System and method for controlling an output illumination level of a lighting system
First Claim
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1. A system for controlling a brightness level of a Light Emitting Diode comprising:
- a Light Emitting Diode (LED);
said LED connected in series with a transistor and a resistor;
a power supply connected to said LED;
a digital potentiometer;
said digital potentiometer supplying a variable output voltage to an operational amplifier;
said operational amplifier having an output connected to said transistor to activate said transistor;
said operational amplifier receiving a voltage developed across said resistor;
wherein said activation of said transistor by said operational amplifier varies a current through said LED to control the brightness level of said LED; and
said digital potentiometer is connected to a negative side of said resistor and to an output of a second operational amplifier to swamp an error of said digital potentiometer.
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Abstract
A method of controlling a brightness level of an LED by supplying power to an LED in series with a field effect transistor and a resistor. A first voltage is supplied from a digital potentiometer to an operational amplifier. The field effect transistor is activated based on the first voltage from the operational amplifier and a second voltage is varied across the resistor when the field effect transistor is activated. The varying of the second voltage across the resistor causes a change in the brightness level of the LED.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A system for controlling a brightness level of a Light Emitting Diode comprising:
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a Light Emitting Diode (LED); said LED connected in series with a transistor and a resistor; a power supply connected to said LED; a digital potentiometer; said digital potentiometer supplying a variable output voltage to an operational amplifier; said operational amplifier having an output connected to said transistor to activate said transistor; said operational amplifier receiving a voltage developed across said resistor; wherein said activation of said transistor by said operational amplifier varies a current through said LED to control the brightness level of said LED; and said digital potentiometer is connected to a negative side of said resistor and to an output of a second operational amplifier to swamp an error of said digital potentiometer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of controlling a brightness level of an LED comprising the steps of:
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supplying power to an LED; the LED being in series with a transistor and a resistor; connecting an output of an operational amplifier to the transistor; supplying a first voltage from a digital potentiometer to a first input of the operational amplifier; activating the transistor based on a voltage output from the operational amplifier; varying a current through the LED when the transistor is activated; supplying a second voltage developed across the resistor to a second input of the operational amplifier to provide a stabilized output of the operational amplifier; and outputting a voltage from a second operational amplifier and a voltage from a negative side of the resistor to the digital potentiometer to swamp the error of the digital potentiometer; wherein the varying of the current through the LED changes the brightness level of the LED. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of controlling a brightness level of an LED comprising the steps of:
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supplying power to an LED; the LED being in series with a field effect transistor and a resistor; supplying a voltage from a digital potentiometer to a first operational amplifier; activating the field effect transistor based on a voltage from the first operational amplifier; varying a voltage across the resistor when the field effect transistor is activated; wherein the varying of the voltage across the resistor changes the brightness level of the LED and; outputting a voltage from a second operational amplifier and a voltage from a negative side of the resistor to the digital potentiometer to swamp the error of the digital potentiometer. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A system for controlling an output illumination level of a lighting system comprising:
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a voltage source; an illumination device coupled to said voltage source; a voltage converter coupled to said illumination device; a load coupled to said voltage converter; a controller coupled to said voltage source and a switch; said controller providing a variable voltage to said switch; said load connected to said voltage converter such that a voltage developed across said load is fed to said voltage converter; and wherein the output illumination level of said illumination device varies according to the variable current passing through said illumination device, wherein said controller is a microcontroller and further comprising a digital potentiometer coupled to said microcontroller. - View Dependent Claims (37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A system for controlling a brightness level of a Light Emitting Diode comprising:
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a Light Emitting Diode (LED); said LED connected in series with a field effect transistor (FET) and a resistor; a digital potentiometer; said digital potentiometer supplying a variable output voltage to an operational amplifier; said operational amplifier connected to said FET to activate said FET; a power supply connected to said LED; wherein said activation of said FET by said operational amplifier varies a voltage across said resistor adjusting the brightness level of said LED; and wherein said digital potentiometer is connected to a negative side of said resistor and to an output of a second operational amplifier to swamp an error of said digital potentiometer.
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Specification