Dimming signal generation method, dimming control method, related devices and systems

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of lighting control technology, and discloses a dimming signal generation method, a dimming control method, related devices, and a system. The dimming signal generation method obtains a phase-cut dimming waveform by chopping the AC mains power according to a first dimming parameter, and then superimposes a corresponding pulse signal within the off-window of the phase-cut dimming waveform according to a second dimming parameter, thus forming a dimming signal carrying both dimming parameters. The dimming control method receives the dimming signal, analyzes the first dimming parameter based on the conduction angle of the phase-cut dimming waveform, calculates the second dimming parameter based on the pulse signal within the off-window of the phase-cut dimming waveform, and finally controls the luminaire based on the first and second dimming parameters. The dimming signal generation method and the dimming control method adjust the control parameters for generating the pulse signal and the decoding decision parameters for decoding the pulse signal according to the power grid status, respectively, to avoid the communication process being affected by changes in the power grid environment, thereby improving the robustness and regional applicability of dimming.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of lighting control technology, specifically to a dimming signal generation method, a dimming control method, related devices and systems. Background Technology

[0002] With the popularization of the smart lighting market, smart LED lamps are widely used in smart homes. Currently, most mainstream dimming and color temperature adjustment solutions on the market use bus communication technology or wireless communication technology. However, older residences often use traditional wall switches for dimming their lighting systems. When upgrading the dimming system, if bus communication technology is used, the communication bus needs to be re-wired, which is costly; while wireless communication technology is incompatible with traditional wall switches and has poor stability.

[0003] To address the aforementioned technical challenges, some solutions combine power line carrier communication with phase-cut dimming technology. This involves superimposing a digital pulse signal within the shutdown window of the phase-cut dimming signal, allowing the signal to simultaneously carry information on two dimming parameters. This enables intelligent upgrades to the lighting systems of older homes without requiring large-scale modifications to the existing lighting circuitry. However, in reality, the global residential power grid environment is complex and highly variable. Not only are there frequency differences between 50Hz and 60Hz, but voltages also frequently fluctuate within a wide range from 110V to 270V. Current solutions that superimpose digital pulse signals within the shutdown window of the phase-cut dimming signal often use fixed values ​​for both the superimposed pulse signal and the decision window during decoding. This makes them unsuitable for the changing power grid environment. When the grid frequency and voltage reference fluctuate, it can lead to timing misalignment and waveform changes between the transmitter and receiver, resulting in a surge in data decoding error rates and even complete communication interruptions. Therefore, a new dimming solution needs to be designed that can achieve intelligent transformation of the lighting system of old houses at a lower cost, adapt to different civil power grid environments around the world, and transmit stable and reliable data within a wide range of power grid fluctuations. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention aims to provide a dimming signal generation method, a dimming control method, related devices and systems that can monitor the state of the power grid and adjust the waveform characteristics of the superimposed additional pulses and the decision conditions during decoding according to the power grid state, thereby ensuring the timing reference alignment of the transmitting and receiving ends and ensuring the consistency of the waveform of the additional pulses, so as to improve the stability of data transmission, adapt to different civilian power grid environments around the world, and ensure the robustness of control within a wide range of power grid fluctuations.

[0005] To solve the above problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: a dimming signal generation method, applied at the transmitting end of a dimming signal, comprising the following steps:

[0006] The input AC mains power is chopped according to the first dimming parameter to generate a phase-cut dimming waveform for controlling the first dimming parameter.

[0007] Monitor at least one first physical parameter reflecting the current power grid state, and calculate at least one timing parameter and / or signal parameter of the pulse signal based on the first physical parameter;

[0008] A pulse signal for controlling the second dimming parameter is generated based on the second dimming parameter, the timing parameter, and / or the signal parameter;

[0009] The pulse signal is superimposed on the off window of the phase-cut dimming waveform to generate a dimming signal that can be used to control the first dimming parameter and the second dimming parameter simultaneously.

[0010] The first dimming parameter and the second dimming parameter are used to configure the optical parameters or control parameters of the luminaire load.

[0011] The dimming signal generation method described above obtains the effective value of the line voltage through the following steps:

[0012] The AC mains power is converted into a first square wave signal through the first zero-crossing detection circuit;

[0013] Calculate the high-level duty cycle of the first square wave signal;

[0014] The effective value of the line voltage is estimated based on the high-level duty cycle and the preset duty cycle-RMS mapping relationship.

[0015] A dimming control method, applied at the receiving end of a dimming signal, includes the following steps:

[0016] Receive the dimming signal generated by the dimming signal generation method described above;

[0017] The first dimming value is calculated based on the phase conduction angle of the dimming signal;

[0018] Monitor at least one second physical parameter that reflects the current power grid status, and calculate the decoding decision parameters of the dimming signal based on the second physical parameter;

[0019] The decoding decision parameters are used to determine whether there is an additional pulse signal in each half-wave period of the dimming signal;

[0020] Based on the presence or absence of pulse signals in each half-wave period of the dimming signal, the code value of the dimming signal is calculated, and the calculated code values ​​are combined into a complete data frame.

[0021] The data frame is verified, and the second dimming value is extracted from the verified data frame;

[0022] The output of the power drive circuit is controlled according to the first dimming value and the second dimming value to adjust the first dimming parameter and the second dimming parameter of the lamp load.

[0023] In the dimming control method described above, the second physical parameter includes the half-wave period of the dimming signal, and the decoding decision parameter includes the bit period time, which is calculated based on the half-wave period.

[0024] The dimming control method described above obtains the half-wave period through the following steps:

[0025] The dimming signal is converted into a second square wave signal by a second zero-crossing detection circuit;

[0026] The time interval between two consecutive unidirectional edges of the second square wave signal is measured to obtain the original measurement value of the half-wave period of the dimming signal.

[0027] The stable measurement value of the half-wave period of the dimming signal is calculated based on multiple consecutive original measurement values ​​using a digital filtering algorithm.

[0028] In the dimming control method described above, in the step of determining whether there is an additional pulse signal in each half-wave period of the dimming signal according to the decoding decision parameters, the presence of an additional pulse signal in the half-wave period of the dimming signal is determined by whether there is a high level with a duration within a preset range of additional pulse width during the bit period time after the zero crossing of the dimming signal.

[0029] A dimming signal generation device includes a first zero-crossing detection circuit, a first controller, and a power switch. The input terminal of the first zero-crossing detection circuit is electrically connected to an AC mains power supply, and the output terminal of the first zero-crossing detection circuit is electrically connected to the first controller. The power switch is connected in series between the AC mains power supply and the output terminal of the device. The first controller is configured to: monitor at least one first physical parameter reflecting the current power grid state based on the output of the first zero-crossing detection circuit; calculate at least one timing parameter and / or signal parameter of a pulse signal based on the first physical parameter; control the power switch to chop the input AC mains power supply according to the received first dimming parameter to generate a phase-cut dimming waveform for controlling the first dimming parameter; and control the power switch to superimpose a pulse signal within the off-window of the phase-cut dimming waveform according to the received second dimming parameter, the timing parameter, and / or the signal parameter, ultimately generating a dimming signal that can simultaneously control the first dimming parameter and the second dimming parameter.

[0030] A dimming control device includes a second zero-crossing detection circuit, a second controller, and a power drive circuit. The input terminals of the second zero-crossing detection circuit and the power drive circuit are used to receive a dimming signal generated by a dimming signal generation device. The output terminal of the second zero-crossing detection circuit is electrically connected to the second controller. The output terminal of the power drive circuit is used to connect to a lighting load. The power drive circuit is controlled by the second controller. The second controller is used to: calculate a first dimming value based on the phase conduction angle of the dimming signal; monitor at least one second physical parameter reflecting the current power grid state based on the output of the second zero-crossing detection circuit; calculate a decoding decision parameter for the dimming signal based on the second physical parameter; determine whether an additional pulse signal exists in each half-wave period of the dimming signal based on the decoding decision parameter; calculate the code value of the dimming signal based on the presence or absence of the pulse signal in each half-wave period of the dimming signal, and assemble the calculated code values ​​into a complete data frame; verify the data frame and extract a second dimming value from the verified data frame; and control the output of the power drive circuit based on the first dimming value and the second dimming value to adjust the first and second dimming parameters of the lighting load.

[0031] A dimming system includes the aforementioned dimming signal generating device, the aforementioned dimming control device, and a lamp load. The input terminal of the dimming signal generating device is connected to AC mains power, and the output terminal of the dimming signal generating device is connected to the input terminal of the dimming control device via a two-wire power line. The output terminal of the dimming control device is connected to the lamp load.

[0032] Compared to existing technologies, the advantages of this invention are as follows: the dimming signal generation device and dimming control device of this invention can respectively implement the dimming signal generation method and dimming control method of this invention. The dimming signal generation method monitors the power grid status and adjusts the waveform characteristics of the additional pulse superimposed on the phase-cut dimming waveform according to the power grid status, thereby stabilizing the waveform characteristics of the additional pulse. The dimming control method adjusts the decoding decision parameters for decoding the dimming signal according to the power grid status, ensuring that the timing references of the transmitting and receiving ends are aligned during decoding. Through the cooperation between the dimming signal generation device and the dimming control device, the dimming system ensures that the identification of the additional pulse is not affected by fluctuations in the power grid status, improving the robustness of control and enabling it to adapt to different civilian power grid environments with different standards in different regions, thus improving the applicability of the dimming system.

[0033] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. Attached Figure Description

[0034] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a dimming signal generation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating the calculation process of the conduction time of the additional pulse in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the process of determining the data to be sent according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a dimming control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating the calculation process of the bit period time in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of the decoding process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 7 The waveform diagram is shown for the dimming signal using trailing edge phase-cut dimming in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 8 The waveform diagram is shown for the dimming signal using leading-edge phase-cut dimming in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0042] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the dimming system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0043] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, with reference to... Figure 1 The present invention provides a dimming signal generation method, applied at the transmitting end of a dimming signal, comprising the following steps:

[0044] The input AC mains power is chopped according to the first dimming parameter to generate a phase-cut dimming waveform for controlling the first dimming parameter.

[0045] Monitor at least one first physical parameter reflecting the current power grid state, and calculate at least one timing parameter and / or signal parameter of the pulse signal based on the first physical parameter;

[0046] A pulse signal for controlling the second dimming parameter is generated based on the second dimming parameter, timing parameter, and / or signal parameter;

[0047] The pulse signal is superimposed onto the off window of the phase-cut dimming waveform to generate a dimming signal that can be used to control both the first and second dimming parameters.

[0048] The method for generating this dimming signal monitors the power grid status and adjusts the parameters of the pulse signal superimposed on the phase-cut dimming waveform's off-window according to the power grid status. This ensures that the parameters of the additional pulse signal superimposed on the phase-cut dimming waveform do not change significantly with changes in the power grid status, guaranteeing the consistency of the superimposed additional pulse signal. Consequently, the receiving end of the dimming signal can accurately identify the additional pulse signal and calculate the code value contained in the pulse signal based on parameters such as the number of pulse signals or conduction time. This ensures that the information of the second dimming parameter carried by the pulse signal does not change with fluctuations in the power grid status, guaranteeing the stability of the second dimming parameter information transmission. Furthermore, it can automatically adapt to different power grid environments of different regions and specifications, expanding the applicability of the dimming system.

[0049] Accordingly, embodiments of the present invention also provide a dimming control method, applied at the receiving end of a dimming signal, comprising the following steps:

[0050] Receive the dimming signal generated by the dimming signal generation method described above;

[0051] The first dimming value is calculated based on the phase conduction angle of the dimming signal;

[0052] Monitor at least one second physical parameter that reflects the current power grid status, and calculate the decoding decision parameters of the dimming signal based on the second physical parameter;

[0053] The decoding decision parameters are used to determine whether there is an additional pulse signal in each half-wave cycle of the dimming signal;

[0054] Based on the presence or absence of pulse signals in each half-wave cycle of the dimming signal, the code value of the dimming signal is calculated, and the calculated code values ​​are combined into a complete data frame.

[0055] Verify the data frame and extract the second dimming value from the verified data frame;

[0056] The output of the power drive circuit is controlled according to the first dimming value and the second dimming value to adjust the first dimming parameter and the second dimming parameter of the lamp load.

[0057] This dimming control method monitors the dimming signal obtained by chopping the AC mains power using the aforementioned dimming signal generation method to monitor the power grid status. Based on the monitoring results, it adjusts the decoding decision parameters used to determine whether there are additional pulse signals in each half-wave cycle of the dimming signal. This ensures that the decoding timing reference at the signal receiver is aligned with that at the transmitter, thus preventing a spike in decoding error rate or even complete communication interruption due to timing deviations between the transmitter and receiver caused by power grid fluctuations. This method improves the decoding stability of the second dimming parameter carried by the dimming signal at the signal receiver and can automatically adapt to different power grid environments in different regions. When used in conjunction with the aforementioned dimming signal generation method, it expands the regional applicability of the entire dimming system.

[0058] Understandably, the first and second dimming parameters are used to configure the optical parameters of the luminaire load, such as color temperature, brightness, or hue. They can also be used to configure the control parameters of the luminaire load, such as switching dimming curves or switching preset scene modes, such as switching between movie viewing mode, reading mode, or dining mode. In practice, since chopping the AC mains power will change the effective voltage output of the chopped phase-cut dimming waveform, and the brightness of the luminaire load is usually achieved by directly changing the supply voltage of the entire LED string, in order to reduce the computational load in the control process, the first dimming parameter should preferably be the brightness of the luminaire load, and the second dimming parameter should preferably be the color temperature of the luminaire load.

[0059] Understandably, the transmitting end calculates the delay time T_delay of the leading-edge phase-cutting dimming waveform or the conduction time T_on of the trailing-edge phase-cutting dimming waveform based on parameters such as the frequency of the input AC mains power and the value of the received first dimming parameter. The specific calculation process is the same as the conventional phase-cutting dimming method and will not be elaborated here. The transmitting end detects the zero-crossing position of the AC mains power through a zero-crossing detection circuit and obtains the stable half-wave period T_half of the AC mains power based on the interval between two adjacent edges in the same direction in the square wave output by the zero-crossing detection circuit. If leading-edge phase-cutting dimming is used, the duration of the turn-off window of the phase-cutting dimming waveform is T_off = T_delay; if trailing-edge phase-cutting dimming is used, the duration of the turn-off window of the phase-cutting dimming waveform is T_off = T_half - T_on.

[0060] In practice, the transmitting and receiving ends agree on a preset range for the additional pulse width. The transmitting end controls the switching on and off of a power switch connected in series on the two-wire power line to chop the AC mains power and superimposes the additional pulse signal within the off window of the phase-cut dimming waveform. Because power switching devices, such as MOSFETs, have parasitic parameters, such as output junction capacitance, the high voltage on the line charges the junction capacitance when the power switch is on, and a short time is needed to release the charge stored in the junction capacitance when the power switch is off. Therefore, the actual pulse width T_p_actual formed on the line is slightly larger than the pulse width T_p commanded by the transmitting end's controller. This phenomenon is generally called the "tailing effect" of the power switch. Since the amount of charge stored in the junction capacitance is proportional to the square of the voltage, the higher the line voltage, the more severe the tailing effect. That is, the duration of the additional pulse is mainly affected by the AC mains circuit voltage. Therefore, in this embodiment, the first physical parameter is the effective value of the line voltage of the input AC mains power. The transmitting end calculates the conduction time of the pulse signal based on the effective value of the line voltage to control the pulse width T_p_actual of the dimming signal actually formed by the line to remain consistent with the line voltage change, so as to avoid the receiving end from being unable to accurately identify the additional pulse due to the pulse width fluctuation of the additional pulse signal, resulting in decoding errors.

[0061] In this embodiment, refer to Figure 2 To reduce the cost of the transmitter, the transmitter estimates the effective value of the AC mains line voltage V_rms by calculating the high-level duty cycle R_v of the first square wave signal converted by the first zero-crossing detection circuit. A typical zero-crossing detection circuit relies on an internal voltage comparison threshold V_th. When the instantaneous absolute value |V_ac(t)| of the mains voltage is greater than V_th, the zero-crossing detection circuit outputs a high level; otherwise, it outputs a low level. As the effective value of the mains line voltage V_rms increases, the slope of the mains sine wave increases, the instantaneous absolute value |V_ac(t)| reaches V_th earlier, and the time it falls below V_th is later. This results in a longer high-level duration T_high and a shorter low-level duration T_low for the converted square wave signal. Therefore, based on this principle, the value of V_rms can be calculated by accurately measuring the proportion of T_high in the first square wave signal, thus enabling the estimation of V_rms without adding other hardware circuitry and reducing transmitter costs.

[0062] Specifically, the transmitter controller measures the high-level duration T_high of the first square wave signal and the half-wave period duration of the AC mains power, and calculates the high-level duty cycle R_v of the first square wave signal's half-wave period using the formula: R_v = T_high / T_half. Then, it looks up the calculated high-level duty cycle R_v corresponding to the effective line voltage V_rms using a duty cycle-RMS mapping relationship f(·) obtained through experimental calibration, i.e., V_rms = f(R_v). It can be understood that the mapping relationship f(·) can be obtained by fitting the experimental calibration data using mathematical models such as piecewise linear interpolation. Finally, the mapping relationship f(·) is stored in the transmitter controller's non-volatile memory in the form of a lookup table. When calculating the effective value of the line voltage V_rms, the transmitting end looks up the corresponding value in the lookup table based on the calculated high-level duty cycle R_v. If the value of R_v falls between two adjacent data points in the table, the controller calculates the corresponding V_rms value proportionally based on the relative position of R_v in the line segment formed by connecting the two adjacent data points. Finally, the transmitting end calculates the conduction pulse width of the power switch controlled by the controller based on the estimated effective value of the line voltage V_rms and the pre-calibrated adjustment mapping relationship g(·), i.e., T_p = g(V_rms). The adjustment mapping relationship g(·) is mainly determined by the power switch and the power switch drive circuit and other hardware circuits used, and can also be obtained through experimental calibration or by analyzing the parameters of the hardware circuit.

[0063] In this embodiment, the second dimming parameter, including the color temperature value, is converted into 8-bit binary data. This binary data is inserted as a data sequence between a preset start sequence and a stop sequence to form a complete data frame. The transmitting end determines the number of pulse signals superimposed within the off-window of the phase-cut dimming waveform based on the value of each bit in the data frame. If the value of the bit is "1", one pulse signal is superimposed within the off-window of the corresponding half-wave period waveform; if the value of the bit is "0", no pulse signal is superimposed within the off-window of the corresponding half-wave period phase-cut dimming waveform, or two pulse signals are superimposed within the off-window of the corresponding half-wave period phase-cut dimming waveform. The trailing edge and leading edge phase-cut waveforms with superimposed pulse signals are respectively as follows: Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown. Specifically, refer to... Figure 3The transmitting end determines whether it has entered the shutdown window of a half-wave cycle based on the calculated delay time or conduction time and the zero-crossing signal detected by the first zero-crossing detection circuit. If it has, it checks whether the second dimming parameter received by the transmitting end is the same as the previous transmission. If they are the same, the continuous transmission count is incremented by one, and it is checked whether the continuous transmission count has reached the preset continuous transmission limit, such as eight times. If the preset continuous transmission limit is reached, the transmission task flag is put into sleep mode, and the transmission task is stopped until a different new second dimming parameter is received. If the preset continuous transmission limit is not reached, the transmission process begins, and the corresponding number of pulse signals are superimposed on each half-wave cycle of the phase-cut dimming waveform according to the stored data to be transmitted. If a new second dimming parameter is received, the value of the new second dimming parameter is locked as the data to be transmitted, the continuous transmission count is reset to zero, the transmission task flag is activated, and then the transmission process begins. After entering the transmission process, the controller at the transmitting end converts the data to be transmitted into 8-bit binary data. Then, a start sequence and a stop sequence are concatenated before and after the binary data to form a complete data frame. In this embodiment, both the start sequence and the stop sequence are "101". Finally, based on the value of each bit in the data frame, the power switch is controlled to superimpose the corresponding number of pulse signals bit by bit within the corresponding half-wave cycle's off-window. That is, within the off-window of each half-wave cycle, the power switch is controlled to conduct the number of pulses corresponding to the value of the corresponding bit according to the conduction time T_p calculated based on the effective value of the line voltage V_rms.

[0064] Understandably, in each half-wave cycle, the receiver can detect whether the dimming signal has crossed a zero point through its second zero-crossing detection circuit. If a zero-crossing is detected, the receiver starts a bit-cycle timer. When the bit-cycle timer reaches the length of the bit-cycle time, the decoding decision window for that half-wave cycle is considered to have ended. The code value corresponding to the number of pulse signals whose duration within the decoding decision window matches the preset additional pulse width range is the code value for that half-wave cycle. To automatically adapt to the frequency of AC mains power in different regions and to automatically adapt to the impact of half-wave cycle changes caused by AC mains frequency fluctuations, and to avoid misalignment of the timing references of the transmitter and receiver due to grid frequency fluctuations when using a fixed decoding decision window, which would lead to incorrect pulse counts in the half-wave cycle and thus decoding errors or communication anomalies, in this embodiment, the receiver monitors the grid frequency changes by monitoring the stable half-wave cycle of the dimming signal, and calculates the length of the corresponding decoding decision window, i.e., the bit-cycle time, proportionally to the half-wave cycle of the dimming signal, thus achieving adaptive response to grid frequency changes.

[0065] Reference Figure 5In this embodiment, to improve the accurate monitoring of the half-wave period of the dimming signal, the receiver converts the dimming signal into a second square wave signal through a second zero-crossing detection circuit. Then, by measuring the time interval between two consecutive unidirectional edges of the second square wave signal, it obtains the original measured value T'_cycle, representing the half-wave period of the AC mains power and the dimming signal. To suppress noise and jitter, the receiver's controller stores multiple consecutively obtained original measured values ​​T'_cycle in a sliding window for temporary storage. The stored original measured values ​​T'_cycle are then filtered using a digital filtering algorithm f1(·), such as a median averaging filter, to obtain a stable measured value T'_half of the dimming signal's highly stable half-wave period, i.e., T'_half = f1(T_cycle). It is understood that the transmitter can also obtain a more stable and accurate half-wave period T_half of the AC mains power using the above method. The receiver controller calculates the length of the bit period, T_th, proportional to the stable measurement value T'_half of the half-wave period, based on a preset scaling factor K_timeout. T_th = T'_half * K_timeout. The scaling factor K_timeout is a factor less than 1, such as 0.85, to ensure that the decoding decision always occurs after the end of the transmission window and before the start of the next half-wave period.

[0066] Understandably, the receiving end uses a high-level timer to time the duration of the high level in the second square wave signal. When the input pin of the second controller at the receiving end receives a rising edge, the value of the high-level timer is reset. Within the decoding decision window, if the count value of the high-level timer before reset falls exactly within the preset additional pulse width range, the count value of the pulse signal is incremented by one. (Refer to...) Figure 6In this embodiment, the specific decoding process is as follows: The receiving end calls the decoding task according to a preset period. During decoding, it first determines whether the communication time of the entire data frame has exceeded the limit. Taking 50Hz AC mains power as an example, the half-wave period is 10ms, and the length of the entire data frame is 14 bits, requiring a total of 14*10=140ms to send. Therefore, for 50Hz mains power, if a complete and valid data frame is not received within 140ms, it is determined that a communication timeout has occurred. At this time, the error handling process is started, and all resources related to decoding, such as counters, timers, flags, and memory, are forcibly reset. If no timeout has occurred, the process continues to the subsequent steps. Then, it is determined whether there is only one additional pulse signal within the received half-wave period. If so, the decoded value "1" is entered into the temporary register; if not, the decoded value "0" is entered into the temporary register. When the register contains 3 bits, it is determined whether the value in the register conforms to the preset start sequence, such as "101". If yes, the code value in the half-wave period of the subsequent dimming signal is decoded, and the subsequent data sequence and stop sequence are received. If no, the register is cleared, the code value in the subsequent dimming signal is decoded, and the system waits for the next start sequence. When the register contains 14 bits, the value of the register is checked to determine whether the header of the 14-bit data frame stored in the register contains a 3-bit start sequence of "101", the tail contains a 3-bit stop sequence of "101", and whether there is exactly an 8-bit data sequence between the start and stop sequences. If it conforms to the preset data frame structure, the data frame is considered complete. The second dimming parameter is then extracted from the data sequence of the data frame, and a series of optimization processing steps, including but not limited to IIR digital filtering and smoothing, are performed on the extracted second dimming parameter. Based on the optimized second dimming parameter, the output of the power drive circuit at the receiving end is controlled to adjust the second dimming parameter of the lamp load, such as the color temperature value, and the relevant resources used in the decoding process, such as the state machine and the register, are reset. If it does not conform to the preset data frame structure, the error handling process is initiated and a forced reset is performed.

[0067] Based on the same inventive concept, referring to Figure 9Embodiments of the present invention also provide a dimming signal generation device, serving as a dimming signal transmitter, comprising a first zero-crossing detection circuit, a first controller, and a power switch. The input terminal of the first zero-crossing detection circuit is electrically connected to the AC mains power supply, and the output terminal of the first zero-crossing detection circuit is electrically connected to the first controller. The power switch is connected in series between the AC mains power supply and the output terminal of the device. The first controller may include a processor and a memory, which are connected via a data bus. The memory stores a computer program, and the processor can implement the dimming signal generation method described above by calling and executing the computer program in the memory. The processor estimates the effective value of the AC mains line voltage based on the first square wave signal output by the first zero-crossing detection circuit, and adjusts the conduction time of the power switch when superimposing the pulse signal based on the estimated effective value of the line voltage. This ensures the consistency of the actual pulse width of the pulse signal generated on the line, thereby avoiding changes in the pulse width of the superimposed pulse signal due to AC mains voltage fluctuations, which would affect the identification of the additional pulse signal. This dimming signal generation device can improve the consistency of the pulse signal superimposed within the off-window of the phase-cut dimming waveform, improve the stability of the second dimming parameter transmitted through the pulse signal, enhance the robustness of the entire dimming system, and adapt to different civilian power grid environments. It is understood that in some embodiments, the dimming signal generation device also includes peripheral circuitry, including a communication module, touchscreen, button circuitry, knob, slider, or DALI interface circuitry, 0-10V interface circuitry, and other dimming signal receiving circuitry. The first controller can acquire the first and second dimming parameters wirelessly or via wired means through the peripheral circuitry.

[0068] Based on the same inventive concept, referring to Figure 9Embodiments of the present invention also provide a dimming control device, serving as a receiving end of a dimming signal, comprising a second zero-crossing detection circuit, a second controller, and a power drive circuit. The input terminals of the second zero-crossing detection circuit and the power drive circuit are used to receive the dimming signal generated by the aforementioned dimming signal generation device. The output terminal of the second zero-crossing detection circuit is electrically connected to the second controller. The output terminal of the power drive circuit is used to connect to a lamp load, and the power drive circuit is controlled by the second controller. The second controller may also include a processor and a memory. The processor can implement the aforementioned dimming control method by calling and executing a computer program in the memory. It monitors the half-wave period change of the power grid based on the second square wave signal output by the second zero-crossing detection circuit, calculates the time length of the decoding decision window (i.e., the bit period time) proportionally to the half-wave period of the power grid, determines the number of pulse signals in each half-wave period of the dimming signal based on the decoding decision window, and decodes the signal based on the number of pulse signals to obtain the second dimming parameter transmitted through the pulse signal. Finally, it controls the output of the power drive circuit together with the first dimming parameter obtained through the conduction angle of the phase-cutting portion of the dimming signal, thereby controlling the first and second dimming parameters of the lamp load. This dimming control device can adjust the duration of the decoding decision window according to the power grid status, ensuring that each decision occurs after the end of the transmission window and before the start of the next half-wave cycle. This ensures that the timing reference between the transmitter and receiver is aligned, guaranteeing the correctness of decoding and preventing decoding errors or even communication failures caused by power grid frequency fluctuations or changes. It also improves the stability of transmitting the second dimming parameter through the pulse signal superimposed on the turn-off window of the phase-cut dimming waveform and enables the system to adapt to different regional power grid environments.

[0069] Based on the same inventive concept, referring to Figure 9 Embodiments of the present invention also provide a dimming system, including the aforementioned dimming control device, a dimming control device, and a lamp load. The input terminal of the dimming signal generation device is connected to the AC mains power supply, and the output terminal of the dimming signal generation device is connected to the input terminal of the dimming control device via a two-wire power line. The output terminal of the dimming control device is connected to the lamp load. In this dimming system, the dimming control device estimates the effective value of the AC mains line voltage through a first zero-crossing detection circuit and adjusts the conduction time of the power switch when superimposed with the pulse signal according to the effective value of the line voltage, thereby ensuring the consistency of the actual pulse width of the pulse signal superimposed on the turn-off window of the phase-cut dimming waveform. Simultaneously, the dimming control device monitors the half-wave period of the power grid through a second zero-crossing detection circuit and adjusts the time length of the decoding decision window according to the change of the half-wave period, ensuring that the timing reference between the transmitting end and the receiving end can be aligned, thereby further improving the stability of dimming signal communication and improving the adaptability of the entire dimming system to the mains power environment in different regions, thus improving the regional applicability of the entire system.

[0070] It should be noted that in the description of this invention, any descriptions of orientation, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., indicating orientation or positional relationships, are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the purpose of facilitating the description of this invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed or operated in a specific orientation, and should not be construed as a limitation of this invention.

[0071] In the description of this invention, "several" means one or more, "more than" means two or more, "greater than," "less than," "exceeding," etc. are understood to exclude the stated number, while "above," "below," "within," etc. are understood to include the stated number. If "first" or "second" is mentioned, it is only for the purpose of distinguishing technical features and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features, or implicitly indicating the order of the indicated technical features.

[0072] In the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly defined, terms such as "set up," "install," and "connect" should be interpreted broadly, and those skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention in conjunction with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0073] The above embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. Any non-substantial changes and substitutions made by those skilled in the art based on the present invention shall fall within the scope of protection claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for generating a dimming signal, applied at the transmitting end of a dimming signal, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The input AC mains power is chopped according to the first dimming parameter to generate a phase-cut dimming waveform for controlling the first dimming parameter. Monitor at least one first physical parameter reflecting the current power grid state, and calculate at least one timing parameter and / or signal parameter of the pulse signal based on the first physical parameter; A pulse signal for controlling the second dimming parameter is generated based on the second dimming parameter, the timing parameter, and / or the signal parameter; The pulse signal is superimposed on the off window of the phase-cut dimming waveform to generate a dimming signal that can be used to control the first dimming parameter and the second dimming parameter simultaneously. The first dimming parameter and the second dimming parameter are used to configure the optical parameters or control parameters of the luminaire load.

2. The dimming signal generation method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first physical parameter includes the effective value of the line voltage, and the conduction time of the pulse signal is calculated based on the effective value of the line voltage.

3. The dimming signal generation method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The effective value of the line voltage is obtained through the following steps: The AC mains power is converted into a first square wave signal through the first zero-crossing detection circuit; Calculate the high-level duty cycle of the first square wave signal; The effective value of the line voltage is estimated based on the high-level duty cycle and the preset duty cycle-RMS mapping relationship.

4. A dimming control method, applied at the receiving end of a dimming signal, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Receive a dimming signal generated by the dimming signal generation method according to any one of claims 1 to 3; The first dimming value is calculated based on the phase conduction angle of the dimming signal; Monitor at least one second physical parameter that reflects the current power grid status, and calculate the decoding decision parameters of the dimming signal based on the second physical parameter; The decoding decision parameters are used to determine whether there is an additional pulse signal in each half-wave period of the dimming signal; Based on the presence or absence of pulse signals in each half-wave period of the dimming signal, the code value of the dimming signal is calculated, and the calculated code values ​​are combined into a complete data frame. The data frame is verified, and the second dimming value is extracted from the verified data frame; The output of the power drive circuit is controlled according to the first dimming value and the second dimming value to adjust the first dimming parameter and the second dimming parameter of the lamp load.

5. The dimming control method according to claim 4, characterized in that, The second physical parameter includes the half-wave period of the dimming signal, and the decoding decision parameter includes the bit period time, which is calculated based on the half-wave period.

6. The dimming control method according to claim 5, characterized in that, The half-wave period is obtained through the following steps: The dimming signal is converted into a second square wave signal by a second zero-crossing detection circuit; The time interval between two consecutive unidirectional edges of the second square wave signal is measured to obtain the original measurement value of the half-wave period of the dimming signal. The stable measurement value of the half-wave period of the dimming signal is calculated based on multiple consecutive original measurement values ​​using a digital filtering algorithm.

7. The dimming control method according to claim 5, characterized in that, In the step of determining whether there is an additional pulse signal in each half-wave period of the dimming signal according to the decoding decision parameters, the presence of an additional pulse signal in the half-wave period of the dimming signal is determined by whether there is a high level with a duration within a preset range of additional pulse width during the bit period after the zero crossing of the dimming signal.

8. A dimming signal generation device, characterized in that, The device includes a first zero-crossing detection circuit, a first controller, and a power switch. The input of the first zero-crossing detection circuit is electrically connected to the AC mains power supply, and the output of the first zero-crossing detection circuit is electrically connected to the first controller. The power switch is connected in series between the AC mains power supply and the output of the device. The first controller is used to: monitor at least one first physical parameter reflecting the current power grid state based on the output of the first zero-crossing detection circuit; calculate at least one timing parameter and / or signal parameter of a pulse signal based on the first physical parameter; control the power switch to chop the input AC mains power supply according to the received first dimming parameter to generate a phase-cut dimming waveform for controlling the first dimming parameter; and control the power switch to superimpose a pulse signal within the off-window of the phase-cut dimming waveform according to the received second dimming parameter, the timing parameter, and / or the signal parameter to finally generate a dimming signal that can be used to control both the first dimming parameter and the second dimming parameter.

9. A dimming control device, characterized in that, The device includes a second zero-crossing detection circuit, a second controller, and a power drive circuit. The input terminals of the second zero-crossing detection circuit and the power drive circuit are used to receive a dimming signal generated by the dimming signal generation device according to claim 8. The output terminal of the second zero-crossing detection circuit is electrically connected to the second controller. The output terminal of the power drive circuit is used to connect to a lamp load. The power drive circuit is controlled by the second controller, which is used to: calculate a first dimming value based on the phase conduction angle of the dimming signal; monitor at least one second physical parameter reflecting the current power grid state based on the output of the second zero-crossing detection circuit; calculate a decoding decision parameter for the dimming signal based on the second physical parameter; and determine whether an additional pulse signal exists within each half-wave cycle of the dimming signal based on the decoding decision parameter. Based on the presence or absence of pulse signals in each half-wave period of the dimming signal, the code value of the dimming signal is calculated, and the calculated code values ​​are combined into a complete data frame; the data frame is verified, and the second dimming value is extracted from the verified data frame. The output of the power drive circuit is controlled according to the first dimming value and the second dimming value to adjust the first dimming parameter and the second dimming parameter of the lamp load.

10. A dimming system, characterized in that, The device includes the dimming signal generating device according to claim 8, the dimming control device according to claim 9, and the lamp load. The input terminal of the dimming signal generating device is connected to AC mains power, the output terminal of the dimming signal generating device is connected to the input terminal of the dimming control device via a two-wire power line, and the output terminal of the dimming control device is connected to the lamp load.

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