CN217957358U - Control assembly for dimming, dimming device and lighting system - Google Patents

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a control assembly for dimming, a dimming device and a lighting system. The control assembly includes: a controller adapted to output a control signal for turning on and off the switching device to a control terminal of the switching device, the switching device being adapted to be coupled between an ac power source and the lighting apparatus; a first low pass filter adapted to be coupled to an alternating current power supply and filter a power line signal from the alternating current power supply and output a first filtered signal; and a first logic unit coupled between the first low pass filter and the controller, the first logic unit being adapted to perform a logic operation on the control signal and the first filtered signal and output a result of the operation to the controller to cause the controller to adjust the control signal based on an output of the first logic unit. The manner of the present disclosure effectively and reliably suppresses the influence of ripples in power carrier communication on lighting apparatuses.

Description

Control assembly for dimming, dimming device and lighting system

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of lighting technologies, and more particularly, to a control assembly for dimming, a dimming device, and a lighting system.

Background

A dimmer or dimming means may regulate and control the illumination of a lighting device such as a Light Emitting Diode (LED). For example, by operating a knob or other adjustment member, the dimmer can vary the voltage applied to the lighting device as needed, thereby varying the intensity of the light of the lighting device.

At present, in some countries and regions, power Line Communication (PLC) technology is commonly used, that is, analog or digital signals are transmitted on a Power line by carrier. With this technique, a communication ripple of a certain frequency can be applied on the power line to control electric devices such as water heaters, air conditioners, and the like to minimize peak loads. However, communication ripple in the PLC may negatively affect the lighting device. For example, such communication ripple on the power lines can cause flickering of lighting devices such as LEDs.

Communication ripple may be suppressed by means of the dimmer, thereby reducing flicker. However, the current means for suppressing the communication ripple in the dimmer has the disadvantages of low reliability, poor performance, etc., so that the problem of flickering of the lighting device still cannot be effectively solved in some cases.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

To at least partially address the above and other potential problems, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a control assembly for dimming, a dimming device, and a lighting system.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a control assembly for dimming, the control assembly comprising: a controller adapted to output a control signal for turning on and off the switching device to a control terminal of the switching device, the switching device being adapted to be coupled between an ac power source and the lighting apparatus; a first low pass filter adapted to be coupled to an alternating current power supply and filter a power line signal from the alternating current power supply and output a first filtered signal; and a first logic unit coupled between the first low pass filter and the controller, the first logic unit being adapted to perform a logic operation on the control signal and the first filtered signal and output a result of the operation to the controller to cause the controller to adjust the control signal based on an output of the first logic unit.

Through the scheme disclosed by the invention, ripples in power carrier communication can be effectively suppressed, and the problem of flicker can be avoided by ensuring stable and ripple-free voltage output to the lighting equipment. In addition, the scheme can avoid the adverse effect of parameter drift of the electric and electronic components or deviation between different batches of electric and electronic components on ripple suppression, and improve the dimming performance.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the control assembly further comprises: and a second low pass filter coupled between the first logic unit and the controller and filtering an output of the first logic unit and outputting a second filtered signal to cause the controller to adjust the control signal based on the second filtered signal. Through this embodiment, can further filter the higher ripple of frequency to improve the control effect.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the control assembly further comprises: and a second logic unit coupled between the second low pass filter and the controller, the second logic unit being adapted to perform a logic operation on the control signal and the second filtered signal and output a result of the operation to the controller to cause the controller to adjust the control signal based on an output of the second logic unit. In the embodiment, by arranging two stages of low-pass filtering and logic circuits, a more accurate adjusting signal can be provided for the controller, so that a better control effect is realized.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the logical operation comprises a nor operation. By performing the nor operation, a steep square wave signal which rises and falls faster can be obtained, thereby improving the control effect.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the first low pass filter and the second low pass filter each comprise a filter circuit comprising a capacitor and a resistor and configured to filter out communication ripple transmitted on the power line of the ac power source. By this embodiment, the communication ripple present in the ac power supply can be effectively filtered out with a simple hardware circuit.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the control assembly further comprises: and the third low-pass filter is coupled between the controller and the first logic unit, and filters the control signal output by the controller and outputs the control signal to the first logic unit. By this embodiment, the control effect can be further improved.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the control assembly further comprises: a brightness adjustment section coupled to the controller, the controller generating a control signal based on a brightness instruction from the brightness adjustment section; and a rectifier coupled to the first low pass filter, the rectifier being adapted to be further coupled to an alternating current power source to output a rectified power line signal to the first low pass filter. By this embodiment, the brightness of the lighting device can be actively adjusted as desired, and the overall control effect of the control assembly can be further improved.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a dimming device comprising: a switching device adapted to be coupled between an alternating current power source and a lighting apparatus; and a control assembly according to the first aspect.

According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a lighting system comprising: alternating current power supplies and lighting equipment; and a dimming device according to the second aspect.

In certain embodiments of the present disclosure, the lighting device comprises at least one light emitting diode.

The following detailed description is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. The summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

Drawings

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the following more particular descriptions of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure as illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numbers generally represent like parts throughout the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a lighting system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of a control component in a dimming arrangement according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be limited by the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

The term "include" and variations thereof as used herein is meant to be inclusive in an open-ended manner, i.e., "including but not limited to". Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term "or" means "and/or". The term "based on" means "based at least in part on". The terms "one example embodiment" and "one embodiment" mean "at least one example embodiment". Other explicit and implicit definitions are also possible below.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved control scheme for dimming. By arranging the low-pass filter, the logic unit and the controller, communication ripples in the alternating-current power supply can be filtered and suppressed, and the control signal for the switching device is adjusted in real time according to the period and amplitude change of the power supply voltage, so that stable voltage can still be ensured to be applied to the lighting equipment under the condition that the power supply voltage is influenced by the ripples and has certain fluctuation, and the flicker problem which possibly exists in the lighting equipment is eliminated or relieved.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a lighting system 1000 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the lighting system 1000 includes an ac power source 200 and a lighting apparatus 300. As an example, the ac power source 200 may be a power source such as a utility grid. For example, a utility grid as the ac power source 200 may provide 220V ac power to the lighting device 300 through the live and neutral wires in the power supply line. In one embodiment, the lighting device 300 includes at least one LED. Compared with other lighting devices, the LED has the advantages of energy conservation, long service life, high reliability and the like, and a plurality of LEDs can be connected in series and/or in parallel according to requirements, so that the lighting equipment capable of irradiating a larger area is obtained. However, it is understood that the implementation of the illumination apparatus 300 is not limited thereto, and may also include other types of illumination devices, such as incandescent lamps, halogen lamps, fluorescent lamps, metal halide lamps, sodium lamps, mercury lamps, and the like.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the lighting system 100 may include a dimming device 100. Specifically, the dimming device 100 may be connected between the ac power source 200 and the lighting apparatus 300 to provide the lighting apparatus 300 with a dimming function. For example, the dimming device 100 may include input terminals for connecting to the hot and neutral wires of the ac power source 200 and output terminals for connecting to the lighting fixture 300, whereby the dimming device 100 may deliver appropriate voltage or power to the lighting fixture 300 as needed to drive the lighting fixture 300 into operation.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the dimming apparatus 100 comprises a switching device 120, the switching device 120 being adapted to be coupled between the ac power source 200 and the lighting device 300. As an example, the switching device 120 may turn on and off a connection loop between the ac power source 200 and the lighting apparatus 300, thereby controlling the voltage or power applied to the lighting apparatus 300 by the ac power source 200, and thus controlling the brightness of the lighting apparatus 300. As an example, the switching device 120 includes a Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET), and the MOSFET, which is a fully controlled switching device, can be turned on and off by itself, so that more reliable and better-performing dimming control can be achieved. It is understood that the implementation of the switching device 120 is not limited thereto, and may be other types of switching devices, including but not limited to an Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT), a Junction Field Effect Transistor (JFET), a Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT), a Silicon Controlled Rectifier (SCR), a TRIAC (TRIAC switch), a Gate Turn Off Thyristor (GTO), a MOS Controlled Thyristor (MCT), an Integrated Gate Thyristor (Integrated Gate-Commutated Thyristor, IGCT), a Silicon carbide (SiC) switching device, a gallium nitride (GaN) switching device, or the like.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the dimming device 100 further comprises a control component 110. As an example, the control component 110 may obtain signals of voltage, current and/or power from the power line of the ac power source 200, and may control the switching device 120 to be turned on and off, thereby implementing the adjustment and control of the brightness of the lighting apparatus 300.

Fig. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of the control component 110 in the dimming device 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control component 110 includes a controller 111, and the controller 111 is adapted to output a control signal for turning on and off the switching device 120 to a control terminal of the switching device 120. As an example, the controller 111 may issue a control signal, such as a PWM signal, to the control terminal of the switching device 120 as needed to control the switching device 120 to turn on and off. For example, the control signal may control the switching device 120 to be turned on with a certain duty ratio in a certain period (e.g., an alternating period of 50Hz or 60Hz alternating current), wherein the closer the duty ratio is to one, the longer the switching device 120 is turned on and the shorter the switching device is turned off in a certain period, and thus the higher the voltage applied to the lighting apparatus 300 and the greater the brightness; and the closer the duty ratio is to zero, the shorter the on time and the longer the off time of the switching device 120 within a certain period, and thus the lower the voltage applied to the lighting apparatus 300, and the smaller the luminance. The controller 111 may implement the calculation and control of the duty cycle by means of software, for example. In this way, the dimming apparatus 100 and the control component 110 thereof can effectively control and adjust the lighting device 300. Implementations of the controller 111 include, but are not limited to, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an Application Specific Standard Product (ASSP), a system on a chip (SOC), a load programmable logic device (CPLD), and any suitable processor, microcontroller, and the like.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control component 110 comprises a first low-pass filter 112, the first low-pass filter 112 being adapted to be coupled to the ac power source 200 and to filter the power line signal from the ac power source 200 and output a first filtered signal. As an example, the first low pass filter 110 may filter a power line signal from the ac power source 200. The power line signal from the ac power supply 200 includes a main power signal having a fundamental frequency and a communication ripple signal for power carrier communication. By filtering the power line signal, communication ripples can be properly filtered out, and adverse effects of the communication ripples on lighting and control thereof are avoided.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the control component 110 further comprises a first logic unit 113, the first logic unit 113 is coupled between the first low pass filter 112 and the controller 111, the first logic unit 113 is adapted to perform a logic operation on the control signal and the first filtered signal, and output the operation result to the controller 111, so that the controller 111 adjusts the control signal based on the output of the first logic unit 113.

By way of example, by appropriate logical operation of the first filtered signal and the control signal, a regulation signal may be obtained that reflects real-time variations or fluctuations in the period and amplitude of the voltage signal provided by the ac power supply 200, such variations or fluctuations being caused, for example, by communication ripples at different frequencies. The controller 111 may receive such a signal generated by the above logic operation and calculate an error, such as a time error, of a current control signal according to the signal, thereby adjusting the control signal in real time to ensure the stability of the phase-cutting angle and enable the control signal output by the controller 111 to the switching device 120 to be changed according to the fluctuation or variation of the voltage of the ac power source 200 in terms of period and amplitude. That is, in the event that the power supply voltage fluctuates due to communication ripple, the controller 111 may dynamically adjust the control signal in real time such that the control signal adjusts accordingly as such fluctuations occur. Thus, under the control of the dynamically adjusted control signal, even if the voltage of the ac power supply 200 fluctuates due to different frequency ripples, the switching device 120 can always output or apply a voltage having a stable phase-cut angle to the lighting apparatus 300, which eliminates the possibility of the lighting apparatus 300 flickering due to the fluctuation of the power supply voltage. Further, the controller 111 may implement calculation and control using software to suppress ripple, and thus, may suppress communication ripple in a manner of combining hardware filtering and software control. Compared with pure hardware filtering, the method can avoid the influence of parameter drift of electric and electronic components (such as resistors and operational amplifiers) or deviation between different batches of electric and electronic components on ripple suppression.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the control component 110 further includes a second low pass filter 114, the second low pass filter 114 being coupled between the first logic unit 113 and the controller 111 and filtering an output of the first logic unit 113 and outputting a second filtered signal, such that the controller 111 adjusts the control signal based on the second filtered signal. The output signal of the first logic unit 113 can be filtered by the second low-pass filter to further filter out the ripple with higher frequency, thereby improving the control effect.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first low pass filter 112 and the second low pass filter 114 each include a filter circuit including a capacitor and a resistor, and configured to filter out a communication ripple transmitted on the power line of the ac power source 200. Specifically, the first low-pass filter 112 and the second low-pass filter 114 may be RC filter circuits. In this way, the communication ripple existing in the ac power supply 200 can be effectively filtered out with a simple hardware circuit, thereby avoiding adverse effects of communication ripples of different frequencies on dimming.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the control component 110 further comprises a second logic unit 115, the second logic unit 115 is coupled between the second low pass filter 114 and the controller 111, the second logic unit 115 is adapted to perform a logic operation on the control signal and the second filtered signal, and output the operation result to the controller 111, so that the controller adjusts the control signal based on the output of the second logic unit 115.

As an example, the second logic unit 115 functions similarly to the first logic unit 113, i.e., performs a logic operation on the control signal and the second filtered signal. Similar to the first logic unit 113, the signal output by the second logic unit 115 reflects the real-time variation or fluctuation in period and amplitude of the voltage signal provided by the ac power supply 200. The controller 111 may dynamically adjust the control signal in real time based on the signal output by the second logic unit 115 to make the control signal adjust accordingly with real-time variation or fluctuation of the power supply voltage in period and amplitude, thereby preventing the applied voltage of the lighting apparatus 300 from being affected by the variation or fluctuation of the power supply voltage. It can be seen that the second low-pass filter 114 and the second logic unit 115 constitute a low-pass filtering and logic gate combination of the second stage, whereas the first low-pass filter 112 and the first logic unit 113 constitute a low-pass filtering and logic gate combination of the first stage. Compared with a single-stage circuit, the two-stage circuit can provide more accurate adjusting signals for the controller 111, so that better control effect is achieved.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the aforementioned logical operations comprise nor operations. As an example, the first logic unit 113 and/or the second logic unit 115 may be nor gate logic devices, or any other suitable device or means capable of performing nor operations. By performing the nor operation, a steep square wave signal which rises and falls more quickly can be obtained as the adjustment signal, thereby improving the control effect.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the control component 110 further includes a third low pass filter 118, and the third low pass filter 118 is coupled between the controller 111 and the first logic unit 113, and filters the control signal output by the controller 111 and outputs to the first logic unit 113. In this way, before the first logic unit 113 performs a logic operation or a nor operation on the control signal and the first filtered signal, a high frequency component in the control signal can be filtered out, thereby further improving the control effect.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the control assembly 110 further comprises a brightness adjustment component 116, the brightness adjustment component 116 is coupled to the controller 111, and the controller 111 generates the control signal based on a brightness instruction from the brightness adjustment component 116. As an example, the brightness adjusting part 116 may be a part such as a knob, and the operator may thus issue an instruction to the controller 111 by a simple operation to change the duty ratio of a control signal such as a PWM signal, thereby achieving adjustment of the brightness of the illumination apparatus 300. However, it is understood that the implementation manner of the brightness adjusting part 116 is not limited thereto, and may be other suitable forms, for example, the brightness adjusting part 116 may be implemented in other man-machine interaction manners such as a key, a touch screen, or may be implemented in a manner of remote control, or may be an automatically set electronic part capable of automatically issuing an adjusting instruction according to a change in ambient brightness according to a predetermined setting, for example.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the control component 110 further comprises a rectifier 117, the rectifier 117 being coupled to the first low-pass filter 112, the rectifier 117 being adapted to be further coupled to the ac power source 200 for outputting the rectified power line signal to the first low-pass filter 112. As an example, the rectifier 117 may rectify a sine wave alternating current signal from the alternating current power source 200 into two signals of positive half waves, thereby supplying the rectified signal to the first low-pass filter 112. In this way, the overall control effect of the control assembly 110 can be further improved.

It should be noted that the elements, modules or units shown in fig. 1 and 2 are only exemplary and not restrictive, and other suitable elements, modules or units may be added as needed or portions of elements, modules or units may be removed or replaced as needed.

In the scheme of the disclosure, through the combination of the low-pass filter, the logic unit and the controller, ripples in power carrier communication can be effectively suppressed, and a stable and ripple-free voltage can be ensured to be output to the lighting equipment to avoid the flicker problem. Compared with pure hardware filtering, the scheme of the invention can avoid the influence caused by parameter drift of the electric and electronic elements or deviation among the electric and electronic elements in different batches, and ensure that a more stable ripple suppression effect is obtained. In addition, the ripple frequency range suppressed or filtered by the improved scheme is more targeted than that of pure hardware filtering, and more accurate filtering and ripple suppression can be realized aiming at the communication ripple of the target frequency, so that the dimming performance can be improved.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosure set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the disclosure are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure. Moreover, while the above description and the related figures describe example embodiments in the context of certain example combinations of components and/or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of components and/or functions may be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In this regard, for example, other combinations of components and/or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated within the scope of the present disclosure. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims (10)

1. A control assembly for dimming, comprising:

a controller (111) adapted to output a control signal for switching the switching device (120) on and off to a control terminal of the switching device (120), the switching device (120) being adapted to be coupled between an alternating current power source (200) and a lighting device (300);

a first low pass filter (112) adapted to be coupled to the alternating current power source (200) and to filter a power line signal from the alternating current power source (200) and output a first filtered signal; and

a first logic unit (113) coupled between the first low pass filter (112) and the controller (111), the first logic unit (113) being adapted to perform a logic operation on the control signal and the first filtered signal and to output an operation result to the controller (111) to cause the controller (111) to adjust the control signal based on an output of the first logic unit (113).

2. The control assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

a second low pass filter (114) coupled between the first logic unit (113) and the controller (111) and filtering an output of the first logic unit (113) and outputting a second filtered signal to cause the controller (111) to adjust the control signal based on the second filtered signal.

3. The control assembly of claim 2, further comprising:

a second logic unit (115) coupled between the second low pass filter (114) and the controller (111), the second logic unit (115) being adapted to perform a logic operation on the control signal and the second filtered signal and to output an operation result to the controller (111) to cause the controller to adjust the control signal based on an output of the second logic unit (115).

4. The control assembly of claim 1 or 3, wherein the logical operation comprises a NOR operation.

5. The control assembly of claim 2, wherein the first low pass filter (112) and the second low pass filter (114) each comprise a filter circuit comprising a capacitor and a resistor and configured to filter out communication ripple transmitted on a power line of the ac power source (200).

6. The control assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

a third low pass filter (118) coupled between the controller (111) and the first logic unit (113), and filtering the control signal output by the controller (111) and outputting to the first logic unit (113).

7. The control assembly of claim 1, further comprising:

a brightness adjustment section (116) coupled to the controller (111), the controller (111) generating the control signal based on a brightness instruction from the brightness adjustment section (116); and

a rectifier (117) coupled to the first low pass filter (112), the rectifier (117) being adapted to be further coupled to the alternating current power source (200) for outputting a rectified power line signal to the first low pass filter (112).

8. A dimming device, comprising:

a switching device (120) adapted to be coupled between an alternating current power source (200) and a lighting device (300); and

a control assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. An illumination system, comprising:

an alternating current power supply (200) and a lighting device (300); and

the dimming device of claim 8.

10. The lighting system according to claim 9, characterized in that the lighting device (300) comprises at least one light emitting diode.

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