Infineon Technologies Ag

Infineon Technologies Austria Ag

Andrea Scenini

Adolfo De Cicco

Andrea Logiudice

Giovanni Capodivacca

Hans-Peter Kreuter

Gernot Unterweger

Maurizio Galvano

Christof Michenthaler

Franco Mignoli

Salvatore Giovanni Pastorina

Rosario Chiodo

Bernhard Wotruba

Roberto Filippo

Federico Tosato

Diego Gaetano Munari

Alfonso Nasciuti

Fabrizio Cortigiani

Paolo Milanesi

Davide Ghedin

Floriano Montemurro

Mathias Sedner

Pietro Vallese

Tobias Schuster

Salvatore Sanna

A control circuit may be configured to control light emitting diode (LED) driver circuits. The control circuit may be configured to generate a multicast of pixel intensity values based on data in memory or data received from a data source, and output the multicast on an interface, which may comprise a one-wire uni-directional interface. In some examples, a plurality of drivers may receive the multicast, and each of the plurality of drivers may drive different sets of LEDs based on the multicast.

Interfaces and techniques for cost effective control of light emitting diodes in a vehicle

Driver circuits are described for driving one or more light emitting diodes. A driver circuit may comprise an interface configured to receive control signals from a processor and a signal generator configured to generate pulse modulation (PM) signals based on the control signals, wherein the PM signals define phase shifts. In some examples, the signal generator is configured to: determine whether the control signals indicate a phase shift change; and in response to determining that the control signals indicate a phase shift change, terminate a current PM signal at a beginning of a PM period, and generate a new PM signal in the PM period, wherein the new PM signal includes the phase shift change. In other examples, termination may be avoided in some situations, for example, upon determining that a new phase shift is not sufficiently less than a previous phase shift.

Driver circuits for controlling phase shift changes in light emitting diodes

A vehicle headlamp control circuit may be configured to control a vehicle headlamp comprising a plurality of lighting elements. The vehicle headlamp control circuit may comprise a first communication interface configured to receive a first signal comprising a first set of values for driving the plurality of lighting elements, and a second communication interface configured to receive a second signal comprising an intensity threshold. The circuit may be configured to determine a composite intensity associated with the first set of values and drive the plurality of lighting elements using the first set of values if the composite intensity associated with the first set of values satisfies the intensity threshold.

Light function control redundancy when changing the light intensity of pixelated vehicle headlamps

A method for driving a set of light emitting diodes (LEDs) may include receiving a write access frame by a driver via a bus configured for connection with a controller and the driver. The write access frame includes brightness information. The method may further include controlling, by the driver, the set of LEDs based on the brightness information and determining, by the driver, safety information while controlling the set of LEDs based on the brightness information. The method may further include outputting, by the driver and at the bus, the safety information to acknowledge receipt of the write access frame.

Driver using safety information

A circuit may be configured to control a vehicle headlamp comprising light emitting diodes (LEDs). The circuit may comprise an LED controller configured to receive video data from a video source via a first interface; an LED driver configured to drive the LEDs based at least in part on the video data; and a second interface between the LED controller and the LED driver, wherein the second interface is configured to communicate the video data from the LED controller to the LED driver and wherein the second interface communicates the video data at a slower data rate than the first interface.

Interfaces for cost effective video communication within advanced vehicle headlamp circuits

According to one exemplary embodiment, a light-emitting diode driver is provided, having: a differential first interface, a single-ended second interface, wherein the light-emitting diode driver is configured to use the first interface to communicate according to a bidirectional differential bus communication protocol as a slave, to use the second interface to communicate according to a single-ended bus protocol and to transpose signals between the first interface and the second interface, and to supply one or more light-emitting diodes with electric power on the basis of signals received via the first interface.

Light-emitting diode driver, light-emitting diode module and corresponding system

A method may include, based on a plurality of duty cycles each associated with a respective one of a plurality of LEDs, determining a first set of drive schemes such that each drive scheme is associated with a respective one of the plurality of LEDs and is dependent on the duty cycle associated with the respective one of the plurality of LEDs. The method further includes driving each of the plurality of LEDs in accordance with the associated drive scheme of the first set in at least one drive cycle. Each of the plurality of drive schemes includes one or more on-times each having a phase and a duration. The method may include driving each of the plurality of LEDs in an on-state or an off-state dependent on the respective drive scheme and determining the drive scheme dependent on the drive scheme of another one of the plurality of LEDs.

Method for driving a plurality of light emitting diodes and drive circuit

A device for driving several light sources is provided, wherein the several light sources are arranged in a matrix structure; wherein the several light sources of the matrix structure are connected to a semiconductor device; wherein a portion of the semiconductor device corresponds to a light source of the matrix structure, wherein the portion of the semiconductor device comprises a diagnosis function which when activated is arranged for supplying an output diagnosis signal.

Driving several light sources

In some examples, a device includes at least two light sources, buffer circuitry configured to receive a bit stream, and driver circuitry configured to receive the bit stream from the buffer circuitry and to drive the at least two light sources based on the bit stream. In some examples, the device further includes monitor circuitry configured to determine a voltage drop across each light source of the at least two light sources and snooping circuitry configured to read an inactive bit of the bit stream. In some examples, the snooping circuitry is further configured to read an active bit of the bit stream after reading the inactive bit and based on a value of the inactive bit and to cause the monitor circuitry to determine a voltage drop across a light source of the at least two light sources based on a value of the active bit.

Pixel selection method for a light-source matrix driver

According to an example, a device is provided for driving several light sources, wherein the device is arranged to sense a supply signal and apply a phase shift to a switching signal of at least one of the several light sources based on the sensed supply signal. Also, accordingly a method, a lighting device, a computer program product and a computer-readable medium are suggested.

A device for driving several light sources is suggested comprising a shift register comprising at least two cells, wherein an output of each cell controls one of the several light sources; wherein the at least two cells are connected in series and are driven by a clock signal; wherein each cell of the shift register comprises a flip-flop and a register; wherein the output of the flip-flop is connected with the input of the register; wherein the register is arranged to store the output of the register based on an update signal and wherein the output of the register controls one of the light sources; wherein the flip-flops of the at least two cells are filled with a data signal based on the clock signal; and wherein after a predetermined number of cycles of the clock signal the update signal is conveyed to the registers driving the light sources according to the values stored in the flip-flops of the cells.

In some examples, a device includes at least two light sources, buffer circuitry configured to receive a bit stream, and driver circuitry configured to receive the bit stream from the buffer circuitry and to drive the at least two light sources based on the bit stream. In some examples, the device also includes monitor circuitry configured to determine a voltage drop across each light source of the at least two light sources and snooping circuitry configured to read, as the buffer circuitry receives the bit stream, a specific bit of the bit stream and to cause the monitor circuitry to determine a voltage drop across the specific light source based on a value of the specific bit.

Synchronization for light-source driver circuitry

Current source regulation circuitry that is arranged in a loop with power supply circuitry and current source circuitry. The current source regulation circuitry is configured to control the magnitude of supply voltage output by the power supply circuitry in order to maintain the voltage drop across each one current source of the current source circuitry to within a bounded range of voltage values. The bounded range of voltage values may be defined such that each one current source of the current source circuitry can properly regulate a drive current that is supplied to a corresponding light source coupled thereto, and such that the amount of power dissipated by each current source of the current source circuitry during operation is maintained within an acceptable range.

Current source regulation

A control circuit can control the operation of a switching converter to provide a regulated load current to a load. The switching converter includes an inductor and a high-side and a low side-transistor for switching the load current provided via the inductor. A digital modulator is configured to provide a modulated signal having a duty cycle determined by a digital duty cycle value. A current sense circuit is coupled to at least one of the transistors and is configured to regularly sample a load current value. A comparator is coupled to the current sense circuit and is configured to compare the sampled load current value with a first threshold and to provide a respective comparator output signal. A regulator is configured to receive the comparator output signal and to calculate an updated digital duty cycle value.

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Montegrotto Terme, Italy

Andrea Scenini