Led lighting apparatus, current regulator for the led lighting apparatus, and current regulation method of the led lighting apparatus

A current regulator for an LED lighting apparatus, comprising:

• a switching element connected to a converter for converting a level of voltage and configured to switch an operation of the converter in response to a driving pulse;
• a feedback circuit configured to supply a first comparison terminal with a feedback signal corresponding to current that flows through the switching element;
• a dimming signal transfer circuit configured to externally receive a control signal for controlling dimming of an LED lighting and to apply a dimming control signal corresponding to the control signal to the first comparison terminal;
• a reference signal generator configured to generate a reference pulse and to supply the reference pulse to the second comparison terminal;
• a first comparator configured to output a comparison signal obtained by comparing the signals of the first and the second comparison terminals with each other;
• and
• a driving circuit configured to supply the driving pulse to the switching element in response to the comparison signal.

A current regulation method of an LED lighting apparatus, comprising:

• supplying, by a converter for converting a level of voltage through a switching element driven in response to a driving pulse, an LED lighting and one or more peripheral circuit modules with DC voltage, converted from rectified voltage, to as a power;
• detecting current of the converter;
• applying a current control signal, obtained by comparing the current of the converter with a reference voltage, to a first comparison terminal;
• applying a dimming control signal, corresponding to a control signal received outside the LED lighting, to the first comparison terminal;
• generating a reference pulse and applying the reference pulse to the second comparison terminal;
• comparing the signals of the first and the second comparison terminals with each other and outputting a result of the comparison as a comparison signal;
• and
• outputting the driving pulse using a Zero Current Detection signal obtained by detecting a zero crossing point of the current of the converter as a set signal and the comparison signal as a reset signal.

An LED lighting apparatus, comprising:

• a plurality of LED lightings spaced apart from one another;
• a current regulation module installed in each of the LED lightings and configured to generate a driving pulse having a pulse width varied in response to an external control signal and an amount of current of a converter for converting a level of voltage and to supply the LED lighting with a power through the converter driven in response to the driving pulse;
• and
• a communication module configured to receive the power, provided to the LED lighting, from one of the current regulation modules and to provide the control signal for controlling the LED lighting.