Light-emitting diode (LED) light sources (e.g., LED light engines) are often used in place of or as replacements for conventional incandescent, fluorescent, or halogen lamps, and the like. LED light sources may comprise a plurality of light-emitting diodes mounted on a single structure and provided in a suitable housing. LED light sources are typically more efficient and provide longer operational lives as compared to incandescent, fluorescent, and halogen lamps. An LED driver control device (e.g., an LED driver) may be coupled between an alternating-current (AC) power source and an LED light source for regulating the power supplied to the LED light source. The LED driver may regulate either the voltage provided to the LED light source to a particular value, the current supplied to the LED light source to a specific current value, or may regulate both the current and voltage.
LED light sources are typically rated to be driven via one of two different control techniques: a current load control technique or a voltage load control technique. An LED light source that is rated for the current load control technique is also characterized by a rated current (e.g., approximately 350 milliamps) to which the peak magnitude of the current through the LED light source should be regulated to ensure that the LED light source is illuminated to the appropriate intensity and color. In contrast, an LED light source that is rated for the voltage load control technique is characterized by a rated voltage (e.g., approximately 15 volts) to which the voltage across the LED light source should be regulated to ensure proper operation of the LED light source. If an LED light source rated for the voltage load control technique includes multiple parallel strings of LEDs, a current balance regulation element may be used to ensure that each of the parallel strings has the same impedance so that the same current is drawn in each parallel string.
The light output of an LED light source can be dimmed. Methods of dimming LEDs include a pulse-width modulation (PWM) technique and a constant current reduction (CCR) technique, for example. Pulse-width modulation dimming can be used for LED light sources that are controlled in either a current load control mode/technique or a voltage load control mode/technique. In pulse-width modulation dimming, a pulsed signal with a varying duty cycle is supplied to the LED light source. If the LED light source is being controlled using the current load control technique, the peak current supplied to the LED light source is kept constant during an on time of the duty cycle of the pulsed signal. However, as the duty cycle of the pulsed signal varies, the average current supplied to the LED light source also varies, thereby varying the intensity of the light output of the LED light source. If the LED light source is being controlled using the voltage load control technique, the voltage supplied to the LED light source is kept constant during the on time of the duty cycle of the pulsed signal in order to achieve the desired target voltage level, and the duty cycle of the load voltage is varied in order to adjust the intensity of the light output. Constant current reduction dimming is typically used when an LED light source is being controlled using the current load control technique. In constant current reduction dimming, current is continuously provided to the LED light source. The DC magnitude of the current provided to the LED light source, however, is varied to thus adjust the intensity of the light output. Examples of LED drivers are described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 8,492,987, issued Jul. 23, 2010, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0063047, published Mar. 14, 2013, both entitled LOAD CONTROL DEVICE FOR A LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE LIGHT SOURCE, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Dimming an LED light source using traditional techniques may result in changes in light intensity that are perceptible to the human vision. This problem may be more apparent if the dimming occurs while the LED light source is near the low end of its intensity range (e.g., below 5% of a maximum intensity). Accordingly, methods and apparatus for fine tuning the intensity of an LED light source may be desirable.
As described herein, a load control device for controlling a load current conducted through an electrical load may comprise a load regulation circuit and a control circuit. The load regulation circuit may be configured to control the magnitude of a load current conducted through the electrical load in order to control the amount of power delivered to the electrical load. The load regulation circuit may comprise a switching device. The switching device may be controlled by the control circuit to operate in an active state during active state periods and in an inactive state during inactive state periods. The control circuit may be configured to operate in a normal mode and a burst mode, and to control the average magnitude of the load current towards a target load current. The normal mode may be applied when the target load current is between a maximum rated current and a minimum rated current. The burst mode may be applied when the target load current is below the minimum rated current. Further, the burst mode may be characterized by a plurality of burst mode periods each comprising one of the active state periods and one of the inactive state periods.
During the normal mode, the control circuit may be configured to regulate the average magnitude of the load current by driving the switching device between different operating states to regulate the average magnitude of the load current. The different operating states may comprise a conductive state and a non-conductive state, for example. During the burst mode, the control circuit may be configured to adjust the average magnitude of the load current by driving the switching device between the different operating states during the active state periods and stopping driving the switching device between the different operating states during the inactive state periods. The control circuit may be configured to adjust the average magnitude of the load current by adjusting the lengths of the inactive state periods and/or the active state periods. The control circuit may be configured to adjust the length of the inactive state periods in one or more of the burst mode periods while holding the length of the active state periods constant (e.g., until a maximum amount of adjustment has been made to the length of inactive state periods). The one or more burst mode periods may be adjacent to each other or may be separated by another burst mode period (or a plurality of burst mode periods). The control circuit may be configured to adjust the length of the active state periods and the length of the inactive state periods in a succeeding burst mode period. The control circuit may repeat the foregoing adjustment steps if further adjustment is desired. The amounts of adjustment made to the lengths of the inactive state periods and the active state periods may be determined such that fine tuning of the load current may be achieved. The determination may be made in real time or based on data stored in memory.
Also described herein are methods for controlling a load current conducted through an electrical load. The control may be applied in different operating modes including a normal mode and a burst mode. During the normal mode, an average magnitude of the load current may be regulated towards a target current by driving a switching device between different operating states. For example, the switching device may be driven between a conductive state and a non-conductive state to regulate the average magnitude of the load current towards the target current. During the burst mode, the average magnitude of the load current may be adjusted to the target current over a plurality of burst mode periods. Each of the burst mode periods may include an active state period and an inactive state period. The switching device may be driven between the different operating states during the active state period of each of the plurality of burst mode periods. The switching device may not be driven between the different operating states during the inactive state period of each of the plurality of burst mode periods. The length of the inactive state period may be adjusted in at least a subset of the plurality of burst mode periods while the length of the active state period may be held constant. The length of the active state period may also be adjusted, for example, by an active state adjustment amount in at least one of the plurality of burst mode periods. The length of the inactive state period may be adjusted until a total amount of adjustment is equal to approximately a threshold amount before the length of the active state period is adjusted.
The LED driver 100 may comprise a radio-frequency interference (RFI) filter circuit 110, a rectifier circuit 120, a boost converter 130, a load regulation circuit 140, a control circuit 150, a current sense circuit 160, a memory 170, a communication circuit 180, and/or a power supply 190. The RFI filter circuit 110 may minimize the noise provided on the AC mains. The rectifier circuit 120 may generate a rectified voltage VRECT.
The boost converter 130 may receive the rectified voltage VRECT and generate a boosted direct-current (DC) bus voltage VBUS across a bus capacitor CBUS. The boost converter 130 may comprise any suitable power converter circuit for generating an appropriate bus voltage, such as, for example, a flyback converter, a single-ended primary-inductor converter (SEPIC), a Ćuk converter, or other suitable power converter circuit. The boost converter 130 may operate as a power factor correction (PFC) circuit to adjust the power factor of the LED driver 100 towards a power factor of one.
The load regulation circuit 140 may receive the bus voltage VBUS and control the amount of power delivered to the LED light source 102, for example, to control the intensity of the LED light source 102 between a high-end (e.g., maximum) intensity LHE (e.g., approximately 100%) and a low-end (e.g., minimum) intensity LLE (e.g., approximately 1-5% of the high-end intensity). An example of the load regulation circuit 140 may be an isolated, half-bridge forward converter. An example of the load control device (e.g., LED driver 100) comprising a forward converter is described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/935,799, filed Jul. 5, 2013, entitled LOAD CONTROL DEVICE FOR A LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE LIGHT SOURCE, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. The load regulation circuit 140 may comprise, for example, a buck converter, a linear regulator, or any suitable LED drive circuit for adjusting the intensity of the LED light source 102.
The control circuit 150 may be configured to control the operation of the boost converter 130 and/or the load regulation circuit 140. An example of the control circuit 150 may be a controller. The control circuit 150 may comprise, for example, a digital controller or any other suitable processing device, such as, for example, a microcontroller, a programmable logic device (PLD), a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The control circuit 150 may generate a bus voltage control signal VBUS-CNTL, which may be provided to the boost converter 130 for adjusting the magnitude of the bus voltage VBUS. The control circuit 150 may receive a bus voltage feedback control signal VBUS-FB from the boost converter 130, which may indicate the magnitude of the bus voltage VBUS.
The control circuit 150 may generate drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2. The drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 may be provided to the load regulation circuit 140 for adjusting the magnitude of a load voltage VLOAD generated across the LED light source 102 and/or the magnitude of a load current ILOAD conducted through the LED light source 120. By controlling the load voltage VLOAD and/or the load current ILOAD, the control circuit may control the intensity of the LED light source 120 to a target intensity LTRGT. The control circuit 150 may adjust an operating frequency fOP and/or a duty cycle DCINV (e.g., an on time TON) of the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 in order to adjust the magnitude of the load voltage VLOAD and/or the load current ILOAD.
The current sense circuit 160 may receive a sense voltage VSENSE. The sense voltage VSENSE may be generated by the load regulation circuit 140. The sense voltage VSENSE may indicate the magnitude of the load current ILOAD. The current sense circuit 160 may receive a signal-chopper control signal VCHOP from the control circuit 150. The current sense circuit 160 may generate a load current feedback signal VI-LOAD, which may be a DC voltage indicating the average magnitude IAVE of the load current ILOAD. The control circuit 150 may receive the load current feedback signal VI-LOAD from the current sense circuit 160. The control circuit 150 may adjust the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 based on the load current feedback signal VI-LOAD so that the magnitude of the load current ILOAD may be adjusted towards a target load current ITRGT. For example, the control circuit 150 may set initial operating parameters for the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 (e.g., the operating frequency fOP and/or the duty cycle DCINV). The control circuit 150 may receive the load current feedback signal VI-LOAD indicating the effect of the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2. Based on the indication, the control circuit 150 may adjust the operating parameters of the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 to thus adjust the magnitude of the load current ILOAD towards a target load current ITRGT (e.g., using a control loop).
The load current ILOAD may be the current that is conducted through the LED light source 120. The target load current ITRGT may be the current that the control circuit 150 aims to conduct through the LED light source 120 (e.g., based at least on the load current feedback signal VI-LOAD). The load current ILOAD may be approximately equal to the target load current ITRGT but may not always match the target load current ITRGT. This may be because, for example, the control circuit 150 may have specific levels of granularity in which it can control the current conducted through the LED light source 120 (e.g., due to inverter cycle lengths, etc.). A person skilled in the art will appreciate that the figures shown herein (e.g.,
The control circuit 150 may be coupled to the memory 170. The memory 170 may store operational characteristics of the LED driver 100 (e.g., the target intensity LTRGT, the low-end intensity LLE, the high-end intensity LHE, etc.). The communication circuit 180 may be coupled to, for example, a wired communication link or a wireless communication link, such as a radio-frequency (RF) communication link or an infrared (IR) communication link. The control circuit 150 may be configured to update the target intensity LTRGT of the LED light source 102 and/or the operational characteristics stored in the memory 170 in response to digital messages received via the communication circuit 180. The LED driver 100 may be operable to receive a phase-control signal from a dimmer switch for determining the target intensity LTRGT for the LED light source 102. The power supply 190 may receive the rectified voltage VRECT and generate a direct-current (DC) supply voltage VCC for powering the circuitry of the LED driver 100.
To adjust the average magnitude IAVE of the load current ILOAD to below the minimum rated current IMIN (and to thus adjust the target intensity LTRGT below the transition intensity LTRAN), the control circuit 150 may be configured to operate the load regulation circuit 140 in a burst mode. The burst mode may be characterized by a burst operating period that includes an active state period and an inactive state period. During the active state period, the control circuit 150 may be configured to regulate the load current ILOAD in ways similar to those in the normal mode. During the inactive state period, the control circuit 150 may be configured to stop regulating the load current LOAD (e.g., to allow the load current ILOAD to drop to approximately zero). Although the active state and inactive state periods are described herein in association with the burst mode, a person skilled in the art will understand that the normal mode may also be characterized by an operating period that includes the active state period and the inactive state period, e.g., with both periods held constant and the inactive state period held at approximately zero. Examples of a load control device capable of operating in a burst mode and a normal mode are described in greater detail in commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 9,247,608, issued Jan. 26, 2016, entitled LOAD CONTROL DEVICE FOR A LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE LIGHT SOURCE, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The ratio of the active state period to the burst operating period, e.g., TACTIVE/TBURST, may represent a burst duty cycle DCBURST. The burst duty cycle DCBURST may be controlled, for example, between a maximum duty cycle DCMAX (e.g., approximately 100%) and a minimum duty cycle DCMIN (e.g., approximately 20%). The load current ILOAD may be adjusted towards the target current ITRGT (e.g., the minimum rated current IMIN) during the active state period of the burst mode. Setting the burst duty cycle DCBURST to a value less than the maximum duty cycle DCMAX may reduce the average magnitude IAVE of the load current ILOAD to below the minimum rated current IMIN.
With reference to
In the active state of the burst mode, the control circuit 150 may be configured to generate the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2. The control circuit 150 may be further configured to adjust the operating frequency fOP and/or the duty cycle DCINV (e.g., an on time TON) of the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 in order to adjust the magnitude of the load current ILOAD. The control circuit 150 may be configured to make the adjustments using closed loop control. For example, in the active state of the burst mode, the control circuit 150 may generate the drive signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 to adjust the magnitude of the load current ILOAD to be equal to a target load current ITRGT (e.g., the minimum rated current IMIN) in response to the load current feedback signal VI-LOAD.
In the inactive state of the burst mode, the control circuit 150 may let the magnitude of the load current ILOAD drop to approximately zero amps, e.g., by freezing the control loop and/or not generating the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2. While the control loop is frozen (e.g., in the inactive state), the control circuit 150 may stop responding to the load current feedback signal VI-LOAD (e.g., the control circuit 150 may not adjust the values of the operating frequency fOP and/or the duty cycle DCINV in response to the feedback signal). The control circuit 150 may store the present duty cycle DCINV (e.g., the present on time TON) of the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 in the memory 170 prior to (e.g., immediately prior to) freezing the control loop. When the control loop is unfrozen (e.g., when the control circuit 150 enters the active state), the control circuit 150 may resuming generating the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 using the operating frequency fOP and/or the duty cycle DCINV from the previous active state.
The control circuit 150 may be configured to adjust the burst duty cycle DCBURST using an open loop control. For example, the control circuit 150 may be configured to adjust the burst duty cycle DCBURST as a function of the target intensity LTRGT when the target intensity LTRGT is below the transition intensity LTRAN. For example, the control circuit 150 may be configured to linearly decrease the burst duty cycle DCBURST as the target intensity LTRGT is decreased below the transition intensity LTRAN (e.g., as shown in
The forward converter 240 may comprise a half-bridge inverter circuit having two field effect transistors (FETs) Q210, Q212 for generating a high-frequency inverter voltage VINV from the bus voltage VBUS. The FETs Q210, Q212 may be rendered conductive and non-conductive in response to the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2. The drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 may be received from the control circuit 150. The drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 may be coupled to the gates of the respective FETs Q210, Q212 via a gate drive circuit 214 (e.g., which may comprise part number L6382DTR, manufactured by ST Microelectronics). The control circuit 150 may be configured to generate the inverter voltage VINV at an operating frequency fOP (e.g., approximately 60-65 kHz) and thus an operating period TOP. The control circuit 150 may be configured to adjust the operating frequency fOP under certain operating conditions. The control circuit 150 may be configured to adjust a duty cycle DCINV of the inverter voltage VINV to control the intensity of an LED light source 202 towards the target intensity LTRGT.
In a normal mode of operation, when the target intensity LTRGT of the LED light source 202 is between the high-end intensity LHE and the transition intensity LTRAN, the control circuit 150 may adjust the duty cycle DCINV of the inverter voltage VINV to adjust the magnitude (e.g., the average magnitude IAVE) of the load current ILOAD towards the target load current ITRGT. As described herein, the magnitude of the load current ILOAD may vary between the maximum rated current IMAX and the minimum rated current IMIN (e.g., as shown in
When the target intensity LTRGT of the LED light source 202 is below the transition intensity LTRAN, the control circuit 150 may be configured to operate the forward converter 240 in a burst mode of operation. In addition to or in lieu of using target intensity as a threshold for determining when to operate in the burst mode, the control circuit 150 may use power (e.g., a transition power) and/or current (e.g., a transition current) as the threshold. In the burst mode of operation, the control circuit 150 may be configured to switch the forward converter 240 between an active state (e.g., in which the control circuit 150 may actively generate the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 to regulate the peak magnitude IPK (of the load current ILOAD to be equal to the minimum rated current IMIN) and an inactive state (e.g., in which the control circuit 150 may freeze the control loop and does not generate the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2).
The inverter voltage VINV may be coupled to the primary winding of a transformer 220 through a DC-blocking capacitor C216 (e.g., which may have a capacitance of approximately 0.047 μF). A primary voltage VPRI may be generated across the primary winding. The transformer 220 may be characterized by a turns ratio nTURNS (e.g., N1/N2), which may be approximately 115:29. A sense voltage VSENSE may be generated across a sense resistor R222, which may be coupled in series with the primary winding of the transformer 220. The FETs Q210, Q212 and the primary winding of the transformer 220 may be characterized by parasitic capacitances CP1, CP2, CP3, respectively. The secondary winding of the transformer 220 may generate a secondary voltage. The secondary voltage may be coupled to the AC terminals of a full-wave diode rectifier bridge 224 for rectifying the secondary voltage generated across the secondary winding. The positive DC terminal of the rectifier bridge 224 may be coupled to the LED light source 202 through an output energy-storage inductor L226 (e.g., which may have an inductance of approximately 10 mH). The load voltage VLOAD may be generated across an output capacitor C228 (e.g., which may have a capacitance of approximately 3 μF).
The current sense circuit 260 may comprise an averaging circuit for producing the load current feedback signal VI-LOAD. The averaging circuit may comprise a low-pass filter comprising a capacitor C230 (e.g., which may have a capacitance of approximately 0.066 uF) and a resistor R232 (e.g., which may have a resistance of approximately 3.32 kΩ). The low-pass filter may receive the sense voltage VSENSE via a resistor R234 (e.g., which may have a resistance of approximately 1 kΩ). The current sense circuit 160 may comprise a transistor Q236 (e.g., a FET as shown in
When either of the high-side and low-side FETs Q210, Q212 are conductive, the magnitude of an output inductor current IL conducted by the output inductor L226 and/or the magnitude of the load voltage VLOAD across the LED light source 202 may increase with respect to time. The magnitude of the primary current IPRI may increase with respect to time while the FETs Q210, Q212 are conductive (e.g., after an initial current spike). When the FETs Q210, Q212 are non-conductive, the output inductor current IL and the load voltage VLOAD may decrease in magnitude with respective to time. The output inductor current IL may be characterized by a peak magnitude IL-PK and an average magnitude IL-AVG, for example, as shown in
When the FETs Q210, Q212 are rendered non-conductive, the magnitude of the primary current IPRI may drop toward zero amps (e.g., as shown at time t2 in
The real component of the primary current IPRI may indicate the magnitude of the secondary current ISEC and thus the intensity of the LED light source 202. The magnetizing current IMAG (e.g., the reactive component of the primary current IPRI) may flow through the sense resistor R222. When the high-side FET Q210 is conductive, the magnetizing current IMAG may change from a negative polarity to a positive polarity. When the low-side FET Q210 is conductive, the magnetizing current IMAG may change from a positive polarity to a negative polarity. When the magnitude of the primary voltage VPRI is zero volts, the magnetizing current IMAG may remain constant, for example, as shown in
where THC may be the half-cycle period of the inverter voltage VINV, e.g., THC=TOP/2. As shown in
The current sense circuit 260 may determine an average of the primary current IPRI during the positive cycles of the inverter voltage VINV, e.g., when the high-side FET Q210 is conductive. As described herein, the high-side FET Q210 may be conductive during the on time TON. The load current feedback signal VI-LOAD, which may be generated by the current sense circuit 260, may have a DC magnitude that is the average value of the primary current IPRI (e.g., when the high-side FET Q210 is conductive). Because the average value of the magnitude of the magnetizing current IMAG may be approximately zero during the period of time that the high-side FET Q210 is conductive (e.g., during the on time TON), the load current feedback signal VI-LOAD generated by the current sense circuit may indicate the real component (e.g., only the real component) of the primary current IPRI (e.g., during the on time TON).
When the high-side FET Q210 is rendered conductive, the control circuit 150 may drive the signal-chopper control signal VCHOP low towards circuit common to render the transistor Q236 of the current sense circuit 260 non-conductive for a signal-chopper time TCHOP. The signal-chopper time TCHOP may be approximately equal to the on time TON of the high-side FET Q210, for example, as shown in
As the target intensity LTRGT of the LED light source 202 is decreased towards the low-end intensity LLE and/or the on times TON of the drive control signals VDRIVE1, VDRIVE2 get smaller, the parasitic of the load regulation circuit 140 (e.g., the parasitic capacitances CP1, CP2 of the FETs Q210, Q212, the parasitic capacitance CP3 of the primary winding of the transformer 220, and/or other parasitic capacitances of the circuit) may cause the magnitude of the primary voltage VPRI to slowly decrease towards zero volts after the FETs Q210, Q212 are rendered non-conductive.
The burst duty cycle DCBURST may be controlled to adjust the average magnitude IAVE of the load current ILOAD. The burst duty cycle DCBURST may be controlled in different ways. For example, the burst duty cycle DCBURST may be controlled by holding the burst mode period TBURST constant and varying the length of the active state period TACTIVE. The burst duty cycle DCBURST may also be controlled by holding the active state period TACTIVE constant and varying the length of the inactive state period TINACTIVE (and thus varying the length of the burst mode period TBURST). As the burst duty cycle DCBURST is increased, the average magnitude IAVE of the load current ILOAD may increase. As the burst duty cycle DCBURST is decreased, the average magnitude IAVE of the load current ILOAD may decrease. The control circuit 150 may be configured to adjust the burst duty cycle DCBURST using open loop control (e.g., in response to the target intensity LTRGT). The control circuit 150 may be configured to adjust the burst duty cycle DCBURST using closed loop control (e.g., in response to the load current feedback signal VI-LOAD).
The active state period TACTIVE of the load current ILOAD may have a length that is dependent upon the length of an inverter cycle of the inverter circuit of the load regulation circuit (e.g., the operating period TOP). For example, the active state period TACTIVE may comprise six inverter cycles, and as such, may have a length that is equal to the duration of the six inverter cycles. The control circuit may adjust (e.g., increase or decrease) the length of the active state periods TACTIVE by adjusting the number of inverter cycles in the active state period TACTIVE. As such, the control circuit may adjust the length of the active state periods TACTIVE by predetermined increments/decrements, e.g., with each increment/decrement corresponding to approximately the length of an inverter cycle (e.g., such as the transition operating period TOP-T, which may be approximately 12.8 microseconds). Since the average magnitude IAVE of the load current ILOAD may depend on the active state period TACTIVE, the average magnitude IAVE may also be adjusted by a predetermined increment/decrement that corresponds to a change in the load current ILOAD resulting from the addition or removal of an inverter cycle per active state period TACTIVE.
Fine tuning of the light level or light intensity of the lighting load may be achieved by configuring the control circuit to adjust (e.g., increase or decrease) the length of the inactive state periods TINACTIVE in the burst mode. Adjustments to the length of the inactive state periods TINACTIVE may be made between adjusting the length of the active state periods TACTIVE. Adjustments to the length of the inactive state periods TINACTIVE may also be made while adjusting the length of the active state periods TACTIVE. The adjustments to the inactive state periods TINACTIVE may be made in one or more steps with respective adjustment amounts. The respective adjustment amounts may be substantially equal to or different from each other. The respective adjustment amounts may be determined such that an adjustment made to the inactive state periods will cause a same or smaller change to the light intensity (e.g., a smaller change relative to a specific light intensity level) than an adjustment to active state periods (e.g., by one inverter cycle) would have caused had the inactive state periods not been changed. In an example, one or more of the respective adjustment amounts made to the inactive state periods may be smaller than an adjustment amount made to the active state periods. In an example, the respective adjustment amounts made to the inactive state periods may not be smaller than the adjustment amount made to the active state periods, but the changes caused by the respective inactive adjustment amounts to the relative light intensity may still be smaller than the change caused by the active state adjustment amount. The control circuit may adjust the length of the inactive state periods TINACTIVE as a function of the target intensity LTRGT of the lighting load.
As shown in
The control circuit may adjust the length of the inactive state periods TINACTIVE (e.g., by the inactive-state adjustment amount ΔINACTIVE each time) while maintaining the length of the active state period TACTIVE constant (as shown in waveforms 1210-1260 in
As described herein, the user's eyes may be more sensitive to changes in the relative light level of the lighting load when the light level is low (e.g., below to the transition intensity LTRAN). The maximum adjustment amount ΔINACTIVE-MAX for the inactive state periods TINACTIVE may be sized to reduce perceptible changes in the relative light level of the lighting load. For example, if the lengths of the active state periods TACTIVE and the inactive state periods TINACTIVE are both adjusted (e.g., between waveforms 1260 and 1270 in
As described herein, the control circuit (e.g., the control circuit 150 of the LED driver 100 shown in
Referring to
If the control circuit determines that the target intensity LTRGT falls within the range 1322, then the control circuit may determine to set the active state period TACTIVE to 1332. The active state period 1332 may be greater than the minimum active state period TACTIVE-MIN. For example, the active state period 1332 may include one more inverter cycle than the minimum active state period TACTIVE-MIN. The control circuit may determine to set the inactive state period TINACTIVE according to the profile 1342. In an example, the starting point of the profile 1342 may be dependent upon the length of the present burst cycle period (e.g., the default burst cycle period TBURST-DEF) and the length of the present active state period 1332. The ending point of the profile 1342 may be dependent upon the maximum inactive state adjustment amount ΔINACTIVE-MAX, which may in turn be dependent upon the length of the present active state period 1332. The gradient of the profile 1342 may be determined based on the size of an inactive-state adjustment step (e.g., such as the inactive-state adjustment amount ΔINACTIVE), which, as noted herein, may be equal to a percentage (e.g., approximately 1%) of the default burst mode period TBURST-DEF. Similarly, if the control circuit determines that the target intensity LTRGT falls within one of the target intensity ranges 1323-1327, then the control circuit may determine to set the active state period TACTIVE to one of 1333-1337 and determine to set the inactive state period TINACTIVE according to one of the profiles 1343-1347, respectively.
The profiles 1341-1347 may be linear or non-linear, and may be continuous (e.g., as shown in
The graphs 1300, 1310 may represent a portion of the target intensity range between the low-end intensity LLE and the transition intensity LTRAN or the entire target intensity range between the low-end intensity LLE and the transition intensity LTRAN. More or less than seven active state periods TACTIVE (e.g., TACTIVE-MIN through 1337) may be provided between the low-end intensity LLE and the transition intensity LTRAN.
If the control circuit determines that it is operating the load regulation circuit in the burst mode at 1412 (e.g., the target intensity LTRGT is below the transition intensity LTRAN, or LTRGT<LTRAN), then the control circuit may determine the lengths of the active state period TACTIVE and/or the inactive state period TINACTIVE for one or more burst mode periods TBURST (e.g., using open loop control) at 1418. For example, the control circuit may determine target lengths of the active state period TACTIVE and the inactive state period TINACTIVE that correspond to the target intensity LTRGT. The control circuit may then determine the lengths of the active state period TACTIVE and/or the inactive state period TINACTIVE for one or more burst mode periods. As described herein, the length of the inactive state period may be gradually adjusted (e.g., gradually increased or decreased) in one or more burst mode periods until a maximum amount of adjustment is reached. The length of the active state period may then be adjusted in a subsequent burst mode period. The determination process may be repeated in the manner described herein until the target lengths of the active state period TACTIVE and inactive state period TINACTIVE are achieved.
The control circuit may perform the foregoing process by calculating the relevant values in real-time or retrieving the values from memory (e.g., via a lookup table or the like). The control circuit may set the lengths of the active state period TACTIVE and/or the inactive state period TINACTIVE for the one or more burst mode periods TBURST at 1420, and the control circuit may exit the target intensity procedure 1400. As described herein, the control circuit may adjust the active state period TACTIVE and/or the inactive state period TINACTIVE as a function of the target intensity LTRGT using open loop control. Other ways to adjust the active state period TACTIVE and/or the inactive state period TINACTIVE may be employed, including, for example, using closed loop control (e.g., in response to the load current feedback signal VI-LOAD).
One or more of the embodiments described herein (e.g., as performed by a load control device) may be used to decrease the intensity of a lighting load and/or increase the intensity of the lighting load. For example, one or more embodiments described herein may be used to adjust the intensity of the lighting load from on to off, off to on, from a higher intensity to a lower intensity, and/or from a lower intensity to a higher intensity. For example, one or more of the embodiments described herein (e.g., as performed by a load control device) may be used to fade the intensity of a light source from on to off (e.g., the low-end intensity LLE may be equal to 0%) and/or to fade the intensity of the light source from off to on.
Although described with reference to an LED driver, one or more embodiments described herein may be used with other load control devices. For example, one or more of the embodiments described herein may be performed by a variety of load control devices that are configured to control of a variety of electrical load types, such as, for example, a LED driver for driving an LED light source (e.g., an LED light engine); a screw-in luminaire including a dimmer circuit and an incandescent or halogen lamp; a screw-in luminaire including a ballast and a compact fluorescent lamp; a screw-in luminaire including an LED driver and an LED light source; a dimming circuit for controlling the intensity of an incandescent lamp, a halogen lamp, an electronic low-voltage lighting load, a magnetic low-voltage lighting load, or another type of lighting load; an electronic switch, controllable circuit breaker, or other switching device for turning electrical loads or appliances on and off; a plug-in load control device, controllable electrical receptacle, or controllable power strip for controlling one or more plug-in electrical loads (e.g., coffee pots, space heaters, other home appliances, and the like); a motor control unit for controlling a motor load (e.g., a ceiling fan or an exhaust fan); a drive unit for controlling a motorized window treatment or a projection screen; motorized interior or exterior shutters; a thermostat for a heating and/or cooling system; a temperature control device for controlling a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system; an air conditioner; a compressor; an electric baseboard heater controller; a controllable damper; a humidity control unit; a dehumidifier; a water heater; a pool pump; a refrigerator; a freezer; a television or computer monitor; a power supply; an audio system or amplifier; a generator; an electric charger, such as an electric vehicle charger; and an alternative energy controller (e.g., a solar, wind, or thermal energy controller). A single control circuit may be coupled to and/or adapted to control multiple types of electrical loads in a load control system.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/595,970, filed Oct. 8, 2019 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,827,577), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/219,428, filed Dec. 13, 2018 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,455,659), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/857,271, filed Dec. 28, 2017 (now U.S. Pat. No. 10,194,501), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/399,694, filed Jan. 5, 2017 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,888,540), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/142,876, filed Apr. 29, 2016 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,565,731), which claims the benefit of Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 62/155,871, filed May 1, 2015, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
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