Patent Application
20140042910
1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an energy-saving illumination device having a brightness adjusting module, and particularly to an energy-saving illumination device capable of automatically adjusting an illumination brightness by sensing a light intensity in an environment.
2. Description of Related Art
A suitable light intensity may be 400-450 lumens in a room for daily life, 300-800 lumens in office for office work, or 1000 or more in a public or commercial place. An illumination device may be a light tube or a bulb which emits lights at a certain unchanging intensity. Due to sunlight during the day, no additional illumination is needed at predetermined positions, such as near a window of a room. If a room requires uniform brightness, the brightness of illumination devices at different positions in the room need to be different.
Illumination devices in a room cannot self-adjust for brightness according to different ambient light levels in different positions in the room. Therefore, the room cannot obtain a uniform brightness. In addition, the illumination device includes a sensor and a light tube or a bulb integrated with the sensor. When the sensor or light tube or bulb is damaged, the entire illumination device must be replaced, which results in waste and high repair cost.
Therefore, there is room for improvement in the art.
The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the present disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout several views.
In the illustrated embodiment, the light source 20 is an LED light source, and includes an LED light tube or bulb consisting of a plurality of LED modules. The LED modules are electrically driven photoelectric components, and are capable of changing a illumination intensity according to an input driving current or an input driving voltage. That is, the signal S1 is a required current value or a required voltage value. The driving signal S2 is a driving current value or a driving voltage value. The driving control unit 50 includes an LED control IC for generating the driving signal S2 according to the signal S1, to control a current applied to the light source 20 to linearly adjust an illumination intensity of the light source 20.
In an illustrated embodiment, the LED control IC is an AP1909 LED (part name of LED of Anwell Semiconductor Corp.) control IC. The light sensing unit 40 includes a light-dependent resistance. The LED control IC includes a plurality of pins having functions, such as connecting to a voltage source, connecting to an LED light source, connecting to ground, connecting to an outer driving MOSFET, connecting to a Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) device, connecting to a voltage input of a logic circuit, connecting to a linear brightness adjusting input, and connecting to a frequency control input of an outer resistance, and so on. The light-dependent resistance of the light sensing unit 40 is connected to the input pin for linear adjustment of brightness. The signal S1 of the light sensing unit 40 indicates different currents according to different light intensities 100. The signal S1 is transmitted to the LED control IC of the driving control unit 50, and then the LED control IC emits a driving signal S2 of different voltages according to the ambient light level indicated in the signal S1. Thus, the light source 20 emits a light of a different illumination intensity. The light intensity 100 is adjusted accordingly, to effectively achieve an even brightness throughout the room. In an alternative embodiment, a type of the electrical elements, such as the LED control IC, can be changed according to different needs of the energy-saving illumination device 1.
The brightness adjusting module 30 of the energy-saving illumination device 1 is detachable and replaceable, and the light sensing unit 40 and the driving control unit 50 received in the brightness adjusting module 30 can adjust the illumination brightness of the independent light tube or bulb (the light source 20).
In an alternative embodiment, the energy-saving illumination device 1 further includes a circuit protecting unit 60 received in the brightness adjusting module 30. The circuit protecting unit 60 is configured to break an electrical connection between the driving control unit 50 and the circuit board 12 when a current or a voltage is abnormal, or when a temperature of the light source 20 is higher than a permitted maximum, to prevent damage to the light source 20. The circuit protecting unit 60 is a fuse in the illustrated embodiment, and avoids a permanent current overload applied to the light source 20.
In an alternative embodiment, the energy-saving illumination device 1 further includes a state indicating unit 70 positioned on the brightness adjusting module 30, and is electrically connected to the light sensing unit 40 and the driving control module 50 to indicate a normal state or an abnormal state of the energy-saving illumination device 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the state indicating unit 70 includes an LED indicating light source. The LED indicating light source is capable of emitting lights of different colors, to indicate the normal state and the abnormal state of the light sensing unit 40, the driving control unit 50, and the other electrical components of the energy-saving illumination device 1. When the state indicating unit 70 indicates the abnormal state, the energy-saving illumination device 1 may be repaired or replaced.
In an alternative embodiment, the brightness adjusting module 30 can be plate-like or sheet-like, such as a card inserting type, so that users can conveniently insert the brightness adjusting module 30 into the inserting groove 11 of the lamp holder 10, giving the energy-saving illumination device 1 the brightness adjusting function. In addition, when the light source 20 is a durable LED light source, because the brightness adjusting module 30 is detachable, the brightness adjusting module 30 can be replaced with a new module if the original is damaged, thereby avoiding waste.
The energy-saving illumination devices 1, 2 can prevent damage to the light source 20 when a supply voltage is abnormal, or there is a short circuit of electrical components of the circuit or one or more light-emitting diodes of the light source 20. In addition, the illumination device 1 and the energy-saving illumination device 2 can protect the light source 20 from a high temperature, and avoid low-efficiency operation if the light-emitting diodes of the light source 20 are sensitive to heat. The energy-saving illumination devices 1, 2 are durable and have a long lifespan.
The energy-saving illumination devices 1, 2 have brightness adjusting modules 30, and the brightness adjusting modules 30 can be replaced separately when damaged, resulting in decreased repair costs, waste, and environmental pollution. In addition, when the environment has different light intensities, each energy-saving illumination devices 1, 2 can emit light of a certain brightness, to create an even brightness.
It is believed that the present embodiments and their advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments or sacrificing all of its material advantages.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 101215439 | Aug 2012 | TW | national |
