Apparatus for the Control of Lighting and Associated Methods

A controller according to claim 6 in which the pulses are on the order of roughly any of the following lengths:

• microseconds, milliseconds, thousandths of a second, hundredths or a second, tenths of a second or seconds.

A method of controlling lighting comprising one or more light emitting semiconductors comprising

• driving the lighting with a substantially constant current or voltage and
• monitoring a parameter associated with the lighting and
• comparing the parameter with a reference to determine whether a fault is present in at least one light emitting semiconductor wherein if the lighting is driven with a substantially constant current the parameter is the voltage across the lighting and if the lighting is driven with a substantially constant voltage the parameter is the current passing through the lighting.

A program arranged to control lighting comprising one or more light emitting semiconductors which is arranged to cause the lighting to be driven with a substantially constant current and further causes a parameter associated with the lighting to be monitored and compares the monitored parameter with a reference, the program comprises:

• first code using the comparison to determine whether a fault is present in at least one light emitting semiconductor of the lighting wherein if the lighting is a driven with a substantially constant current the parameter is the voltage across the lighting and if the lighting is driven with a substantially constant voltage the parameter is the current passing through the lighting.

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A lighting controller arranged to drive one or more light emitting semiconductors, the controller comprising

• a current source and a voltage sensor
• wherein the controller is arranged to be connected to one or more light emitting semiconductors and to initially drive the or each light emitting semiconductor with an initial current and to sense the resulting voltage,
• the controller being further arranged, if the resulting voltage across the light emitting semiconductor is below a predetermined level, to increase the initial current, and in which the controller is arranged to repeat these steps until the resulting voltage substantially equals the predetermined level.

A method where one or more light emitting semiconductors are driven with a voltage substantially equal to the rated voltage of the or each light emitting semiconductor comprising

• measuring the current flowing through the or each light emitting semiconductor,
• using the measured current as the rated current for the or each light emitting semiconductor and thereafter
• driving the or each light emitting semiconductor from a current source with the rated current.

A program arranged to drive one or more light emitting semiconductor's at a voltage substantially equal to the rated voltage of the light emitting semiconductors wherein the program comprises:

• first code that causes the voltage flowing through each light emitting semiconductor to be measured.
• second code that uses the measured current as the rated current for the or each light emitting semiconductor and thereafter causes the or each light emitting semiconductor to be driven by a current source at the rated current.

A controller arranged to drive an electrical device, the controller comprising

• a current source and/or a voltage source and a current and/or voltage sensor
• wherein the controller is arranged to drive the electrical device using a current or voltage and further arranged to either i) monitor the actual current passing through the electrical device and the controller being arranged to monitor the voltage such that the disconnection of or occurrence of faults in the electrical device can be detected;
• or ii) monitor the actual voltage across the electrical device and the controller being arranged to monitor the current such that the disconnection of or occurrence of faults on the electrical device can be detected

A controller arranged to drive one or more electrical devices, the controller comprising

• a current source and a voltage sensor,
• wherein the controller is arranged to be connected to one or more electrical devices and to initially drive the or each electrical device with an initial current and to sense the resulting voltage, the controller being further arranged, if the resulting voltage across the electrical device is below a predetermined level, to increase the initial current, and in which the controller is arranged to repeat these steps until the resulting voltage substantially equals the predetermined level.