Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02558757 2006-09-O1
A RE''VERSIBLE D>rIVIMER DEVICE U~' GAS DISCHARGE
LA1V~S AND THE CONTROL METHOD FOR LIGHT
ADJUST1NG THEREOF
B$ckground of the invention
! .Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a reversible dimmer device more
particularly relates to such a dimmer device used for at least one gas
discharge
lamp and a control method for light adjusting thereof, which can make use of
the original power switch to directly adjust light in a smooth stage.
2. Description of Related art
Along with promotion of living standard, the environmental design of home
or company tends to be integral, convenient, and practical, among which the
design of lighting plays an important role. Because gas discharge tamps such
as
fluorescent lamps have the advantages of long lifetime, power saving, low
failure rate, high luminous quality, and high luminous etlicieney, they have
became the mainstream in the market.
A fluorescent lamp comprises a fluorescent lamp tube and an electronic
ballast. A resonance circuit in the electronic ballast is used to generate an
AC
signal with a specific frequency for turning on the fluorescent lamp tube.
This
kind of fluorescent lamp tube, however, has only two operating modes: on and
olr On the other hand, the user can cantral the conventional incandescent
light
bulb to emit light with luminance of different levels through changing the
input
power. Therefore, for people appreciating the life quality, the gas discharge
lamps cannot fully meet various demands in dit~erent regions or at different
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times, and cannot further save power.
A common fluorescent lamp tube used indoors is controlled by a switch on
the wall, and a desk lamp is controlled by a switch on an appliance. Although
the design tit fluorescent lamp tube with a smooth-stage light adjustment
function has emerged, it is necessary to change the design and structure of
the
whole lamp or even to rearrange the wiring. This engineering is cumbersome
for most users. Besides, this extra engineering will easily generate waste,
hence
not meeting the requirement of environmental protection. The materials and
manpower required by this engineering will also increase the cost. In
i 0 consideration of the above problems, the present invention proposes a
reversible dimmer device of gas discharge lamp and a control method for light
adjusting thereof, in which an original switch on the wall or on an appliance
is
used to directly carry out smooth-stage liiht adjustment, thereby
accomplishing
the convenience and flexibility in use.
Summary of the invention
An object of the present invention is to provide a reversible dimmer device
of gas discharge lamp and a control method for light adjusting thereof, in
which
a power switch on the wall, on an appliance, on a control box, or on a console
is used to switch a control command such as a tight adjustment command or a
?0 mode selection command so as to adjust the luminance or the luminous mode
of a gas discharge lamp in a smooth-stage way, thereby accomplishing
practicability and convenience in use.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reversible dimmer
device of gas discharge lamp and a control method for light adjusting thereof,
which accomplishes a wide range of application and flexible use by means of
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standalone adjustment, block adjustment, or group adjustment.
To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides a reversible
dimmer device of gas discharge lamp, which comprises a rectifier, a power
factor correction circuit, a variable frequency resonance drive circuit, a
detection circuit, a logic control circuit, a frequency modulation control
circuit,
and a charping/discharging controller. The rectifier is connected to a power
switch to rectify a power input from the power switch. The power factor
correction circuit performs power factor correction and boost to the rectified
power. The variable frequency resonance drive circuit produces an l1C signal
l0 with a certain frequency accarding to the boosted power signal to drive the
gas
discharge lamp to function. The detection circuit is connected to the
rectifier to
detect the state of the power switch. The logic control circuit outputs a
control
command according to the times and timing of ofl;on switching of the power
switch in a short time. The frequency modulation contml circuit adjusts a
I S power parameter according to the control command so that the variable
frequency resonance drive circuit can vary the drive frequency of the power
siyal based on the power parameter so as to adjust the luminous made of the
gas discharge lamp. The charg,ingldischarging controller provides a su~cient
power for the variable frequency resonance drive circuit from a power storage
20 device during switching of the power switch to prevent the gas discharge
lamp
from glittering due to temporary cutofFofpower.
Besides, the present invention also provides a control method for light
adjusting of gas discharge lamp, which comprises the steps of: turning on a
power switch to provide a power signal so as to drive at least one gas
discharge
25 Lamp to produce a stable light source; fast pressing said power switch if
the
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illuminance is to be changed; outputting a logic control command according to
the times and timing of off on switching of the power switch; and modulating a
power parameter at the gas discharge lamp according to the control command
to change a drive frequency of the power signal so as to generate variation of
luminance of the gas discharge Tamp.
Brief description of the drawings:
The various objects arid advantages of the present invention will be more
readily understood from the following detailed description when read in
conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:
Fig. 1 is a structure diagram of a reversible dimmer device of the present
invention;
Fig. 2 is a structure diagram of a reversible dimmer device of the present
invention with an additional e7cternal light adjustment component;
Fig. 3 is a flowchart of the control method for light adjusting of the present
l5 invention; and
Fig. 4 is a structure diagram according to another embodiment of the present
invention.
Detailed description of the preferred embodiments
The present invention provides a reversible dimmer device of gas
~U discharge lamp and a control method for light adjusting thereof, in which a
power switch on the wall, on an appliance, on a control box, or on a console
is
used to switch a control command such as a tight adjustment command or a
mode selection command so as to adjust the luminance or the luminous mode
of at least one gas discharge lamp in a smooth-stage way. The gas discharge
25 lamp can be a fluorescent lamp or another discharge lamp. Rearrangement of
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wiring is not required. The present invention can provide more convenient
selection far users.
As shown in 1~ig. 1, a reversible dimmer contra( device 1 makes use of a
power switch 2 to control actions of at least one gas discharge lamp 3, After
the
power switch is turned on, the gas discharge tamp 3 keeps in a luminous mode
of the previous adjustment.
An EM1 reduction circuit 101, a rectifier 102, a power factor correction
circuit 103, and a variable frequency resonance drive circuit 104 are
connected
in turn between the power switch 2 and the gas discharge lamp 3. The EMI
I U reduction circuit is used to prevent the power from being interfered by
external
EM1 or interfering an outside power. The rectifier 102 rectifies a power
signal.
The power factor correction circuit 1.03 performs power factor correction to
the
power signal and boasts the power silnai to a predetermined voltage. The
variable frequency resonance drive circuit then produces an AC signs! with a
1 S certain frequency according to the boasted power signal to drive the gas
discharge lamp 3 to emit light.
The reversible dimmer device 1 further comprises a detection circuit 105
connected to the rectifier 102. The detection circuit 105 detects the state of
the
power switch 10z according to the sent out power signal to know the times and
ZO timing of off on switching of the power switch 2. A logic control circuit
106 is
further connected to the detection circuit 105. The logic control circuit 106
acquires the times of high and low logic signals corresponding to the power
signal according to the times of off on switching of the power switch 2 in a
short time to output a voltage or logic level signal for controlling
frequency, i.e.,
25 a logic control command. The logic control command is used as a light
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adjustment command for light adjustment control or a mode selection
command for changing the luminous made. The logic control circuit 106 is
connected to a frequency modulation control circuit 10'l, which adjusts a
power
parameter (e,g" the magnitude of current, voltage, frequency, or period) of
the
gas discharge lamp 3 according to the logic contml command so that the
variable frequency resonance drive circuit 104 can change the drive frequency
according to the power parameter to adjust the luminous mode of the gas
discharge lamp 3, In other words, the present invention makes use of the
variation of frequency to adjust the output of power, with the frequency
proportional to the output. A charging/discharging controller 10$ is connected
to the logic control circuit 1 U6. The ehargingldischarging controller 1 U6
provides a sufl'icient power far the variable frequency resonance drive
circuit
104 from a power storage device 109 during switching of the power switch 2 to
prevent the gas discharge lamp 3 from Tittering due to temporary cutoff of
I S power. At the initiaE stage when the power switch 2 is turned on, the
logic
control circuit 106 will fcrst temporarily cut off the charl;ing/discharging
c;ontrollcr 108. After the power signal is provided to the gas discharge lamp
3 to
turned is an, the chargingldischarging controller 108 is then switched an to
charge the power storage device 109.
Of course, in order to avoid the situation of overcurrent or overload of
circuit, an overload protection circuit 110 is further connected between the
logic control circuit 106 and the gas discharge ltunp 3. When there is an
abnormal situxtian of the reversible dimmer device I or the gas discharge lamp
3, the logic control circuit 106 can directly cut off the variable frequency
resonance drive circuit 104 to stop output.
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When the detection circuit 105 detects an of~-on switching generated when
the power switch 2 is pressed ante, the logic control circuit l Ob immediately
drives the variable frequency resonance drive circuit 104 via the frequency
modulation control circuit 107 to vary the drive frequency of the power signal
based on the power parameter so as to generate variation of luminance of the
gas discharge lamp 3 (i.e., the gas discharge lamp 3 automatically adjusts
itself
from dim to bright state or vice versa) until said power switch 2 is pressed
once
more or the brightestldimtnest state of the gas discharge lamp 3 is reached.
Moreover, when the power switch 2 is continually pressed twice in succession
to generate two off on switching, the logic control circuit 106 will drive the
gas
discharge lamp 3 to adjust light in the reverse direction.
In addition to generating the control command directly via the power switch
2, at least an external light adjustment component 111 can be used to generate
the control command. As shown in Fig. 2, the external light adjustment
I S component 111 is connected to the logic control circuit 106 to drive the
logic
control circuit l 06 to produce a corresponding control command, The external
light adjustment component 111 can be a remote receiver, a rocker switch, a
human detector, a daylight detector, or a variable resistor. When the external
light adjustment component 111 is a remote receiver or a rocker switch, it can
~0 jointly control the gas discharge lamp 3 with the power switch 2 so that a
user
can select the power switch 2 or the remote receiver (or the rocker switch) to
adjust the luminance of the gas discharge lamp 3.
Fig, 3 is a flowchart of a light adjustment control method of the present
invention. The light adjustment control method makes use of an original power
25 switch on the wall, on an appliance, on a control box, or on a console to
control
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actions of at least a gas discharge lamp. Reference is made to lr lg. 3 as
well as
Fig. l , The light adjustment control method comprises the following steps.
First,
the power switch 2 is turned on to provide a power signal for driving the gas
discharge lamp 3 to produce a stable light source, and a power storage device
is
then used to store a standby power (when the power is just turned on, the
charging/discharging controller will be temporarily cut off so that the gas
discharge lamp can be immediately turned on and produce a stable light source)
{Step S 10). Next, the detection circuit 105 is used to detect whether the
power
switch 2 is o~ {Step S 12). If the power switch 2 keeps on, Step S 12 is
repeated;
t 0 if the power switch 2 is otle, the logic control circuit 106 determines
whether the
off time of the power switch 2 is less than a predetermined time T, where T ~
0.6 sec (Step S14). if the off'time is less than or equal to O.b sec, Step S16
is
performed; if the off time exceeds 0.6 sec, the coupling between the power
storage device 109 and the variable frequency resonance drive circuit 104 is
cut
l5 off to shut the standby power so as to immediately turn off the gas
discharge
lamp 3, representing the power switch 2 is in the oil State (Step S24).
The above predetermined time T S 0.6 sec is adopted in a preferred
embodiment of the present invention. The predetermined time T can also be set
to be less than or equal to 1 sec (i.e., T S 1 sec).
2U If the off time is less than or equal to O.b sec, the logic control circuit
106
acquires high and low logic signals corresponding to the off and an states of
power (Step S 16). The logic control circuit 106 then outputs a control
command according to the logic signal (Step S 1 R). The control command is a
voltage or logic level signal capable of controlling frequency. Next, the
25 frequency modulation control circuit 107 modulates a relevant power
parameter
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(e.g., the magnitude of current, voltage, frequency, or period) according to
the
control command (Step S20). Finally, the variable frequency resonance drive
circuit 104 changes the drive frequency according to the power parameter to
drive the gas discharge lamp 3 to produce variations of luminance.
In addition to being connected to the rectifier 102 as shown in Fig. 1, the
detection circuit 105 and the logic control circuit 106 can also be connected
between the EMI reduction circuit 101 and the rectifier 102, as shown in Fig,
4,
the state of the power switch 2 can be directly detected according to the
power
signal processed by the BMI reduction circuit 102, The principles and actions
~ 0 of the other components are the same as in Fig, 1 and thus won't be
further
described.
The present invention will be further exemplified below with some
examples,
When the gas discharge lamp is adjusted by the power switch, the off on
switching of the power switch in a short time is used as a light adjustment
command:
( 1 ) When the gas discharge lamp is of the brightest luminance and the
off on switching occurs once, the gas discharge lamp adjusts itself
Pram the brightest to the dimmest state unless there is an oil=on signal
again.
(2) Tf the o~-on switching occurs once again before the gas discharge
lamp changes from the brightest to the dimmest state, the light
adjustment action stops, and the gas discharge lamp keeps at the
present luminance.
ZS (3) If the off on switching occurs once again before the gas discharge
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lamp changes from the brightest to the dimmest state, the light
adjustment action stops. If the adjustment goes too far and a reverse
adjustment is required, the power switch is pressed twice in
succession to drive the gas discharge lamp to adjust itself from dim to
S bright state. When the desired luminance is reached, the power switch
is pressed once again to keep the gas discharge lamp at the present
luminance,
(~l) When the gas discharge lamp is of the dimmest luminance arid the
ot~=an switching occurs once, the gas discharge lamp adjusts itself
from the dimmest to the brightest state unless there is an off an signal
again.
(5) Tf the off on switching occurs once again before the gas discharge
lamp changes from the dimmest to the brightest state, the light
adjustment action stops, and the gas discharge lamp keeps at the
present luminance.
(f) If the off on switching clccurs once again before the gas discharge
lamp changes from the dimmest to the brightest state, the light
adjustment action stops. If the adjustment goes too far and a reverse
adjustment is required, the power switch is pressed twice in
succession to drive the gas discharge lamp to adjust itself from bright
to dim state. When the desired luminance is reached, the power
switch is pressed once abain to keep the gas discharge lamp at the
present luminance.
When the power switch is used to select a different luminous mode of the
gas discharge lamp, the off on switching of tile power switch in a short time
is
to
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used as a made selection command to select different chrominance or different
luminance:
(1) The ot~ on switching of the power switch is used as a command far
selecting different luminous modes.
{2) When the power is initially delivered, the reversible dimmer device is
set in a preset luminous made.
(3) When the reversible dimmer device is in the preset luminous made and
the off on switching occurs once, the reversible dimmer device is
switched to the next luminous made, When the reversible dimmer device
! 0 is in a certain luminous made and the off an switching occurs once, the
reversible dimmer device is switched to the next luminous made. When
the reversible dimmer device is in the last luminous made and the ot~ on
switching ot:curs ante, the reversible dimmer device is switched to the
preset luminous mode. Moreover, different orders of mode alternation
can be selected to have variation for each round so as to enhance the
variation of color and luminance. 'his mode can also apply to the
situation of KTV or concert.
Furthermore, the present invention can accomplish a wide range of
application and flexible use by mean;; of standalone adjustment, black
adjustment, or group adjustment. For block adjustment, the reversible dimmer
device of the present invention controls one of the gas discharge lamps as a
light adjuster, and wiredly or wirelessly drives the other gas discharge lamps
to
function simultaneously far light adjustment. For ~aup adjustment, the light
adjustment control manner is the same as that of standalone adjustment
described above,
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Tp sum up, the present invention provides a reversible dimmer device of gas
discharge lamp and a light adjustment control method thereof, in which a
power switch on the wall, on an appliance, on a controt box, or on a console
is
used to switch a control command such as a light adjustment command or a
mode selection command so as to adjust the luminance or the luminous mode
of a gas discharge lamp in a multi-stage way, thereby accomplishing
practicability and convenience in use.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to the
preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the invention is not
1 U limited to the details thereof. Various substitutions and modifications
have been
suggested in the foregoing description, and other will occur to those of
ordinary
skill in the art, Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are
intended
to lx embraced within the scope of the invention as defned in the appended
Claims.
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