Power regulator employing a sinusoidal reference
First Claim
1. A power regulator for use with an AC power source comprising:
- a voltage converter having a first input and a second input, the first input being connected with the AC power source and receiving AC current therefrom and the second input being connected with a controller and receiving a control signal therefrom, the voltage converter generating a substantially sinusoidal regulator output signal, the amplitude of which is responsive to the control signal; and
a controller having a first input and a second input, the first input receiving the regulator output signal and the second input receiving a set point signal, the set point signal determining the amplitude of a substantially sinusoidal reference signal, the substantially sinusoidal reference signal being substantially in-phase with the regulator output signal, the controller generating the control signal indicative of the instantaneous difference between the regulator output signal and the amplitude of the substantially sinusoidal reference signal wherein the amplitude of the substantially sinusoidal reference signal is independent of the amplitude of the AC power source and the amplitude of the regulator output signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A power regulator for use with an AC power source includes a voltage converter having a first input and a second input. The first input is connected with the AC power source and receives AC current therefrom. The second input is connected to a controller and receives a control signal therefrom. The voltage converter generates a substantially sinusoidal regulator output signal, the amplitude of which is responsive to the control signal. The power regulator also includes a controller having a first input and a second input. The first input receives the regulator output signal and the second input receives a set point signal. The set point signal determines the amplitude of a substantially sinusoidal reference signal which is substantially in-phase with the regulator output signal. The controller generates the control signal indicative of the instantaneous difference between the regulator output signal and the amplitude of the substantially sinusoidal reference signal. The amplitude of the substantially sinusoidal reference signal is independent of the amplitude of the AC power source and the amplitude of the regulator output signal.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A power regulator for use with an AC power source comprising:
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a voltage converter having a first input and a second input, the first input being connected with the AC power source and receiving AC current therefrom and the second input being connected with a controller and receiving a control signal therefrom, the voltage converter generating a substantially sinusoidal regulator output signal, the amplitude of which is responsive to the control signal; and
a controller having a first input and a second input, the first input receiving the regulator output signal and the second input receiving a set point signal, the set point signal determining the amplitude of a substantially sinusoidal reference signal, the substantially sinusoidal reference signal being substantially in-phase with the regulator output signal, the controller generating the control signal indicative of the instantaneous difference between the regulator output signal and the amplitude of the substantially sinusoidal reference signal wherein the amplitude of the substantially sinusoidal reference signal is independent of the amplitude of the AC power source and the amplitude of the regulator output signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A power regulator for use with an AC power source for regulating the power applied to at least one lamp comprising:
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a voltage converter having a first input and a second input, the first input being connected with the AC power source and receiving AC current therefrom, and the second input being connected with a controller and receiving a control signal therefrom, the voltage converter providing a substantially sinusoidal regulator output signal, the voltage of which being responsive to the control signal; and
a controller having a input and a second input, the first input receiving the regulator output signal and the second input receiving a set point signal, the controller generating the control signal based on a status of at least one lamp and a comparison of the voltage of the regulator output signal with a substantially sinusoidal reference signal, the amplitude of the reference signal being responsive to the set point signal and independent of the amplitude of the AC power source and the regulator output signal, the controller determining the status of the at least one lamp by comparing an output current of the regulator with at least one predetermined fault limit. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of generating a substantially sinusoidal output voltage for powering at least one lamp with a power regulator connected to an AC power source comprising the steps of:
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determining a status of the at least one lamp;
generating a substantially sinusoidal reference signal responsive to a set point and the lamp status;
generating the substantially sinusoidal output voltage;
generating a control signal responsive to the difference between the substantially sinusoidal output voltage and the substantially sinusoidal reference signal such that output voltage is proportional to the substantially sinusoidal reference signal if the lamp has a regulation status;
setting the output voltage to full output if the lamp has a power-up status; and
setting the output voltage to zero if the lamp has a cool-down status. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification