Alternating current light emitting device

• US 9,501,992 B2
• Filed: 11/22/2013
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Epistar Corporation, National Tsing Hua University
• Original Assignee: Epistar Corporation
• Inventors: Tai, Sheng-Chieh, Yeh, Wen-Yung, Chan, Yi-Jen
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Tung X
• Application Number:
  US14/087,832
• Publication Number:
  US 20140078131A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,096 Days
• Field of Search: 315/185.R, 315/185.S, 315/187, 315/192, 315/210, 315/246, 315/291, 315/294, 315/312
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3696 Generation of voltages supplied to electrode drivers
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 41/16 in which the lamp is fed by dc or by low-frequency ac, e.g. by 50 cycles/sec ac, or with network frequencies
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/00 Circuit arrangements for operating light-emitting diodes [LED]

Abstract

An alternating current (AC) light emitting device includes an AC light emitting diode (LED) module and a waveform modulation unit. The AC LED module includes at least two sets of micro-diodes. The waveform modulation unit coupled between the AC LED module and an AC voltage source modulates a waveform of the AC voltage source.

Claims

1. An alternating current (AC) light emitting device, comprising:

a control unit; and

a plurality of LEDs electrically connected to the control unit, wherein each LED of the plurality of LEDs has an anode and a cathode which are connected to the control unit, and when the plurality of LEDs is driven by an AC voltage source, the control unit changes serial or parallel connection states of the LEDs according to a voltage of the AC voltage source so that currents flowing through the LEDs become uniform;

wherein the control unit enables most of the LEDs to be connected in parallel when the voltage of the AC voltage source is lower, and enables most of the LEDs to be connected in series when the voltage of the AC voltage source is higher.

2. The AC light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls a current direction of the AC voltage source such that the LEDs withstand forward voltages.

3. The AC light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit and the LEDs are integrated within a chip or a package, or the control unit is disposed outside the package.

4. An alternating current (AC) light emitting device, comprising:

a plurality of light emitting arrays, wherein each of the plurality of light emitting arrays has a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs) having a same sized LED area connected in parallel with an anode and a cathode of each of the parallel connected LEDs being directly connected to the control unit, the LED areas of each of the light emitting arrays are different; and

a control unit for respectively controlling the plurality of light emitting arrays, wherein when the plurality of light emitting arrays is driven by an AC voltage source, the control unit sequentially turns on the light emitting arrays and connected in parallel or serial according to a voltage of the AC voltage source.

5. The AC light emitting device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit controls a current direction of the AC voltage source such that the light emitting arrays withstand forward voltages.

6. The AC light emitting device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit turns on the light emitting array with the LEDs having the larger LED area when the voltage of the AC voltage source is lower, and turns on the light emitting array with the LEDs having the smaller LED area when the voltage of the AC voltage source is higher.

7. The AC light emitting device according to claim 4, wherein the light emitting arrays are sequentially arranged according to sizes of the LED areas of the LEDs of each of the light emitting arrays.

8. The AC light emitting device according to claim 4, wherein the numbers of the LEDs of each of the light emitting arrays are the same.

9. The AC light emitting device according to claim 4, wherein the numbers of the LEDs of each of the light emitting arrays are different, the number of LEDs connected in parallel to the light emitting arrays with the larger LED area is smaller, and the number of LEDs connected in parallel to the light emitting arrays with the smaller LED area is greater.

10. The AC light emitting device according to claim 4, wherein the light emitting arrays comprise a first light emitting array string and a second light emitting array string, the first light emitting array string and the second light emitting array string are connected in anti-parallel and controlled by the control unit, the first light emitting array string is driven in a positive half cycle of the AC voltage source, and the second light emitting array string is driven in a negative half cycle of the AC voltage source.

11. The AC light emitting device according to claim 4, further comprising a bridge rectifier, electrically connected between the light emitting arrays and the AC voltage source, for rectifying the AC voltage source such that the light emitting arrays withstand forward voltages.

12. The AC light emitting device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit and the LEDs are integrated within a chip or a package, or the control unit is disposed outside the package.