Solid-State Lighting Regulator with Dynamic Switch Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solid-state lighting systems, such as LED illumination devices, face inefficiencies in power regulation, particularly when using electronic switching ballasts or series-string configurations, leading to energy wastage, high manufacturing costs, and flickering issues due to incomplete AC cycle utilization.
Innovation Solution
A regulator device with a control circuit and switches that dynamically adjust the number of light emitters connected in series based on sensed operational parameters like current and voltage, ensuring efficient power delivery and continuous light emission across the AC cycle without excessive current flow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an electronic switching ballast is used to regulate current, then the current can be controlled to safe levels, but conversion efficiency decreases and heat generation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the electronic switching ballast entirely from the system. Instead of using complex switching circuitry with magnetic components, the invention directly connects the LED string to the AC power source, allowing the LED's inherent voltage-drop characteristics to provide natural current limiting without energy-intensive conversion processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The LED string itself provides the current regulation function that previously required an external electronic ballast. By utilizing the LED's natural electrical characteristics (voltage drop across the string), the system achieves self-regulation of current, eliminating the need for separate control circuitry and improving overall efficiency.
2Reliability
If an electronic switching ballast is used, then current regulation is achieved, but manufacturing cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the electronic switching ballast component from the system. By eliminating this complex subsystem with its magnetic components, switching circuitry, and control electronics, the design achieves current regulation through the LED string's inherent properties, dramatically simplifying the overall device architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The LED string performs the dual function of light generation and current regulation without requiring external control circuitry. This self-service approach eliminates the need for expensive electronic ballast components, reducing both manufacturing cost and device complexity while maintaining reliable current control.
3Loss of energy
If series-string LED configuration is used, then conversion efficiency is high, but light emission is incomplete during AC cycle causing flicker
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the LED string into multiple parallel branches rather than using a single series configuration. This segmentation allows different portions of the LED array to conduct during different phases of the AC cycle, ensuring continuous light emission while maintaining the high efficiency benefits of series-connected LEDs within each branch.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes the periodic nature of the AC power cycle by configuring LED branches to conduct alternately during different half-cycles. This periodic activation of parallel branches ensures that light emission continues throughout the entire AC cycle, eliminating flicker while preserving the efficiency advantages of series-string operation during each conduction phase.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and methods to regulate an input power applied to a plurality of light emitters are provided. A regulator device includes a plurality of switches and a control circuit that controls the plurality of switches. The plurality of switches selectively couple respective strings of the light emitters in series to the input power to emit light when deactivated. The control circuit may deactivate a number of the switches to couple the respective light emitters to the input power in response to a sensed operational parameter of the input power. The control circuit may adjust the number of the switches deactivated in response to a change in the sensed operational parameter of the input power. A number of the light emitters may be coupled to the input power regardless of the sensed operational parameter of the input power.