Solid state lighting apparatus with configurable shunts
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A solid state lighting apparatus comprising:
- a circuit comprising a plurality of light emitting devices wherein the solid state light emitting devices are connected in series to form a string including an anode terminal at a first end of the string and a cathode terminal at a second end of the string;
a first configurable shunt directly coupled between a terminal of a first light emitting device in the string and at least one of the cathode or anode terminal of the string and configured to bypass at least sonic current around the first light emitting device;
a second configurable shunt directly coupled between a terminal of a second light emitting device and a same end terminal of the string as the first configurable shunt and configured to bypass at least some current around the first light emitting device and the second light emitting device, wherein the second light emitting device emits light of a different color than the first light emitting device; and
a thermistor, tunable resistor and/or variable resistor coupled in parallel with the first and second configurable shunts, wherein the thermistor, tunable resistor and/or variable resistor is different than the first and second configurable shunts.
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Abstract
A solid state lighting apparatus according to some embodiments includes a circuit including a plurality of light emitting devices, and a configurable shunt configured to bypass at least some current around at least one light emitting device of the plurality of light emitting devices. The configurable shunt may include, for example, a tunable resistor, a fuse, a switch, a thermistor, and/or a variable resistor.
134 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A solid state lighting apparatus comprising:
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a circuit comprising a plurality of light emitting devices wherein the solid state light emitting devices are connected in series to form a string including an anode terminal at a first end of the string and a cathode terminal at a second end of the string; a first configurable shunt directly coupled between a terminal of a first light emitting device in the string and at least one of the cathode or anode terminal of the string and configured to bypass at least sonic current around the first light emitting device; a second configurable shunt directly coupled between a terminal of a second light emitting device and a same end terminal of the string as the first configurable shunt and configured to bypass at least some current around the first light emitting device and the second light emitting device, wherein the second light emitting device emits light of a different color than the first light emitting device; and a thermistor, tunable resistor and/or variable resistor coupled in parallel with the first and second configurable shunts, wherein the thermistor, tunable resistor and/or variable resistor is different than the first and second configurable shunts. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27)
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17. A method of operating a solid state lighting apparatus including a first string of series-connected solid state light emitting devices configured to emit light having a dominant wavelength in a first portion of the visible spectrum and a second string of solid state light emitting devices configured to emit light having a dominant wavelength in a second portion of the visible spectrum different from the first portion, the first string including an anode terminal at a first end of the first string and a cathode terminal at a second end of the first string, the method comprising;
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passing a first reference current through the first string; passing a second reference current through the second string; measuring color of light output from the first string and the second string in response to the first reference current and the second reference current; providing at least two configurable shunts, wherein each of the at least two shunts is directly coupled between a terminal of one of the solid state light emitting devices and the anode or cathode terminal of the first string; providing a thermistor, tunable resistor and/or variable resistor coupled in parallel with the at least two configurable shunts; and increasing the first reference current to compensate for a reduction in light intensity as the temperature of the first string increases. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 25)
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24. A solid state apparatus comprising:
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a circuit including respective groups of series-connected solid state light emitting devices connected in series in a string between an anode terminal of the string and a cathode terminal of the string, wherein a first group of the string is coupled directly to the cathode terminal of the string and includes a first number of solid state light emitting devices, and wherein a second group of the string is not coupled directly to the cathode terminal of the string and includes a second number of solid state light emitting devices not equal to the first number, and wherein a third group of the string is coupled directly to the second group and includes a third number of solid state light emitting devices not equal to the first or second numbers, and wherein a fourth group of the string is coupled directly to the third group and includes a fourth number of solid state light emitting devices not equal to the first, second or third numbers, and wherein the first, second, third and fourth numbers are configured to vary a total number of light emitting devices of the string that may receive current and comprise one, two, three and four; a first configurable shunt directly coupled between a terminal of the first group and at least one of the cathode or anode terminal of the string and configured to bypass at least some current around the first group; a second configurable shunt directly coupled between a terminal of the second group and a same end terminal of the string as the first configurable shunt and configured to bypass at least some current around the first group and the second group; a third configurable shunt coupled between a terminal of the third group and the same terminal of the string as the first and second configurable shunts and configured to bypass at least some current around the first, second and third groups; a fourth configurable shunt coupled between a terminal of the fourth group and the same terminal of the string as the first, second and third configurable shunts and configured to bypass at least some current around the first, second, third and fourth groups; and a thermistor, tunable resistor and/or variable resistor coupled in parallel with the first and second configurable shunts, wherein the thermistor, tunable resistor and/or variable resistor is different than the first and second configurable shunts.
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28. A solid state lighting apparatus comprising:
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a circuit comprising a plurality of light emitting devices wherein the solid state light emitting devices are connected in parallel at an anode terminal and a cathode terminal of the circuit, wherein the anode terminals of the solid state light emitting devices are directly connected to the anode terminal of the circuit and the cathode terminals of the solid state light emitting devices are directly connected to the cathode terminal of the circuit; a first configurable shunt connected in parallel to the plurality of light emitting devices, wherein a first terminal of the first configurable shunt is directly connected to the anode terminal of the circuit and a second terminal of the first configurable shunt is directly connected to the cathode terminal of the circuit, and wherein the first configurable shunt is configured to bypass at least some current around the plurality of light emitting devices.
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Specification