Multifunctional universal led driver

• US 20150373796A1
• Filed: 06/18/2014
• Published: 12/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Farhad Bahrehmand
• Original Assignee: Farhad Bahrehmand
• Inventors: Bahrehmand, Farhad
• Granted Patent: US 9,699,836 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/14 using electrical feedback from LEDs or from LED modules
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/325 Pulse-width modulation [PWM]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/375 using buck topology
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/11 by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/115 by determining the presence or movement of objects or living beings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/13 by using passive infrared detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/195 the transmission using visible or infrared light
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/40 Control techniques providing energy savings, e.g. smart controller or presence detection

Abstract

A multifunctional universal LED driver is disclosed that can be configured to match the voltage and/or current requirements of various LED loads such as LED lighting fixtures. The disclosed LED driver replaces the existing wall switch to drive an LED lighting fixture with no need for making changes to the existing wires. The user control means are installed in the faceplate of the LED driver and are relatively accessible to an end user. The configuration control means are installed so as to be relatively inaccessible to an end user during normal operation of the LED driver. In a wireless embodiment, a wireless remote controller operates the LED driver. In another wireless embodiment, the remote controller is a computing platform such as a smartphone, which can configure, operate, and query the status of the LED driver. The status of the LED driver may include on/off, intensity level, energy being consumed by the LED load, configuration settings, and other useful information such as serial number, manufacturing date, country of origin, and ratings. The Wi-Fi embodiment of the LED driver enables the LED driver to be controlled using the Internet and become part of the network of Internet of Things (IoT).

Claims

1. An LED driver (10) comprising:

a. a rectifier (14) adapted to receive an AC line current and to rectify said AC line current into a DC current;

b. a switching LED driver circuit (20) operatively connected to said rectifier (14) to receive said DC current, said switching LED driver circuit (20) being adapted to produce a DC output and including output leads (26) adapted to be connected to an LED load (28);

c. a user control means (34) operatively connected to said switching LED driver circuit (20), said user control means (34) providing an interface between an end user of the LED driver (10) and said switching LED driver circuit (20), said interface comprising on/off means for on/off control of said DC output;

d. a configuration control means (22) comprising means adjustable by an end user of the LED driver (10) adapted to adjust the output voltage and/or output current of said switching LED driver circuit (20) to match various voltage and/or current level requirements of an LED load (28);

e. said user control means (34) being adapted so that said on/off control and said interface are relatively accessible to an end user of the LED driver (10) during normal operation of the LED driver (10), and said configuration control means (22) being adapted so as to be relatively inaccessible during normal operation of the LED driver (10).

2. The LED driver (10) of claim 1 in the form of an integrated unit sized small enough to fit within an AC outlet box that includes an enclosure, an enclosure faceplate, and a wall cover plate wherein said user control means (34) is adapted for mounting on said enclosure faceplate so as to be exposed to an end user of the LED driver (10) during normal operation of the LED driver (10) and wherein said configuration control means (22) is adapted for mounting so as to be relatively inaccessible during normal operation of the LED driver (10).

3. The LED driver (10) of claim 2 wherein said configuration control means (22) is mounted on the enclosure faceplate so as to be covered by said wall cover plate during normal operation of the LED driver (10).

4. The LED driver (10) of claim 2 wherein said configuration control means is password protected.

5. The LED driver (10) of claim 2 wherein said AC outlet box is an AC outlet gang box and said LED driver (10) includes multiple components of paragraphs a, b, c, and d, sized for positioning in said AC outlet gang box.

6. The LED driver (10) of claim 1 further comprising a remote controller (35) and a remote user control means (34w) located in said remote controller (35), said LED driver (10) further comprising means to wirelessly transmit a signal from said remote user control means (34w) to said switching LED driver circuit (20) for on/off control of said switching LED circuit output.

7. The LED driver of claim 1 further comprising a PWM generator (30) adapted to generate a PWM signal with a duty cycle, means operatively connecting said user control means (34) with said PWM generator (30), said user control means (34) comprising at least one switch for on/off control of said PWM signal, and means operatively connecting said PWM generator (30) with said switching LED driver circuit (20) to provide said switching LED driver circuit (20) with said PWM signal whereby said switching LED driver circuit (20) produces an output controlled by said PWM signal.

8. An LED driver (10) comprising:

a. a rectifier (14) adapted to receive an AC line current and to rectify said AC line current into a DC current;

b. a switching LED driver circuit (20) operatively connected to said rectifier (14) to receive said DC current, said LED driver circuit (20) including output leads (26) adapted to be connected to an LED load (18);

c. a PWM generator (30) adapted to generate a PWM signal with a duty cycle;

d. a user control means (34) operatively connected to said PWM generator (30) adapted to modify said PWM signal, said user control means (34) comprising at least one switch for on/off control of said PWM signal;

e. means (32) operatively connecting said PWM generator (30) with said switching LED driver circuit (20) to provide said switching LED driver circuit (20) with said PWM signal wherein said switching LED driver circuit (20) produces a DC output controlled by said PWM signal;

f. a configuration control means (22) adapted to adjust the output voltage and/or output current of said switching LED driver circuit (20) to match various voltage and/or current level requirements of an LED load (28), said configuration control means (22) comprising one or more switches adjustable by an end user of the LED driver (10);

the components of paragraphs a, b, c, e, and f being an integrated unit sized small enough to fit within a small enclosure, said user control means (34) being adapted for mounting so as to be relatively accessible to an end user to provide an interface between the end user and said PWM generator (30) during normal operation of the LED driver (10), and said configuration control means (22) being adapted for mounting so as to be relatively inaccessible during normal operation of the LED driver (10).

9. An LED driver (10) comprising:

a. a rectifier (14) adapted to receive an AC line current and to rectify said AC line current into a DC current;

b. a switching LED driver circuit (20) operatively connected to said rectifier (14) to receive said DC current, said LED driver circuit (20) including output leads (26) adapted to be connected to an LED load (28);

c. a PWM generator (30) adapted to generate a PWM signal with a duty cycle;

d. a user control means (34) operatively connected to said PWM generator (30) adapted to modify said PWM signal, said user control means (34) comprising at least one switch for on/off control of said PWM signal;

e. an enclosure (25) including a faceplate (23);

f. means (32) operatively connecting said PWM generator (30) with said switching LED driver circuit (20) to provide said switching LED driver circuit (20) with said PWM signal wherein said switching LED driver circuit (20) produces a DC output controlled by said PWM signal;

g. a configuration control means (22) adapted to adjust the output voltage and/or output current of said switching LED driver circuit (20) to match various voltage and/or current level requirements of an LED load (28), said configuration control means (22) comprising one or more switches adjustable by an end user of the LED driver;

h. the components of paragraphs a, b, c, f, and g being an integrated unit sized small enough to fit within a small enclosure (25);

said user control means (34) being mounted in said faceplate (23) so as to be relatively accessible to an end user to provide an interface between the end user and said PWM generator (30) during normal operation of the LED driver (10); and

said configuration control means (22) being mounted in said enclosure so as to be relatively inaccessible during normal operation of the LED driver (10).

10. The LED driver of claim 9 wherein said AC outlet box (11) is a gang box to accommodate a larger LED driver (10) to drive large LED loads (28), or to accommodate multiple LED drivers (10).

11. A wirelessly controlled LED driver comprising:

a. a rectifier (14) adapted to receive an AC line current and to rectify said AC line current into a DC current;

b. a switching LED driver circuit (20) operatively connected to said rectifier (14) to receive said DC current, said LED driver circuit (20) including output leads (26) adapted to be connected to an LED load (18);

c. a PWM generator (30) adapted to generate a PWM signal with a duty cycle;

d. means (32) operatively connecting said PWM generator (30) with said switching LED driver circuit (20) to provide said switching LED driver circuit (20) with said PWM signal wherein said switching LED driver circuit (20) produces a DC output controlled by said PWM signal;

e. a remote user control means (34w);

f. a remote controller (35) for mounting said remote user control means (34w);

g. wireless means for wirelessly transmitting data from said remote controller (35) to said PWM generator (30), said remote user control means (34w) comprising at least one switch for on/off control of said PWM signal;

h. a configuration control means (22) adapted to adjust the output voltage and/or output current of said switching LED driver circuit (20) to match various voltage and/or current level requirements of an LED load (28), said configuration control means (22) comprising one or more switches adjustable by an end user of the LED driver;

said user control means (34w) being relatively accessible to an end user to provide an interface between the end user and said PWM generator (30) during normal operation of the LED driver (10), and said LED driver (10) further including means by which said configuration control means (22) is relatively inaccessible during normal operation of the LED driver.

12. The LED driver (10) of claim 11 wherein said wireless means comprises an RF transmitter or an infrared emitter.

13. The LED driver (10) of claim 12 wherein said remote user control means (34w) is implemented in the graphical user interface (GUI) of said remote controller (35) selected from the group consisting of smart phones, computers, tablets, and notebooks.

14. An LED driver (10) comprising:

a. a rectifier (214) adapted to receive an AC line current and to rectify said AC line current into a DC current;

b. a switching LED driver circuit (220) operatively connected to said rectifier (214) to receive said DC current, said switching LED driver circuit (220) being adapted to produce a DC output connected to an LED load (228);

c. a programmable integrated circuit (298) operatively connected to said switching LED driver circuit (220) to generate a control signal for control of said LED load (228);

d. a user control means (234) operatively connected to said programmable integrated circuit (298) for user control of said control signal, said user control means (234) comprising a wireless receiver (200);

e. a wireless remote computer platform (204) comprising wireless means for wirelessly transmitting control instructions to said wireless receiver (200), said remote control platform including remote user control means implemented on (206) to generate said instructions.

15. The LED driver of claim 14 further comprising configuration control means (222) comprising one or more switches (270), (272), (276) operatively connected to said switching LED driver circuit (220) adapted to set the output voltage and/or output current of said switching LED driver circuit (220) and said programmable integrated circuit (298) is operatively connected to said switches (270), (272), (276), and said wireless remote control platform (204) further comprising remote configuration control means (422) for wirelessly transmitting instructions to said wireless receiver (200) to set the voltage and/or current output of said switching LED driver circuit (220).

16. The LED driver of claim 15 wherein said remote configuration control means (422) is password protected.

17. The LED driver of claim 14 comprising a wireless protocol selected from the group consisting of Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth.

18. The LED driver of claim 14 wherein said wireless remote control platform (204) is a platform selected from the group consisting of smartphones, smart pads, notebook computers, and laptop computers, further comprising remote user control means (434) and remote configuration means (422) implemented in the GUI of a Bluetooth or Wi-Fi enabled computing platform (204).

19. The LED driver of claim 14 wherein said receiver (200) is a transceiver and said LED driver (210) comprises means for transmitting the power consumption of said LED load (228) and/or its status to said remote controller platform (204) in response to a query received from said remote controller platform (204).

20. The LED driver of claim 14 wherein said programmable integrated circuit (298) comprises means for generating a PWM signal and said remote control platform (204) comprising brightness control means (412) for controlling the brightness of said LED load (228).

21. The LED driver of claim 19 wherein said LED driver (210) can transmit the power consumption of said LED load (228) and/or its status to local Wi-Fi devices in a local area network.

22. The LED driver of claim 19 wherein said LED driver (210) can transmit the power consumption of said LED load (228) and/or its status to other websites via TCP/IP.

23. An LED driver (10) comprising:

a. a rectifier (14) adapted to receive an AC line current and to rectify said AC line current into a DC current;

b. a switching LED driver circuit (20) operatively connected to said rectifier (14) to receive said DC current, said switching LED driver circuit (20) being adapted to produce a DC output to an LED load (28);

c. a configuration control means (22) comprising means adjustable by an end user of the LED driver (10) adapted to adjust the output voltage and/or output current of said switching LED driver circuit (20) to match various voltage and/or current level requirements of an LED load (28);

d. a programmable integrated circuit (98) operatively connected to said switching LED driver circuit (20) to generate a PWM signal for controlling the brightness of said LED load (28);

e. a user control means (34) operatively connected to said programmable integrated circuit (98) for user control of said PWM signal;

f. a light sensor (178) to provide a feedback signal (181) to said programmable integrated circuit (98);

said programmable integrated circuit (98) being programmable to automatically adjust the duty cycle of said PWM signal in response to said feedback signal (181) in order to maintain a constant light level in the surrounding environment.

24. An LED driver of claim 23 wherein said user control means comprises:

a. adjustment means (194) for on/off and/or brightness adjustment of said LED load (28);

b. a manual override switch (198) to disable the automatic adjustment of said PWM signal.

25. An LED driver 10 comprising:

a. a rectifier (14) adapted to receive an AC line current and to rectify said AC line current into a DC current;

b. a switching LED driver circuit (20) operatively connected to said rectifier (14) to receive said DC current, said switching LED driver circuit (20) being adapted to produce a DC output to an LED load (28);

c. a programmable integrated circuit (98) operatively connected to said switching LED driver circuit (20) to generate a PWM signal for controlling the brightness of said LED load (28);

d. a user control means (34) operatively connected to said programmable integrated circuit (98) for user control of said PWM signal;

e. a motion detection circuit (186);

f. a motion detector (182) operatively connected to said motion detection circuit (186), said motion detection circuit (186) comprising;

i. a sensitivity adjustment (190) to adjust the range for motion detection, and

ii. on-time adjustment (192) to adjust the on-time duration of said motion detection circuit (186) after each motion detection;

wherein the output of said motion detection circuit (182) is operatively connected to said programmable integrated circuit (298) to turn said PWM signal on when the output of said motion detection circuit (186) is on.

26. An LED driver (10) wherein the on-time, off-time, and brightness of an LED load (28) are programmable, comprising:

a. a rectifier (14) adapted to receive an AC line current and to rectify said AC line current into a DC current;

b. a switching LED driver circuit (20) operatively connected to said rectifier (14) to receive said DC current, said switching LED driver circuit (20) being adapted to produce a DC output connected to an LED load (28);

c. a configuration control means (22) comprising means adjustable by an end user of the LED driver (10) adapted to adjust the output voltage and/or output current of said switching LED driver circuit (20) to match various voltage and/or current level requirements of an LED load (28);

d. a programmable integrated circuit (98) operatively connected to said switching LED driver circuit (20) to generate a PWM signal to control the brightness of said LED load (28);

e. a real-time clock (170) operatively connected to said programmable integrated circuit (98) to keep track of the current time;

f. a user control means (34) operatively connected to said programmable integrated circuit (98) comprising;

a. one or more navigation switches (34s), (34t), and (34u) to activate menus, select fields within menus, and to enter dates for on-time and off-time or brightness level of said LED load (28);

b. a manual override switch (34x) to disable the automatic operation of said LED driver (10);

c. one or more switches or means (34v) to manually turn on/off and/or adjust the brightness of the LED load (28);

d. a display to reflect the entered data, scheduled programs, and the status of said LED driver (10).

27. An LED driver adapted to provide a direct current output to an LED load comprising:

a. a configuration control means adjustable by an end user of the LED driver adapted to configure said current output to match requirements of said LED load;

b. a user control means adjustable by said end user of the LED driver adapted to control the current and/or voltage of said current output;

c. means making said configuration control means relatively inaccessible to said end user during normal operation of the LED driver; and

d. means making said user control means relatively accessible to an end user of the LED driver during normal operation of the LED driver.

28. The LED driver of claim 27 comprising a remote controller and said user control means being mounted in said remote controller, further including means for wirelessly transmitting a signal from said user control means to said LED driver.