Variable voltage control apparatus and lighting apparatus incorporating control apparatus
First Claim
1. A control apparatus adapted for use with a dimmer comprising an interface, the interface being adjustable and having a present value representative of the state of the interface, the control apparatus comprising:
- a variable voltage signal generation circuit comprising a signal generation circuit operable to be coupled to the dimmer, the signal generation circuit operable to generate a periodic signal having a period that is representative of the present value of the interface of the dimmer; and
a voltage conversion circuit operable to receive the periodic signal and to generate an output signal having a voltage that is representative of the present value of the interface of the dimmer based at least partially on the period of the periodic signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Control apparatus for controlling an aspect of an apparatus are disclosed. In certain embodiments, the control apparatus comprises a dimmer that includes a variable impedance. In certain embodiments of the invention, the dimmer may be a TRIAC dimmer having a voltage at a gate electrode of the TRIAC that is always below a trigger voltage for the TRIAC such that the TRIAC never turns on and the remaining components within the TRIAC dimmer can be used as discreet components in a larger circuit. In the control apparatus, the dimmer may be coupled to a signal generation circuit that may generate an output signal whose frequency (period) is dictated at least in part by an impedance of the variable impedance. The output signal may be used to control an aspect of an apparatus such as the intensity, color or color temperature for a lighting apparatus.
11 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A control apparatus adapted for use with a dimmer comprising an interface, the interface being adjustable and having a present value representative of the state of the interface, the control apparatus comprising:
a variable voltage signal generation circuit comprising a signal generation circuit operable to be coupled to the dimmer, the signal generation circuit operable to generate a periodic signal having a period that is representative of the present value of the interface of the dimmer; and
a voltage conversion circuit operable to receive the periodic signal and to generate an output signal having a voltage that is representative of the present value of the interface of the dimmer based at least partially on the period of the periodic signal.- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A control apparatus adapted for use with a dimmer, the dimmer comprising a variable impedance and an interface operable to change the variable impedance, the variable impedance in series with a capacitor coupled between a DC power supply node and an output node, the control apparatus comprising:
a variable voltage signal generation circuit comprising a signal generation circuit operable to be coupled to the dimmer, the signal generation circuit operable to generate a periodic signal having a period that is dictated at least in part by the impedance of the variable impedance of the dimmer; and
a voltage conversion circuit operable to receive the periodic signal and generate an output signal having a voltage that is representative of the impedance of the variable impedance of the dimmer based at least partially on the period of the periodic signal.- View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A driving circuit adapted for use with a dimmer comprising an adjustable interface, the driving circuit operable to receive a dimmer signal having a voltage that is representative of a state of the interface of the dimmer, the driving circuit comprising:
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an astable multivibrator operable to generate a periodic signal; an amplifier coupled to the astable multivibrator to receive the periodic signal, the amplifier operable to provide an amplified periodic signal having a pulse width at an output node; and a monostable multivibrator coupled to the output node of the amplifier and operable to increase the pulse width of the amplified oscillation signal by an amount based at least in part on the voltage of the dimmer signal, thereby generating a pulse-width modulated signal having a duty cycle that is dictated at least in part by the voltage of the dimmer signal. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification