC line voltage, the current regulator comprising:
- a rectifier;
a switching power supply providing a first current; and
an impedance matching circuit coupled to the switching power supply and couplable to the phase-modulating switch or to the AC line voltage, the impedance matching circuit adapted to provide a second current through the phase-modulating switch when a magnitude of the first current is below a first predetermined threshold.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An exemplary embodiment provides a current regulator for controlling variable brightness levels for solid state lighting. The current regulator is couplable to a phase-modulating switch, such as a dimmer switch, which is coupled to an AC line voltage. An exemplary current regulator includes a rectifier; a switching power supply providing a first current; an impedance matching circuit; and a controller. The impedance matching circuit is adapted to provide a second current through the phase-modulating switch when a magnitude of the first current is below a first predetermined threshold, such as a holding current of a triac of the phase-modulating switch. The controller is adapted to determine a root-mean-square (RMS) voltage level provided by the phase-modulating switch from the AC line voltage and to determine a duty cycle for pulse-width current modulation by the switching power supply in response to the comparison of the RMS voltage level to a nominal voltage level.
319 Citations
81 Claims
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1. A current regulator for providing variable power to solid state lighting, the current regulator couplable through a phase-modulating switch to an AC line voltage, the current regulator comprising:
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a rectifier;
a switching power supply providing a first current; and
an impedance matching circuit coupled to the switching power supply and couplable to the phase-modulating switch or to the AC line voltage, the impedance matching circuit adapted to provide a second current through the phase-modulating switch when a magnitude of the first current is below a first predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A power converter for providing variable brightness levels for solid state lighting, the power converter couplable to a phase-modulating switch which is couplable to an AC line voltage, the power converter comprising:
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a switching power supply providing a first current; and
an active impedance matching circuit coupled to the switching power supply, the active impedance matching circuit adapted to provide a variable, second current in response to a magnitude of the first current. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55)
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56. A current regulator for providing variable brightness levels for solid state lighting, the current regulator couplable to a phase-modulating switch coupled to an AC line voltage, the current regulator comprising:
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a rectifier;
a switching power supply providing a first current;
an impedance matching circuit coupled to the switching power supply and couplable to the phase-modulating switch or to the AC line voltage, the impedance matching circuit adapted to provide a second current through the phase-modulating switch when a magnitude of the first current is below a first predetermined threshold; and
a controller coupled to the switching power supply and couplable to the phase-modulating switch, the controller adapted to determine a root-mean-square (RMS) voltage level provided by the phase-modulating switch from the AC line voltage and to determine a duty cycle for pulse-width current modulation by the switching power supply in response to the comparison of the RMS voltage level to a nominal voltage level. - View Dependent Claims (57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74)
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75. A current regulator for providing variable brightness levels for a plurality of light emitting diodes, the current regulator couplable to a phase-modulating switch coupled to an AC line voltage, the current regulator comprising:
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a switching power supply providing a first current; and
a controller coupled to the switching power supply and couplable to the phase-modulating switch, the controller adapted to provide power to the plurality of light emitting diodes when the phase-modulating switch is not providing power from the AC line voltage. - View Dependent Claims (76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81)
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Specification