Iwatt Inc.

Dialog Semiconductor Gmbh

Point Somee Limited Liability Company

Dialog Semiconductor (uk) Limited

Exclara, Inc.

Mark Eason

Harry Rodriguez

Mark Robert Muegge

Anatoly Shteynberg

Mark D Telefus

Dongsheng Zhou

Bradley M Lehman

Thomas J Riordan

Stephen F Dreyer

John William Kesterson

Liang Yan

Yimin Chen

Clarita C Poon

Chuanyang Wang

Michael Laisne

Hans Martin Von Staudt

Allan Ming-Lun Lin

Lanh Cong Nguyen

An interface for communicating between two device is provided that includes an interface input for receiving an input signal as well as a comparator circuit coupled to the interface input. The comparator circuit is adapted to provide a clock signal and a data signal based on the input signal to a first memory device having a first input for receiving the data signal and a second input for receiving the clock signal.

Communication interface

An integrated LED controller drives and reads a passive dimmer and controls a power circuit for the LED. The integrated LED controller detects changes in the position of the passive dimmer and causes the power circuit to brighten or dim the LED accordingly. These functions are normally performed by multiple discrete components. However, the integrated LED controller is implemented as a single integrated circuit, thus reducing the size and cost of the LED dimming system. The integrated LED controller can also include a unified timing controller that coordinates the timing of multiple functions within the controller in a manner that reduces the noise sensitivity of the controller.

Integrated LED dimmer controller

An apparatus, method, and system are disclosed for providing AC line power to lighting devices such as light emitting diodes ('LEDs'). A representative apparatus comprises: a plurality of LEDs coupled in series to form a first plurality of segments of LEDs; a plurality of switches coupled to the plurality of segments of LEDs to switch a selected segment into or out of a series LED current path in response to a control signal; a current sensor; and a controller which, in response to a first parameter and during a first part of an AC voltage interval, generates a first control signal to switch a corresponding segment of LEDs into the series LED current path; and during a second part of the AC voltage interval, generates a second control signal to switch the corresponding segment of LEDs out of the first series LED current path.

Apparatus, method and system for providing AC line power to lighting devices

An apparatus, method, and system are disclosed for providing AC line power to lighting devices such as light emitting diodes ('LEDs'). A representative apparatus comprises: a plurality of LEDs coupled in series to form a first plurality of segments of LEDs coupled in series; a plurality of switches coupled to the plurality of segments of LEDs to switch a selected segment into or out of a series LED current path in response to a control signal; a memory; and a controller which, in response to a first parameter and during a first part of an AC voltage interval, determines and stores in the memory a value of a second parameter and generates a first control signal to switch a corresponding segment of LEDs into the series LED current path, and during a second part of the AC voltage interval, when a current value of the second parameter is substantially equal to the stored value, generates a second control signal to switch a corresponding segment of LEDs out of the first series LED current path.

A system and a method that uses primary side sensing to regulate the output voltage at a cable end without any remote sensing of cable connections back from the load. This is accomplished by approximating the current from the control voltage in the control loop through the relationship that defines the Ton time in terms of the control voltage Vc. Once the approximation of the output current is known, it is multiplied by a known fixed cable resistance, and this value is subtracted from the feedback sensor output before it is subtracted from the digital reference. This forces the regulator to raise the output voltage by the amount of drop across the cable, causing the output of the cable to be maintained at the targeted regulation point.

Digital compensation for cable drop in a primary side control power supply controller

An apparatus, method and system are provided for controlling the solid state lighting, such as LEDs. An exemplary apparatus comprises: a switch for switching electrical current through the LEDs, a current sensor; a first comparator adapted to determine when a switch electrical current has reached a first predetermined threshold; a second comparator adapted to determine when the switch electrical current has reached a predetermined average current level; and a controller. The controller is adapted to turn the switch into an on state and an off state, to determine a first on time period as a duration between either a detection of a second predetermined current threshold or the turning the switch into the on state, and the detection of the predetermined average current level; to determine a second on time period as a duration between the detection of the predetermined average current level and the detection of the first predetermined current threshold; and to determine an on time period of the switch as substantially proportional to a sum of the first on time period and the second on time period. Additional exemplary embodiments utilize a difference between the first and second on time periods to generate an error signal to adjust the on time period of the switch.

Digital driver apparatus, method and system for solid state lighting

A power converter includes a switch controller having a dual output digital-to-analog converter for generating a variable reference voltage and a knee voltage offset from the reference voltage by a predetermined voltage. The variable reference voltage is generated based on a reconstructed representation of output voltage of the power converter in a previous switching cycle. Comparators compare the variable reference voltage and the variable knee voltage to a sensed output of the power converter in a first switching cycle. A digital logic of the switch controller receives signals from the comparators and determines a pulse signal for controlling an on-time and an off time of a switch in a second switching cycle.

Power converter controller controlled by variable reference voltage generated by dual output digital to analog converter

An AC-to-DC power converter controller reconstructs the output voltage of the power converter without a sample-and-hold circuit or an opto-coupler. The controller includes an accumulation module for accumulating a difference value obtained by subtracting a first representation of an output voltage of the power converter corresponding to a first sampling timing from the output voltage value sampled at a second sampling timing subsequent to the first sampling timing to obtain a second representation of the output voltage of the power converter corresponding to the second sampling timing. The accumulation module may set the second representation of the output voltage to a predetermined maximum value if the output voltage value sampled at the second sampling timing exceeds the predetermined maximum value, or to a predetermined minimum value if the output voltage value sampled at the second sampling timing is less than the predetermined minimum value.

Reconstruction of the output voltage of an AC-DC power converter

A power converter comprises an event detection module detecting various events of the power converter in real time at the switching frequency of a switch in the power converter according to predetermined criteria. A pulse generator generates control signals for controlling the on-times and off-times of the switch based on the various detected events. The events detected by the event detection module include a detection of a 'knee' in the reflected secondary voltage on the auxiliary windings of the transformer in a primary side sensing flyback power converter, and detection of a digital error quantifying the difference between the reference voltage and the reflected secondary voltage on the auxiliary windings of the transformer in time domain.

Power converter controller having event generator for detection of events and generation of digital error

A method of regulating voltage at an output of a switching power converter includes sensing an output voltage feedback signal; comparing the sensed feedback signal to a reference at a determined time during a cycling of the switch; and regulating the output voltage by either enabling or inhibiting cycling of a switch by a cycle of a drive signal produced by pulse generation circuitry in response to an output of the comparison.

PWM power converter controlled by transistion detection of a comparator error signal

Switching power converters for regulating voltage at an output of a load include digital control circuitry for sensing an output voltage feedback signal, comparing the sensed feedback signal to a reference at a determined time during a cycling of the switch; and regulating the output voltage by either enabling or inhibiting cycling of a switch by a cycle of a drive signal produced by pulse generation circuitry in response to the comparison.

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Hollister, CA, United States of America

Mark Eason