Synchronized Lamp Control via Mains Zero Crossings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern lighting systems face synchronization issues with lamps reacting differently to dimming commands due to varying processing delays and clock rates, leading to asynchronous dimming behavior, especially when using gas discharge lamps or LEDs, which can result in inconsistent luminosity and unwanted effects like stroboscopic flicker.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a method where operating devices synchronize changes in operating mode using a common time base, such as zero crossings of the mains supply voltage, eliminating the need for a separate communication bus, and allowing for synchronized dimming across all lamps by triggering control processes after a predetermined period.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multiple operating devices control lamps independently, then each device can operate autonomously, but the lamps react with different start times leading to asynchronous dimming behavior
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the time-base functions of all operating devices by synchronizing them to a common reference (mains voltage zero crossings). This allows autonomous operation to be maintained while achieving synchronized response across all devices through the shared time reference for triggering control processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates equipotentiality in the time domain by having all operating devices reference the same time base (mains voltage cycles). This ensures that despite autonomous operation, all devices experience the same temporal conditions and trigger events at equivalent points in the mains cycle, achieving synchronization without central control.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a separate communication bus is used for synchronization, then precise synchronization can be achieved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the mains voltage supply serve a dual function: both power delivery and synchronization reference. By using the zero crossings of the mains voltage as the time base, the system eliminates the need for separate communication buses while maintaining precise synchronization, as the existing electrical infrastructure performs multiple functions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses the mains voltage signal itself to provide synchronization information without requiring external communication infrastructure. The zero crossings of the power supply automatically serve as the time reference, allowing the system to synchronize itself using the existing power delivery mechanism rather than adding separate synchronization hardware.
3Loss of energy
If lamps are dimmed to very low levels using PWM, then energy efficiency improves, but stroboscopic or bead effects occur due to long off-times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by synchronizing all PWM dimming operations to the mains voltage frequency. This creates a unified periodic rhythm across all lamps, preventing the random off-times that cause stroboscopic effects while maintaining the energy efficiency of PWM dimming at low levels.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method for controlling lighting means, in which an operating device for lighting means performs a change in the operating mode, such as for example igniting or dimming, as a response to an incoming signal received from the outside by the interface of the operating device. The operating device carries out the triggering of the change in the operating mode synchronously with directly or indirectly detected zero crossings of a mains supply voltage, the zero crossings serving as a temporal basis.