LED lamp apparatus for vehicles
First Claim
1. A light emitting diode (LED) lamp apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
- a light source comprising a plurality of light emitting diodes connected in series, a power supply voltage being applied to the plurality of light emitting diodes; and
an alternate circuit for current provided for each of the light emitting diodes, wherein said alternate circuit comprises a transistor and a shunt regulator for driving the transistor, said transistor and said shunt regulator being connected in parallel to each of the plurality of light emitting diodes.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In an LED unit, all of eight LEDs are connected in series. The voltage of a power supply, that is, a battery of a vehicle, 12 V, is insufficient for the eight LEDs. To cope with this, a boosting circuit is provided within the control unit to boost the voltage to about 16 V which is then applied to the eight LEDs. The front end of the LED unit is connected to a constant-current circuit, and a voltage detection circuit is provided near and connected to this constant-current circuit for detecting the voltage applied to the constant-current circuit. The voltage detected by the voltage detection circuit is compared with a reference voltage drawn from the power supply, is amplified in an amplifier, and is input as a boosting control signal into the boosting circuit. The boosting control signal is output so as to regulate the boosted voltage in such a manner that the voltage detected in the voltage detection circuit is a lowest possible voltage.
64 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A light emitting diode (LED) lamp apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
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a light source comprising a plurality of light emitting diodes connected in series, a power supply voltage being applied to the plurality of light emitting diodes; and
an alternate circuit for current provided for each of the light emitting diodes, wherein said alternate circuit comprises a transistor and a shunt regulator for driving the transistor, said transistor and said shunt regulator being connected in parallel to each of the plurality of light emitting diodes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A rear combination lamp apparatus for a vehicle, comprising:
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a light source comprising a plurality of light emitting diodes connected in series, a voltage boosted from a power supply voltage being applied to the plurality of light emitting diodes; and
an alternate circuit for current provided for each of the light emitting diodes connected in series wherein said alternate circuit comprises a transistor and a shunt regulator for driving the transistor, said transistor and said shunt regulator being connected in parallel to each of the plurality of light emitting diodes. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification