The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 15, 2008
Filed:
Dec. 20, 2006
Shane P. Robinson, Vancouver, CA;
Paul Jungwirth, Burnaby, CA;
Ion Toma, Richmond, CA;
TIR Technology LP, , CA;
Abstract
The driving and control device according to the present invention provides a desired switched current to a load including a string of one or more electronic devices, and comprises one or more voltage conversion means, one or more dimming control means, one or more feedback element and one or more sensing means. The voltage conversion means may be a DC-to-DC converter for example and based on an input control signal converts the magnitude of the voltage from the power supply to another magnitude that is desired at the high side of the load. The dimming control element may comprise a switch such as a FET, BJT, relay, or any other type of switching device, for example, and provides control for activation and deactivation of the load. The feedback means is coupled to the voltage conversion element and a current sensing element and provides a feedback signal to the voltage conversion element that is indicative of the voltage drop across the current sensing element which thus represents the current flowing through the load. The current sensing element may comprise a fixed resistor, variable resistor, inductor, or some other element which has a predictable voltage-current relationship and thus will provide a measurement of the current flowing through the load based on a collected voltage signal. Based on the feedback signal received, the voltage conversion means can subsequently adjust its output voltage such that a constant switched current is provided to the load.