WO2009036517A1 - Overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit - Google Patents

Overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2009036517A1
WO2009036517A1 PCT/AU2008/001400 AU2008001400W WO2009036517A1 WO 2009036517 A1 WO2009036517 A1 WO 2009036517A1 AU 2008001400 W AU2008001400 W AU 2008001400W WO 2009036517 A1 WO2009036517 A1 WO 2009036517A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
load
overcurrent protection
voltage
threshold
current
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/AU2008/001400
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
James Robert Vanderzon
Original Assignee
Clipsal Australia Pty Ltd
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
Priority claimed from AU2007905110A external-priority patent/AU2007905110A0/en
Application filed by Clipsal Australia Pty Ltd filed Critical Clipsal Australia Pty Ltd
Priority to AU2008301236A priority Critical patent/AU2008301236B2/en
Priority to US12/678,611 priority patent/US8446700B2/en
Priority to NZ583886A priority patent/NZ583886A/en
Priority to CN200880117554.2A priority patent/CN101868899B/en
Publication of WO2009036517A1 publication Critical patent/WO2009036517A1/en
Priority to HK10110763.2A priority patent/HK1144168A1/en

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Classifications

    • 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
    • H05B39/00—Circuit arrangements or apparatus for operating incandescent light sources
    • H05B39/04—Controlling

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to dimmer circuits and in particular, to detecting overcurrent conditions.
  • PCT/AU03/00365 entitled “Improved Dimmer Circuit Arrangement”
  • PCT/AU03/00366 entitled “Dimmer Circuit with Improved Inductive Load”
  • Dimmer circuits are used to control the power provided to a load such as a light or electric motor from a power source such as mains power. Such circuits often use a technique referred to as phase controlled dimming. This allows power provided to the load to be controlled by varying the amount of time that a switch connecting the load to the power source is conducting during a given cycle.
  • Modern dimming circuits generally operate in one of two ways - leading edge or trailing edge.
  • leading edge technology the dimmer circuit "chops out” or blocks conduction of electricity by the load in the front part of each half cycle (hence the term “leading edge”).
  • trailing edge technology the dimmer circuit "chops out” or blocks conduction of electricity by the load in the back part of each half cycle.
  • the load is connected to a high voltage or current source such as mains power, a defect in the circuit such as a short circuit, can lead to a sudden surge of high current, which can damage the load and any circuitry connected to the load. It is useful for the dimmer circuit to be able to detect the presence of such high, or overcurrent conditions, and act so as to remove the load and/or connected circuitry from the high current source.
  • the decision to act so as to remove the load and/or connected circuitry may be based upon the sensed current exceeding a preset threshold.
  • the criteria for cutout is determined by the instantaneous current flowing through the dimmer exceeding a pre-determined threshold level, particularly for the condition when a power device is commencing conduction using controlled transition time while the instantaneous line voltage is high, in that the instantaneous power dissipation imposed upon the power device while a short-circuit load condition exists, is high.
  • the criteria for cutout is determined by the product of the instantaneous voltage appearing across the dimmer and the instantaneous current flowing through the dimmer exceeding a pre-determined threshold level i.e. instantaneous power level in the power semiconductor, however, such circuit designs are complex and expensive to design and manufacture.
  • An overcurrent protection circuit for use in a dimmer circuit comprising a switching device for controlling power delivered to a load, the overcurrent protection circuit comprising: means for sensing a load current passing through the load; and means for comparing the sensed load current with a threshold; wherein the threshold is a dynamic current threshold.
  • An overcurrent protection circuit wherein the switching device comprises a first switch and a second switch.
  • the dynamic current threshold is inversely proportional to the voltage appearing across the switching device.
  • the overcurrent protection circuit generates a cut out signal when the sum of the instantaneous voltage appearing across the dimmer and the instantaneous current flowing through the dimmer exceeds the threshold.
  • the overcurrent protection circuit further comprises a trip signal generator to generate a trip signal for disconnecting gate drive signals from the first and second switches.
  • the trip signal is applied to a latch circuit for disconnecting the gate drive signals from the controlling first and/or second switch.
  • the means for sensing the load current passing through the load comprises a current sense resistor RSl connected between the current path between the first and second switches.
  • first and second switches are MOSFETs and the current sense resistor is connected between a source of the first switch and the source of the second switch.
  • the first and second switches are IGBTs and the current sense resistor is connected between a collector of the first switch and the collector of the second switch.
  • the dynamic current threshold I ⁇ is determined by:
  • I T [V ref - Rl .V LL / (R1+R2)] / RSl
  • V LL Line voltage - Load voltage
  • Rl Voltage sense resistor
  • R2 voltage converter resistor
  • RS 1 Current sense resistance
  • V ref reference voltage
  • a method for providing overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit comprising a switching device for controlling power delivered to a load, the method comprising: sensing a load current passing through the load; and comparing the sensed load current with a threshold; wherein the threshold is a dynamic current threshold.
  • the method further comprises generating a trip signal when the sensed load current exceeds the threshold, to isolate the load from the power.
  • the method further comprises calculating the threshold I ⁇ according to the following relation:
  • I T [V ref - Rl .V 1x / (R1+R2)] / RSl
  • V LL Line voltage - Load voltage
  • Rl Voltage sense resistor
  • a dimmer circuit comprising the overcurrent protection circuit of the first aspect.
  • Figure 1 - shows a circuit arrangement according to one aspect of the present invention, using dynamic current sensing
  • Figures 2A to 21 - show waveforms at various points in the circuit arrangement of Figure 1 during normal and short-circuit/overcurrent conditions;
  • Figure 3 - shows the variation of trip current I ⁇ with Line-Load voltage V LL resulting from the present invention
  • Figure 4 - shows a graph showing the short-circuit instantaneous power vs line voltage comparing the present invention with the prior art.
  • a short-circuit protective cutout mechanism for the power semiconductors within a phase-control dimmer whereby the criteria for cutout is determined by the sum of the instantaneous voltage appearing across the dimmer and the instantaneous current flowing through the dimmer exceeding a pre-determined threshold level.
  • Figure 1 shows a dimmer circuit 10 controlling power delivered to the load as shown in Figure 1.
  • Dimmer 10 has a switching device, in this example provided by first and second switches MOSFETs Ql and Q2 (for example SPA20N60C3).
  • the switches turn on and off in response to dimmer gate drive signals provided by block 11 as will be understood by the person skilled in the art.
  • the switch elements Ql and Q2 operate/control the load alternately, each operating at different polarities during subsequent half-cycles of the power applied by the line.
  • Each switch element has an associated respective anti- parallel diode Dl and D2.
  • FIG. 2A shows the substantially-sinusoidal portion of the line current I L , with the turn-on of switch Ql and Q2 (second half- cycle), whether by alternate or simultaneous gate activation.
  • the corresponding line voltage V L is shown in Figure 2B, with a peak value of 350V.
  • the turn-on appears to be a step function, however, as will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art, there is a transition from non-conduction to full conduction, as shown in Figure 2C.
  • the transition time from OV to 350V is about 50 ⁇ S.
  • Figure 2C-1 shows the transition of load current IL
  • Figure 2C-2 shows the corresponding transition of dimmer voltage VLL.
  • the instantaneous voltage appearing across the load controlling power device (Ql) is represented as a signal current flowing through the shunt voltage sense resistor Rl.
  • This "Voltage” signal current is converted to a corresponding "Voltage” signal voltage by resistor R2 - in series with the shunt voltage sense resistor Rl.
  • R2 has small value compared to Rl, and hence does not significantly influence the signal current.
  • the instantaneous current flowing through switch Ql is represented as a signal voltage across the series current sense resistor RSl.
  • the series resistor circuit arrangement of Rl, R2 & RSl results in addition of the "Voltage” signal voltage and the "Current” signal voltage to form a composite signal voltage at the junction of Rl and R2 relative to OV reference potential.
  • the magnitude of the composite signal voltage is compared to a reference voltage Vref and when greater, will activate the fault current cutout latch.
  • Figures 2D to 21 show various waveforms at different points in the circuit of Figure 1, during the transition time of about 50 ⁇ S as shown in Figure 2C described above.
  • Figure 2G shows the value of VLLxR2/(Rl+R2), which under short circuit conditions, remains a constant.
  • Figure 2H shows the value of VA under short circuit conditions.
  • Figure 2H shows the value of VA as the sum of Figures 2G and 2F.
  • Figure 2H also shows the value of Vref, which crosses the function for VA.
  • the constant reference voltage V ref set in this example at a constant 0.5 volts.
  • I x [V ref - RLV 1x / (R1+R2)] / RSl
  • V LL Line voltage - Load voltage
  • Rl Voltage sense resistor
  • R2 voltage converter resistor
  • RSl Current sense resistance
  • V r e f reference voltage
  • Figure 3 shows a plot of I ⁇ as it varies with V LL ranging from OV to 350V, with the values of the components as shown in Figure 1, and V ref equal to about 0.5V.
  • Figure 3 shows that the higher the line- voltage to load voltage, the lower the trip current is. This reduces the excessive power dissipation problems associated with prior methods where the trip current is static.
  • Figure 4 shows a plot of Power (W) vs Line Voltage-Load Voltage V LL for prior art methods using static current sensing and static power sensing as well as for the "dynamic current” sensing of the present invention. It can be seen that the power dissipated by the switching device before cutting out at a high line voltage is greatly reduced as compared to the static current method, and equal to that of the static power method. The complexity of the circuit design of the present invention is also far less than that required for the static power method.
  • the protection circuit of the present invention to a DC application, in which the switching device comprises only one switch.

Abstract

Disclosed is an overcurrent protection circuit for use in a dimmer circuit having a switching device for controlling power delivered to a load. The overcurrent protection circuit comprises means for sensing a load current passing through the load and means for comparing the sensed load current with a threshold, wherein the threshold is a dynamic current threshold. Also disclosed is a dimmer circuit comprising the overcurrent protection circuit.

Description

OVERCURRENT PROTECTION IN A DIMMER CIRCUIT
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to dimmer circuits and in particular, to detecting overcurrent conditions.
PRIORITY
The present application claims priority from the following:
- Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2007905110 entitled "Improved Start-Up
Detection in a Dimmer Circuit", filed on 19 September 2007; - Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2007905108 entitled "Dimmer Circuit With
Overcurrent Detection", filed on 19 September 2007; and
Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2007905109 entitled "Overcurrent Protection in a Dimmer Circuit", filed on 19 September 2007.
The entire content of each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The following documents are referred to in the following description:
PCT/AU03/00365 entitled "Improved Dimmer Circuit Arrangement"; PCT/AU03/00366 entitled "Dimmer Circuit with Improved Inductive Load";
PCT/AU03/00364 entitled "Dimmer Circuit with Improved Ripple Control";
PCT/AU2006/001883 entitled "Current Zero Crossing Detector in A Dimmer Circuit";
PCT/AU2006/001882 entitled "Load Detector For A Dimmer"; and
PCT/AU2006/001881 entitled "A Universal Dimmer" Co-pending Australian Provisional Patent Application entitled "Dimmer Circuit With Overcurrent
Detection".
The entire content of each of these applications is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
Dimmer circuits are used to control the power provided to a load such as a light or electric motor from a power source such as mains power. Such circuits often use a technique referred to as phase controlled dimming. This allows power provided to the load to be controlled by varying the amount of time that a switch connecting the load to the power source is conducting during a given cycle.
For example, if voltage provided by the power source can be represented by a sine wave, then maximum power is provided to the load if the switch connecting the load to the power source is on at all times. In this way the, the total energy of the power source is transferred to the load. If the switch is turned off for a portion of each cycle (both positive and negative), then a proportional amount of the sine wave is effectively isolated from the load, thus reducing the average energy provided to the load. For example, if the switch is turned on and off half way through each cycle, then only half of the power will be transferred to the load. The overall effect will be, for example in the case of a light, a smooth dimming action resulting in the control of the luminosity of the light.
Modern dimming circuits generally operate in one of two ways - leading edge or trailing edge. In leading edge technology, the dimmer circuit "chops out" or blocks conduction of electricity by the load in the front part of each half cycle (hence the term "leading edge"). In trailing edge technology, the dimmer circuit "chops out "or blocks conduction of electricity by the load in the back part of each half cycle.
Since the load is connected to a high voltage or current source such as mains power, a defect in the circuit such as a short circuit, can lead to a sudden surge of high current, which can damage the load and any circuitry connected to the load. It is useful for the dimmer circuit to be able to detect the presence of such high, or overcurrent conditions, and act so as to remove the load and/or connected circuitry from the high current source.
The decision to act so as to remove the load and/or connected circuitry may be based upon the sensed current exceeding a preset threshold. A number of methods exist which provide a means and method of comparing the sensed current with a preset threshold.
In one method, the criteria for cutout is determined by the instantaneous current flowing through the dimmer exceeding a pre-determined threshold level, particularly for the condition when a power device is commencing conduction using controlled transition time while the instantaneous line voltage is high, in that the instantaneous power dissipation imposed upon the power device while a short-circuit load condition exists, is high.
In another existing method, the criteria for cutout is determined by the product of the instantaneous voltage appearing across the dimmer and the instantaneous current flowing through the dimmer exceeding a pre-determined threshold level i.e. instantaneous power level in the power semiconductor, however, such circuit designs are complex and expensive to design and manufacture.
SUMMARY
An overcurrent protection circuit for use in a dimmer circuit comprising a switching device for controlling power delivered to a load, the overcurrent protection circuit comprising: means for sensing a load current passing through the load; and means for comparing the sensed load current with a threshold; wherein the threshold is a dynamic current threshold.
An overcurrent protection circuit wherein the switching device comprises a first switch and a second switch.
In one form, the dynamic current threshold is inversely proportional to the voltage appearing across the switching device.
In one form, the overcurrent protection circuit generates a cut out signal when the sum of the instantaneous voltage appearing across the dimmer and the instantaneous current flowing through the dimmer exceeds the threshold.
In one form, the overcurrent protection circuit further comprises a trip signal generator to generate a trip signal for disconnecting gate drive signals from the first and second switches.
In one form, the trip signal is applied to a latch circuit for disconnecting the gate drive signals from the controlling first and/or second switch.
In one form, the means for sensing the load current passing through the load comprises a current sense resistor RSl connected between the current path between the first and second switches.
In one form the first and second switches are MOSFETs and the current sense resistor is connected between a source of the first switch and the source of the second switch.
In another form, the first and second switches are IGBTs and the current sense resistor is connected between a collector of the first switch and the collector of the second switch.
In one form, the dynamic current threshold Iτ is determined by:
IT = [Vref- Rl .VLL / (R1+R2)] / RSl
Where: VLL = Line voltage - Load voltage Rl = Voltage sense resistor R2 = voltage converter resistor RS 1 = Current sense resistance Vref = reference voltage
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for providing overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit comprising a switching device for controlling power delivered to a load, the method comprising: sensing a load current passing through the load; and comparing the sensed load current with a threshold; wherein the threshold is a dynamic current threshold.
In one form, the method further comprises generating a trip signal when the sensed load current exceeds the threshold, to isolate the load from the power.
In one form, the method further comprises calculating the threshold Iτ according to the following relation:
IT = [Vref- Rl .V1x / (R1+R2)] / RSl
Where:
VLL = Line voltage - Load voltage Rl = Voltage sense resistor
R2 = voltage converter resistor RSl = Current sense resistance Vref = reference voltage
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dimmer circuit comprising the overcurrent protection circuit of the first aspect.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Various aspects of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the following figures in which:
Figure 1 - shows a circuit arrangement according to one aspect of the present invention, using dynamic current sensing;
Figures 2A to 21 - show waveforms at various points in the circuit arrangement of Figure 1 during normal and short-circuit/overcurrent conditions;
Figure 3 - shows the variation of trip current Iτ with Line-Load voltage VLL resulting from the present invention; and Figure 4 - shows a graph showing the short-circuit instantaneous power vs line voltage comparing the present invention with the prior art.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION A short-circuit protective cutout mechanism for the power semiconductors within a phase-control dimmer, whereby the criteria for cutout is determined by the sum of the instantaneous voltage appearing across the dimmer and the instantaneous current flowing through the dimmer exceeding a pre-determined threshold level.
Figure 1 shows a dimmer circuit 10 controlling power delivered to the load as shown in Figure 1.
Dimmer 10 has a switching device, in this example provided by first and second switches MOSFETs Ql and Q2 (for example SPA20N60C3). The switches turn on and off in response to dimmer gate drive signals provided by block 11 as will be understood by the person skilled in the art. The switch elements Ql and Q2 operate/control the load alternately, each operating at different polarities during subsequent half-cycles of the power applied by the line. Each switch element has an associated respective anti- parallel diode Dl and D2.
It will be understood that the various aspects of the present invention may be applied to any form of dimmer circuit, such as those described in PCT/AU03/00365 entitled "Improved Dimmer Circuit Arrangement"; PCT/AU03/00366 entitled "Dimmer Circuit with Improved Inductive Load";
PCT/AU03/00364 entitled "Dimmer Circuit with Improved Ripple Control";
PCT/AU2006/001883 entitled "Current Zero Crossing Detector in A Dimmer Circuit";
PCT/AU2006/001882 entitled "Load Detector For A Dimmer"; and
PCT/AU2006/001881 entitled "A Universal Dimmer", the entire content of each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present example illustrates the operation of the circuit as switch Ql turns on. Figure 2A shows the substantially-sinusoidal portion of the line current IL, with the turn-on of switch Ql and Q2 (second half- cycle), whether by alternate or simultaneous gate activation. The corresponding line voltage VL is shown in Figure 2B, with a peak value of 350V. At the scale shown in Figure 2A, the turn-on appears to be a step function, however, as will be appreciated by the person skilled in the art, there is a transition from non-conduction to full conduction, as shown in Figure 2C. In this example, the transition time from OV to 350V is about 50μS. Figure 2C-1 shows the transition of load current IL and Figure 2C-2 shows the corresponding transition of dimmer voltage VLL.
Referring back to Figure 1, the instantaneous voltage appearing across the load controlling power device (Ql) is represented as a signal current flowing through the shunt voltage sense resistor Rl. This "Voltage" signal current is converted to a corresponding "Voltage" signal voltage by resistor R2 - in series with the shunt voltage sense resistor Rl. R2 has small value compared to Rl, and hence does not significantly influence the signal current.
The instantaneous current flowing through switch Ql is represented as a signal voltage across the series current sense resistor RSl. The series resistor circuit arrangement of Rl, R2 & RSl results in addition of the "Voltage" signal voltage and the "Current" signal voltage to form a composite signal voltage at the junction of Rl and R2 relative to OV reference potential.
The magnitude of the composite signal voltage is compared to a reference voltage Vref and when greater, will activate the fault current cutout latch.
It will be understood that various other means of sensing the current flowing through the load may be used, including the method as described in a co-pending PCT Patent Application entitled "Dimmer Circuit With Overcurrent Detection", claiming priority from Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2007905108 also entitled "Dimmer Circuit With Overcurrent Detection", the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Referring again to Figure 2, Figures 2D to 21 show various waveforms at different points in the circuit of Figure 1, during the transition time of about 50μS as shown in Figure 2C described above.
In Figure 2D, it can be seen that VRSl increases as a constant ramp up to IRSIxRSl, where ERSl is the corresponding instantaneous load current under normal load conditions.
In Figure 2E, it can be seen that as VLL drops from 350V, the voltage at point A in Figure 1 (V A) decreases as a continuous ramp function, from a value determined by VLL x R2/(R1+R2) to a small offset determined by IRSIxRSl.
Under short circuit conditions, in Figure 2F, it is seen that VRSi across current sense resistor RSl also increases as a constant ramp function towards a substantially greater level than under normal conditions (Figure 2D).
Figure 2G shows the value of VLLxR2/(Rl+R2), which under short circuit conditions, remains a constant.
Figure 2H shows the value of VA under short circuit conditions. The actual value of VA = [(VLL- 2VRS1)(R2/(R1+R2)] + VRSl but under short circuit conditions, the value of VRSl is very small compared to the value of VLL and so it can reasonably be approximated that VA = VLLx(R2/Rl+R2) + VRSl. Thus Figure 2H shows the value of VA as the sum of Figures 2G and 2F.
Figure 2H also shows the value of Vref, which crosses the function for VA. The constant reference voltage Vref set in this example at a constant 0.5 volts.
It can be seen that at some point, VA crosses the value of Vref. Figure 21 shows that at this crossover point, the voltage VC at point C in Figure 1, jumps to the level of Vref, providing the trigger signal to latch circuit 12 (Figure 1), to disconnect the switches Ql and Q2 from Dimmer Gate Drive Signal block 11.
The Trip Current or dynamic current threshold, Ix can be calculated as: IT = [Vref- RLV1x / (R1+R2)] / RSl
Where: VLL = Line voltage - Load voltage Rl = Voltage sense resistor R2 = voltage converter resistor RSl = Current sense resistance Vref = reference voltage
Figure 3 shows a plot of Iτ as it varies with VLL ranging from OV to 350V, with the values of the components as shown in Figure 1, and Vref equal to about 0.5V. Figure 3 shows that the higher the line- voltage to load voltage, the lower the trip current is. This reduces the excessive power dissipation problems associated with prior methods where the trip current is static.
Figure 4 shows a plot of Power (W) vs Line Voltage-Load Voltage VLL for prior art methods using static current sensing and static power sensing as well as for the "dynamic current" sensing of the present invention. It can be seen that the power dissipated by the switching device before cutting out at a high line voltage is greatly reduced as compared to the static current method, and equal to that of the static power method. The complexity of the circuit design of the present invention is also far less than that required for the static power method.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention is not restricted in its use to the particular application described. Neither is the present invention restricted in its preferred embodiment with regard to the particular elements and/or features described or depicted herein. It will be appreciated that various modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the invention. Therefore, the invention should be understood to include all such modifications in its scope. For example, in one particular application, it is possible to remove gate drive from one only of the first and/or second switches (whichever is controlling at the time), and allow the other switch to continue conducting every half cycle
It is also possible to apply the protection circuit of the present invention to a DC application, in which the switching device comprises only one switch.
The invention is equally applicable to other types of switching elements, including bi-polar transistors. Throughout the specification and the claims that follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the words "comprise" and "include" and variations such as "comprising" and "including" will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers, but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.
The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement of any form of suggestion that such prior art forms part of the common general knowledge.

Claims

1. An overcurrent protection circuit for use in a dimmer circuit comprising a switching device for controlling power delivered to a load, the overcurrent protection circuit comprising: means for sensing a load current passing through the load; and means for comparing the sensed load current with a threshold; wherein the threshold is a dynamic current threshold.
2. An overcurrent protection circuit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the dynamic current threshold is inversely proportional to the voltage appearing across the switching device.
3. An overcurrent protection circuit as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the overcurrent protection circuit generates a cut out signal when the sum of the instantaneous voltage appearing across the dimmer and the instantaneous current flowing through the dimmer exceeds the threshold.
4. An overcurrent protection circuit as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a trip signal generator to generate a trip signal for disconnecting gate drive signals from the first and second switches.
5. An overcurrent protection circuit as claimed in claim 4 wherein the trip signal is applied to a latch circuit for disconnecting the gate drive signals from the first and second switches.
6. An overcurrent protection circuit as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the means for sensing the load current passing through the load comprises a current sense resistor Rl connected between a drain terminal of the switch and a first input of a comparator.
7. An overcurrent protection circuit as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 wherein, the dynamic current threshold Iτ is determined by:
IT = [Vref- Rl.Vn / (R1+R2)] / RSl
Where:
VLL = Line voltage - Load voltage
Rl = Voltage sense resistor
R2 = voltage converter resistor
RSl = Current sense resistance Vref = reference voltage
8. A method for providing overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit comprising a switching device for controlling power delivered to a load, the method comprising: sensing a load current passing through the load; and comparing the sensed load current with a threshold; wherein the threshold is a dynamic current threshold.
9. A method for providing overcurrent protection as claimed in claim 8, further comprising generating a trip signal when the sensed load current exceeds the threshold, to isolate the load from the power.
10. A method for providing overcurrent protection as claimed in claim 8 or 9 further comprising calculating the dynamic current threshold Iτ according to the following relation:
IT = [V10T- R1.VLL / (R1+R2)] / RSl
Where:
VLL = Line voltage - Load voltage
Rl = Voltage sense resistor
R2 = voltage converter resistor
RSl = Current sense resistance Vref = reference voltage
11. A dimmer circuit comprising the overcurrent protection circuit of any one of claims 1 to 7.
PCT/AU2008/001400 2007-09-19 2008-09-19 Overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit WO2009036517A1 (en)

Priority Applications (5)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2008301236A AU2008301236B2 (en) 2007-09-19 2008-09-19 Overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit
US12/678,611 US8446700B2 (en) 2007-09-19 2008-09-19 Overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit
NZ583886A NZ583886A (en) 2007-09-19 2008-09-19 An overcurrent protection circuit for a dimmer circuit
CN200880117554.2A CN101868899B (en) 2007-09-19 2008-09-19 Overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit
HK10110763.2A HK1144168A1 (en) 2007-09-19 2010-11-18 Overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit

Applications Claiming Priority (6)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU2007905108 2007-09-19
AU2007905110A AU2007905110A0 (en) 2007-09-19 Improved start-up detection in a dimmer circuit
AU2007905110 2007-09-19
AU2007905109A AU2007905109A0 (en) 2007-09-19 Overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit
AU2007905108A AU2007905108A0 (en) 2007-09-19 Dimmer circuit with overcurrent detection
AU2007905109 2007-09-19

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2009036517A1 true WO2009036517A1 (en) 2009-03-26

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PCT/AU2008/001399 WO2009036516A1 (en) 2007-09-19 2008-09-19 Dimmer circuit with overcurrent detection
PCT/AU2008/001400 WO2009036517A1 (en) 2007-09-19 2008-09-19 Overcurrent protection in a dimmer circuit
PCT/AU2008/001398 WO2009036515A1 (en) 2007-09-19 2008-09-19 Improved start-up detection in a dimmer circuit

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PCT/AU2008/001399 WO2009036516A1 (en) 2007-09-19 2008-09-19 Dimmer circuit with overcurrent detection

Family Applications After (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/AU2008/001398 WO2009036515A1 (en) 2007-09-19 2008-09-19 Improved start-up detection in a dimmer circuit

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US (3) US8564919B2 (en)
CN (3) CN101868898B (en)
AU (3) AU2008301235B2 (en)
HK (3) HK1144170A1 (en)
NZ (3) NZ583885A (en)
WO (3) WO2009036516A1 (en)

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HK1144168A1 (en) 2011-01-28
AU2008301235A1 (en) 2009-03-26
US8446700B2 (en) 2013-05-21
US8698466B2 (en) 2014-04-15
WO2009036515A1 (en) 2009-03-26
US8564919B2 (en) 2013-10-22
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WO2009036515A8 (en) 2010-03-04
US20100259855A1 (en) 2010-10-14
AU2008301234A1 (en) 2009-03-26
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AU2008301234B2 (en) 2013-12-19
CN101869005A (en) 2010-10-20
US20100289469A1 (en) 2010-11-18
NZ583884A (en) 2011-12-22
AU2008301236B2 (en) 2011-11-03
NZ583885A (en) 2012-06-29
AU2008301236A1 (en) 2009-03-26
CN101868898B (en) 2014-03-12
NZ583886A (en) 2012-03-30
AU2008301235B2 (en) 2012-11-15
US20100254055A1 (en) 2010-10-07
CN101868898A (en) 2010-10-20
CN101868899B (en) 2014-04-16

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