# US 2014/0152183 A1 · Led lighting apparatus, current regulator for the led lighting apparatus, and current regulation method of the led lighting apparatus

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- Number: US 2014/0152183 A1
- Document ID: US20140152183A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 14/094,231
- Filed: 2013-12-02
- Published: 2014-06-05
- Earliest claimed: 2012-11-30
- Assignees: Silicon Works Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Silicon Works Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Yong Guen KIM; Sang Young Lee; Gyeong Sik Mun; Ki Chul An
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140152183A1

## CPC

- H05B 45/14: using electrical feedback from LEDs or from LED modules
- H05B 45/12: using optical feedback
- H05B 45/3725: Switched mode power supply [SMPS]
- H05B 45/382: with galvanic isolation between input and output
- H05B 47/185: via power line carrier transmission
- Y02B 20/30: Semiconductor lamps, e.g. solid state lamps [SSL] light emitting diodes [LED] or organic LED [OLED]
- H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS

## Abstract

The present invention discloses an LED lighting apparatus. The LED lighting apparatus includes a converter for transforming rectified voltage in accordance with a switching operation according to a driving pulse and outputting the transformed voltage, a current regulator for generating the driving pulse having a pulse width varied in response to a control signal and the amount of current of the converter and switching the operation of the converter using the generated driving pulse, and a peripheral circuit module for providing the control signal for controlling the dimming of an LED lighting.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An LED lighting apparatus, comprising:
a converter for transforming rectified voltage in accordance with a switching operation according to a driving pulse and outputting the transformed voltage;
a current regulator for generating the driving pulse having a pulse width varied in response to a control signal and an amount of current of the converter and switching the operation of the converter using the generated driving pulse; and
a peripheral circuit module for providing the control signal for controlling dimming of an LED lighting.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The LED lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the converter comprises an inductor or a transformer.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The LED lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the current regulator comprises:
a switching element connected to the converter and configured to be switched in response to the 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 control circuit configured to supply the first comparison terminal with a dimming control signal corresponding to the control signal of the peripheral circuit module;
a reference signal generator configured to generate a reference pulse and supply the reference pulse to a 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 drive a pulse in response to the comparison signal and supply the driving pulse to the switching element.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The LED lighting apparatus of claim 3, wherein the feedback circuit comprises:
a sensing resistor configured to detect current of the switching element; and
a comparison circuit configured to compare voltage, detected by the sensing resistor, with a predetermined reference voltage and to supply the feedback signal to the first comparison terminal.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The LED lighting apparatus of claim 4, wherein the comparison circuit comprises:
an input filter configured to comprise a first filter resistor and a first filter capacitor connected in parallel and transfer the voltage detected by the sensing resistor through the first filter resistor;
a second comparator configured to compare voltage, applied to a negative terminal of the second comparator through the first filter resistor, with the reference voltage applied to a positive terminal of the second comparator and to output a result of the comparison; and
an output filter configured to comprise a second filter resistor and a second filter capacitor connected in parallel and to transfer the output signal of the second comparator to the first comparison terminal of the first comparator through the second filter resistor as the feedback signal.

### Claim 6 (depends on 3)

The LED lighting apparatus of claim 3, wherein the dimming control circuit comprises:
a photo coupler configured to transfer the control signal; and
a transfer resistor configured to apply output of the photo coupler to the first comparison terminal.

### Claim 7 (depends on 3)

The LED lighting apparatus of claim 3, wherein the driving circuit comprises:
a Zero Current Detection (ZCD) unit configured to output a ZCD signal obtained by detecting a zero current point of the current of the converter;
a latch configured to receive the ZCD signal as a set signal and the output of the first comparator as a reset signal and to output a latch signal that remains enabled until the latch signal is reset in response to the reset signal after the set signal is enabled; and
a driver configured to drive the latch signal and to transfer the driven latch signal to the switching circuit as the driving pulse.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The LED lighting apparatus of claim 7, wherein:
the converter comprises an auxiliary coil for outputting current in response to a change of current, and
the ZCD unit outputs the output current of the auxiliary coil as the ZCD signal obtained by detecting the zero current point.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The LED lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein:
the peripheral circuit module comprises at least one sensor board comprising one or more of a visible ray sensor for sensing surrounding brightness and an infrared sensor for sensing a human body, and
the control signal has a pulse width associated with at least one operation of the visible ray sensor and the infrared sensor.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The LED lighting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control signal is supplied as an analog signal or a PWM signal.

### Claim 11

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.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The current regulator of claim 11, wherein the feedback circuit comprises:
a sensing resistor configured to detect current of the switching element; and
a comparison circuit configured to output the feedback signal, obtained by comparing voltage detected by the sensing resistor with a predetermined reference voltage, to the first comparison terminal.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The current regulator of claim 12, wherein the comparison circuit comprises:
an input filter configured to comprise a first filter resistor and a first filter capacitor connected in parallel and to transfer the voltage detected by the sensing resistor through the first filter resistor;
a second comparator configured to compare voltage, applied to a negative terminal of the second comparator through the first filter resistor, with the reference voltage applied to a positive terminal of the second comparator and to output a result of the comparison; and
an output filter configured to comprise a second filter resistor and a second filter capacitor connected in parallel and to transfer the output signal of the second comparator to the first comparison terminal of the first comparator through the second filter resistor as the feedback signal.

### Claim 14 (depends on 11)

The current regulator of claim 11, wherein the driving circuit comprises:
a Zero Current Detection (ZCD) unit configured to output a ZCD signal obtained by detecting a zero current point of current of the converter;
a latch configured to receive the ZCD signal as a set signal and the output of the first comparator as a reset signal and to output a latch signal that remains enabled until the latch signal is reset in response to the reset signal after the set signal is enabled; and
a driver configured to drive the latch signal and to transfer the driven latch signal to the switching circuit as the driving pulse.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The current regulator of claim 14, wherein the ZCD unit detects the zero current point of the current of the converter as an output of an auxiliary coil for outputting current corresponding to a change of the current of the converter.

### Claim 16

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.

### Claim 17

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.