Patent Grant
12362646
This disclosure relates generally to techniques for controlling alternating current (AC) power supplied to inductive loads to protect against inductive voltage spikes. Switching inductive loads such as motors, relays, solenoids, etc., can result in high magnitude voltage spikes due to back EMF (electromotive force), which is typically referred to as “inductive flyback voltage.” More specifically, an inductive flyback voltage is a voltage spike created by, e.g., an inductive load when power to the inductive load is abruptly disconnected. The voltage spike is generated due to the fact that, e.g., an instantaneous termination of current flow through the inductive load results in the instantaneous creation of a large voltage spike across the inductive load, wherein the voltage amplitude is generated according to the equation: V=Ldi/dt. Such voltage spikes generated by an inductive load can be on the order of thousands of volts, which can damage an AC switch and circuitry which is utilized to supply AC power to the inductive load.
Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure include devices and methods for controlling AC power that is supplied to inductive loads. In an exemplary embodiment, a device comprises a power input terminal configured for connection to an alternating current (AC) supply voltage, a load output terminal configured to connection to an inductive load, an AC switch, and a control system. The AC switch is connected in an electrical path between the power input terminal and the load output terminal, wherein the AC switch is configured to be placed into one of a turned-on state to couple the AC supply voltage to the inductive load, and a turned-off state to decouple the AC supply voltage from the inductive load. The control system is configured to (i) generate a switch control signal to place the AC switch into one of the turned-on state and the turned-off state, (ii) detect zero-voltage crossings of the AC supply voltage when connected to the power input terminal, (iii) monitor a load voltage of the inductive load when connected to the load output terminal to detect for a presence of inductive flyback voltage in the load voltage when the AC switch is placed into the turned-off state, and (iv) in response to detecting the presence of inductive flyback voltage in the load voltage, determine a delay time to place the AC switch into the turned-off state subsequent to a detected zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage, so that the AC switch placed is placed into the turned-off state at a time which substantially coincides with a zero-current crossing of load current of the inductive load, to thereby suppress the generation of inductive flyback voltage when AC switch is placed into the turned-off state.
In another exemplary embodiment, an intelligent light dimmer device comprises a power input terminal configured for connection to an alternating current (AC) supply voltage, a load output terminal configured to connection to an inductive load comprising a magnetic low-voltage transformer which is configured to drive low voltage lighting, an AC switch, and a control system. The AC switch is connected in an electrical path between the power input terminal and the load output terminal, wherein the AC switch is configured to be placed into one of a turned-on state to couple the AC supply voltage to the inductive load, and a turned-off state to decouple the AC supply voltage from the inductive load. The control system is configured to (i) generate a switch modulation control signal to switch the AC switch between the turned-on state and the turned-off state to modulate an amount of AC power that is delivered to the inductive load based on a given dimming power level setting, (ii) detect zero-voltage crossings of the AC supply voltage when connected to the power input terminal, (iii) monitor a load voltage of the inductive load when connected to the load output terminal to detect for a presence of inductive flyback voltage in the load voltage when the AC switch is switched between the turned-on state and the turned-off state for the given dimming power level setting, and (iv) in response to detecting the presence of inductive flyback voltage in the load voltage, determine for the given dimming power level setting, a delay time to place the AC switch into the turned-off state subsequent to each detected zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage, so that the AC switch is placed into the turned-off state at each time that substantially coincides with a zero-current crossing of load current of the inductive load, to thereby suppress the generation of inductive flyback voltage when the AC switch is switched between the turned-on state and the turned-off state for the given dimming power level setting.
Another exemplary embodiment includes a method which comprises: controlling AC power which is supplied to an inductive load by operation of an AC switch; detecting zero-voltage crossings of an AC voltage waveform of the AC power; generating a control signal to place a solid-state switch into a turned-off state; monitoring a load voltage of the inductive load to detect for a presence of inductive flyback voltage in the load voltage when the AC switch is placed into the turned-off state; and in response to detecting the presence of inductive flyback voltage in the load voltage, determine a delay time to place the AC switch into the turned-off state subsequent to a detected zero-voltage crossing of the AC voltage waveform, so that the AC switch placed into the turned-off state at a time which substantially coincides with a zero-current crossing of load current of the inductive load, to thereby suppress the generation of inductive flyback voltage when AC switch is placed into the turned-off state.
Other embodiments will be described in the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments, which is to be read in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described in further detail with regard devices and methods for controlling AC power supplied to inductive loads and, in particular, techniques for controlling AC power supplied to inductive loads in a manner which protects AC switching devices (e.g., solid-state AC switch devices), which provide AC power to inductive loads, from inductive voltage spikes generated by such inductive loads. Exemplary embodiments of the disclosure include systems and methods for monitoring the load voltage of an inductive load to detect the presence of inductive flyback voltage, which may be generated in response to deactivation of an AC switch at a time that does not coincide with a zero-current crossing of a load current of the inductive load, and utilize timing information (such as the timing of zero-voltage crossings and the timing of the detected inductive flyback voltage) to determine or otherwise adjust an optimal time for delaying the termination of current (via deactivation of the AC switch) after the occurrence of a zero-voltage crossing of the AC power, so that such termination event occurs close enough in time to a zero-current crossing of the inductive load current to ensure that any inductive flyback voltage spike generated is relatively small in magnitude and non-destructive to, e.g., solid-state AC switch device.
It is to be understood that the various features shown in the accompanying drawings are schematic illustrations that are not drawn to scale. Moreover, the same or similar reference numbers are used throughout the drawings to denote the same or similar features, elements, or structures, and thus, a detailed explanation of the same or similar features, elements, or structures will not be repeated for each of the drawings. Further, the term “exemplary” as used herein means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment or design described herein as “exemplary” is not to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs.
Further, it is to be understood that the phrase “configured to” as used in conjunction with a circuit, structure, element, component, or the like, performing one or more functions or otherwise providing some functionality, is intended to encompass embodiments wherein the circuit, structure, element, component, or the like, is implemented in hardware, software, and/or combinations thereof, and in implementations that comprise hardware, wherein the hardware may comprise discrete circuit elements (e.g., transistors, inverters, etc.), programmable elements (e.g., application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) devices, field programmable gate array (FPGA) devices, etc.), processing devices (e.g., central processing unit (CPU) devices, graphical processing unit (GPU) devices, microcontroller devices, etc.), one or more integrated circuits, and/or combinations thereof. Thus, by way of example only, when a circuit, structure, element, component, etc., is defined to be configured to provide a specific functionality, it is intended to cover, but not be limited to, embodiments where the circuit, structure, element, component, etc., is comprised of elements, processing devices, and/or integrated circuits that enable it to perform the specific functionality when in an operational state (e.g., connected or otherwise deployed in a system, powered on, receiving an input, and/or producing an output), as well as cover embodiments when the circuit, structure, element, component, etc., is in a non-operational state (e.g., not connected nor otherwise deployed in a system, not powered on, not receiving an input, and/or not producing an output) or in a partial operational state.
As schematically shown in
In some embodiments, the AC power source 10 comprises a utility power source (e.g., AC mains) which provides an AC supply voltage waveform Vs with a frequency of 60 Hz and a voltage of 120 VRMS (a peak value of about 170V), wherein the AC supply voltage waveform with a frequency of 60 Hz has a period of about 16.66 milliseconds, wherein each positive half-cycle (or positive phase) and negative half-cycle (or negative phase) of the 60 Hz supply voltage waveform has a duration of about 8.33 milliseconds. In other embodiments, the AC power source 10 can be other sources of AC power at different voltage levels and/or frequencies. In the exemplary embodiment of
As schematically illustrated in
In some embodiments, the controller 122 is implemented using at least one intelligent, programmable hardware processing device such as a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an ASIC, an FPGA, a CPU, etc., which is configured to execute software routines to intelligently control the operation of the AC switch 110 to perform various functions. In some embodiments, the one or more memory devices 125 comprise volatile random-access memory (RAM) and non-volatile memory (NVM), such as Flash memory, to store calibration data, operational data, and executable code for performing various intelligent operations as discussed herein, etc. For example, in some embodiments where the device 100 comprises an intelligent electrical switch with dimming capability, the controller 122 executes a PWM (pulse width modulation) process to generate a pulse width modulated switch control signal S_Control to modulate the turn-on time of the AC switch 110 during the positive and negative half cycles of the input AC power to thereby modulate the amount of AC power supplied to the inductive load 20. Furthermore, as explained in further detail below, the controller 122 executes intelligent algorithms to determine an appropriate time to control the switching of the AC switch 110 to limit a magnitude of inductive flyback voltage that is generated by the inductive load 20 when the AC switch is deactivated and the AC power source 10 is disconnected from the inductive load.
As illustrated in
Further, a switch On/Off control element of the device 100 is configured to allow a user to turn power on and off to the load, e.g., lighting. The switch On/Off control element can be implemented using known switch control mechanisms. For example, the switch On/Off control element of the device 100 can be a mechanical toggle element, a slider control element, a touch pad control element, etc. The intelligent switch control system 120 comprises a switch interface (e.g., hardware interface) which is configured to convert switch On/Off control signals from the switch On/Off control element into digital signals that are input to the controller 122 and processed to implement On/Off switching functions.
As noted above, the controller 122 executes an intelligent algorithm to determine an appropriate time to control the switching of the AC switch 110 to limit a magnitude of inductive flyback voltage that is generated by the inductive load 20 when the AC switch is deactivated and the AC power source supply 10 is disconnected from the inductive load 20. In some embodiments, the controller 122 utilizes detection signals (denoted PH_Det and FB_Det), which are generated and output from the voltage phase detector 121 and the inductive flyback voltage detector 123, respectively, to determine and control the timing at which the AC switch 110 is deactivated following a zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform at the line sense node N1. The time at which the controller 122 deactivates the AC switch 110 (subsequent to a detected zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform on the line sense node N1) is determined by the controller 122 to be the same time, or substantially the same time, as a zero-current crossing of the load current. Deactivating the AC switch 110 at the same time, or substantially the same time, as the zero-current crossing of the load current, serves to eliminate inductive flyback voltage from being generated, or otherwise significantly suppresses the magnitude of inductive flyback voltage that is generated, and thereby protect the AC switch 110 from damage due as a result of a relatively high magnitude inductive flyback voltage. As explained in further detail below, in some embodiments, the controller 122 executes a calibration process to determine a switch turn-off time subsequent to a zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform for a plurality of dimming power levels at various increments (e.g., 2.5% increments) from 0% to 100%. The calibration process generates calibration data that is specific to the given inductive load 20 coupled to the device 100.
In some embodiments, the voltage phase detector 121 is configured to sense the voltage (Line Sense) at a target point (e.g., line sense node N1) along the electrical path between the first power input terminal 100-1 and the first load output terminal 100-3 of the device 100 and detect zero-voltage crossings of an AC supply voltage waveform. For example, as shown in
The controller 122 utilizes the phase detection signals PH_Det to determine timing information of the zero-voltage crossings of the AC supply voltage waveform, wherein such timing information is utilized in conjunction with a priori knowledge of the period/frequency of the AC supply voltage waveform to determine the appropriate timing for activating/deactivating the AC switch 110 (by generating and applying an appropriate modulated switch control signal S_Control to the AC switch 110) to modulate the amount of power that is supplied to the inductive load 20 in the positive and negative phases of the AC supply voltage waveform to thereby obtain a target dimming power level. For example, as noted above, when the AC supply voltage waveform is known to have a frequency of 60 Hz and a period of about 16.66 milliseconds, the controller 122 will know that each positive and negative half-cycle of the 60 Hz AC supply voltage waveform has a duration of about 8.33 milliseconds following the detection time of each zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform.
The voltage phase detector 121 can be implemented using any suitable type of zero-voltage crossing detection circuitry that is configured to sense zero-voltage crossings of the AC supply voltage waveform and generate a detection signal which indicates a zero-voltage crossing event and an associated transition direction of the zero-voltage crossing event of the AC supply voltage waveform. For example, in some embodiments, the voltage phase detector 121 implements zero-voltage crossing detection circuitry which is configured to compare the input AC supply voltage waveform to a zero reference voltage (e.g., line neutral voltage), and detect the transitions of the AC supply voltage waveform between the positive and negative phases, which coincide when the AC supply voltage waveform crosses the zero reference voltage. In some embodiments, the zero-voltage crossing detector circuitry is configured to generate a square wave output which transitions between a logic “1” and logic “0” output upon each zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform. In other embodiments, the zero-voltage crossing detector circuitry is configured to generate a short-lived pulse (˜3 us) having an RC-adjustable duration.
More specifically, in some embodiments, the zero-voltage crossing detection circuitry is configured to receive as input a sampling of the AC supply voltage waveform at the line sense node N1 (on the line side of the AC switch 110), compare the AC waveform sample to a zero reference voltage (e.g., line neutral voltage) to determine the polarity of the AC supply voltage waveform at the line sense node N1, and detect a zero-voltage crossing event and the associated transition direction of the zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform. In some embodiments, the comparing is performed using a voltage comparator which has a non-inverting input connected to the line sense node N1, and an inverting input that receives a reference voltage. The output of the voltage comparator switches (i) from logic 1 to logic 0 when the input voltage transitions from positive to negative and (ii) from logic 0 to logic 1 when the input voltage transitions from negative to positive. In this instance, the output of the zero-voltage crossing detection circuitry will transition between a logic “1” and logic “0” output upon each detected zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform.
As schematically illustrated in
For example, in some embodiments, when the AC supply voltage waveform transitions from a positive phase to a negative phase and the AC switch 110 is turned off at some time after the zero-voltage crossing of the transition from the positive phase to the negative phase, the generation of a flyback detection signal FB_Det provides an indication to the controller 122 that the AC switch 110 was turned off too late (i.e., after the time of the zero-current crossing of the load current), resulting in unwanted inductive flyback voltage. On the other hand, when the AC supply voltage waveform transitions from a negative phase to a positive phase and the AC switch 110 is turned off at some time after the zero-voltage crossing of the transition from the negative phase to the positive phase, the generation of a flyback detection signal FB_Det provides an indication to the controller 122 that the AC switch 110 was turned off too soon (i.e., before the time of the zero-current crossing of the load current), resulting in unwanted inductive flyback voltage. In this regard, since the controller 122 has knowledge of the phase of the AC supply voltage waveform based on the phase detection signals PH_Det provided by the voltage phase detector 121, the controller 122 can determine whether to increase or decrease the delay time to deactivate the AC switch 110 following the time of a zero-voltage crossing, depending on whether the flyback detection signal FB_Det was generated after the transition from a positive phase or after the transition from a negative phase. The controller 122 executes a calibration process to adjust the time delay for deactivating the AC switch 110 following a zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform to thereby ensure that the AC switch 110 is deactivated at time which coincides with the time (e.g., which is at or substantially near) of the zero-current crossing of the load current, to thereby eliminate or substantially suppress the magnitude of inductive flyback voltage. An exemplary embodiment of the inductive flyback voltage detector 123 and associated functions will be described in further detail below in conjunction with, e.g.,
The AC-to-DC converter 124 is configured to generate a DC power supply voltage (VDC) to provide DC power for operating the various components of the intelligent switch control system 120. As schematically illustrated in
In some embodiments, as noted above, the AC switch 110 is implemented using a bidirectional solid-state switch. For example,
The first solid-state switch 211 comprises a drain terminal which is coupled to the line sense node N1, and the second solid-state switch 212 comprises a drain terminal which is coupled to a load sense node N2. As further shown in
The first voltage divider 310 comprises a first resistor R1 and a second resistor R2 serially connected between a DC supply voltage node (VDC) and a ground node (GND). In some embodiments, the DC supply voltage node is coupled to an output of the AC-to-DC converter 124 (
The second voltage divider 320 comprises a third resistor R3 and a fourth resistor R4 serially connected between the load sense node N2 and the GND node. The second voltage divider 320 is configured to generate an output voltage VOUT on node N5, which has a smaller voltage magnitude than the magnitude of the sensed load voltage that is input from the load sense node N2. The output voltage VOUT from the second voltage divider 320 is input to the high pass filter 330.
The high pass filter 330 is configured to filter the output voltage VOUT to remove low frequency components (e.g., 60 Hz frequency component) and pass high-frequency signal components that correspond to an inductive flyback voltage present in the load voltage on the load sense node N2, and output a filtered voltage signal on node N6. The filtered voltage signal corresponds to a flyback voltage (denoted VFB) present in the load voltage on the load sense node N2. In some embodiments, the high pass filter 330 comprises a passive RC filter circuit which comprise a capacitor having a first terminal coupled to node N5 and a second terminal coupled to a node N6, and a resistor connected to and between the second terminal of the capacitor and the ground node GND. The RC high pass filter comprises a cutoff frequency fc that is configured according to the formula fc=1/(2πRC), where R denotes a resistance of the resistor and C denotes a capacitance of the capacitor, as is known in the art.
As further shown in
In particular, when the magnitude of VFB is greater than VREF, the comparator 360 outputs a logic “1” pulse as the flyback voltage detection signal FB_Det, which indicates the presence of an inductive flyback voltage that exceeds the flyback voltage threshold. On the other hand, when the magnitude of VFB is less than VREF, the comparator 360 outputs a logic “0” voltage, which indicates that (i) no inductive flyback voltage is present in the load voltage on the load sense node N2 or that (ii) the magnitude of the inductive flyback voltage, if present, is less than the flyback voltage threshold. In some embodiments, the voltage division ratios of the first and second voltage dividers 310 and 320 are configured such that the reference voltage VREF corresponds to the flyback voltage threshold (e.g., 30 V), and the magnitude of the filtered voltage VFB has a magnitude that is reduced in proportion to the reference voltage VREF.
In an exemplary embodiment, the diode 340 is configured to shunt the node N6 to the ground node GND when the filtered inductive flyback voltage VFB output from the high pass filter 330 has a negative magnitude (e.g., negative inductive flyback voltage pulse/spike). In the exemplary device 100 of
The Zener diode 350 is utilized to limit the maximum magnitude of VFB on the node N6 by a Zener voltage (i.e., reverse breakdown voltage) of the Zener diode 350. In this regard, when the positive magnitude of VFB on the node N6 exceeds the Zener voltage of the Zener diode 350, the Zener diode 350 operates in reverse-biased mode and regulates the maximum voltage on node N6 to the Zener voltage. In an exemplary embodiment, the Zener diode 350 has a Zener voltage of 2.4 V.
As noted above, the controller 122 of the device 100 of
In particular,
For example, at time t1 (e.g., 20.6 ms), it is assumed that the AC switch 110 is activated (turned on), which causes the exemplary load voltage waveform 400 to abruptly increase from 0V to a peak voltage of 170V, and which causes the load current waveform 402 to increase. In this exemplary embodiment, for a 50% dimming power level, the controller 122 activates the AC switch 110 at the mid-point of each positive half-cycle of the AC supply voltage waveform (as well as at the mid-point of each negative half-cycle of the AC supply voltage waveform). Furthermore, at time t1, the FB_Det signal 404 includes a logic “1” pulse 404-1 (e.g., 8V pulse) that is generated by the inductive flyback voltage detector. The pulse 404-1 in the FB_Det signal 404 is generated as a result of the high-frequency components of the load voltage waveform, which result from the abrupt transition of the load voltage waveform 400 from 0 V to 170 V when the AC switch 110 is turned on. Since these high-frequency components are not blocked by the high pass filter 330 (
Next, time t2 represents the time of a zero-voltage crossing of the load voltage waveform 400 (i.e., when the load voltage is 0 V). As shown in
As further shown in
Next, time t5 represents the time of a zero-voltage crossing of the load voltage waveform 400 (i.e., when the load voltage is 0 V). As shown in
Next,
For example, at time t1, it is assumed that the AC switch 110 is activated (turned on), which causes the exemplary load voltage waveform 410 to abruptly increase from 0V to a peak voltage of 170V, and which causes the load current waveform 412 to increase. Similar to the simulated timing diagrams of
Next, time t2 represents the time of a zero-voltage crossing of the load voltage waveform 410 (i.e., when the load voltage is 0 V). As shown in
Next, at time t4, it is assumed that the AC switch 110 is activated (turned on), which causes the exemplary load voltage waveform 410 to abruptly transition from 0 V to a negative peak voltage of −170 V, and which causes the load current waveform 412 to increase in a negative direction. As noted above, for a 50% dimming power level setting, the controller 122 activates the AC switch 110 at the mid-point of each positive and negative half-cycle of the AC supply voltage waveform. Again, it is to be noted that at time t4, a false positive FB_Det pulse is not generated in the flyback detection signal 414 for reasons as discussed above. Next, time t5 represents the time of a zero-voltage crossing of the load voltage waveform 410 (i.e., when the load voltage is 0 V). As shown in
Next, at time t6, the AC switch 110 is turned off (which terminates the load current). In this instance, as noted above, it is assumed that the AC switch 110 is turned off before the time of the zero-current crossing of the load current waveform 412. For example, the load current waveform 412 is about −1 A at the time t6 when the AC switch 110 is turned off. As noted above, it is assumed that time t6 is 175 microseconds after the time t5 of the occurrence of the zero-voltage crossing of the load voltage waveform 410, which is before the target delay time of 275 microseconds after the occurrence of a zero-voltage crossing of the load voltage waveform 410, where is it assumed that the zero-current crossing of the load current waveform 412 occurs. In this instance, a relatively large positive inductive flyback voltage 410-2 is generated at time t6 (e.g., a positive inductive voltage spike greater than +200 V). Since the magnitude of the inductive flyback voltage 410-2 is positive and greater than the inductive flyback voltage threshold (e.g., 30 V), the inductive flyback voltage detector will generate a FB_Det pulse 414-2 at time t6 due to the presence of the large inductive flyback voltage spike 410-2 in the load voltage waveform 410.
In this instance, the occurrence of the FB_Det pulse 414-2 at time t6, which results from the AC switch 110 being turned off at some time after the zero-voltage crossing of the transition from a negative half-cycle to a positive half-cycle of the AC supply voltage waveform, provides an indication to the controller 122 that the AC switch 110 was turned off too soon (before the zero-current crossing of the load current waveform 412), resulting in the unwanted inductive flyback voltage spike 410-2. In this regard, since the controller 122 determines that the AC switch 110 was deactivated before the time of the zero-current crossing of the load current, the controller 122 can adjust (i.e., increase) the delay time for turning off the AC switch 110 subsequent to the time of a zero-voltage crossing, to reach the target state of calibration as shown in
Next,
For example, at time t1, it is assumed that the AC switch 110 is activated (turned on), which causes the exemplary load voltage waveform 420 to abruptly increase from 0V to a peak voltage of 170V, and which causes the load current waveform 422 to increase. Similar to the simulated timing diagrams of
Next, time t2 represents the time of a zero-voltage crossing of the load voltage waveform 420 (i.e., when the load voltage is 0 V). As shown in
Next, at time t4, it is assumed that the AC switch 110 is activated (turned on), which causes the exemplary load voltage waveform 420 to abruptly transition from 0 V to a negative peak voltage of −170 V, and which causes the load current waveform 422 to increase in a negative direction. As noted above, for a 50% dimming power level setting, the controller 122 activates the AC switch 110 at the mid-point of each positive and negative half-cycle of the AC supply voltage waveform. Again, it is to be noted that at time t4, a false positive FB_Det pulse is not generated in the flyback detection signal 424 for reasons as discussed above. Next, time t5 represents the time of a zero-voltage crossing of the load voltage waveform 420 (i.e., when the load voltage is 0 V). As shown in
Next, at time t6, the AC switch 110 is turned off (which terminates the load current). In this instance, as noted above, it is assumed that the AC switch 110 is turned off after the time of the zero-current crossing of the load current waveform 422. For example, the load current waveform 422 is about +1 A at the time t6 when the AC switch 110 is turned off. As noted above, it is assumed that time t6 is 375 microseconds after the time t5 of the occurrence of the zero-voltage crossing of the load voltage waveform 420, which is later than the target delay time of 275 microseconds after the occurrence of a zero-voltage crossing of the load voltage waveform 420, where is it assumed that the zero-current crossing of the load current waveform 422 occurs. In this instance, a relatively large negative inductive flyback voltage 420-2 is generated at time t6 (e.g., a negative inductive voltage spike greater than −200 V). Since the magnitude of the inductive flyback voltage 420-2 negative, for reasons as discussed above, the inductive flyback voltage detector will not generate a FB_Det pulse at time t6. In this instance, at time t6, the FB_Det signal 424 remains at a logic “0” level (e.g., 0V) despite the presence of the large negative inductive flyback voltage spike 420-2 in the load voltage waveform 420.
In this instance, the occurrence of the FB_Det pulse 424-2 at time t3, which results from the AC switch 110 being turned off at some time after the zero-voltage crossing of the transition from a positive half-cycle to a negative half-cycle of the AC supply voltage waveform, provides an indication to the controller 122 that the AC switch 110 was turned off too late (after the time of the zero-current crossing of the load current waveform 422), resulting in the unwanted inductive flyback voltage spike 420-1. In this regard, since the controller 122 determines that the AC switch 110 was turned off too late, the controller 122 can adjust (i.e., decrease) the delay time for turning off the AC switch 110 following the time of a zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform, to reach the target state of calibration as shown in
Referring to
After initialization, the controller 122 will increment the dimming power level to the next setting (block 502) and then for the given dimming power level setting, the controller 122 will adjust/set the delay time to turn off the AC switch 110 following the detection of zero-voltage crossings of the AC supply voltage waveform (block 503). For example, at the initial stage of calibration, the controller 122 will increment the dimming power level setting from zero to, e.g., a 2.5% dimming power level setting. In addition, for the initial dimming power level setting of, e.g., 2.5%, the controller 122 can set the delay time to be zero, such that the AC switch 110 will be turned off at the time of the zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform at the end of each positive and negative half-cycle. The selection of these initial settings is based on various factors.
For example, for an inductive load, the degree (conduction angle) to which the load current lags the load voltage increases with increasing dimming power level settings. For example, at a low dimming power level (e.g., 20% or less), the load current may lag the load voltage by 100 microseconds or less. On the other hand, at a high dimming power level (e.g., 80% or more), the load current may lag the load voltage on the order of hundreds of microseconds or greater than 1000 microseconds (e.g., a current lag of 1.25 ms). In this regard, for the first incremental dimming power level setting (e.g., 2.5%) following the zero setting, it can be assumed that the load current lag is relatively small such that the time of the zero-current crossing of the load current is close in time to the time of the zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform.
Furthermore, at the low dimming power level setting (e.g., 2.5%), the magnitude of any potential inductive flyback voltage that may be generated as a result of the initial delay time setting for turning off the AC switch 110 will most likely be relatively small and not potentially destructive to the AC switch 110. Therefore, for the initial low dimming power level setting (e.g., 2.5%), the initial delay time for turning off the AC switch 110 can be set to zero (0) such that the turn off time of the AC switch 110 coincides with the time of the zero-voltage crossing of the AC supply voltage waveform, without having to worry about the generation of potentially destructive inductive flyback voltage if the initial delay time setting results in the generation of inductive flyback voltage on the load voltage. In addition, by performing an iterative calibration process starting from the zero dimming power level setting and incrementally increasing the dimming power level setting from zero to the maximum dimming power level setting, the calibrated delay time that is determined for turning off the AC switch 110 for a given dimming power level setting can be utilized as a baseline for the initial estimated delay time setting for the next dimming power level such that any error between the initial estimated delay time setting and the properly calibrated delay time setting for the next dimming power level will most likely result, at most, in the generation of non-destructive inductive flyback voltage.
Referring back to
If the controller 122 determines that a flyback voltage detection pulse was generated as a result of the delay time setting for the given dimming power level setting (affirmative determination in block 504), the controller 122 will determine whether the flyback detection pulse was generated in response to deactivation of the AC switch 110 at some time after a transition to a positive half-cycle or after a transition to negative half-cycle of the AC supply voltage waveform (block 505) and then determine an amount of time by which to increase or decrease the given delay time setting depending on when the flyback detection pulse was generated (block 506).
For example, as discussed above in conjunction with
The controller 122 will then proceed, for the given dimming power level setting, to adjust (e.g., increase or decrease) the delay time setting for deactivating the AC switch 110 after the zero-voltage crossings of the AC supply voltage (return to block 503). Once the proper delay time setting has been calibrated, and the controller 122 determines that no flyback voltage detection pulse FB_Det is generated for the adjusted delay time (negative determination in block 504), the controller 122 will proceed to record the calibrated delay time setting for the given dimming power level setting in memory (block 507). The controller 122 will then determine whether the calibration process has been completed for each dimming power level setting (block 508). If the calibration process is not completed and one or more dimming power level settings still need to be calibrated (negative determination in block 508), the controller 502 will proceed to increment the dimming power level to the next setting (block 502), and the calibration process (blocks 503, 504, 505, 506, and 507) are repeated for the next dimming power level setting. On the other hand, if the controller 122 determines that the calibration process is completed for each dimming power level setting (affirmative determination in block 508), the controller 122 will terminate the calibration process (block 509).
In some embodiments, at the completion of the calibration process, the one or more memory devices 125 will have a data structure (e.g., persistent table data structure) which comprises the calibration data that was determined and recorded as a result of the calibration process 500 of
During real-time use of the intelligent dimmer switch, when a user changes the dimming power level setting by operation of a dimmer element of the intelligent dimmer switch, the controller 122 can access the calibration data in memory to determine the proper calibrated turn-off time of the AC switch 110 for the user-selected dimming power level setting. In addition, during real time operation of the intelligent dimmer switch, the controller 122 will monitor the output of the inductive flyback voltage detector 123 to determine if a flyback voltage detection pulse FB_Det is generated at the given user-selected dimming power level setting, despite the calibrated delay time. If a flyback voltage detection pulse FB_Det is generated while operating at the user-selected dimming power level setting, the controller 122 can proceed to adjust the delay time for the user-selected dimming power level setting by performing a calibration process which is the same or similar to that discussed above in conjunction with
The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles of the embodiments, the practical application or technical improvement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 63/303,492, filed on Jan. 26, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20230261560 A1 | Aug 2023 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63303492 | Jan 2022 | US |
