LED Control Circuit Heat Management via Switching Element Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional LED lighting apparatuses face challenges in controlling dimming effectively, particularly with large-capacity designs, where excessive heat generation in control chip units can degrade product reliability due to thermal stress, and existing solutions often require additional circuits and dimmers for dimming control.
Innovation Solution
A control circuit for LED lighting apparatuses that regulates dimming using external analog or digital dimming control signals, with switching elements generating heat positioned outside the control unit chip to manage heat and include a current sensing unit and comparator to manage current paths for LED channels, allowing for efficient dimming control without external dimmers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If large-capacity LED lighting apparatus is manufactured, then lighting capacity is improved, but excessive heat is generated from the control chip causing reliability degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the switching elements into two groups: those generating large heat (first switching elements) and those generating small heat (second switching elements). This segmentation allows differential placement strategies to manage thermal loads effectively while maintaining high power output.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the heat-generating switching elements from the control chip and places them outside the chip. Specifically, the first switching elements that generate large heat are positioned outside the control chip to prevent thermal stress on the chip, while the control chip itself contains only the control circuit and low-heat switching elements.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional dimming control is used with additional circuits, then dimming function is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the dimming control function directly into the control chip by integrating the control circuit with the switching elements. The control chip receives dimming control signals and directly modulates the current to LED channels through integrated switching elements, eliminating the need for separate external dimming circuits.
Solution Approach 2:
The control chip is designed to perform multiple functions: it contains both the control circuit and the switching elements, and can receive various types of dimming control signals (analog or digital) to control multiple LED channels. This multi-functional integration reduces overall system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a control circuit of an LED lighting apparatus having a dimming function. The control circuit provides a current path corresponding to light emitting states of LED channels in response to a rectified voltage, and performs dimming by controlling a current amount of the current path in response to a dimming control signal provided as an analog signal or digital signal.