Decorative lighting string with stacked rectification

• US 7,276,858 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2005
• Issued: 10/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fiber Optic Designs Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Fiber Optic Designs Incorporated
• Inventors: Allen, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Tuyet Thi
• Application Number:
  US11/260,167
• Publication Number:
  US 20070096661A1
• Time in Patent Office: 704 Days
• Field of Search: 315/205, 315/207, 315/206, 315/200.R, 315/185.S, 315/200.A, 315/312, 315/324, 315/323, 315/322, 362/800, 362/808, 362/807, 362/812
• US Class Current: 315/205
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/30 Driver circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/36 Circuits for reducing or suppressing harmonics, ripples or electromagnetic interferences [EMI]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/30 Semiconductor lamps, e.g. solid state lamps [SSL] light emitting diodes [LED] or organic LED [OLED]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/80 Light emitting diode
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 362/806 Ornamental or decorative

Abstract

An improved decorative light string circuit comprises full bridge rectification located in or downstream of the front plug, wherein the rectification circuit contains one or more voltage reducing and/or filtering elements in order to reduce or limit LED drive current and reduce (filter) DC ripple and 1 or 2 LED series sets. Additional rectification circuits and LED series sets can be added in parallel to the first in “stacked mode”, with each rectification circuit and LED series set electrically independent of prior and subsequent circuits. This eliminates the rectifying diode current summation load restrictions imposed by prior art and associated safety hazard due to diode overheating.

Claims

1. An LED light string comprising:

an AC input voltage input having a positive terminal and a negative terminal;

parallel conductor wires electrically connected to the positive and negative terminals of the AC voltage input;

a front rectification and control circuit defines a full wave rectifier comprising four front rectifying diodes electrically connected to the parallel conductor wires;

series conductor wires electrically connected to ends of each of two rectifying diodes of said front rectification and control circuit;

a rear rectification and control circuit comprising four rear rectifying diodes electrically connected to the parallel conductor wires;

at least one junction box interposed between said front and rear rectification and control circuits, said junction box comprising four junction diodes,

wherein positive ends of first two junction diodes being connected in parallel and with negative ends of the first two junction diodes being connected with the positive and negative terminals of the AC voltage input respectively, and

wherein negative ends of second two junction diodes being connected together in parallel and positive ends of the second two junction diodes being connected with the positive and negative terminals of the AC voltage input respectively;

a first LED serial set connected between rectifying diodes of the front rectification and control circuit and the first two junction diodes; and

a second LED serial set connected between the second two junction diodes and rectifying diodes of the rear rectification and control circuit.

2. The LED light string according to claim 1, further comprising a series resistance is series with at least one of said first and second LED serial sets.

3. The LED light string according to claim 1, further comprising one of a varistor, capacitor, current saturated transistor, current limiting diode (CLD) or other impedance device in series with said first and second LED serial sets.

4. The LED light string according to claim 1, wherein said AC voltage input comprises a front end connector plug.

5. The LED light string according to claim 4, wherein said series resistance, rear rectification and control circuit, and said end connector plug incorporating exit AC voltage for powering additional light strings.

6. The LED light string according to claim 1, wherein said front rectification and control circuit draws AC input voltage from said parallel conductor wires via at least one resistor in order to reduce DC output voltage.

7. The LED light string according to claim 1, wherein a positive DC output terminal of said front rectification and control circuit provides positive DC power to said first LED serial set.

8. The LED light string according to claim 1, wherein a negative DC output terminal of said front rectification and control circuit provides negative DC power to said first LED serial set.

9. The LED light string according to claim 1, further comprising a DC ripple filtering capacitor connected in parallel across DC terminals of said front rectification and control circuit.

10. The LED light string according to claim 1, further comprising a DC ripple filtering capacitor connected in parallel across AC terminals of said front rectification and control circuit.

11. The LED light string according to claim 1, further comprising at least one accessory electrically connected to DC terminals of said front rectification and control circuit.

12. The LED light string according to claim 1, further comprising a parallel series block of LED lamps electrically connected to DC terminals of said front rectification and control circuit.

13. The LED light string according to claim 1, wherein said first LED serial set is connected between the positive ends of rectifying diodes of the front rectification and control circuit and the negative ends of the first two junction diodes.

14. The LED light string according to claim 1, wherein said second LED serial set is connected between the positive ends of the second two junction diodes and the negative ends of the rectifying diodes of the rear rectification and control circuit.

15. The LED light string according to claim 1, wherein said first LED serial set is connected between the negative ends of rectifying diodes of the front rectification and control circuit and the positive ends of the first two junction diodes.

16. The LED light string according to claim 1, wherein said second LED serial set is connected between the negative ends of the second two junction diodes and the positive ends of the rectifying diodes of the rear rectification and control circuit.