# Patent

## Title
Method for driving non-linear load elements based on load current

## Abstract

A method for driving a non-linear load element. On account of the non-linear interrelationship between the voltage and the current at the load element and the related non-linear dependence of the power loss on the quantities “voltage” and “current”, an adjustment of the switching speed only on the basis of the power loss in the switching element cannot be carried out with non-linear load elements without being confronted with undesirable switching losses and related electromagnetic noise fields. Therefore, the load current currently flowing in the load element is picked up in addition to the currently determined power loss in the switching element, and the switching speed of the switching element is controlled in dependence on the determined power loss and on the current picked up. The switching speed can be optimally adjusted when driving the non-linear load elements by means of PWM.

## Background
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is the U.S. national phase application of PCT International Application No. PCT/DE2008/001391, filed Aug. 23, 2008, which claims priority to German Patent Application No. DE 10 2007 040 783.3, filed Aug. 28, 2007, the contents of such applications being incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method for driving a non-linear load element.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many electric load elements, particularly electric load elements in motor vehicles, such as lamps, heating spirals etc., are driven by means of pulse-width modulation (PWM), wherein the power delivered to the load element can be regulated or controlled, wherein it is possible to minimize the losses in the drive electronics by the switching operations.
However, when driving load elements in motor vehicles by means of pulse-width modulation, electromagnetic fields that may interfere with the radio reception in the vehicle are emitted via the battery supply lines and the load supply lines. Therefore, appropriate limiting values have been laid down in various standards, such as IEC, ISO, CISPR, said limiting values reducing the interference with the radio receiver in the corresponding spectra to a tolerable degree. These emitted fields may be reduced by filtering at the inputs and outputs of the control device, for example. The new methods actively influence the switching edges, as it is described in the unexamined application W02005/057788, for example, which is incorporated by reference.
In the new series of vehicles, the lamps are being increasingly replaced by light emitting diodes (LED). However, the non-linearity of their current-voltage characteristic results in a sudden break-off of the current and so in increased interfering emissions.
Conventional methods attenuate the high-frequency alternating currents in the supply lines by means of filters in the input lines and output lines. However, the disadvantage of the filters consists in the fact that they are very expensive and require a lot of space, whereby they raise the price of the electronic components, and that they cannot be miniaturized (integration in silicon).
Another possibility of reducing electromagnetic radiation is the reduction of the switching speed in the switching element, whereby the high-frequency current portions can be reduced to the necessary degree, but here the undesirable switching losses heating up the electronic components are increasing with decreasing switching speed.
In the new methods, for example according to WO2005/057788, the switching speed of the switching element is varying in dependence on the instantaneous power loss. FIG. 1 shows the normalized power loss in a switching element when driving an ohmic load element (linear load element) as well as a stepped convergence of the course of the rate of change of the output voltage according to WO2005/057788.
However, such methods, as disclosed in said application, fail when driving load elements that show a non-linear behaviour within a switching process (load elements with a non-linear voltage-current interrelationship, such as LEDs).
On account of the non-linear interrelationship between the voltage and the current in the load element, the power loss in the switching element is not linearly dependent on the output voltage or the load current, respectively. Therefore, when driving the non-linear load elements, an adjustment of the switching speed of the switching element that is only related to the power loss or output voltage at the switching element or to a quantity depending thereon is not applicable without being confronted with increased switching losses or a bad electromagnetic radiation, respectively. This difference between linear and non-linear load elements is illustrated in FIG. 5, for example. With an ideal linear load element (e.g. linear resistor), the current changes proportionally to the voltage at the load element (see dashed line L1 in FIG. 6). Thus, with a linear load element, there is a quadric-polynomial interrelationship between the power loss PV at the switching element and the output voltage Ua: PV ̃(Ua)2, i.e. the power loss PV is linearly proportional to the square of the output voltage Ua, as shown in FIG. 1 (see continuous polynomial curve).
On the other hand, with a non-linear load element, the current flowing in this non-linear load element does not change proportionally to the output voltage (see continuous line L2 in FIG. 6). Therefore, there is no linear interrelationship between the power loss and the current or the voltage, respectively. This is illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 8, wherein FIG. 2 shows a non-linear interrelationship in the L-range of the output voltage and FIG. 8 a non-linear interrelationship both in the L-range and in the H-range of the output voltage. As a result of the non-linear interrelationship between the voltage and the current, an adjustment of the switching speed only on the basis of the power loss or the output voltage is not practicable with the non-linear load elements, which means that the radiation of electromagnetic noise fields cannot be reduced effectively by means of the method according to WO2005/057788.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore object of the present invention to set forth a method of the abovementioned type, by means of which the radiated electromagnetic fields with the non-linear load elements can be reduced effectively by means of a load-dependent, active influencing of the switching edges of the switching device and the valid standards can be met.
On account of the non-linear interrelationship between the voltage and the current at the load element and the related non-linear dependence of the power loss on the quantities “voltage” and “current”, an adjustment of the switching speed only on the basis of the power loss or the voltage, respectively, cannot be carried out with non-linear load elements without being confronted with undesirable switching losses and related electromagnetic noise fields.
Therefore, according to aspects of the invention, the load current currently flowing in the load element is picked up in addition to the currently determined power loss at the switching element, and the switching speed of the non-linear load elements is controlled in dependence on the determined power loss and on the measured load current.
By including the current flowing in the load element as a further measured quantity in addition to the quantity “power loss”, the switching speed of the non-linear load elements can be optimally adjusted, wherein the switching speed of the non-linear switching element is controlled as follows:

    
    
        the switching speed is set high in the range where the current-voltage characteristic of the load element dIa/dUa is approximately zero;
        the switching speed is set high in the range where the current-voltage characteristic of the load element dIa/dUa is not approximately zero and the power loss is high; and
        the switching speed is set low in the range where the current-voltage characteristic of the load element dIa/dUa is not approximately zero and the power loss is low.
    
    


The present invention is based on an active influencing of the switching speed of the switching element in such a manner that the switching element is operated at a high switching speed in that range where both the output voltage and the current in the load element have exceeded the respective lower threshold. Accordingly, the switching element is operated at a reduced switching speed when the output voltage and the current in the load element are below the respective threshold.
For optimally adjusting the switching speed, two thresholds each are used for the power loss at the switching element and for the load current. For the power loss, the output voltage is picked up as a measured quantity, and two voltage thresholds are used as a reference quantity for the output voltage.



BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the following, the invention will be explained in greater detail on the basis of the exemplary embodiments and with the aid of the figures in which
FIG. 1: shows the relative power loss in dependence on the relative output voltage with a linear load element, shown in a right-handed coordinate system, wherein the right-hand abscissa axis is the relative output voltage Ua/UKL30 and the upward ordinate axis is the relative power loss PV/PV max;
FIG. 2: shows the relative power loss in dependence on the relative output voltage with a non-linear load element, shown in a right-handed coordinate system, wherein the right-hand abscissa axis is the relative output voltage Ua/UKL30 and the upward ordinate axis is the relative power loss PV/PV max;
FIG. 3: shows the variations in time/the switching behaviour of the relative power loss, of the relative load current and of the relative output voltage with a non-linear load element according to FIG. 2, shown in three right-handed coordinate systems, wherein the first coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative load current Ia/Ia max, the second coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative output voltage Ua/Ubat, and the third coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative power loss PV/PV−max;
FIG. 4: shows an equivalent circuit diagram of a circuit arrangement for carrying out the method according to FIG. 3;
FIG. 5: shows the course of the normalized current-voltage characteristic of a linear and of a non-linear load element, wherein the maximum current with this non-linear load element has an upper limit, shown in a right-handed coordinate system, wherein the right-hand abscissa axis is the relative output voltage Ua/UKL30 and the upward ordinate axis is the relative load current Ia/Ia max;
FIG. 6: shows the variations in time/the switching behaviour of the relative power loss, of the relative load current and of the relative output voltage with a non-linear load element, wherein the maximum current with this load element is limited according to FIG. 5, shown in three right-handed coordinate systems, wherein the first coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative load current Ia/Ia max, the second coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative output voltage Ua/Ubat, and the third coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative power loss PV/PV−max;
FIG. 7: shows the variations in time/the switching behaviour of the relative power loss, of the relative load current and of the relative output voltage with a non-linear load element according to FIG. 8 with the current limitation according to FIG. 5, shown in three right-handed coordinate systems, wherein the first coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative load current Ia/Ia max, the second coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative output voltage Ua/Ubat, and the third coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative power loss PV/PV−max;
FIG. 8: shows the relative power loss in dependence on the relative output voltage with a non-linear load element with the current limitation according to FIG. 5, shown in a right-handed coordinate system, wherein the right-hand abscissa axis is the relative output voltage Ua/Ubat and the upward ordinate axis is the relative power loss PV/PV max;
FIG. 9: shows an equivalent circuit diagram of a circuit arrangement for carrying out the method according to FIG. 7;
FIG. 10a: shows the switching behaviours in an inventive method for adjusting the switching speed of the switching element when driving a non-linear load element, with a course of the relative power loss relative to the relative output voltage according to FIG. 8 according to Table 1, shown in four right-handed coordinate systems, wherein the first coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative gate voltage Ug/Ug max, the second coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative output voltage Ua/Ubat, the third coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative load current Ia/Ia max, and the fourth coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative power loss PV/PV−max;
FIG. 10b: shows the variation in time of the relative load current Ia/Ia max with the associated pulse duration for the switching behaviour according to Table 1 and FIG. 10a; 
FIG. 10c: shows the switching behaviours in an inventive method for adjusting the switching speed of the switching element when driving a non-linear load element, with a course of the relative power loss relative to the relative output voltage according to FIG. 8 according to Table 2, shown in four right-handed coordinate systems, wherein the first coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative gate voltage Ug/Ug max, the second coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative output voltage Ua/Ubat, the third coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative load current Ia/Ia max, and the fourth coordinate system shows the variation in time of the relative power loss PV/PV−max;



DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 shows the change of the relative power loss PV/PV max in dependence on the relative output voltage Ua/UKL30 with a linear load element, wherein PV is the instantaneous power loss, PV max is the maximum power loss, Ua is the output voltage, and UKL30 is the supply voltage. According to that, the relative power loss PV/PV−max shows a quadric polynomial of the output voltage Ua/UKL30, which is a result of the linear interrelationship between the output voltage Ua and the current Ia in a linear load element.
FIGS. 2 and 8, on the other hand, show a non-linear interrelationship between the power loss PV and the output voltage Ua in a non-linear load element. This non-linear interrelationship between the power loss PV and the output voltage Ua is a result of the non-linear interrelationship between the output voltage Ua and the current Ia in the load element, which is the case with a non-linear load element. Consequently, such a non-linear load element, such as an LED (light emitting diode), cannot be operated by means of a method as described in WO2005/057788 without causing increased interfering radiation or increased switching losses.
As shown in FIG. 2, the curve of the relative power loss PV/PV−max has a range (range B1 in the figure) where the power loss PV is zero in spite of the increasing output voltage Ua. Outside this range B1, in range B2, the relative power loss PV/PV31 max shows an approximately linear interrelationship with the relative output voltage Ua/UKL30. The transition point between these two ranges B1 and B2 is the lower voltage threshold Uau of the output voltage Ua that is still to be determined.
Since the voltage threshold Uau of the LED is not exactly known or is varying in dependence on the operational conditions, the current currently flowing in the load element (load current Ia) is introduced as a new physical measured quantity as against the known method according to WO2005/057788. Also, a current threshold Ilim1 is introduced for the currently flowing load current Ia.
So, the switching element is operated at a high switching speed in that range where both the output voltage Ua and the load current Ia have exceeded the lower thresholds Uau and Ilim1, respectively. Accordingly, the switching speed is reduced when the output voltage Ua and the load current Ia are below the thresholds Uau and Ilim1, respectively. The variations in time are illustrated in FIG. 3. The range of high power loss is dependent on the voltage threshold Uau of the LED.
FIG. 2 shows the basic course of the relative power loss PV/PV31 max in the switching element. As in the method that is already known, the switching speed is adjusted to the instantaneous value of the power loss PV, wherein the dashed curves S1 and S2 represent a stepped convergence of the switching speed to the ideal curve with different numbers of steps, whereby the emitted spectrum can be reduced in the high-frequency ranges also for non-linear load elements without significantly increasing the switching losses.
FIG. 4 shows a possible realization of this switching process according to FIG. 3 with a circuit arrangement. As the non-linear load element, an LED with a series resistor 110 is shown. In this circuit arrangement, when switching, the gate of the MOSFET switching element 200 is supplied with currents of varying amperage in dependence on the power loss PV, namely the output voltage Ua, and on the load current Ia, and so the switching speed, within the switching process, is specifically adjusted to the instantaneous values of the measured quantities power loss PV/output voltage Ua and load current Ia.
The switching speed is set high in the range of high power loss PV and in the range of small change dIa/dUa of the load current Ia compared to the change of the output voltage Ua. The switching speed is set low in the range of low power loss PV and of great change dIa/dUa of the load current Ia compared to the change of the output voltage Ua.
By means of the controllable power sources 400 and corresponding control logic 300, the transitions between the high and the low switching speeds can be preset very precisely and, if necessary, a very fine adjustment of the switching speed be realized. The functioning of the control logic 300 is illustrated in Tables 1 and 2.
In order to extend the service life of the LEDs and/or to control the brightness/the colour spectrum independently of the supply voltage, it is also usual to operate LEDs in series with power sources 120 for current limitation. The continuous line L2 in FIG. 5 shows an exemplary course of the normalized current-voltage characteristic of such a load element. When driving such a load element, current limitation results in the following variations in time as in FIG. 6. The shown variations in time illustrate that the spectrum of the current includes considerable high-frequency portions. These portions can be reduced by reducing the switching speed shortly before reaching the threshold current of the current limitation.
Since the current threshold of the current limitation is not exactly known or is varying in dependence on the operational conditions, this current threshold has to be determined for the next falling/rising edge during operation, unless the course of the current has already been rounded off in the load element, wherein the lower current threshold Ilim1 is a quantity that is dependent on the maximum current of the switching element and/or on the instantaneous load.
In addition to the lower current threshold Ilim1 already described, an upper current threshold Ilim2 is defined so that the switching element is operated at a high switching speed only when the current in the load element has fallen below this upper current threshold Ilim2. Accordingly, the switching speed is reduced when the current Ia in the load element has exceeded the upper current threshold Ilim2. The difference ΔI between the current threshold and the maximum current Imax in the load element is defined absolutely or with reference to the maximum current Imax. The variations in time are illustrated in FIG. 7.
The range of high power loss is dependent on the current threshold Ilim2 of the current limitation as well as on the voltage threshold Uao of the LED. FIG. 8 shows the basic course of the relative power loss in the switching element.
The threshold may be defined in advance or during operation. For determining the upper current threshold Ilim2 during operation, the maximum value Imax of the current is first determined, for example by means of a so-called peak detector or by single or multiple sampling of the current, said sampling being synchronous with the PWM signal. From this maximum value Imax, the current threshold Ilim2 is then determined, as described above, and preferably continuously compared with the instantaneous load current Ia.
However, those periods of time during switching in which the current is almost constant may negatively influence the pulse-pause ratio so that the pulse-pause ratio of driving deviates from that of the load current Ia. As a countermeasure, a further sample-and-hold element may be used for measuring, synchronously with the upper current threshold Ilim2 of the load current Ia, the associated voltage value at the load element. In dependence thereon, the upper voltage threshold Uao may be defined above this voltage value, above which the switching speed is increased in order to improve the correspondence between the set pulse-duty factor and the actual pulse-duty factor by reducing the dead times. In addition to that, the maximum value of the voltage of the load element of the same pulse or the voltage value occurring simultaneously with the maximum current, respectively, is determined and compared with the lower voltage threshold Uao. In dependence on the difference between the two values, the associated upper voltage threshold Uao and the current threshold Ilim2 are accepted as valid values or rejected in order to prevent that wrong thresholds are adopted when the current limitation is not reached on account of a low supply voltage.
Accordingly, when the lower current threshold Ilim1 is reached, the associated voltage value at the load element may be measured and the lower voltage threshold Uau be defined just below it, below which the switching speed is increased as well.
At the beginning, the thresholds Uau, Uao, Ilim1, Ilim2 are fixed at the respective expected value or its minimum or maximum value, respectively.
FIG. 9 shows an equivalent circuit diagram of a circuit arrangement for carrying out the method for adjusting the switching behaviour according to FIG. 7.
FIGS. 10a, 10b, 10c show the detailed switching behaviour in an inventive method for adjusting the switching speed in a non-linear load element, with a course of the relative power loss relative to the relative output voltage according to FIG. 8.
FIG. 10a shows the switching behaviour as shown in Table 1.











TABLE 1






Gate voltage:
Output
Switching
Power loss


Range
Ug
current: I
speed
in this range







A
Ug < Ugu
I < Ilim1
High
Low


B, C
Ugu < Ug < Ugo
I < Ilim1
Low
Low


D
Ugu < Ug < Ugo
Ilim1 < I < Ilim2
High
High


E, F
Ugu < Ug < Ugo
I > Ilim2
Low
Low


G
Ug > Ugo
I > Ilim2
High
Low









Table 1 and FIG. 10a show a first case, wherein the switching speed is set low in ranges B and F. Here, particularly with the transitions between B and C and between E and F, the thresholds Uau and Uao are not used yet.
FIG. 10b shows the course of the current with the associated pulse duration for the switching behaviour according to Table 1 and FIG. 10a, and also the idealized course of the current for driving without pulse shaping and the pulse duration thereof.
It is obvious that the correspondence between the two pulse durations, and thus the duty cycle faithfulness, depends on the symmetry of ranges A, B, C with ranges G, F, E. The difference between the pulse durations results from the difference between the duration of ranges E, F, G and the duration of ranges A, B, C:

ΔTon=Ton-effektiv−Ton-ideal=tE+tF+tG−tA−tB−tC 

Since tF, the duration of range F, depends on the supply voltage and thus does not have to be constant for a short period of time during operation, this may cause interfering variations of brightness.
For this reason, the switching speed is to be increased in ranges B and F, as it has been done for ranges A and G for the same reason. The result of this is a further improved switching behaviour (see Table 2 and FIG. 10c). According to that, the reduction of the times tB and tF also reduces their influence on the error of the pulse duration ΔTon. Here, the thresholds Ugu and Ugo are not used any more. They are replaced by the thresholds Uau and Uao, respectively.











TABLE 2






Output

Switching
Power loss in


Range
voltage: Ua
Output current: I
speed
this range







A
Ua < Uau
I < Ilim1
High
Low


B
Ua < Uau
I < Ilim1
High
Low


C
Uau < Ua < Uao
I < Ilim1
Low
Low


D
Uau < Ua < Uao
Ilim1 < I < Ilim2
High
High


E
Uau < Ua < Uao
I > Ilim2
Low
Low


F
Ua > Uao
I > Ilim2
High
Low


G
Ua > Uao
I > Ilim2
High
Low









The switching element is operated at a high switching speed only when the current in the load element has exceeded a lower current threshold Ilim1, as it is the case in range D.
Accordingly, the switching speed is reduced when the current in the load element is below the lower current threshold Ilim1, as at the transition from range D to range C.
The upper current threshold Ilim2 cannot be preset for changing loads or for loads where a change in temperature, for example, results in a variation of the current limitation of the load element. This threshold has to be determined during operation and can then be assumed as being temporarily constant.
For determining this current threshold Ilim2 during operation, the maximum current Imax of a previous pulse is determined, and so the threshold Ilim2 has to be just below this maximum value:

Ilim2=Imax−ΔI. 

ΔI may be a fixed value or a percentage value δ. If it is a percentage value δ, the upper current threshold Ilim2 is determined as follows:

Ilim2=(1−δ)×Imax.

If the load element is an LED with a series resistor without current limitation as in FIG. 4, the value Imax changes almost linearly with the supply voltage Ubat. However, since the supply voltage Ubat can be measured continuously, it is more useful not to select the current threshold Ilim2, but to select a threshold Ua2 (not Uau or Uao) with reference to the output voltage Ua that depends on the supply voltage. Ua2 is selected as follows:

Ua2=UKL30−RDS-on×I−ΔU, 

with Ubat: supply voltage,

    
    
        RDS-on×I: voltage drop at switching element,
        ΔU: fixed value, or percentage value relative to supply voltage.
    
    


On account of the small voltage drop at the switching element, also Ua2 may be indicated as a percentage value:

Ua2=(1−δ)×UKL30 

The lower voltage threshold Uau is determined as follows. The current threshold Ilim1 is already known. During the cycle of a pulse, the output voltage Ua and the current I are sampled simultaneously. At the point in time t1, the current I reaches the lower current threshold: I(t1)=Ilim1. At the same point in time, the output voltage Ua reaches the value Ua(t1). The voltage threshold Uau is fixed just below this value Ua (t1): Uau=Ua(t1) ΔU1. When fixing the magnitude of ΔU1, it has to be taken into consideration that the current I is still or already almost zero at the lower voltage threshold Uau.
Similarly, the upper voltage threshold Uao is determined as follows. The upper current threshold Ilim2 is already known. During the cycle of a pulse, the output voltage Ua and the current I are sampled simultaneously. At the point in time t2, the current reaches the upper current threshold: I(t2)=Ilim2. At the same point in time, the output voltage Ua reaches the value Ua(t2). The voltage threshold Uao is fixed just above this value Ua(t2): Uao=Ua(t2)+ΔU2. When fixing the magnitude of ΔU2, it has to be taken into consideration that the current I is still or already almost the maximum value Imax at the upper voltage threshold Uao.










List of reference numerals
















110
Light emitting diode (LED) in series with series resistor


120
Light emitting diode in series with power source


200
MOSFET switching element


300
Control logic


400
Controllable power source


510, 520, 530
Schmitt trigger, comparator


600
Comparator


700
Inverter


810, 820
Switch


K1
Relative power loss PV/PV-max as a function of the relative



output voltage Ua/UKL30 with a linear load element


K2
Relative power loss PV/PV-max as a function of the relative



output voltage Ua/UKL30 with a non-linear load element


K3
Relative power loss PV/PV-max as a function of the relative



output voltage Ua/UKL30 with a non-linear load element, wherein



the maximum load current has an upper limit


S1, S2
Stepped convergence of the switching speed to the ideal curve K1,



K2 and K3, respectively, with different numbers of steps


B1
Range where the power loss PV is zero in spite of the increasing



output voltage Ua


B2
Range where the relative power loss PV/PV-max shows an



approximately linear interrelationship with the relative output voltage



Ua/UKL30


B3
Range where the load current Ia is limited by the power source the



light emitting diode 120 is connected in series with


T1
Separating line between ranges B1 and B2


T2
Separating line between ranges B2 and B3


L1
Normalized current-voltage characteristic of a linear load element


L2
Normalized current-voltage characteristic of a light emitting diode



120 that is operated in series with a power source


A, B, C, D, E, F, G
Individual range in the switching process

## Claims

1. Method for driving a non-linear load element,
wherein an output voltage (Ua) at the non-linear load element, and a load current (Ia) currently flowing through the non-linear load element is measured, and an instantaneous switching speed is controlled in dependence on the load current (Ia),
wherein a) a lower voltage threshold Uau is determined when the load current Ia flowing through the non-linear load element exceeds a predefined current value and b) an upper voltage threshold Uao is determined when the load current Ia flowing through the non-linear load element reaches a maximum current value, and
wherein the instantaneous switching speed is controlled when the output voltage is between the lower voltage threshold Uau and the upper voltage threshold Uao such that the switching speed is set: a) at a first speed when an instantaneous power loss is greater than a threshold, and b) at a second speed that is lower than the first speed when the instantaneous power loss is less than or equal to the threshold.

2. Method according to claim 1, wherein during the switching, the load current (Ia) currently flowing in the load element is picked up continuously.

3. Method according to claim 1, wherein during the switching, both the instantaneous power loss and the load current (Ia) currently flowing in the load element are picked up continuously.

4. Method according to claim 1, wherein the method is a method for driving a load element for the pulse-width modulated driving of a load element with a non-linear interrelationship between the voltage and the current by means of an electronic switching element in the load circuit.

5. Method according to claim 4, wherein during the switching, an instantaneous output voltage at the load element and/or an instantaneous voltage at a gate of the switching element as well as the load current (Ia) currently flowing in the load element are picked up several times and the instantaneous switching speed is controlled in dependence on the instantaneous output voltage (Ua) at the load element and/or the instantaneous voltage (Ug) at the gate of the switching element and on the load current (Ia).

6. Method according to claim 1, wherein the switching speed is set high in the range where a ratio (dI/dU) of the load current (Ia) to the output voltage (Ua) is approximately zero.

7. Method according to claim 1, wherein the switching speed is set high in a range where a ratio (dI/dU) of the load current (Ia) to the output voltage (Ua) is not approximately zero and a power loss is high.

8. Method according to claim 1, wherein the switching speed is set low in a range where a ratio (dI/dU) of the load current (Ia) to the output voltage (Ua) is not approximately zero, but a power loss is low.

9. Method according to claim 1, wherein at least two current thresholds (Ilim1 and Ilim2) are provided for the load current (Ia).

10. Method according to claim 9, wherein at least two voltage thresholds (Uau and Uao) are provided for the output voltage (Ua).

11. Method according to claim 10, wherein the voltage thresholds (Uau and Uao) for the output voltage (Ua) are determined in dependence on the thresholds (Ilim1 and Ilim2) of the load current (Ia).

12. Method according to claim 10, wherein a maximum value (Imax) of the load current (Ia) is picked up during a pulse and one or more upper thresholds (Uao, Ilim2) are determined in dependence thereon, and a currently flowing load current (Ia) is compared with the thresholds (Uao, Ilim2) and the switching speed is controlled in dependence thereon.

13. Method according to claim 1, wherein the driving is carried out in such a manner that, in a range of high power loss, the output voltage (Ua) is adjusted to a maximally preset switching speed and the switching speed at a beginning and at an end of the switching is lower than a maximum switching speed.

14. Method according to claim 10, wherein a voltage value of the load element occurring simultaneously with the lower threshold (Ilim1) of the load current (Ia) is determined and a lower voltage threshold (Uau) is defined in dependence thereon and the switching speed is controlled in dependence thereon so that the switching speed below this voltage threshold (Uau) is higher than a minimally preset switching speed.

15. Method according to claim 12, wherein a voltage value of the load element associated with the maximum current (Imax) is determined and an upper voltage threshold (Uao) is defined in dependence thereon and the switching speed is controlled in dependence thereon so that the switching speed above the upper voltage threshold (Uao) is higher than a minimally preset switching speed.

16. Method according to claim 12, wherein the maximum value of the voltage of the load element, or a voltage value that occurs simultaneously with the maximum current (Imax), is determined and compared with the voltage threshold (Uao) that occurs in a same pulse and depends on the maximum current (Imax) and, in dependence on a difference therebetween, the voltage threshold (Uao) and/or the current threshold (Ilim2) that depends on the maximum current (Imax) is/are adopted or rejected.

17. Device for driving a non-linear load element, including:
control logic that measures an output voltage Ua at the non-linear load element, and a load current Ia currently flowing through the non-linear load element, and controls an instantaneous switching speed in dependence on the load current (Ia) and an instantaneous power loss (Pv),
wherein a) a lower voltage threshold Uau is determined when the load current Ia flowing through the non-linear load element exceeds a predefined current value and b) an upper voltage threshold Uao is determined when the load current Ia flowing through the non-linear load element reaches a maximum current value, and
wherein the instantaneous switching speed is controlled when the output voltage is between the lower voltage threshold Uau and the upper voltage threshold Uao such that the switching speed is set: a) at a first speed when an instantaneous power loss is greater than a threshold, and b) at a second speed that is lower than the first speed when the instantaneous power loss is less than or equal to the threshold.

18. Device of claim 17, wherein the device is configured for pulse-width modulated driving of a load element with a non-linear interrelationship between a voltage and a current by an electronic switching element in the load circuit.

19. Device of claim 17, wherein during the switching, the load current (Ia) currently flowing in the load element is picked up continuously.

20. Device of claim 17, wherein during the switching, said means pick up both the instantaneous power loss (PV) and the load current (Ia) currently flowing in the load element several times.

21. Device of claim 17, wherein during the switching, said means pick up both the instantaneous power loss (PV) and the load current (Ia) currently flowing in the load element continuously.