Solid-State Lighting With Dual Mode Operations

Abstract

A light-emitting diode (LED) lighting system comprising a luminaire and a power pack is used to replace the luminaire operated only in a normal mode with alternate-current (AC) mains. The luminaire comprises LED arrays and a power supply whereas the power pack comprises a rechargeable battery, a charging circuit, an LED driving circuit, and a self-diagnostic circuit. According to availability of the AC mains, the LED lighting system can auto-select to work in an emergency mode when a line voltage from the AC mains is unavailable. The self-diagnostic circuit comprises multiple timers and multiple detection circuits and is configured to provide a sequence and to auto-test battery charge and discharge current according to the sequence. In another embodiment, the luminaire power pack is integrated into an enhanced LED luminaire to support such dual mode operations.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present disclosure is part of a continuation-in-part (CIP) application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 530,747, filed 2 Aug. 2019, which is part of CIP application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 458,823, filed 1 Jul. 2019, which is part of CIP application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 432,735, filed 5 Jun. 2019 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,390,396 on 20 Aug. 2019, which is part of CIP application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 401,849, filed 2 May 2019 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,390,395 on 20 Aug. 2019, which is part of CIP application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 296,864, filed 8 Mar. 2019 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,390,394 on 20 Aug. 2019, which is part of CIP application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 269,510, filed 6 Feb. 2019 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,314,123 on 4 Jun. 2019, which is part of CIP application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16 / 247,456, filed 14 Ja...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent is about a circuit that detects and controls the voltage in a line. It includes two current guiding diodes that conduct charging and discharging currents in opposite directions. The circuit also includes a self-diagnostic circuit to ensure proper operation and testing of a rechargeable battery. This circuit allows for reliable and efficient operation of LED lights in both normal and emergency modes. The circuit is implemented using a microcontroller or programmable logic controller. The power pack with this circuit integrated into an LED luminaire allows for seamless switching between modes and ensures that the LED lights always have the necessary power.

Problems solved by technology

But the fact is that total cost of ownership for this approach is high regardless of very low initial cost.

If the existing ballast is not compatible with the ballast-compatible LED lamp, the consumer will have to replace the ballast.

Some facilities built long time ago incorporate different types of fixtures, which requires extensive labor for both identifying ballasts and replacing incompatible ones.

Maintenance will be complicated, sometimes for the lamps and sometimes for the ballasts.

The labor costs and long-term maintenance costs will be unacceptable to end users.

In this sense, any energy saved while using the ballast-compatible LED lamps becomes meaningless with the constant energy use by the ballast.

In the long run, the ballast-compatible LED lamps are more expensive and less efficient than self-sustaining AC mains-operable LED lamps.

Meeting OSHA requirements takes time and investment, but not meeting them could result in fines and even prosecution.

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