Controller for continuous tracing lights

• US 5,027,037 A
• Filed: 01/05/1990
• Issued: 06/25/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Tone World International USA, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tone World International USA, Inc.
• Inventors: Wei, Shih A.
• Primary Examiner(s): LaRoche, Eugene R.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Neyzari, Ali
• Application Number:
  US07/461,429
• Time in Patent Office: 536 Days
• Field of Search: 315/200 R, 315/200 A, 315/201, 315/307, 315/323, 315/360, 315/185 S, 315/185 R, 362/806
• US Class Current: 315/200.00A
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/155 Coordinated control of two or more light sources

Abstract

A continuous tracing light controller for controlling the flashing of a plurality of bulbs comprising:

a bridge rectifier for the conversion of AC to DC;

an inverter phase circuit for the reverting of the above obtained DC; and

a programmable central control integrated circuit having a plurality of outputs for the individual controlling of bulbs in series, a three step switch and 3 variable resistors being connected to said integrated circuit. The controller controls the lighting pattern in a fully lighted, forward tracing or backward reversing pattern. The way of controlling of the controller is by means of Pulse Width Modulation in which a pulse wave synchronized with a current is input and by use of a counting pulse to control the time sequence of the input pulse. By controlling the response time delay of the individual wave such that the individual light bulb responds at different time so as to produce visual effects for which the bulbs are lighted in a continuous tracing manner.

Claims

1. A continuous tracing light controller for controlling the flashing of a plurality of bulbs, comprising:

a bridge rectifier for the conversion of AC to DC;

an inverter phase circuit for the reverting of the above obtained DC; and

a programmable central control integrated circuit having a plurality of output terminals for the individual controlling of bulbs in series, a three-step switch and 3 variable resistors which can control the light bulbs full-lighted, forward tracing direction and reverse tracing direction of lighting being connected to said control Integrated Circuit;

after the input voltage through said bridge rectifier, a part thereof being input into said programmable central control Integrated Circuit after passing through said inverted phase circuit, another portion of the current being input into a signal which synchronized with the voltage to said programmable central control Integrated Circuit by a branch input, by means of Pulse Width Modulation in sampling said synchronized signal producing an output signal to control the flashing of bulbs;

a time delay means being provided to the central control Integrated Circuit for delaying said output signal for a period and being output at the second output of the central control Integrated Circuit to control the flashing of the bulbs in second group similarly, after a time delay, said output signal being provided at the third output to control the third serial bulbs group;

the number of outputs depending on the number of serial bulbs; and

the first variable resistor connected by the central control Integrated Circuit controlling the period of the Pulse Width Modulation, the second variable resistor controlling the length of said time delay and the third variable resistor varying the time of forward or reverse lighting sequence.