Driver circuit for leds for time-of-flight calculation
AssigneeSoftkinetic Sensors NV
InventorsRiemer Grootjans, Sebastien Resimont, Maarten Kuijk
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Abstract
An electronic driver circuit for LEDs and LASERs is provided for use in time-of-flight applications featuring a high efficiency of energy-conversion and a high precision of distance-measurements based on a dual conversion circuit. A voltage to voltage DC-DC conversion is hereby merged with a DC-voltage to pulsed-current booster, this booster operating at a time-of-flight modulation frequency. At the start of a new measurement cycle, the PWM signal for driving the DC-DC conversion is updated in response to currents observed during previous illumination periods.
Claims20
A boost converter circuit for use with a DC power supply for conversion of DC power to a pulsed wave for driving a load, comprising:
- a DC-DC converter circuit comprising a terminal for receiving a DC voltage from the DC power supply, a first inductance, a charge storage device and first and second switching means, the first inductance being coupled to the terminal;
- the first and second switching means being adapted to charge the charge storage device from the first inductance at a first frequency, and
- a DC voltage-AC current converter circuit comprising a third switching means;
- and a second inductance coupled to the charge storage device and the third switching means, the third switching means being arranged for charging energy into the second inductance and for driving the second inductance as a pulsed wave current source for the load at a second frequency, the second frequency being higher than the first frequency.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.