Solid-state lighting apparatus and methods using energy storage with segment control
First Claim
1. A lighting apparatus comprising:
- a string comprising at least two serially-connected light-emitting diode (LED) segments and configured to be coupled to a source of a varying voltage;
a segment control circuit configured to selectively bypass at least one segment of the string responsive to the varying voltage;
an energy storage circuit configured to charge at least one energy storage device from the source of varying voltage and to control current flow between the at least one energy storage device and the string; and
a control circuit configured to cause the segment control circuit and the energy storage circuit to couple the at least one energy storage device in parallel with a first set of the at least two LED segments to charge the at least one charge storage device and to discharge the at least one charge storage device through a second set of the at least two LED segments.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A lighting apparatus includes a rectifier circuit configured to be coupled to an AC source and to produce a rectified voltage from an AC voltage and a string including at least two serially-connected LED segments and coupled to the rectifier circuit. A segment control circuit is configured to selectively bypass at least one segment of the string responsive to the rectified voltage. An energy storage circuit is coupled to the rectifier circuit and controls current flow between at least one energy storage device and the string. A control circuit controls the segment control circuit and the energy storage circuit. The segment control circuit may support a current from the rectifier circuit through all of the segments in the string circuit at a peak of the rectified voltage and the energy storage circuit may charge the at least one energy storage device to a voltage near the peak of the rectified voltage.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A lighting apparatus comprising:
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a string comprising at least two serially-connected light-emitting diode (LED) segments and configured to be coupled to a source of a varying voltage; a segment control circuit configured to selectively bypass at least one segment of the string responsive to the varying voltage; an energy storage circuit configured to charge at least one energy storage device from the source of varying voltage and to control current flow between the at least one energy storage device and the string; and a control circuit configured to cause the segment control circuit and the energy storage circuit to couple the at least one energy storage device in parallel with a first set of the at least two LED segments to charge the at least one charge storage device and to discharge the at least one charge storage device through a second set of the at least two LED segments. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A lighting apparatus comprising:
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a rectifier circuit configured to be coupled to an AC source and to produce a rectified voltage from an AC voltage produced by the AC source; a string comprising at least two serially-connected LED segments and configured to be coupled to the rectifier circuit; a segment control circuit configured to selectively bypass at least one segment of the string responsive to the rectified voltage; an energy storage circuit coupled to the rectifier circuit and configured to control current flow between at least one energy storage device and the string; and a control circuit configured to control the segment control circuit and the energy storage circuit such that the at least one energy storage device is charged by the rectifier circuit when a magnitude of the rectified voltage is greater than a threshold and discharged through a set of the segments of the string that includes less than all of the segments of the string when the magnitude of the rectified voltage is less than the threshold. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An apparatus comprising:
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a segment control circuit configured to be coupled to a string comprising at least two serially-connected LED segments, the segment control circuit configured to selectively bypass at least one segment of the string responsive to a varying voltage; an energy storage circuit configured to charge at least one energy storage device from the source of varying voltage and to control current flow between the at least one energy storage device and the string; and a control circuit configured to cause the segment control circuit and the energy storage circuit to couple the at least one energy storage device in parallel with a first set of the at least two LED segments to charge the at least one charge storage device and to discharge the at least one charge storage device through a second set of the at least two LED segments. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An apparatus comprising:
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a rectifier circuit configured to be coupled to an AC source and to a string comprising at least two serially-connected LED segments and further configured to produce a rectified voltage from an AC voltage produced by the AC source; a segment control circuit configured to selectively bypass segments of the string responsive to the rectified voltage; an energy storage circuit coupled to the rectifier circuit and configured to control current flow between at least one energy storage device and the string; and a control circuit configured to control the segment control circuit and the energy storage circuit such that the at least one energy storage device is charged by the rectifier circuit when a magnitude of the rectified voltage is greater than a threshold and discharged through a set of the segments that includes less than all of the segments of the string when the magnitude of the rectified voltage is less than the threshold.
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28. A lighting apparatus comprising:
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a string comprising at least two serially-connected LED segments and configured to be coupled to a source of a varying voltage; a segment control circuit configured to selectively bypass segments of the string responsive to the varying voltage; and a dimming control circuit coupled to the segment control circuit and configured to control a current passing through at least one of the segments responsive to a dimming control input. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31)
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32. A lighting apparatus comprising:
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a string comprising at least two serially-connected LED segments and configured to be coupled to a source of a varying voltage; a segment control circuit configured to selectively bypass segments of the string responsive to the varying voltage; and an energy storage circuit configured to charge at least one energy storage device from the source of varying voltage and to control current flow between the at least one energy storage device and the string; and a control circuit configured to control the segment control circuit and the energy storage circuit responsive to the varying voltage such that the at least one energy storage device is discharged through a set of the segments including less than all of the segments, wherein the energy storage circuit is configured to charge the at least one energy storage device to a voltage greater than a peak voltage of the set of the segments. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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Specification