LED driving device, microcontroller and control method of LED module

Abstract

The invention provides an LED driving device, a microcontroller and a control method of an LED module. The LED driving device comprises a power supply module, a switch module and a control module. The power supply module is used for supplying power to the LED module, wherein the power supply module determines whether to trigger an overcurrent protection function of the power supply module according to whether the output current exceeds a threshold current. The control module is coupled to the power supply module and a switch module connected in series with the LED module, and is used for receiving the over-current detection signal and controlling the conduction state of the switch module based on the over-current detection signal so as to influence the magnitude of the current passing through the LED module. When the over-current detection signal indicates that the output current exceeds the threshold current, the control module outputs a first control signal based on the over-current detection signal to control the switch module, so that the over-current protection function is not triggered.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a driving control technology of LED, and more particularly to a control method of an LED driving device, a microcontroller and an LED module. Background Art

[0002] With the development of technology, in addition to pursuing the improvement of computer hardware performance, general computer players will pay more attention to the personalized settings and visual effects of the computer system in appearance to reflect the user's personal style. Therefore, in current computer assembly applications, it is often seen that users configure LED light strips on their computers to add a certain atmosphere to the computer system and improve the overall user experience.

[0003] In a computer system, the power supply usually has a 12V power supply for the external LED light strip. However, in order to avoid damage to the power supply, manufacturers usually add current limiting components to implement overcurrent protection to protect the power supply from the risk of burning out due to excessive current.

[0004] However, due to differences in design and manufacturing of LED light strips, they may not match the power supply specifications. Some LED light strips may have higher power requirements, and when the power required by the LED light strip exceeds the power that the power supply can provide, the power supply may trigger the over-current protection function and stop outputting current to the LED light strip.

[0005] When such a situation occurs, the user can only observe that the LED light bar is not lit, and cannot accurately know whether the LED light bar cannot be lit due to a problem such as a socket damage, a LED light bar failure, or a specification mismatch. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present application proposes an LED driving device, a microcontroller and a control method for an LED module, which can solve the problems mentioned in the prior art.

[0007] The present application provides an LED driving device suitable for driving an LED module. The LED driving device includes a power supply module, a switch module and a control module. The power supply module is used to supply power to the LED module, wherein the power supply module detects the output current provided to the LED module, and determines whether to trigger the overcurrent protection function of the power supply module according to whether the output current exceeds a threshold current. The switch module is used to be connected in series with the LED module. The control module couples the power supply module and the switch module to receive an overcurrent detection signal indicating whether the output current exceeds the threshold current, and controls the conduction state of the switch module based on the overcurrent detection signal to affect the current passing through the LED module. When the overcurrent detection signal indicates that the output current exceeds the threshold current, the control module outputs a first control signal based on the overcurrent detection signal to control the switch module so that the overcurrent protection function is not triggered.

[0008] The present application provides a microcontroller suitable for controlling an LED module. The microcontroller includes an overcurrent control unit and a control signal generating unit. The overcurrent control unit is used to receive an overcurrent detection signal and generate a current limiting indication signal based on the overcurrent detection signal. The control signal generating unit is coupled to the overcurrent control unit and is used to generate a first control signal or a second control signal based on the overcurrent indication signal to control the conduction state of the LED module. When the overcurrent control unit receives the overcurrent detection signal having a first signal characteristic, the overcurrent control unit outputs the enabled current limiting indication signal so that the control signal generating unit outputs the first control signal in response to the enabled current limiting indication signal. When the overcurrent control unit receives the overcurrent detection signal having a second signal characteristic, the overcurrent control unit outputs the disabled current limiting indication signal so that the control signal generating unit outputs the second control signal in response to the disabled current limiting indication signal. The current generated by the LED module in response to the first control signal is less than the current generated by the LED module in response to the second control signal.

[0009] The present application provides a control method for an LED module, comprising the following steps: supplying power to the LED module with a power supply module; receiving an overcurrent detection signal from the power supply module with a control module, wherein the overcurrent detection signal is used to indicate whether an output current provided to the LED module exceeds a threshold current, so that the power supply module determines whether to trigger an overcurrent protection function; when the overcurrent detection signal indicates that the output current exceeds the threshold current, the control module outputs a first control signal to control the conduction state of the LED module, so that the power supply module does not trigger the overcurrent protection function; and when the overcurrent detection signal indicates that the output current does not exceed the threshold current, the control module outputs a second control signal different from the first control signal to control the conduction state of the LED module, wherein a current generated by the LED module in response to the first control signal is less than a current generated by the LED module in response to the second control signal.

[0010] Based on the above, the LED driver device, microcontroller and control method of the LED module of the embodiment of the present application can obtain the operating status of the power supply module by capturing the overcurrent detection signal, and further, when there may be an overcurrent risk, by reducing the conduction time and / or frequency of the LED module, the output current of the power supply module can be reduced, so that when the specifications of the LED module and the LED driver device do not match, the overcurrent protection function will not be triggered and the LED module will not be able to light up. In addition, the LED driver device of this embodiment can further make the LED module issue a prompt to remind the user that there may be a specification mismatch problem between the current LED module and the LED driver device when it is determined that the power supply module has an overcurrent condition. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of an LED driving device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0012] Figure 2A and Figure 2B Based on Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the signal timing of the LED driving device of the embodiment in different states;

[0013] Figure 3A and Figure 3B Schematic diagram of circuit configuration of LED driving devices according to different embodiments of the present application; and

[0014] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a method for controlling an LED module according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The present application proposes a new LED driving device, a microcontroller and a control method for an LED module to solve the problems mentioned in the background technology. In order to make the features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the specific embodiments of the present application are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The following description contains specific information related to the exemplary embodiments in the present application. The drawings and the accompanying detailed descriptions in the present application are only exemplary embodiments. However, the present application is not limited to these exemplary embodiments. Those skilled in the art will think of other variations and embodiments of the present application. Unless otherwise specified, the same or corresponding components in the drawings may be indicated by the same or corresponding figure numbers. In addition, the drawings and illustrations in the present application are generally not drawn to scale and are not intended to correspond to actual relative sizes.

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an LED driving device according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 1 The LED driving device 100 of this embodiment is suitable for driving the LED module Lm so that the LED module Lm is lit. The LED module Lm can be, for example, an LED light bar pluggably connected to the LED driving device 100, and the LED light bar can be a single color (such as a white light bar) or a multi-color light bar (such as a three-color light bar including red (R), green (G), and blue (B)), but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0017] In this embodiment, the LED driving device 100 includes a power supply module 110 , a switch module 120 and a control module 130 .

[0018] The power supply module 110 is coupled to the LED module Lm to supply power to the LED module Lm, so that the LED module Lm lights up in response to the output power Po provided by the power supply module 110, wherein the output power Po may include an output voltage Vo applied to the LED module Lm and / or an output current Io provided to the LED module Lm. In addition, in order to ensure the reliability and safety of the operation of the power supply module 110, the power supply module 110 also detects the output current Io provided to the LED module Lm, and determines whether to trigger the overcurrent protection function of the power supply module 110 according to whether the output current Io exceeds a threshold current.

[0019] The overcurrent protection function may be, for example, that the power supply module 110 stops providing the output power Po to the LED module Lm when determining that an overcurrent situation occurs. In other words, when the overcurrent protection function is triggered, the LED module Lm does not emit light.

[0020] In some embodiments, the power supply module 110 may include, for example, a conversion circuit (not shown, which will be further described in subsequent embodiments) for generating a stable output power supply Po and an overcurrent protection circuit (not shown, which will be further described in subsequent embodiments) for preventing an overcurrent condition from occurring in the power supply module 110. The overcurrent protection circuit detects the output current Io to generate an overcurrent detection signal Sd indicating whether the output current Io exceeds a threshold current, and determines whether to trigger the overcurrent protection function based on the overcurrent detection signal.

[0021] It is mentioned here that the output current Io can be sampled / detected in the form of root mean square (rms) current or peak current, and this application is not limited to this. In some practical applications, the output current Io will be converted into a voltage when sampled / detected. For example, if the current is detected through a current sensing resistor, the cross-voltage of the current sensing resistor can actually indicate the current size. Therefore, when comparing the output current Io with the threshold current, it can be achieved by using a voltage comparator to compare a sampled voltage with a reference voltage representing the threshold current.

[0022] In addition, in the operation of determining whether to trigger the overcurrent protection function based on the overcurrent detection signal Sd, the present application does not limit the triggering of the overcurrent protection function to occur when the overcurrent detection signal Sd indicates that the output current Io exceeds the threshold current. That is, the power supply module 110 is not limited to immediately triggering the overcurrent protection function when it is determined that the output current Io exceeds the threshold current. In some applications, the overcurrent protection function can also refer to some other conditions to determine whether to trigger. For example, the power supply module 110 can trigger the overcurrent protection function only after determining that the duration of the overcurrent exceeds a set value, and the present application is not limited to this.

[0023] The switch module 120 is connected in series with the LED module Lm, and is controlled by a control signal Sc to switch the conduction state, thereby affecting the current size of the LED module Lm connected in series. In other words, when the switch module 120 is turned on, the LED module Lm and the switch module 120 will form a current path that is connected to the ground terminal GND, so that the output current Io can flow in the conductive current path, thereby causing the LED lamp beads in the LED module Lm to emit light in response to the flowing current. Conversely, when the switch module 120 is turned off, the current path will be cut off accordingly.

[0024] In some embodiments, if the LED module Lm includes multiple groups of LED units (or LED strings), the switch module 120 may include multiple switches corresponding to the LED units (not shown, and will be illustrated in subsequent embodiments) to be connected in series with the multiple groups of LED units respectively.

[0025] The control module 130 is coupled to the power supply module 110 and the switch module 120. The control module 130 is configured to receive an over-current detection signal Sd indicating whether the output current Io exceeds a threshold current, and control the conduction state of the switch module 120 based on the over-current detection signal Sd.

[0026] In this embodiment, when the control module 130 receives an overcurrent detection signal Sd indicating that the output current Io exceeds the threshold current, the control module 130 outputs a control signal Sc with a specific format based on the overcurrent detection signal Sd to control the switch module 120, so that the current / output current Io passing through the LED module Lm is reduced, thereby preventing the overcurrent protection function of the power supply module 110 from being triggered. The control signal Sc with a specific format described herein may be referred to as a first control signal in this application.

[0027] On the other hand, when the control module 130 receives the overcurrent detection signal Sd indicating that the output current Io does not exceed the threshold current, the control module 130 outputs a control signal Sc having a signal format different from the first control signal based on the overcurrent detection signal Sd to control the switch module 120. The control signal Sc having a signal format different from the first control signal described herein may be referred to as a second control signal in this application. The difference in signal format between the first control signal and the second control signal may be, for example, a duty cycle and / or a frequency, that is, at least one of the duty cycle and the frequency of the first control signal and the second control signal is different, so that the output current Io generated in response to the first control signal is smaller than the output current Io generated in response to the second control signal.

[0028] Specifically, in normal operation, once the power supply module 110 operates abnormally (e.g., overcurrent occurs), the power supply module 110 will automatically trigger a protection mechanism to stop or limit the power supply to the LED module Lm. For the user, he will only notice that the LED module Lm cannot light up normally, but will not know the reason why it cannot work normally. It will take time and effort to eliminate the possible causes of the fault / error in order to solve the problem.

[0029] For example, if the LED module Lm is an external LED light bar, its working specifications may not necessarily match the rated output specifications of the power supply module 110. If the LED module Lm with mismatched specifications is connected to the power supply module 110, the output current Io of the power supply module 110 may be too large, causing the overcurrent protection function to be triggered. At this time, the user can only observe that the LED module Lm cannot be lit after being connected to the power supply module 110. The user cannot determine whether the problem of failure to light up is caused by a fault in the power supply module 110, the LED module Lm is originally damaged, or the specifications of the power supply module 110 and the LED module Lm do not match.

[0030] In the present embodiment, the control module 130 can obtain the operating status of the power supply module 110 by capturing the overcurrent detection signal Sd of the power supply module 110, and further, when the power supply module 110 may have an overcurrent risk, the output current Io of the power supply module 110 can be reduced by reducing the conduction time and / or frequency of the LED module Lm, thereby preventing the overcurrent protection function of the power supply module 110 from being triggered, so that the LED module Lm can still be lit.

[0031] Bottom Figure 2A and Figure 2B To further explain the operation process of the LED driving device 100 in different states, Figure 2A and Figure 2B Based on Figure 1 A schematic diagram of signal timings of the LED driving device of the embodiment in different states.

[0032] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2A When the output power Po of the power supply module 110 matches the specifications of the LED module Lm, the power supply module 110 will provide an output current Io that is roughly stable at a current value Iw to the LED module Lm after startup, wherein the current value Iw will be smaller than the threshold current Ith, and thus the power supply module 110 will enter a normal working state and will not trigger the overcurrent protection function.

[0033] In a normal working state, the control module 130 outputs a normal working signal Sn (i.e., the aforementioned second control signal) as the control signal Sc, wherein the normal working signal Sn in this embodiment may be, for example, a periodic square wave signal, and the control module 130 may adjust the brightness, color, lighting sequence or pattern by modulating the duty cycle of the square wave signal, but the present application is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the normal working signal / second control signal Sn may also be an enable signal of a fixed level to keep the switch module 120 in a conducting state in a normal working state, but the present application is not limited thereto.

[0034] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2B, in the case where the output power Po of the power supply module 110 and the specifications of the LED module Lm do not match, the output current Io of the power supply module 110 will gradually rise to exceed the threshold current Ith after startup, so that the overcurrent detection signal Sd is triggered to a high level. In this embodiment, the control module 130 will change the originally predetermined normal working signal Sn to the output current limiting signal Slc (i.e., the aforementioned first control signal) as the control signal Sc based on the high-level overcurrent detection signal Sd, wherein the LED module Lm will respond to the control of the current limiting signal Slc and draw less current, so that the output current Io drops to a current value Ioc lower than the threshold current Ith, thereby preventing the overcurrent protection function from being triggered.

[0035] More specifically, in this embodiment, the current limiting signal Slc may also be a periodic square wave, but the duty cycle of the current limiting signal Slc is smaller than the duty cycle of the normal working signal Sn. In other words, compared with the normal working signal Sn controlling the switch module 120, when the current limiting signal Slc with a smaller duty cycle controls the switch module 120, the LED module Lm will respond to the control of the current limiting signal Slc and have a shorter conduction time in each cycle, thereby reducing the output current Io.

[0036] In some embodiments, the current limiting signal Slc and the normal operating signal Sn may also be set to have the same duty cycle, but the frequency of the current limiting signal Slc is lower than that of the normal operating signal Sn. This setting may also achieve the effect of reducing the output current Io below the threshold current Ith.

[0037] From the above Figure 2A and Figure 2B It can be seen from the description that in the LED driving device 100 of the present embodiment, even if the specifications of the power supply module 110 and the LED module Lm do not match, the output current Io of the power supply module 110 can be reduced to a level that does not trigger the overcurrent protection function through the control of the control module 130, so that the LED module Lm with mismatched specifications can still be illuminated.

[0038] In some embodiments, by setting the current limiting signal Slc, the LED module Lm can further issue an over-current prompt to remind the user that there may be a specification mismatch problem between the current LED module Lm and the power supply module 110.

[0039] For example, the current limiting signal Slc can be set to have a lower duty cycle / frequency, so that when the switch module 120 switches in response to the current limiting signal Slc, the LED module Lm has a significantly darker light brightness (compared to the normal working state). This can serve as an overcurrent prompt, so that when the user notices that the light brightness of the LED module Lm is significantly darker, he or she will know that the current configuration may have a specification mismatch problem.

[0040] In addition to changing the brightness of the light to prompt the user, in some embodiments, the current limiting signal Slc can also be set to make the LED module Lm flash, alternately emit different colors of light, or only emit single color light as an over-current prompt, but the present application is not limited to this.

[0041] Below Figure 3A and Figure 3B To illustrate a specific implementation example of the LED driving device 100, Figure 3A and Figure 3B Schematic diagram of circuit configuration of LED driving devices according to different embodiments of the present application.

[0042] Please refer to Figure 3A The LED module Lm of this embodiment is taken as an example including three light-emitting units Lu1~Lu3 of different wavelengths, wherein each light-emitting unit Lu1~Lu3 may include a plurality of LED lamp beads connected in series. The light-emitting wavelength of the LED lamp beads in the first wavelength light-emitting unit Lu1 may be, for example, in the red light band, the light-emitting wavelength of the LED lamp beads in the second wavelength light-emitting unit Lu2 may be, for example, in the green light band, and the light-emitting wavelength of the LED lamp beads in the third wavelength light-emitting unit Lu3 may be, for example, in the blue light band, but the present application is not limited thereto. To simplify the description, the first to third wavelength light-emitting units Lu1~Lu3 are respectively referred to as the red light unit Lu1, the green light unit Lu2, and the blue light unit Lu3 below.

[0043] In this embodiment, the LED driving device 200 includes a power supply module 210, a switch module 220 and a control module 230. The power supply module 210 includes a conversion circuit 211 and an overcurrent protection circuit 212. The switch module 220 includes a first switch component 221, a second switch component 222 and a third switch component 223. The control module 230 includes a control signal generating circuit 231, a microcontroller 232 and an output control circuit 233.

[0044] In the power supply module 210, the conversion circuit 211 is used to convert the received input power into a stable output power Po. The overcurrent protection circuit 212 is coupled to the conversion circuit 211 and the LED module Lm to detect the output current Io to determine whether an overcurrent condition occurs, and trigger the overcurrent protection function when it is determined that an overcurrent condition occurs.

[0045] The overcurrent protection circuit 212 includes a current limiting component 2121, a current detection circuit 2122, an overcurrent judgment circuit 2123 and a protection trigger circuit 2124. The current limiting component 2121 is connected in series to the power supply circuit of the conversion circuit 211. The current detection circuit 2122 is connected across the two ends of the current limiting component 2121 to detect the magnitude of the current flowing through the current limiting component 2121. The overcurrent judgment circuit 2123 is coupled to the current detection circuit 2122 to generate an overcurrent detection signal Sd indicating whether the output current Io exceeds the threshold current according to the detection result of the current detection circuit 2122. The protection trigger circuit 2124 is coupled to the output end of the overcurrent judgment circuit 2123 to receive the overcurrent detection signal Sd, wherein the protection trigger circuit 2124 controls the conduction state of the current limiting component 2121 based on the overcurrent detection signal Sd to determine whether to trigger the overcurrent protection function.

[0046] Specifically, the current limiting component 2121 is generally maintained in a normally turned-on state so that the output current Io can be provided to the LED module Lm. When the protection trigger circuit 2124 determines not to trigger the overcurrent protection function based on the overcurrent detection signal Sd, the protection trigger circuit 2124 controls the current limiting component 2121 to maintain a conducting state so that the output voltage Vo and the output current Io can be normally provided to the LED module Lm.

[0047] On the other hand, when the protection trigger circuit 2124 decides to trigger the overcurrent protection function based on the overcurrent detection signal Sd, the protection trigger circuit 2124 will control the current limiting component 2121 to be turned off, thereby disconnecting the power supply circuit. At this time, the output current Io will stop being provided to the LED module Lm, so that the LED module Lm will not light up / extinguish.

[0048] In the switch module 220 , the first switch element 221 , the second switch element 222 and the third switch element 223 are connected in series with the red light unit Lu1 , the green light unit Lu2 and the blue light unit Lu3 , respectively, and switch on and off in response to control signals Sc_R, Sc_G and Sc_B received from the control module 230 .

[0049] In the control module 230, the control signal generating circuit 231 is coupled to the overcurrent judgment circuit 2123 of the power supply module 210 to receive the overcurrent detection signal Sd. The control signal generating circuit 231 is used to output the first control signal / current limiting signal Slc when the overcurrent detection signal Sd indicates that the output current Io exceeds the threshold current. The microcontroller 232 is used to output the second control signal / normal operating signal Sn, wherein the first control signal Slc and the second control signal Sn have different signal formats / characteristics as in the aforementioned embodiment. The output control circuit 233 is coupled to the control signal generating circuit 231, the microcontroller 232 and the first to third switch components 221-223 of the switch module 220. The output control circuit 233 is used to selectively output the first control signal Slc or the second control signal Sn to control the switching of the switch module 220.

[0050] Specifically, when the output control circuit 233 receives the first control signal Slc, it indicates that the overcurrent detection signal Sd indicates that an overcurrent condition has occurred, so the output control circuit 233 will output the first control signal Slc as the control signals Sc_R, Sc_G and Sc_B provided to the first to third switch components 221-223. At this time, the second control signal Sn output by the microcontroller 232 will be shielded or bypassed by the output control circuit 233. The red light unit Lu1, the green light unit Lu2 and the blue light unit Lu3 will respond to the control signals Sc_R, Sc_G and Sc_B respectively to reduce the conduction time, thereby allowing the output current Io to drop below the threshold current, so that the protection trigger circuit 2124 will not turn off the current limiting component 2121 due to triggering the overcurrent protection function.

[0051] On the other hand, when the output control circuit 233 does not receive the first control signal Slc, it indicates that no overcurrent occurs at this time. Therefore, the output control circuit 233 uses the second control signal Sn preset by the microcontroller 232 as the control signals Sc_R, Sc_G and Sc_B provided to the first to third switch components 221-223.

[0052] In the control module 230 of the present embodiment, since the microcontroller 232 mainly outputs the second control signal Sn in a fixed manner, no additional output adjustment is required, and therefore the microcontroller 232 of the present embodiment can be implemented using a conventional microcontroller architecture without any additional circuit design changes. In other words, the control signal generating circuit 231 and the output control circuit 233 in the control module 230 can be peripheral circuits disposed outside the microcontroller 232.

[0053] Please refer to Figure 3B, the LED module Lm of this embodiment also includes a red light unit Lu1, a green light unit Lu2 and a blue light unit Lu3, but the present application is not limited thereto. In this embodiment, the LED driving device 300 includes a power supply module 310, a switch module 320 and a control module 330. The power supply module 310 includes a conversion circuit 311 and an overcurrent protection circuit 312. The switch module 320 includes a first switch component 321, a second switch component 322 and a third switch component 323. The control module 330 includes a microcontroller 331.

[0054] The configurations of the power supply module 310 and the switch module 320 of this embodiment are similar to those of the aforementioned Figure 3A The embodiments are similar, so the configuration and operation of related components (such as the current limiting component 3121, the current detection circuit 3122, the overcurrent judgment circuit 3123 and the protection trigger circuit 3124) can refer to the above embodiments and will not be repeated here.

[0055] This embodiment is compared with Figure 3A The main difference is that the function of the control module 330 is integrated inside the microcontroller 331, that is, the microcontroller 331 can determine the signal format / characteristics of the output control signals Sc_R, Sc_G and Sc_B as the first control signal or the second control signal based solely on the over-current detection signal Sd.

[0056] Specifically, the microcontroller 331 of the present embodiment is coupled to the power supply module 310 and the switch module 320. The microcontroller 331 is used to receive the overcurrent detection signal Sd from the overcurrent judgment circuit 3123 of the power supply module 310, and based on the overcurrent detection signal Sd, determines to generate a first control signal or a second control signal different from the first control signal as the control signals Sc_R, Sc_G and Sc_B output to the switch module 320. Among them, the microcontroller 331 includes an overcurrent control unit 3311 and a control signal generating unit 3312. The overcurrent control unit 3311 is used to receive the overcurrent detection signal Sd, and generate a current limiting indication signal Sind based on the overcurrent detection signal Sd. The control signal generating unit 3312 is coupled to the overcurrent control unit 3311. The control signal generating unit 3312 is used to generate a first control signal or a second control signal based on the overcurrent indication signal as the control signals Sc_R, Sc_G and Sc_B for controlling the conduction state of each switch component 321-323 of the LED module Lm.

[0057] More specifically, when the overcurrent control unit 3311 receives an overcurrent detection signal Sd having a first signal characteristic (e.g., a high level), the overcurrent control unit 3311 outputs an enabled current limiting indication signal Sind, so that the control signal generating unit 3312 responds to the enabled current limiting indication signal Sind to output a first control signal (e.g., Slc) as the control signals Sc_R, Sc_G, and Sc_B.

[0058] On the other hand, when the overcurrent control unit 3311 receives an overcurrent detection signal Sd having a second signal characteristic (e.g., a low level), the overcurrent control unit 3311 outputs a disabled current limiting indication signal Sind, so that the control signal generating unit 3312 outputs a second control signal (e.g., Sn) as the control signals Sc_R, Sc_G, and Sc_B in response to the disabled current limiting indication signal Sind.

[0059] Similar to the aforementioned embodiment, when the control signal generating unit 3312 generates a first control signal to control the switch module 320, the current generated by the LED module Lm in response to the first control signal will be smaller than the current generated by the LED module Lm in response to the second control signal, so that the output current Io can be limited to a current value lower than the threshold current when the specifications do not match, thereby preventing the overcurrent protection function of the power supply module 310 from being triggered.

[0060] In some embodiments, the control module 230 / 330 can output specific control signals Sc_R, Sc_G and Sc_B to enable the red light unit Lu1 , the green light unit Lu2 and the blue light unit Lu3 of the LED module Lm to issue an overcurrent prompt when an overcurrent situation occurs.

[0061] The overcurrent prompt, for example, includes: reducing the luminous brightness of at least one of the red light unit Lu1, the green light unit Lu2 and the blue light unit Lu3 to prompt the user by reducing the brightness of red / green / blue light; lighting up at least one of the red light unit Lu1, the green light unit Lu2 and the blue light unit Lu3 at intervals to prompt the user by flashing the LED module Lm; and disabling at least one of the red light unit Lu1, the green light unit Lu2 and the blue light unit Lu3 to prompt the user by changing the luminous color.

[0062] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the steps of the control method of the LED module according to an embodiment of the present application. Figure 4 The control method of this embodiment can be applied to the above Figures 1 to 3B In the LED driving devices 100, 200 and 300, the present application is not limited thereto.

[0063] The control method of this embodiment includes the following steps: using a power supply module (such as 110, 210, 310) to supply power to an LED module (such as Lm) (step S110); using a control module (such as 130, 230, 330) to receive an overcurrent detection signal (such as Sd) from the power supply module, wherein the overcurrent detection signal is used to indicate whether the output current (such as Io) provided to the LED module exceeds a threshold current (such as Ith), so that the power supply module determines whether to trigger the overcurrent protection function (step S120); the control module then determines the output current according to the overcurrent detection signal. The control module outputs a first control signal (such as Slc) to control the conduction state of the LED module so that the power supply module does not trigger the overcurrent protection function (step S140); and when the overcurrent detection signal indicates that the output current does not exceed the threshold current (the judgment result is no), the control module outputs a second control signal (such as Sn) different from the first control signal to control the conduction state of the LED module (step S150). The current generated by the LED module in response to the first control signal is smaller than the current generated by the LED module in response to the second control signal.

[0064] In summary, the LED driver device, microcontroller and control method of the LED module of the embodiment of the present application can obtain the operating status of the power supply module by capturing the overcurrent detection signal, and further, when there may be an overcurrent risk, by reducing the conduction time and / or frequency of the LED module, the output current of the power supply module can be reduced, so that when the specifications of the LED module and the LED driver device do not match, the overcurrent protection function will not be triggered and the LED module will not be able to light up. In addition, the LED driver device of the embodiment of the present invention can further make the LED module issue a prompt to remind the user that there may be a specification mismatch problem between the current LED module and the LED driver device when it is determined that the power supply module has an overcurrent condition.

Claims

1. An LED driving device, suitable for driving an LED module, characterized in that: The LED driving device comprises: A power supply module, used to supply power to the LED module, wherein the power supply module detects an output current provided to the LED module, and determines whether to trigger an overcurrent protection function of the power supply module according to whether the output current exceeds a threshold current; A switch module, used to be connected in series with the LED module; and a control module coupled to the power supply module and the switch module, for receiving an overcurrent detection signal indicating whether the output current exceeds the threshold current, and controlling the conduction state of the switch module based on the overcurrent detection signal to affect the current size passing through the LED module, When the overcurrent detection signal indicates that the output current exceeds the threshold current, the control module outputs a first control signal based on the overcurrent detection signal to control the switch module so that the overcurrent protection function is not triggered.

2. The LED driving device according to claim 1, wherein: When the over-current detection signal indicates that the output current does not exceed the threshold current, the control module outputs a second control signal different from the first control signal based on the over-current detection signal to control the switch module.

3. The LED driving device according to claim 2, characterized in that: At least one of a duty cycle and a frequency of the first control signal and the second control signal is different.

4. The LED driving device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The switch module switches in response to the first control signal, so that the LED module issues an over-current prompt.

5. The LED driving device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The LED module includes a first wavelength light-emitting unit, a second wavelength light-emitting unit and a third wavelength light-emitting unit; the overcurrent prompt includes reducing the light brightness of at least one of the first wavelength light-emitting unit, the second wavelength light-emitting unit and the third wavelength light-emitting unit.

6. The LED driving device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The LED module includes a first wavelength light-emitting unit, a second wavelength light-emitting unit and a third wavelength light-emitting unit; the overcurrent prompt includes lighting up at least one of the first wavelength light-emitting unit, the second wavelength light-emitting unit and the third wavelength light-emitting unit at intervals.

7. The LED driving device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The LED module includes a first wavelength light emitting unit, a second wavelength light emitting unit and a third wavelength light emitting unit; the over-current prompt includes disabling at least one of the first wavelength light emitting unit, the second wavelength light emitting unit and the third wavelength light emitting unit.

8. The LED driving device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control module comprises: a microcontroller coupled to the power supply module and the switch module, configured to receive the over-current detection signal from the power supply module, and determine to generate the first control signal or a second control signal different from the first control signal based on the over-current detection signal and output it to the switch module; an overcurrent control unit, configured to receive the overcurrent detection signal from the power supply module and generate a current limiting indication signal based on the overcurrent detection signal; and a control signal generating unit, coupled to the overcurrent control unit, for generating the first control signal or the second control signal based on the current limiting indication signal to provide to the switch module, wherein: When the overcurrent control unit receives the overcurrent detection signal indicating that the output current exceeds the threshold current, the overcurrent control unit outputs the enabled current limiting indication signal, so that the control signal generating unit outputs the first control signal in response to the enabled current limiting indication signal, and When the overcurrent control unit receives the overcurrent detection signal indicating that the output current does not exceed the threshold current, the overcurrent control unit outputs the disabled current limiting indication signal so that the control signal generating unit outputs the second control signal in response to the disabled current limiting indication signal.

9. A microcontroller, suitable for controlling an LED module, characterized in that: The microcontroller comprises: an overcurrent control unit, configured to receive an overcurrent detection signal and generate a current limiting indication signal based on the overcurrent detection signal; and A control signal generating unit, coupled to the overcurrent control unit, for generating a first control signal or a second control signal based on the current limiting indication signal to control the conduction state of the LED module, wherein: When the overcurrent control unit receives the overcurrent detection signal having the first signal characteristic, the overcurrent control unit outputs the enabled current limiting indication signal, so that the control signal generating unit outputs the first control signal in response to the enabled current limiting indication signal; and When the overcurrent control unit receives the overcurrent detection signal having the second signal characteristic, the overcurrent control unit outputs the disabled current limiting indication signal, so that the control signal generating unit outputs the second control signal in response to the disabled current limiting indication signal. The current generated by the LED module in response to the first control signal is smaller than the current generated by the LED module in response to the second control signal.

10. A method for controlling an LED module, characterized in that: include: Using a power supply module to supply power to the LED module; A control module receives an overcurrent detection signal from the power supply module, wherein the overcurrent detection signal is used to indicate whether the output current provided to the LED module exceeds a threshold current, so that the power supply module determines whether to trigger an overcurrent protection function; When the overcurrent detection signal indicates that the output current exceeds the threshold current, the control module outputs a first control signal to control the conduction state of the LED module so that the power supply module does not trigger the overcurrent protection function; as well as When the overcurrent detection signal indicates that the output current does not exceed the threshold current, the control module outputs a second control signal different from the first control signal to control the conduction state of the LED module, The current generated by the LED module in response to the first control signal is smaller than the current generated by the LED module in response to the second control signal.

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