Floating drive circuit for cold cathode fluorescent lamp

• US 7,309,964 B2
• Filed: 10/01/2004
• Issued: 12/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AU Optronics Corporation
• Original Assignee: AU Optronics Corporation
• Inventors: Wey, Chin-Der, Sun, Chia-Hung, Li, Hsien-Jen, Chen, Kuei-Lin
• Primary Examiner(s): Dinh, Trinh Vo
• Application Number:
  US10/956,812
• Publication Number:
  US 20060071615A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,173 Days
• Field of Search: 315/291, 315/312, 315/277
• US Class Current: 315/312
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 41/282 with semiconductor devices H05B41/2806, H05B41/288, H05B41/295 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 41/2827 using specially adapted components in the load circuit, e.g. feed-back transformers, piezoelectric transformers; using specially adapted load circuit configurations
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 20/00 Energy efficient lighting technologies, e.g. halogen lamps or gas discharge lamps

Abstract

A floating driving device for illumination includes a illumination unit having a first terminal and a second terminal. A first driver is electrically coupled to the first terminal of the illumination unit, for applying AC voltages to the first terminal. A second driver is electrically coupled to the second terminal of the illumination unit, for applying AC voltages to the second terminal in such a manner that the AC voltages at the first terminal and the second terminal are out of phase.

Claims

1. A floating driving device, comprising

a plurality of illumination units, each of which has a first terminal and a second terminal, and the second terminals of the plurality of illumination units are electrically coupled together at a common voltage node;

a first driver electrically coupled to the first terminals of a first pair of illumination units of the plurality of illumination units, for applying AC voltages to the first terminals, wherein a first output end of the first driver is coupled to a first one of the first terminals of the first pair of illumination units and a second output end of the first driver is coupled to a second one of the first terminals of the first pair of illumination units;

a second driver electrically coupled to the first terminals of a second pair of illumination units of the plurality of illumination units, for applying AC voltages to the first terminals, wherein a first output end of the second driver is coupled to a first one of the first terminals of the second pair of illumination units and a second output end of the second driver is coupled to a second one of the first terminals of the second pair of illumination units;

a first balance circuit connected to the first driver; and

a second balance circuit connected to the second driver, wherein said first and second balance circuits having impedance that is adjusted to generate balancing output signals from the first driver and the second driver to the plurality of the illumination units, wherein the first driver is coupled between the plurality of illumination units and the first balance circuit and the second driver is coupled between the plurality of illumination units and the second balance circuit.

2. The floating driving device of claim 1, wherein the illumination units are cold cathode florescent lamps.

3. The floating driving device of claim 1, wherein the first driver unit and the second driver unit are transformers.

4. A floating driving device for illumination comprising:

a plurality of illumination units, each of which has a first terminal and a second terminal;

a first driver, electrically coupled to the first terminals of the plurality of illumination units, for applying AC voltages to the first terminals;

a second driver, electrically coupled to the second terminals of the plurality of illumination units, for applying AC voltages to the second terminals in a manner that the AC voltages at the first terminal and the second terminal are out of phase; and

a balance circuit, connected to the first driver, wherein the balance circuit comprises a first capacitor coupled to a first inductor and a second capacitor coupled to a second inductor, a first node between the first capacitor and the first inductor is coupled to a first one of the first terminals, and a second node between the second capacitor and second inductor is coupled to a second one of the first terminals.

5. The floating driving device of claim 4, wherein the balance circuit is coupled between the plurality of illumination units and the first driver.

6. The floating driving device of claim 5, wherein the balance circuit is connected to the first driver through a parallel capacitor.

7. The floating driving device of claim 5, wherein the first capacitor and the second capacitor are connected, in parallel, to the first driver.

8. The floating driving device of claim 7, wherein the first inductor and the second inductor connect the first capacitor and the second capacitor to the plurality of illumination units, respectively.

9. The floating driving device of claim 5, wherein the first inductor and the second inductor are connected, in parallel, to the first driver.

10. The floating driving device of claim 9, wherein the first capacitor and the second capacitor connect the first inductor and the second inductor to the plurality of illumination units, respectively.

11. The floating driving device of claim 4, wherein at least one of the illumination units is a cold cathode florescent lamp.

12. The floating driving device of claim 4, wherein the first driver and the second driver are transformers.

13. The floating driving device of claim 4, wherein the AC voltages at the first terminals and the second terminals are 180 degrees out of phase.

14. The floating driving device of claim 13, wherein the AC voltages at the first terminals and the second terminals have the same magnitude and frequency.

15. The floating driving device of claim 4, wherein the illumination units are cold cathode florescent lamps.

16. A floating driving device for illumination comprising:

a plurality of illumination units, each of which has a first terminal and a second terminal;

a first driver, electrically coupled to the first terminals of the plurality of illumination units, for applying AC voltages to the first terminals;

a second driver, electrically coupled to the second terminals of the plurality of illumination units, for applying AC voltages to the second terminals in a manner that the AC voltages at the first terminal and the second terminal are out of phase; and

a balance circuit, connected to the first driver, having impedance that is adjusted to generate balancing output signals to the plurality of illumination units, wherein the first driver is coupled between the plurality of illumination units and the balance circuit.

17. The floating driving device of claim 16, wherein the balance circuit comprises an inductor and a capacitor, the capacitor being coupled between the first driver and the inductor.

18. The floating driving device of claim 16, wherein the balance circuit comprises a first inductor and a second inductor coupled to the first driver in parallel.

19. The floating driving device of claim 18, wherein the balance circuit further comprises a first capacitor and a second capacitor coupled between the first driver and the first inductor and the second inductor, respectively.