VARIABLE VOLTAGE CONTROL APPARATUS AND LIGHTING APPARATUS INCORPORATING CONTROL APPARATUS
First Claim
1. A control apparatus adapted for use with a dimmer comprising an interface, the interface being adjustable and having a present value representative of the state of the interface, the control apparatus comprising:
- a variable voltage signal generation circuit coupled to the dimmer, the variable voltage signal generation circuit operable to generate an output signal having a voltage that is representative of the present value of the interface of the dimmer.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Control apparatus for controlling an aspect of an apparatus are disclosed. In certain embodiments, the control apparatus comprises a dimmer that includes a variable impedance. In certain embodiments of the invention, the dimmer may be a TRIAC dimmer having a voltage at a gate electrode of the TRIAC that is always below a trigger voltage for the TRIAC such that the TRIAC never turns on and the remaining components within the TRIAC dimmer can be used as discreet components in a larger circuit. In the control apparatus, the dimmer may be coupled to a signal generation circuit that may generate an output signal whose frequency (period) is dictated at least in part by an impedance of the variable impedance. The output signal may be used to control an aspect of an apparatus such as the intensity, color or color temperature for a lighting apparatus.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A control apparatus adapted for use with a dimmer comprising an interface, the interface being adjustable and having a present value representative of the state of the interface, the control apparatus comprising:
a variable voltage signal generation circuit coupled to the dimmer, the variable voltage signal generation circuit operable to generate an output signal having a voltage that is representative of the present value of the interface of the dimmer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A control apparatus adapted for use with a dimmer, the dimmer comprising a variable impedance and an interface operable to change the variable impedance, the variable impedance in series with a capacitor coupled between a power supply node and an output node, the control apparatus comprising:
a variable voltage signal generation circuit coupled to the output node of the dimmer, the variable voltage signal generation circuit operable to generate an output signal having a voltage that is representative of the impedance of the variable impedance of the dimmer. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A control apparatus for use with a lighting apparatus comprising:
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a signal generation circuit operable to be coupled to a TRIAC dimmer having a variable impedance, the signal generation circuit operable to generate an output signal whose period is dictated at least in part by the variable impedance of the TRIAC dimmer; and a voltage conversion circuit operable to receive the output signal and generate a variable voltage output having a voltage that is dictated at least in part by the period of the output signal.
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Specification