EP3637959B1 - Semiconductor component - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a semiconductor component. Luminaires mounted on the ceiling often differ in terms of their power and therefore in terms of the luminous intensity they emit. Other parameters such as the light color can also vary from lamp to lamp. For this purpose, there are control units on the lights with which, for example, the light intensity and the light color can be adjusted. This setting can be done, for example, by an installer connecting certain connections of the control devices to one another either by wire jumpers or by leaving these connections free and not making contact. It is desired that this adjustment takes place with less effort, without reducing the number and quality of the adjustable options.

The U.S. 2011 0 254 554 A1 describes an LED module that is designed to determine the operating time of a connected LED and controls the LED so that it flashes when the operating time has reached a predetermined maximum time.

The U.S. 2018 0 160 513 A1 describes emergency lighting with a light source, a wireless communication module and a controller. The controller is connected to the communication module and designed to control an illumination of the light source depending on a system parameter received from the communication module.

U.S. 2013 0 049 603 A1 describes a lamp with an LED module and a power supply unit for the LED module. The LED module includes a controller configured to communicate with the power supply unit, wherein the power supply unit is configured to adjust a drive current for the LED module depending on information received from the controller.

It is the object of this invention to provide an improved semiconductor component, by means of which, for example, lights can be controlled as a function of the operating hours. This object is solved by the subject matter of claim 1. Advantageous configurations result from the dependent claims.

It should be understood that hours of operation need not be stored in units equal to whole hours. It is sufficient to store them in a form from which multiples or fractions of operating hours can be calculated.

With the device shown, it is possible to wirelessly program the semiconductor device, thereby reducing the installation time. An installer who wants to adjust a lamp, for example, no longer needs to wire any cables, but can run his cell phone over the semiconductor component and program it in the process. The programmed settings received from the receiving unit via the wireless signal through the antenna are stored as data in the memory so that they are available for operation. The settings are, for example, the desired luminosity or desired light color for people or the speed for motors, i.e. controllable properties of a device to be driven.

At the same time, consideration is given to the fact that the properties of the device to be controlled can change as the number of operating hours increases. For example, the luminous intensity emitted decreases as the light source ages. This can be counteracted by increasing the current flowing through the lamp as the lamp ages. The output signal changes accordingly, which signals, for example, that a higher current should be impressed when the lamp gets older.

In one embodiment, the calculation unit contains a counter that counts the operating hours. Such a counter is always activated when voltage is provided by the luminaire. In this case, it is assumed that the lamp will also be operated if the voltage is present. The lamp operation time corresponds to the time during which the semiconductor component is supplied with voltage from the supply terminals. In one embodiment, the counter is not activated if no supply voltage is provided via the supply terminals. If the semiconductor component is only supplied with voltage via the antenna connections, it is assumed that the lamp is not on.

According to one embodiment, the output signal is an analog voltage. Such an analog voltage can be received by the circuit that operates the lamp as a control parameter, for example in order to set the current that is to flow through the lamp.

In another embodiment, the output signal is realized by a pulse width modeled signal. By using a pulse width modulated signal, the signals can be transmitted with a relatively high resolution.

In a further embodiment, the voltage supply of the semiconductor component is secured in a first mode by the two supply connections and in a second mode by energy that is obtained from the signals at the antenna connections. This means that the semiconductor component can also be programmed when the luminaire is not supplied with external voltage, which installers generally prefer when installing lamps.

In a further embodiment, a counter reading of the counter is stored in the memory unit and the counter reads out the counter reading from the memory unit before the counting begins in each case. This ensures that the operating hours are saved even if there is no external power supply.

If the meter reading can be programmed by signals received from the antenna, the bulbs can easily be replaced without replacing the semiconductor component.

Because in one embodiment storage space is provided in the storage unit for characteristic values that describe the dependency of the output signal on the operating hours, and that the characteristic values can be changed by the receiving unit, lamps can also be easily replaced with lamps of a different type.

The invention also relates to a lamp with a semiconductor component, the semiconductor component being connected to a control input terminal of a lamp driver.

It should be noted that the term "connection" means not only a direct connection, but also an indirect one, in which further elements are provided between the units to be connected. However, there must be a signal or flow of energy between the two elements.

• Figur 1 eine Leuchte mit einem Halbleiterbauteil, mit dessen Hilfe ein Steuerparameter für die Leuchte ausgegeben werden kann;
• Figur 2 einen Prinzip-Schaltplan des Halbleiterbauteils aus Figur 1;
• Figur 3 den Verlauf der von einer LED abgegebene Lichtstärke bei konstantem Strom über der Zeit;
• Figur 4 den von dem Halbleiterbauteil aus Figur 2 abgegebenen Steuerparameter über der Zeit.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained below with reference to the figures. show it

• figure 1 a lamp with a semiconductor component, with the help of which a control parameter for the lamp can be output;
• figure 2 a basic circuit diagram of the semiconductor component figure 1 ;
• figure 3 the progression of the luminous intensity emitted by an LED at a constant current over time;
• figure 4 that of the semiconductor component figure 2 delivered control parameters over time.

figure 1 shows a lamp 1 and a mobile phone 2, with the help of which a control parameter for the lamp 1 can be set. The lamp 1 contains an AC-DC converter 3, a semiconductor component 4, an antenna 9, an LED driver 5, a capacitor 6, a capacitor 10, a first light-emitting diode 7 and a second light-emitting diode 8.

The lamp 1 receives an AC voltage at its AC-DC converter 3, which this AC-DC converter 3 into a DC voltage between the node KVDD and the node KGND transforms. This DC voltage is 3 V, for example. A capacitor 10, which can store electrical energy, is provided between these two nodes. The semiconductor device 4 off figure 1 has five connections. A first terminal A1 and a second terminal A2 are connected to the two ends of the antenna 9 .

The semiconductor component 4 is also connected to the voltage supply node KVDD and the voltage supply node KGND at two supply terminals. The fifth terminal OUT is an output terminal that outputs a signal for a control parameter. The control parameter here is a measure of the luminous intensity.

The output terminal OUT is connected to the node KSET via a resistor 11, which is also connected to a first terminal of the capacitor 6, the second terminal of which is connected to that of the supply node KGND. The voltage VSET-VGND is therefore present at the capacitor. The LED driver 5 also includes two supply terminals connected to node KVDD and node KGND, respectively. The LED driver is connected to the node KSET at an input ISET. An output terminal POUT is connected to the anode of the first light-emitting diode 7 whose cathode is connected to the anode of the second light-emitting diode 8 . Its cathode in turn is connected to the node KGND. It goes without saying that the number and arrangement of the LEDs is purely exemplary.

At its output connection POUT, the LED driver 5 generates a current whose magnitude depends on the input signal received at the input ISET. The light-emitting diodes 7 and 8 light up when the current flowing through them exceeds a predetermined amount. The brightness of the light-emitting diodes and thus their luminosity depend on the current level and the age of the light-emitting diodes. Depending on the placement in the room, more or less luminosity is required. For example, if there are other light sources in the vicinity of the lamp, an installer can set a lower luminosity for the lamp than for lamps that are provided far away from other light sources. The installer programs the lights 1 accordingly with his mobile phone 2.

In one embodiment, the semiconductor component 4 outputs a pulse width modulated signal at its output terminal OUT. This pulse-width-moderated signal is low-pass filtered using the resistor 11 and the capacitor 6 in such a way that an analog potential VSET results at the node KSET, which is constant given a constant pulse-width ratio of the output signal at the output connection OUT, again related to the ground potential VGND. The magnitude of this analog potential VSET is proportional to the duty cycle of the pulse width modulated (PWM) signal.

The LED driver 5 contains the analog signal VSET generated in this way at its input ISET and sets the output current IOUT according to the amount of this analog signal.

Using the mobile phone 2, the lamp 1 can be adjusted. A user guides the mobile phone 2 close to the antenna 9 in such a way that, for example, an NFC (Near-Field Communication) connection is established between the mobile phone 2 and the semiconductor component 4 via the antennas 9 . In this case, high-frequency signals can be transmitted via the antenna 9 . These high-frequency signals contain modulated signals that can be decoded by the semiconductor component 4 . The modulated signals encode, for example, data that indicate the value of the desired luminosity.

However, the semiconductor component can also harvest energy from the high-frequency signals, so that the voltage is supplied at least in one operating mode of the semiconductor component 4 via the transmission of the high-frequency signals.

figure 2 shows a basic circuit diagram of the semiconductor component figure 1 . The semiconductor component 4 contains a voltage generator 41, a receiving unit 42, a demultiplexer 43, an oscillator 44, a counter 45, an arithmetic unit 46, a pulse width signal generator 47, a control logic 48, a memory unit 49, an antenna driver 55 and a start-stop system 50. At the antenna connections A1 and A2, the semiconductor component 4 is connected to the ends of the antenna 9, as described above. These connections are connected to the voltage generator 41 on the one hand and to the receiving unit 42 on the other hand.

Voltage generator 41 serves to harvest energy from the high frequency signal at terminals A1 and A2. This energy is converted in such a way that at the output of the voltage generator 41 a potential of, for example, 3 V compared to the ground potential VSS is output. The mobile phone had modulated data for transmission to the semiconductor component 4 on top of the high-frequency signal, which is supplied to the connections A1 and A2 by means of the antenna. These modulated data are demodulated by the receiving unit 42 and stored in the storage unit 49 . This memory unit 49 is in the form of a non-volatile memory which also retains its data when the semiconductor component is no longer supplied with voltage.

The demultiplexer 43 contains, on the one hand, the voltage EXT provided by the voltage generator 41 and, on the other hand, the voltage VDD provided by the voltage supply terminals as input signals. Both voltages are referenced to the ground potential VSS at the supply connection VSS. The demultiplexer 43 outputs a voltage Vin at its output. As long as voltage is present at the VDD terminal, the voltage VIN is generated from VDD. If this is not present, the voltage Vin is generated from the voltage EXT, if any. This means that most of the components of the semiconductor device 4 are operated both in the mode in which a voltage supply is present at the supply connections and in the mode in which energy is only generated from the high-frequency signal. However, the oscillator 44, the arithmetic unit 46, the pulse width signal generator 47 and the automatic start-stop device 50 are only supplied by the externally provided voltage VDD.

The oscillator 44 generates a clock signal with a frequency of several megahertz. This signal is output to the clock input of counter 45. The counter 45 also contains the signal STST as an input signal, which starts and the Stop counting signaled. This signal STST is generated by the automatic start-stop system 50 . This generates a Start signal when the VDD voltage, after having been at a very low level, exceeds a certain threshold, for example 2.6V. In this case, it is assumed that the external lamp is also supplied with voltage, so that its operating time increases. The counter 45 counts the clock events generated by the oscillator 44. For this purpose, the counter 45 contains several dividers, so that it first counts the seconds. These are divided by 3600 so that the counter can effectively display the hours. The counted hours are stored in part of the storage unit 49 . On the one hand, the saving takes place when the counter has counted four more hours. In addition, the meter saves the current meter reading outside of this 4-hour cycle if the STST signal indicates a stop signal. This stop signal is generated by the automatic start-stop system 50 when the voltage VDD falls below a specific threshold value. If this threshold value is underlined, it can be assumed that the voltage will continue to drop so that the lamp will no longer be supplied with voltage.

The external capacitor 10, see figure 1 , ensures that the voltage VDD does not drop too quickly, so that there is enough time to store the current counter reading in the memory unit 49. The next time the counter 45 starts counting again due to a new start signal, the counter 45 loads the counter reading that was last stored in the memory unit 49 back into the counter 45 and starts counting from this counter reading .

The receiving unit 42 receives data via the high-frequency signal, which it stores in the memory unit 49 . This data contains, for example, the information with which luminous intensity the LEDs 7 and 8 should light up. If a voltage supply is present at the supply connections VDD and VSS, a corresponding value will be output as a control parameter for the light-emitting diodes at the connection OUT. For example, it has been stored in the memory unit 49 that the LEDs 7 and 8 with a luminous intensity which is 70% of the maximum luminous intensity should shine. This value is read from the memory unit 49 by the logic unit 48 and output to the arithmetic unit 46 . The arithmetic unit 46 multiplies this value by a factor which is dependent on the target operating hours.

The counter 45 and the arithmetic unit 46 form a calculation unit which determines the operating hours and therefore makes the output signal dependent both on the operating hours and on the data stored in the memory unit for the parameter for the controlled device.

If the LEDs 7 and 8 are still relatively young, this factor is 78%, for example. This value is multiplied by the output value of the logic unit 48. The result of which is output to the pulse-width signal generator 49, which outputs a pulse-width-modulated signal whose cycle rate is a measure of the result value of the arithmetic unit 46.

In an alternative embodiment, not shown here, a DA converter is provided instead of a pulse width signal generator 47, which outputs an analog DC voltage, which is a measure for the output signal of the arithmetic unit 46.

In one embodiment, the counter reading in the memory unit 49 can also be changed via the high-frequency signal and the receiving unit 42 . For example, the LEDs 7 and 8 are replaced by new light sources, e.g. new LEDs. Correspondingly, the installer can use his mobile phone 2 to store a counter reading in the memory unit 49, which indicates that the operating hours are now 0 again. Correspondingly, the counter 45 will then count the accumulated operating hours for the new LEDs 7 and 8 in the future.

In the embodiment shown, the semiconductor component 4 also contains an antenna driver 55 which is connected to the antenna terminals and can drive the antenna. With this it is possible to transfer data from the semiconductor component to send the antenna to the mobile phone 2. In one embodiment, the counter reading stored in the memory unit 49 is read out by the antenna driver 55 and transmitted to the mobile phone 2 via the antenna connections A1 and A2 and the antenna 9 . This allows the installer or another user to read the meter reading and thus knows the elapsed operating hours. In addition, it is possible in embodiments to read further parts of the memory content, for example to check whether parts of the memory unit are defective. Typically, the antenna driver will produce a high-frequency signal, modulate the data to be transmitted onto the high-frequency signal and thus drive the antenna connections.

figure 3 shows the course of the luminosity of a typical LED over the operating hours. For example, this decreases from 100% to 80% after 100,000 operating hours.

figure 4 shows the course of the factor output by the counter 48 over the operating hours. This factor is about 75% initially and about 128% at 120,000 hours of operation. The function shown is a continuously increasing staircase function with 4 interpolation points. The height of the steps changes at these interpolation points. In one embodiment, the interpolation points of this function can also be stored in the memory unit 49 . In further embodiments it is possible to change this function by reprogramming using the mobile phone 2 . This makes sense, for example, if a different light source is used whose aging process is different from that of the light sources previously used.

The description of the figures explains the invention by way of examples and should not be used to unduly narrow the scope.

REFERENCE LIST

1

contraption

2

mobile

3

ACDC converter

4

semiconductor device

5

LED driver

6

capacitor

7

led

8th

led

10

capacitor

11

Resistance

41

generator

42

receiving unit

43

demultiplexer

44

oscillator

45

counter

46

arithmetic unit

47

Pulse width signal generator

48

control logic

49

storage unit

50

Start-stop automatic

55

antenna driver

Claims (7)

1. Semiconductor component (4) comprising a storage unit (49), an output unit (47), a calculation unit (45, 46), a receiving unit (42) and at least five connections,

   wherein the at least five connections comprise two antenna connections (A1, A2) for connecting to an antenna (9), two supply connections (VDD, VSS) for supplying the semiconductor component (4) with electrical energy, and an output connection (OUT),

   wherein the receiving unit (42) is connected to the antenna connections (A1, A2) and is configured to obtain signals from the antenna connections, to convert the signals into data, and to store the data in the storage unit (49),

   wherein the output unit (47) is configured to output an output signal at the output connection (OUT),

   wherein the calculation unit (45, 46) is configured to determine operating hours of the semiconductor component (4),

   wherein the output signal is dependent on the data stored in the storage unit (49) and also on the operating hours determined,

   wherein the calculation unit comprises a counter (45) for counting the operating hours,

   wherein a counter reading of the counter (45) is storable in the storage unit (49) and the counter (45) is configured to read out the counter reading from the storage unit (49) before the respective beginning of counting, and

   wherein the counter reading is programmable by way of signals received at the antenna connections (A1, A2).
2. Semiconductor component according to claim 1, wherein the output signal is an analogue voltage.
3. Semiconductor component according to one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the output signal is a pulse-width-modulated signal.
4. Semiconductor component according to any of claims 1 and 2, wherein the voltage supply for the semiconductor component (4) is effected by way of the two supply connections (VDD, VSS) in a first mode and by way of energy obtained from the signals at the antenna connections (A1, A2) in a second mode.
5. Semiconductor component according to any of the preceding claims, wherein storage space for characteristic values describing the dependence of the output signal on the operating hours is provided in the storage unit (49), and wherein the characteristic values are able to be changed by the receiving unit (42).
6. Semiconductor component according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising:
   an antenna driver (55) designed to read out data from the storage unit (49) and to drive the antenna connections for transmission of said data.
7. Luminaire comprising a semiconductor component (4) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the semiconductor component (4) is connected to a control input connection of a luminaire driver (5).

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