EP1045623A2 - Dimmer und Beleuchtungssystem zum Dimmen - Google Patents

Dimmer und Beleuchtungssystem zum Dimmen Download PDF

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Publication number
EP1045623A2
EP1045623A2 EP00302926A EP00302926A EP1045623A2 EP 1045623 A2 EP1045623 A2 EP 1045623A2 EP 00302926 A EP00302926 A EP 00302926A EP 00302926 A EP00302926 A EP 00302926A EP 1045623 A2 EP1045623 A2 EP 1045623A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
lighting system
mains
lamp
circuit
switching component
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP00302926A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP1045623A3 (de
Inventor
Eran Erez
Omri Fishbein
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Ein Hashofet Electrical Accessories
Original Assignee
Ein Hashofet Electrical Accessories
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ein Hashofet Electrical Accessories filed Critical Ein Hashofet Electrical Accessories
Publication of EP1045623A2 publication Critical patent/EP1045623A2/de
Publication of EP1045623A3 publication Critical patent/EP1045623A3/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H05B—ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL
    • H05B41/00—Circuit arrangements or apparatus for igniting or operating discharge lamps
    • H05B41/14—Circuit arrangements
    • H05B41/36—Controlling
    • H05B41/38—Controlling the intensity of light
    • H05B41/39—Controlling the intensity of light continuously
    • H05B41/392—Controlling the intensity of light continuously using semiconductor devices, e.g. thyristor
    • H05B41/3921—Controlling the intensity of light continuously using semiconductor devices, e.g. thyristor with possibility of light intensity variations
    • H05B41/3924—Controlling the intensity of light continuously using semiconductor devices, e.g. thyristor with possibility of light intensity variations by phase control, e.g. using a triac

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a dimmer and dimming lighting system that include discharge lamps and ballasts.
  • the present invention is concerned with a dimmer and dimmable lighting systems consisting of magnetic ballasts and operated with low frequency mains voltage.
  • the current lighting technology utilizes dimmable systems as follows:
  • Dimming is performed by means of an additional ballast connected in series with the main ballast (Fig. 1). Thereby, the original open circuit voltage is maintained in any dimming state, while the lamp current is reduced but remains sinusoidal.
  • the main disadvantage of this method is that an additional ballast must be added in series to each lamp in order to achieve dimming.
  • Another disadvantage is that the reduced lamp current has a reduced slope near its zero crossing. Thereby, the re-ignition of the lamp at the beginning of each new half-current cycle becomes more difficult as the dimming becomes deeper.
  • Another method of dimming is performed by lowering the input voltage to the lighting system (Fig. 2).
  • this method can be applied to a group of lamps using a single dimming device, but it has the disadvantage that the lower open circuit voltage in the dimming mode soon becomes insufficient for a new half cycle re-ignition. Hence, a dimming of only about 25% is possible with this method.
  • Still another method of dimming is performed by increasing the ballast current frequency (Fig. 3).
  • This method has the disadvantage of increased ballast watt loss, with increased frequency and increased ballast noise, which, with magnetic ballasts, actually becomes intolerable.
  • a further method of dimming is performed by means of a phase-controlled electronic switch that disconnects the mains voltage during some parts of the voltage cycle (Fig. 4).
  • the disadvantage of this method is the lamp current interruptions created by the switch. With deeper dimming, these interruptions become longer, which very soon makes new half-cycle re-ignition impossible unless the lamp cathodes are continuously heated by special means.
  • a dimmable lighting system fed from a mains and connectable to at least one ballast and to at least one discharge lamp, said system comprising at least one switching component operable to connect the mains voltage to the lamp circuit at certain periods of time and to provide a short circuit across said lamp circuit between said periods of time, and a control circuit for sensing the mains voltage and selectively activating said switching component with reference to said mains voltage.
  • the invention further provides a dimmer for a dimmable lighting system fed from a mains and connectable to at least one ballast and to at least one discharge lamp, said dimmer comprising at least one switching component operable to connect the mains voltage to the lamp circuit at certain periods of time and to provide a short circuit across said lamp circuit between said periods of time, and a control circuit for sensing the mains voltage and selectively activating said switching component with reference to said mains voltage.
  • the present invention combines the advantages of high open circuit voltage with the advantages of continuous lamp current having steep slope at zero crossing, together with the advantages of handling many lamps by means of a single switching component. More specifically, the advantages of high open circuit voltage constitute stable lamp operation and safe half-cycle re-ignition, while the advantages of continuous lamp current having steep slope at zero crossing induce even more stable operation and reduction of the required re-ignition voltages.
  • the advantage of handling many lamps operated with magnetic ballasts by means of single switch is simplicity and low cost as well as the option to use the invention with existing lighting systems.
  • a dimmer 2 powered from a mains and connectable across a discharge or fluorescent lamp 4.
  • the dimmer consists of two switches S 1 and S 2 , e.g., solid state switches, and a ballast 6.
  • S 1 is connected between the mains and the lamp's circuit components 4 and 6;
  • S 2 is connected in parallel to the lamp's circuit components 4 and 6.
  • Switches S 1 and S 2 operate in such a manner that when S 1 is open, S 2 is closed, and vice-versa .
  • the lamp's current continues to flow, due to energy stored in the magnetic ballast 6, as seen in the characteristic curves.
  • the high open circuit voltage and steep lamp current at zero crossing facilitate deep dimming without special cathode heating.
  • the dimmer according to the present invention can be utilized as a central dimmer for a plurality of discharge lamps, as illustrated in Fig. 6.
  • the central dimmer 2 is advantageously connected across the mains via a power factor correction capacitor 8.
  • the discharge lamps 4, in this case, compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) are connected to the mains lines 10 via suitable per se known adaptors 12, each including a magnetic ballast (not shown), as opposed to the ballast 6 shown in Fig. 5, which constitutes a separate component.
  • Fig. 8 merely represents a preferred embodiment.
  • the mains feeds a power supply 14, composed of two transformers T 2 and T 3 , leading to two bridges D 1 and D 2 and, via capacitors C 3 and C 4 , to the rest of the circuit for supplying the required low DC voltages to the dimmer.
  • the mains also directly feeds a phase detector 16, an optional zero crossing detector and a switching component 18.
  • the mains phase detector includes a transformer T 1 leading through resistors R 1 -R 6 to comparators U1A and U1B and from there to a logic circuit 20, which governs the operation of the switching components 18 in accordance with the setting of the dimming control 22, optionally including a display.
  • the logic circuit consists of two monostable units U3A and U3B and two capacitors C 1 and C 2 leading, via resistors R 9 -R 11 , to comparators U2A and U2B.
  • switching component 18 comprises comparators U4A and U5A, and transistors Q 1 -Q 6 , respectively leading to bridges D 3 and D 4 .
  • the logic circuit leads the switching component through two opto-couplers 24 and 26.
  • the dimming control unit 22 is here embodied by the adjustable resistors R 7 and R 8 .
  • the phase detector 16 monitors the mains and identifies its phase, e.g., zero crossings, and transfers this information to the logic circuit 20. Substantially upon the mains voltage crossing the zero line, the logic circuit activates the switching component, at least twice during each half-cycle of the mains voltage, for a duration of time preset by the dimming control, as illustrated in Fig. 5.
  • the switching component thus facilitates continuous lamp current at the dimming state while maintaining the original open circuit voltage and nearly the original current slope at zero crossing. This facilitates very effective dimming without special cathode heating, although cathode heating could just as well be applied.
  • Fig. 9 illustrates another embodiment of a dimmable lighting system according to the present invention, suitable for assuring efficient re-ignition of a discharge lamp.
  • Seen is a discharge lamp 4, with an igniter 28 connected thereacross and a ballast 6 connected to a four-position switch 30.
  • Contacts S 3 and S 6 lead via diodes 32, 34 to one line of the mains, while contact S 4 leads directly to the same line and contact S 5 leads directly to the other line of the mains.
  • contacts S 3 and S 6 are respectively connected via capacitors 36, 38 to said other line of the mains.
  • switch 30 does not directly contact the mains, it contacts alternative voltage sources.
  • the operation of the dimmer is as follows: At each cycle of the mains, capacitors 36, 38 are charged to the main's peak voltage. At the termination of the positive half cycle of the mains voltage, the current in lamp 4 will rapidly decrease. In order to slow down the rate of decrease of the current, namely, to delay as far as possible its reaching zero, so as to increase the phase difference between the current and voltage with a view towards improving the lamp's re-ignition, the contact S 3 of switch 30 is closed for a short period or periods of time, thereby causing further current to flow through the lamp. The voltage on the capacitor 36 will decrease until the next positive cycle, in which it will recharge again through diode 32.
  • FIG. 10 A solid-state-based embodiment of the four-position switch 30 of Fig. 9 is shown in Fig. 10.
  • the switch includes four transistors Q 1 to Q 4 for driving current respectively through insulating transformers T 1 , T 2 , T 8 and T 9 .
  • Transistor Q 5 and diode D 6 constitute an OR gate for operating transistor Q 4
  • capacitors C 1 and C 2 serve as filters.
  • Diodes D 1 to D 4 facilitate flow of current after cut-off of current to the transformers T 1 , T 2 , T 8 and T 9 .
  • the latter provide operating voltages to the gates of transistors Q 14 to Q 19 , while transistors Q 6 to Q 9 serve as the non-conducting arrangement for transistors Q 14 to Q 19 by calibrating the gates thereof.
  • Diodes D 5 , D 23 , D 28 and D 24 enable charging the gates of transistors Q 14 to Q 19
  • diodes D 16 , D 17 , D 18 , D 30 , D 31 , D 27 and D 28 are used as OR gates for operating the non-conducting state of transistors Q 14 to Q 19
  • Zener diodes D 19 , D 20 , D 21 and D 22 protect the gates of transistors Q 14 to Q 19 against high voltage, while resistors R 1 to R 4 , R 11 , R 13 , R 15 and R 17 limit the current flow to these transistors.
  • Resistors R 5 , R 10 , R 12 , R 14 and R 16 are discharge passageways from the bases of the transistors Q 4 , Q 6 to Q 9 .
  • Capacitors C 3 , C 4 and C 6 retain the charge on the gates of transistors Q 16 to Q 19 .
  • the operation of the switch 30 is as follows: a voltage pulse applied to input "MAIN ON” activates transistor Q 3 , causing current to flow through the primary of transformer T 8 .
  • the resulting voltage across points 3, 4 of the secondary coil of the transformer charges transistors Q 14 and Q 15 through diode D 23 , rendering the transistors conductive.
  • the voltages built up across points 5,6; 7,8 and 9,10 of the secondary coils of transformer T 8 render transistors Q 6 , Q 7 and Q 9 conductive, causing discharge of the gates of transistors Q 18 , Q 19 , Q 16 and Q 17 , respectively, thus preventing the flow of current therethrough.
  • a similar operation takes place upon the appearance of a voltage pulse across inputs "BOOST+", “BOOST-” and "FREE WHEEL.”

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Discharge-Lamp Control Circuits And Pulse- Feed Circuits (AREA)
EP00302926A 1999-04-13 2000-04-06 Dimmer und Beleuchtungssystem zum Dimmen Withdrawn EP1045623A3 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
IL12940599A IL129405A0 (en) 1999-04-13 1999-04-13 A dimmer and dimming lighting system
IL12940599 1999-04-13

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP1045623A2 true EP1045623A2 (de) 2000-10-18
EP1045623A3 EP1045623A3 (de) 2002-02-06

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ID=11072693

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP00302926A Withdrawn EP1045623A3 (de) 1999-04-13 2000-04-06 Dimmer und Beleuchtungssystem zum Dimmen

Country Status (4)

Country Link
EP (1) EP1045623A3 (de)
AU (1) AU2768600A (de)
CA (1) CA2304301A1 (de)
IL (1) IL129405A0 (de)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2003043387A1 (en) 2001-11-12 2003-05-22 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Circuit arrangement
EP1467474A2 (de) * 2003-04-04 2004-10-13 Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft für elektrische Glühlampen mbH Schnittstellenschaltung zum Betrieb von kapazitiven Lasten
WO2009066223A3 (en) * 2007-11-22 2010-08-05 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Method and control circuit for dimming a gas discharge lamp
EP2378843A1 (de) * 2008-12-26 2011-10-19 Villarrus, S.L. Einrichtung zum regeln der leuchtintensität in fluoreszenzlampen mit einer elektromagnetischen reaktanz und einem starter und die einrichtung umfassendes beleuchtungssystem

Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4350935A (en) * 1980-03-28 1982-09-21 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. Gas discharge lamp control
US4527099A (en) * 1983-03-09 1985-07-02 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. Control circuit for gas discharge lamps
US4899088A (en) * 1988-08-31 1990-02-06 Honeywell Inc. Power control circuit for inductive loads
US4904906A (en) * 1986-08-21 1990-02-27 Honeywell Inc. Fluorescent light dimming
GB2269948A (en) * 1992-07-23 1994-02-23 Axiomatic Design Ltd Gas discharge lamp dimmer circuit
EP0905871A2 (de) * 1997-09-25 1999-03-31 Oy Helvar Netzfrequenz-Wechselstrom-Wechselstromrichter
FR2771589A1 (fr) * 1997-11-21 1999-05-28 Sgs Thomson Microelectronics Limiteur de courant pour lampe fluorescente

Patent Citations (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4350935A (en) * 1980-03-28 1982-09-21 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. Gas discharge lamp control
US4527099A (en) * 1983-03-09 1985-07-02 Lutron Electronics Co., Inc. Control circuit for gas discharge lamps
US4904906A (en) * 1986-08-21 1990-02-27 Honeywell Inc. Fluorescent light dimming
US4899088A (en) * 1988-08-31 1990-02-06 Honeywell Inc. Power control circuit for inductive loads
GB2269948A (en) * 1992-07-23 1994-02-23 Axiomatic Design Ltd Gas discharge lamp dimmer circuit
EP0905871A2 (de) * 1997-09-25 1999-03-31 Oy Helvar Netzfrequenz-Wechselstrom-Wechselstromrichter
FR2771589A1 (fr) * 1997-11-21 1999-05-28 Sgs Thomson Microelectronics Limiteur de courant pour lampe fluorescente

Cited By (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO2003043387A1 (en) 2001-11-12 2003-05-22 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Circuit arrangement
US7196478B2 (en) * 2001-11-12 2007-03-27 Koninklike Philips Electronics, N.V. Circuit arrangement
EP1467474A2 (de) * 2003-04-04 2004-10-13 Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft für elektrische Glühlampen mbH Schnittstellenschaltung zum Betrieb von kapazitiven Lasten
EP1467474A3 (de) * 2003-04-04 2005-12-14 Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft für elektrische Glühlampen mbH Schnittstellenschaltung zum Betrieb von kapazitiven Lasten
US7129648B2 (en) 2003-04-04 2006-10-31 Patent-Treuhand-Gesellschaft Fur Elektrisch Gluhlampen Mbh Interface circuit for operating capacitive loads
WO2009066223A3 (en) * 2007-11-22 2010-08-05 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. Method and control circuit for dimming a gas discharge lamp
CN101971708A (zh) * 2007-11-22 2011-02-09 皇家飞利浦电子股份有限公司 用于对气体放电灯调光的方法和控制电路
EP2378843A1 (de) * 2008-12-26 2011-10-19 Villarrus, S.L. Einrichtung zum regeln der leuchtintensität in fluoreszenzlampen mit einer elektromagnetischen reaktanz und einem starter und die einrichtung umfassendes beleuchtungssystem
EP2378843A4 (de) * 2008-12-26 2012-10-17 Villarrus S L Einrichtung zum regeln der leuchtintensität in fluoreszenzlampen mit einer elektromagnetischen reaktanz und einem starter und die einrichtung umfassendes beleuchtungssystem

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA2304301A1 (en) 2000-10-13
EP1045623A3 (de) 2002-02-06
IL129405A0 (en) 2000-02-17
AU2768600A (en) 2000-10-19

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