Granted Patent B2

US 12,356,519 · App. 18/663,255 · Granted Jul 8, 2025

Inventors: Robert D. Stevens, Jr. (Emmaus, PA); Matthew R. Zartman (Bethlehem, PA)

Assignee: Lutron Technology Company LLC

H05B45/10H05B45/14H05B45/327H05B45/3725H05B45/375H05B45/38H05B45/39H05B45/395H05B47/16H05B47/19

Abstract

Claims (59)

1. A circuit for controlling an intensity of a lighting load, the circuit comprising:

LED load regulation circuitry having a minimum load current output and a maximum load current output; and

LED driver control circuitry operatively coupled to the LED load regulation circuitry, the LED driver control circuitry to:

receive an input indicative of a target intensity value;

determine whether the received target intensity value is in a first intensity range that extends from a defined transition intensity value to a defined maximum intensity value or in a second intensity range that is less than the defined transition intensity value;

cause the LED load regulation circuitry to operate in a normal mode in which the LED load regulation circuitry provides an average load current between the minimum load current output and the maximum load current output responsive to the determination, by the LED driver control circuitry, that the received target intensity value is in the first intensity range; and

cause the LED load regulation circuitry to operate in a burst mode in which the LED load regulation circuitry provides the average load current output at less than the minimum load current output, responsive to the determination, by the LED driver control circuitry, that the received target intensity value is in the second intensity range.

2. The LED lighting control circuitry of claim 1 , the LED driver control circuitry to further:

cause inverter circuitry included in the LED load regulation circuitry to switch between an active state period and an inactive state period, wherein the active state period and the inactive state period determine an active duty cycle.

3. The LED lighting control circuitry of claim 2 , wherein to cause the LED load regulation circuitry to operate in the normal mode, the LED driver control circuitry to further:

cause the LED load regulation circuitry to:

set the active duty cycle of the inverter circuitry to a fixed active duty cycle value; and

provide an output current at a level between the minimum load current and the maximum load current such that the average load current provided to the operatively coupled lighting load corresponds to a target load current while the received target intensity value is in the first intensity range.

4. The LED lighting control circuitry of claim 3 wherein to set the active duty cycle of the inverter circuitry to the fixed active duty cycle value, the LED driver control circuitry to further:

cause the inverter circuitry to remain in the active state period at a 100% active duty cycle while the received target intensity value is in the first intensity range.

5. The LED lighting control circuitry of claim 2 , wherein to cause the LED load regulation circuitry to operate in the burst mode, the LED driver control circuitry to further:

cause the LED load regulation circuitry to:

provide an output current at the minimum load current output; and

set the duty cycle of the inverter circuitry between a minimum duty cycle and a maximum duty cycle such that the average load current provided to the operatively coupled lighting load corresponds to a target load current while the received target intensity is in the second intensity range.

6. The LED lighting control circuitry of claim 5 wherein to set the duty cycle of the inverter circuitry between the minimum duty cycle and the maximum duty cycle, the control circuitry to further:

cause the inverter circuitry to reversibly switch between the active state period and the inactive state period to set the active duty cycle to a level of from about 20% active duty cycle to about 100% active duty cycle such that the average load current corresponds to the target load current at the received target intensity value is in the second intensity range.

7. A method to control intensity of a light-emitting diode (LED) lighting load, the method comprising:

receiving, by LED driver control circuitry, an input indicative of a target intensity value;

determining, by the LED driver control circuitry, whether the received target intensity value is in a first intensity range that extends from a defined transition intensity value to a defined maximum intensity value or in a second intensity range that is less than the defined transition intensity value;

causing, by the LED driver control circuitry, operatively coupled LED load regulation circuitry to operate in a normal mode in which the LED load regulation circuitry provides an average load current between the minimum load current output and the maximum load current output responsive to the determination, by the LED driver control circuitry, that the received target intensity value is in the first intensity range; and

causing, by the LED driver control circuitry, the LED load regulation circuitry to operate in a burst mode in which the LED load regulation circuitry provides the average load current output at less than the minimum load current output, responsive to the determination, by the LED driver control circuitry, that the received target intensity value is in the second intensity range.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising:

causing, by the LED driver control circuitry, inverter circuitry included in the LED load regulation circuitry to switch between an active state period and an inactive state period, wherein the active state period and the inactive state period determine an active duty cycle.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein causing the operatively coupled LED load regulation circuitry to operate in the normal mode further comprises:

causing, by LED driver control circuitry, the operatively coupled LED load regulation circuitry to:

cause the inverter circuity to operate at a fixed duty cycle; and

provide an output current at a level between a defined minimum load current and a defined maximum load current such that the average load current provided to an operatively coupled lighting load corresponds to a target load current while the received target intensity value is in the first intensity range.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein causing the inverter circuitry to operate at a fixed duty cycle further comprises:

causing, by the LED driver control circuitry, the inverter circuitry to remain in the active state period at a 100% active duty cycle while the received target intensity value is in the first intensity range.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein causing the LED load regulation circuitry to operate in the burst mode further comprises:

causing, by LED driver control circuitry, the operatively coupled LED load regulation circuitry to:

provide an output current at a defined minimum load current; and

set the duty cycle of the inverter circuitry between a minimum duty cycle and a maximum duty cycle such that the average load current provided to the operatively coupled lighting load corresponds to a target load current while the received target intensity is in the second intensity range.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein causing the operatively coupled LED load regulation circuitry to set the duty cycle of the inverter circuitry between the minimum duty cycle and the maximum duty cycle further comprises:

causing, by the LED driver control circuitry, the inverter circuitry to reversibly switch between the active state period and the inactive state period to set the active duty cycle to a level of from about 20% active duty cycle to about 100% active duty cycle such that the average load current corresponds to the target load current while the received target intensity value is in the second intensity range.

13. A non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device that includes instructions that, when executed by LED driver control circuitry, cause the LED driver control circuitry to:

receive an input indicative of a target intensity value;

determine whether the received target intensity value is in a first intensity range that extends from a defined transition intensity value to a defined maximum intensity value or in a second intensity range that is less than the defined transition intensity value;

cause operatively coupled LED load regulation circuitry to operate in a normal mode in which the LED load regulation circuitry provides an average load current between the minimum load current output and the maximum load current output responsive to the determination, by the LED driver control circuitry, that the received target intensity value is in the first intensity range; and

cause the LED load regulation circuitry to operate in a burst mode in which the LED load regulation circuitry provides the average load at less than the minimum load current output responsive to the determination, by the LED driver control circuitry, that the received target intensity value is in the second intensity range.

14. The non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 13 wherein the instructions, when executed by the LED driver control circuitry, further cause the LED driver control circuitry to:

cause inverter circuitry included in the LED load regulation circuitry to switch between an active state period and an inactive state period, wherein the active state period and the inactive state period determine an active duty cycle.

15. The non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 14 , wherein the instructions that cause the LED driver control circuitry to cause the operatively coupled LED load regulation circuitry to operate in the normal mode, further cause the LED driver control circuitry to:

cause the operatively coupled LED load regulation circuitry to:

cause the inverter circuity to operate at a fixed duty cycle; and

provide an output current at a level between a defined minimum load current and a defined maximum load current such that the average load current provided to an operatively coupled lighting load corresponds to a target load current while the received target intensity value is in the first intensity range.

16. The non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 15 wherein the instructions that cause the LED driver control circuitry to cause the inverter circuitry to operate at a fixed duty cycle, further cause the LED driver circuitry to:

cause the inverter circuitry to remain in the active state period at a 100% active duty cycle while the received target intensity value is in the first intensity range.

17. The non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 14 , wherein the instructions that cause the LED driver control circuitry to cause the LED load regulation circuitry to operate in the burst mode, further cause the LED driver control circuitry to:

cause the LED load regulation circuitry to:

provide the minimum load current output; and

set the duty cycle of the inverter circuitry between a minimum duty cycle and a maximum duty cycle such that the average load current provided to the operatively coupled lighting load corresponds to a target load current while the received target intensity is in the second intensity range.

18. The non-transitory, machine-readable, storage device of claim 17 , wherein the instructions that cause the LED driver control circuitry to cause the LED load regulation circuitry to set the duty cycle of the inverter circuitry between the minimum duty cycle and the maximum duty cycle, further cause the LED driver control circuitry to:

cause the inverter circuitry to reversibly switch between the active state period and the inactive state period to set the active duty cycle to a level of from about 20% active duty cycle to about 100% active duty cycle such that the average load current corresponds to the target load current while the received target intensity value is in the second intensity range.

Continuity (9)

References Cited (113)