SWITCH CONTROLLER, SWITCH CONTROL METHOD, AND POWER SUPPLY DEVICE COMPRISING THE SWITCH CONTROLLER

• US 20130215655A1
• Filed: 01/18/2013
• Published: 08/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Semiconductor Components Industries LLC (ON Semiconductor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Gye-Hyun Cho
• Inventors: EOM, Hyun-Chul, YANG, Seung-Uk, PARK, In-Ki, CHO, Gye-Hyun
• Granted Patent: US 9,325,255 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 363/89
• CPC Class Codes: H02M 7/217 using semiconductor devices only
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/10 Controlling the intensity of the light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/44 with an active control inside an LED matrix

Abstract

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention relates to a switch controller, a method for controlling a switch, and a power supply including the switch controller. According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, an AC input passed through a dimmer is rectified such that an input voltage is generated, and the input voltage is transmitted to the power switch. A charging current is generated using a voltage that depends on the input voltage, a zero cross-point at which the input voltage becomes zero voltage is detected using a detection voltage output from a current source, and a reference signal synchronized at the detected zero cross-point is generated.

Claims

1. An apparatus controlling switching operation of a power switch to which an input voltage rectified from an AC input passed through a dimmer is transmitted, comprising:

a current source generating a charging current using a voltage that depends on the input voltage, and

a reference signal generator detecting a zero cross-point at which the input voltage becomes zero voltage using a detection voltage output from the current source and generating a reference signal synchronized at the detected zero cross-point.

2. The switch controller of claim 1, wherein an input terminal voltage of the power switch depends on the input voltage, and the current source generates a charging current that depends on the input terminal voltage of the power switch.

3. The switch controller of claim 2, wherein the current source comprises a JFET, and the detection voltage is a voltage that is the input terminal voltage of the power switch, passed through the JFET.

4. The switch controller of claim 1, wherein the reference signal generator comprises:

a zero cross detection circuit receiving the detection voltage and sensing a time point that the detection voltage reaches zero voltage;

a digital sine wave generator generating a reference clock signal controlling an increase or decrease time point of the reference signal during one cycle of the input voltage, determined according to the sensed zero voltage reach time point and generating a digital signal increased and then decreased according to the reference clock signal during the one cycle; and

a digital-to-analog converter generating the reference signal by converting the digital signal to an analog signal.

5. The switch controller of claim 4, wherein the reference clock signal comprises a predetermined number of edges during the one cycle, and

the digital sine wave generator increases the digital signal by being synchronized at a time point that the reference clock signal edge is generated during a period from a time point that the first edge of the reference clock signal is generated to the n-th edge of the reference clock signal among the one cycle, and decreases the digital signal by being synchronized at a time point that the reference clock signal edge is generated during a period from the (n+1)th edge to the predetermined number of edge.

6. The switch controller of claim 4, wherein the zero cross detection circuit generates a zero voltage detection signal having a first level when the detection voltage is higher than zero voltage and a second level when the detection voltage is lower than zero voltage.

7. The switch controller of claim 6, wherein the digital sine wave generator senses a rising edge or a falling edge of the zero voltage detection signal as the zero cross-point, and determines a period between two adjacent rising edges or two adjacent falling edges as one cycle of the input voltage.

8. The switch controller of claim 1, further comprising a PWM controller controlling switching operation of the power switch by comparing a current flowing in the power switch and the reference signal.

9. A switch control method for controlling switching operation of a power switch to which an input voltage rectified from an AC input passed through a dimmer is transmitted, comprising:

generating a charging current using a voltage that depends on the input voltage;

generating a voltage that depends on the input voltage as a detection voltage according to the generation of the charging current;

detecting a zero cross-point at which the input voltage becomes zero voltage using the detection voltage; and

generating a reference signal that is synchronized at the detected zero cross-point.

10. The switch control method of claim 9, wherein the voltage that depends on the input voltage is an input terminal voltage of the power switch, and the generating of the charging current comprises generating a charging current that depends on the input terminal voltage of the power switch.

11. The switch control method of claim 9, wherein the generating of the voltage that depends on the input voltage as the detection voltage according to the generating of the charging current voltage comprises a step that the voltage that depends on the input voltage passes through a JFET for generation of the charging current.

12. The switch control method of claim 9, wherein the detecting of the zero cross-point comprises receiving the detection voltage and sensing a time point at which the detection voltage reaches zero voltage.

13. The switch control method of claim 9, wherein the detecting of the zero cross-point comprises generating a zero voltage detection signal having a first level when the detection voltage is higher than zero voltage and a second level when the detection voltage is lower than zero voltage.

14. The switch control method of claim 13, wherein the generating of the reference signal comprises

sensing a rising edge or a falling edge of the zero voltage detection signal as the zero cross-point, and

determining a period between two adjacent rising edges or two adjacent falling edges as one cycle of the input voltage.

15. The switch control method of claim 9, wherein the generating of the reference signal comprises:

generating a reference clock signal that controls an increase or decrease time point of the reference signal during one cycle of the input voltage, determined according to the determined zero cross-point, and generating a digital signal increased according to the reference clock signal during the one cycle and then decreased; and

generating the reference signal by converting the digital signal to an analog signal.

16. The switch control method of claim 15, wherein the reference clock signal comprises a predetermined number of edges for the one cycle, and

the generating of the digital signal increases the digital signal by being synchronized at a time point that the reference clock signal edge is generated during a period from a time point that the first edge of the reference clock signal is generated to the n-th edge of the reference clock signal among the one cycle, and decreases the digital signal by being synchronized at a time point that the reference clock signal edge is generated during a period from the (n+1)th edge to the predetermined number of edge.

17. The switch control method of claim 9, further comprising controlling switching operation of the power switch by comparing a current flowing in the power switch and the reference signal.

18. A power supply comprising:

a dimmer passing an AC input according to a predetermined dimmer angle;

a power switch to which an input voltage generated by rectifying the AC input passed through the dimmer is transmitted; and

a switch controller for controlling switching operation of the power switch,

wherein the switch controller comprises,

a current source generating a charging current using a voltage that depends on the input voltage,

a reference signal generator detecting a zero cross-point at which the input voltage becomes zero voltage using a detection voltage output from the current source, and generating a reference signal synchronized at the detected cross-point, and

a PWM controller controlling switching operation of the power switch by comparing a current flowing in the power switch with the reference signal.

19. The power supply of claim 18, wherein the reference signal generator comprises:

a zero cross detection circuit receiving the detection voltage and sensing a time point at which the detection voltage reaches zero voltage;

a digital sine wave generator generating a reference clock signal controlling an increase or decrease time point of the reference signal during one cycle of the input voltage, determined according to the sensed zero voltage reach time point and generating a digital signal increased and then decreased according to the reference clock signal during the one cycle; and

a digital-to-analog converter generating the reference signal by converting the digital signal to an analog signal.

20. The power supply of claim 19, wherein the zero cross detection circuit generates a zero voltage detection signal having a first level when the detection voltage is higher than zero voltage and a second level when the detection voltage is lower than zero voltage, and

the digital sine wave generator senses a rising edge or a falling edge of the zero voltage detection signal as the zero cross-point, and determines a period between two adjacent rising edges or two adjacent falling edges as one cycle of the input voltage.