Adaptive Compensation for Effects of Cat-Ear Dimmers on Conduction Angle Measurement

• US 20130241441A1
• Filed: 03/05/2013
• Published: 09/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Dialog Semiconductor Incorporated (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Original Assignee: iWatt, Inc. (Renesas Electronics Corporation)
• Inventors: Myers, Richard M., Yan, Liang, Poon, Clarita C.
• Granted Patent: US 8,853,968 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 315/307
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/37 Converter circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/395 Linear regulators
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/30 Semiconductor lamps, e.g. solid state lamps [SSL] light emitting diodes [LED] or organic LED [OLED]

Abstract

A dimmable light emitting lamp configured to interface with cat-ear dimmer switches. The lamp includes one or more light emitting devices. The lamp also includes circuitry configured to receive an input voltage and provide regulated current to the one or more light emitting devices. The input voltage has a first voltage pulse that does not represent a dimming level of a dimmer switch and a second voltage pulse that represents the dimming level of the dimmer switch. The circuitry determines a first duration corresponding to a length of the first voltage pulse and a second duration corresponding to a length of the second voltage pulse responsive to first duration. The circuitry adjusts the regulated current to the light emitting devices according to the second duration to adjust output light intensity of the light emitting devices.

Claims

1. A dimmable light emitting lamp, comprising:

one or more light emitting devices; and

circuitry configured to receive a signal indicative of an input voltage of the dimmable light emitting lamp and to provide regulated current to the one or more light emitting devices based on the signal indicative of the input voltage, the input voltage having a first voltage pulse that does not represent a dimming level of a dimmer switch and a second voltage pulse that represents the dimming level of the dimmer switch, the first voltage pulse being adjacent to the second voltage pulse in time,

wherein the circuitry is configured to determine a first duration corresponding to a length of the first voltage pulse and to determine a second duration corresponding to a length of the second voltage pulse responsive to the first duration, and

wherein the circuitry is configured to adjust the regulated current to the light emitting devices according to the second duration corresponding to the length of the second voltage pulse to adjust output light intensity of the light emitting devices.

2. The dimmable light emitting lamp of claim 1, further comprising:

a rectifier configured to receive a lamp input voltage from the dimmer switch and to generate a rectified input voltage from the lamp input voltage,

wherein the signal indicative of the input voltage is a signal indicative of the rectified input voltage.

3. The dimmable light emitting lamp of claim 1, wherein the light emitting devices are light emitting diodes (LED).

4. The dimmable light emitting lamp of claim 1, wherein the first voltage pulse that does not represent the dimming level of the dimmer switch precedes the second voltage pulse that represents the dimming level of the dimmer switch.

5. The dimmable light emitting lamp of claim 1, wherein the first voltage pulse that does not represent the dimming level of the dimmer switch follows the second voltage pulse that represents the dimming level of the dimmer switch.

6. The dimmable light emitting lamp of claim 1, wherein the first duration corresponding to a length of the first voltage pulse is determined responsive to an edge of the first voltage pulse crossing a threshold voltage level and an edge of the second voltage pulse crossing the threshold voltage level.

7. The dimmable light emitting lamp of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to:

determine a third duration corresponding to a combined length of both the first voltage pulse and the second voltage pulse, and

wherein the circuitry is configured to determine the second duration corresponding to the length of the second voltage pulse responsive to both the first duration corresponding to the length of the first voltage pulse and the third duration corresponding to the length of the combined length of both the first voltage pulse and the second voltage pulse.

8. The dimmable light emitting lamp of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is further configured to control current drawn from the dimmer switch responsive to the first duration corresponding to the length of the first voltage pulse.

9. The dimmable light emitting lamp of claim 8, further comprising:

a power converter coupled to the input voltage and generating an output voltage for providing the regulated current to the one or more light emitting devices,

wherein the circuitry operates a transistor of the power converter in either switching mode or linear mode, and

wherein the circuitry controls current drawn from the dimmer switch by delaying a transition between the linear mode and the switching mode responsive to the first duration corresponding to the length of the first voltage pulse.

10. The dimmable light emitting lamp of claim 9, wherein the circuitry delays the transition between the linear mode and the switching mode if the first duration corresponding to the length of the first voltage pulse exceeds a threshold duration.

11. A method of operation in a dimmable light emitting lamp, comprising:

receiving a signal indicative of an input voltage of the dimmable light emitting lamp, the input voltage having a first voltage pulse that does not represent a dimming level of a dimmer switch and a second voltage pulse that represents the dimming level of the dimmer switch, the first voltage pulse being adjacent to the second voltage pulse in time;

determining a first duration corresponding to a length of the first voltage pulse;

determining a second duration corresponding to a length of the second voltage pulse responsive to first duration; and

adjusting regulated current to one or more light emitting devices according to the second duration corresponding to the length of the second voltage pulse to adjust output light intensity of the light emitting devices.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving a lamp input voltage from the dimmer switch and generating a rectified input voltage from the lamp input voltage,

wherein the signal indicative of an input voltage is a signal indicative of the rectified input voltage.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the light emitting devices are light emitting diodes (LED).

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the first voltage pulse that does not represent the dimming level of the dimmer switch precedes the second voltage pulse that represents the dimming level of the dimmer switch.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the first voltage pulse that does not represent the dimming level of the dimmer switch follows the second voltage pulse that represents the dimming level of the dimmer switch.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the first duration corresponding to a length of the first voltage pulse is determined responsive to an edge of the first voltage pulse crossing a threshold voltage level and an edge of the second voltage pulse crossing the threshold voltage level.

17. The dimmable light emitting lamp of claim 11, further comprising:

determining a third duration corresponding to a combined length of both the first voltage pulse and the second voltage pulse, and

wherein the second duration corresponding to the length of the second voltage pulse is determined responsive to both the first duration corresponding to the length of the first voltage pulse and the third duration corresponding to the length of the combined length of both the first voltage pulse and the second voltage pulse.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

controlling current drawn from the dimmer switch responsive to the first duration corresponding to the length of the first voltage pulse.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein controlling the current drawn from the dimmer switch comprises:

operating a transistor of a power converter in either switching mode or linear mode, and

delaying a transition between the linear mode and the switching mode responsive to the first duration corresponding to the length of the first voltage pulse.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the transition between the linear mode and the switching mode is delayed if the first duration corresponding to the length of the first voltage pulse exceeds a threshold duration.