Abstract:
A LED controller that allows the user to control the output intensity of one or more LED lights is disclosed. The intensity levels or brightness of the LED lights are not limited to 3, 4 or even 10 levels of light output; instead, the LED controller provides what appears to the human eye as a smooth range of changing brightness levels depending on the needs the user.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The invention relates generally to the lighting industry and more particularly to an electronic LED controller and lighting system. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Electrical lights have been around for well over 100 years. During that time, many variations and improvements in the technologies utilized to produce light have occurred. One of the most recent developments has been the widespread adoption of Light Emitting Diode (LED) lighting systems as a replacement for older incandescent and fluorescent systems. 
         [0003]    In the last twenty years, rapid commercialization of LED technologies has occurred. LED lighting systems can be found in everything from hand-held flashlights to standard floor and desk lamps. In fact, the more powerful LEDs of recent manufacture are even being utilized in large-scale outdoor lighting projects. 
         [0004]    Nevertheless, while LED lights have made impressive inroads in many areas of the lighting industry, LED systems still have a few problems and limitations. One such limitation is the general lack of LED controller systems that provide varying intensity outputs for LED lighting systems. A variety of multi-step systems are available, but the resulting lighting effect is similar to a standard three-way incandescent bulb in that three predefined levels of brightness are apparent rather than a smooth increasing and decreasing of the light output levels. 
         [0005]    Another technology that is often utilized in LED systems is called a Pulse Width Modulator (PWM). PWMs are used to control the light output of LEDs. A PWM acts by providing segmented pulses of voltage to a LED, causing a flashing or pulsing effect in the light output of the LED. The pulsing effect causes the human eye to perceive an erratic flashing effect when a PWM is used to dim or brighten LED lights. Thus, a need exists for a LED controller and lighting system that can smoothly increase and decrease LED light output intensities without utilizing apparent brightness steps/levels or causing a pulsing of the LED. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    Embodiments described and claimed herein address the foregoing problems by providing a LED controller that allows the user to control the output intensity of one or more LED lighting systems. The intensity levels or brightness of the LED lights are not limited to 3, 4 or even 10 levels of light output; instead, the LED controller provides what appears to the human eye as a smooth range of changing brightness levels depending on the needs of the user. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]    The aforementioned and other features and objects of the present invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of a preferred embodiment and other embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
           [0008]      FIG. 1  illustrates a view of an exemplary embodiment of a LED controller and lighting system operating on an alternating current power system. 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  illustrates a close-up view of an exemplary embodiment of a LED controller and lighting system operating on an alternating current power system. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  illustrates a close-up view of an exemplary embodiment of a LED controller and lighting system operating on a direct current power system. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  illustrates a view of an exemplary embodiment of a LED controller and lighting system that utilizes a radio frequency module for wireless remote control functionality. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  illustrates a close-up view of an exemplary embodiment of a microchip component of a LED controller and lighting system. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0013]    In one embodiment, a LED controller utilizes United States standard residential alternating current (A/C) as a power source (either 110 volt or 220 volt). In another embodiment, a LED controller utilizes direct current (D/C) as a power source (for example, a 12 volt solar-powered system). Other voltage types and sources are contemplated. 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a LED controller and lighting system  100  operating on an A/C power system. The primary components shown in  FIG. 1  include: a LED controller  110 ; a system of LED lights  120 ,  121 , and  122 ; an A/C power source  130 ; and the D/C power output  140 . The LED controller  110  shown in  FIG. 1  is illustrated as a simple switchbox. In other embodiments, other types of switches and/or controls are contemplated. In  FIG. 1 , the LED controller and lighting system  100  is operating on a standard A/C power source  130 . The A/C power source  130  feeds into the LED controller  110 . The LED controller  110  contains a number of subcomponents that are not shown in  FIG. 1  (see detailed description of the LED controller  110  below). The subcomponents act on the incoming A/C power source  130  and output the D/C power output  140 . As shown in  FIG. 1 , the D/C power output  140  is routed directly to the LED lighting system  120 ,  121 , and  122 . However, in alternate embodiments, the D/C power output  140  could connect to other components before being routed to the LED lighting system  120 ,  121 , and  122 . 
         [0015]    Once the A/C power source  130  is routed to the LED controller  110 , a user of the system can operate the rocker switch  111  to control the light output levels of the lighting system  120 ,  121 , and  122 . The LED controller  110  is connected to the lighting system  120 ,  121 , and  122  by the D/C power output  140 . Because the LED controller  110  does not rely upon a pulse width modulator (PWM) but instead utilizes a custom-coded microchip (among other components) to vary the light intensity of the lighting system  120 ,  121 , and  122 , the user will experience a gradual increasing or decreasing of light brightness/intensity while operating the rocker switch  111  instead of a pulsing or flashing effect common to PWM systems. 
         [0016]    The lighting system  120 ,  121 , and  122  as shown in  FIG. 1  only has 3 LED lights. In other embodiments, the lighting system  120 ,  121 , and  122  can contain fewer lights or more lights than that shown in  FIG. 1 . Furthermore, the lighting system  120 ,  121 , and  122  can be composed of LED lights having different colors, sizes, shapes, intensities, etc. 
         [0017]      FIG. 2  illustrates a close-up view of an exemplary embodiment of a LED controller and lighting system  200  operating on an A/C power system. In the embodiment in  FIG. 2 , a switch plate  210  can be used to bring the A/C power from the A/C power source  230  to the terminal blocks  251 . The switch plate  210  holds the LED controller  250  in position and the line wires coming from the A/C power source  230  bring the A/C power to the terminal blocks  251  to start the rectification of power to a D/C source. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the subcomponents of the LED controller  250  are represented by simple rectangles. Furthermore, in alternate embodiments, other subcomponents arranged in similar or different ways are contemplated. 
         [0018]    Power is brought in to the LED controller  250  through the terminal blocks  251 . The terminal blocks can consist of any components or subcomponents which function as a power input conduit for the LED controller  250 . The terminal blocks  251  route power to a bridge rectifier  252 . The bridge rectifier  252  transforms the A/C power into a D/C current. The resulting D/C current is then transferred to a capacitor-input filter  253  to smooth the voltage supply. Alternatively, a voltage regulator can be used either instead of or in addition to the capacitor-input filter  253 , both to remove the last of the ripple and to deal with variations in supply and load characteristics. 
         [0019]    Once the system has access to a D/C current, the power flow must be regulated. In one embodiment, the unregulated D/C power is routed to a capacitor  254  that subsequently produces a supply of relatively clean, uninterrupted D/C power output. Other embodiments may utilize other means or methods of regulating the D/C power. Furthermore, the power could be cleaned and regulated at a completely different location in the circuit, in yet another embodiment. Depending on the specific voltage requirements of other components, an additional voltage regulator  255  could be utilized to bring the exemplary 12 volt D/C current down to a 5 volt D/C current if needed for a 5 volt microchip, for example. 
         [0020]    The resulting D/C current is then routed to a microchip  256 . In one embodiment, a pre-programmed, static microchip  256  design is used. In another embodiment a re-programmable microchip  256  is used. Regardless of the type of microchip  256  used, its main function is to control the output of the 12 volt signal to the LED lighting system  220  in order to provide dimming and brightening of the LED lighting system  220 . This is accomplished by using a programmable code-based microchip  256  that uses an oscillation chip with two hundred and fifty-five or more incremental steps rather than the segmented pulses of a standard PWM. In alternate embodiments, fewer than two hundred and fifty-five incremental steps may be used. In yet another embodiment, more than two hundred and fifty-five incremental steps may be used. Providing incremental steps at a much greater numerical value results in a smooth up and down transition of brightness/intensity of the LED lighting system  220  while maintaining the 12 volt D/C voltage supply. The transition of light output from low intensity to maximum intensity is achieved without the flickering effect of the traditional PWM. The program can be set to dim or intensify in variable increments. Those increments can be either an instantaneous change or a smooth transition without the flickering visual effect. This non-flickering effect is a result of the custom programming of the microchip  256 . 
         [0021]    In one embodiment, the microchip  256  is programmed to provide a range of brightness from 25% to 75% of the LED lighting system&#39;s  220  maximum lumens. In another embodiment, the microchip  256  specifies that on initial power-up, the LED lighting system  220  produces 10% output and then slowly progresses to 100% output over a 30 second period; while a user can halt the progression at any time. 
         [0022]    A number of additional capacitors  257  and additional resistors  258  are also utilized throughout the LED controller in order to regulate power, depending upon the desired leg from the microchip  256  and its final function. The additional legs can be used to show and verify that the system has power to a unit (i.e., a LED on the unit showing that the system has power and is functioning). One or more additional LEDs can be used to show if a unit is at fault or has a line short, has crossed wires or a polarity problem, etc. Additional capacitors  257  and additional resistors  258  are utilized to provide the correct power requirements to the LEDs in order to activate them and the corresponding function(s). 
         [0023]    In addition to the programmable microchip  256  dimming/brightening functions, the user can also manually affect the dimming/brightening. This is accomplished by operating a rocker switch  211  built into the switch plate  210  described above. The rocker switch  211  sends a signal to the microchip  256  to manually brighten or dim the LED lighting system  220 . 
         [0024]    The LED controller  250  has a set of outbound terminals  259 . The outbound terminals  259  provide the conduit that allows outbound flow of D/C power output  240  from the LED controller  250  to the LED lighting system  220 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , the LED lighting system  220  has three LED lights. Other embodiments with a different number of LED lights are contemplated. 
         [0025]      FIG. 3  illustrates a close-up view of an exemplary embodiment of a LED controller and lighting system  300  operating on a D/C power system. In the embodiment in  FIG. 3 , a switch plate  310  can be used to bring the D/C power from the D/C power source  330  to the terminal blocks  351 . The switch plate  310  holds the LED controller  350  in position and the line wires coming from the D/C power source  330  bring the D/C power to the terminal blocks  351 . As power is brought in to the LED controller  350  from the terminal blocks  351  it is routed to a voltage regulator  352  to bring the voltage to 12 volts D/C. Other voltages are contemplated. 
         [0026]    In one embodiment, the unregulated D/C power is routed to a capacitor  354  that subsequently produces a supply of relatively clean, uninterrupted D/C power output. Other embodiments may utilize other means or methods for regulating the D/C power. Furthermore, the power could be cleaned and regulated at a completely different location in the circuit, in yet another embodiment. Depending on the specific voltage requirements of other components, an additional voltage regulator  355  could be utilized to bring the exemplary 12 volt D/C current down to a 5 volt D/C current if needed for a 5 volt microchip, for example. 
         [0027]    The resulting D/C current is then routed to a microchip  356 . In one embodiment, a pre-programmed, static microchip  356  design is used. In another embodiment a re-programmable microchip  356  is used. Regardless of the type of microchip  356  used, its main function is to control the output of the 12 volt signal to the LED lighting system  320  in order to provide dimming and brightening of the LED lighting system  320 . This is accomplished by using a programmable code-based microchip  356  that uses an oscillation chip with two hundred and fifty-five or more incremental steps rather than the segmented pulses of a standard PWM. In alternate embodiments, fewer than two hundred and fifty-five incremental steps may be used. Providing incremental steps at a much greater numerical value results in a smooth up and down transition of brightness/intensity of the LED lighting system  220  while maintaining the 12 volt D/C voltage supply. The transition of light output from low intensity to maximum intensity is achieved without the flickering effect of the traditional PWM. The program can be set to dim or intensify in variable increments. Those increments can be either an instantaneous change or a smooth transition without the flickering visual effect. This non-flickering effect is a result of the custom programming of the microchip  356 . 
         [0028]    In one embodiment, the microchip  356  is programmed to provide a range of brightness from 50% to 100% of the LED lighting system&#39;s  320  maximum lumens. In another embodiment, the microchip  356  specifies that on initial power-up, the LED lighting system  320  produces 10% output and then slowly progresses to 80% output over a 20 second period; while a user can halt the progression at any time. 
         [0029]    A number of additional capacitors  357  and additional resistors  358  are also utilized throughout the LED controller  350  in order to regulate power, depending upon the desired leg from the microchip  356  and its final function. The design of the LED controller  350  and additional legs can be used to attach a remote controlled RF modulator. The RF modulator can then perform the same functions as the rocker switch  311  to dim and/or brighten the lights. 
         [0030]    In addition to the programmable microchip  356  dimming/brightening functions, the user can also manually affect the dimming/brightening. This is accomplished by operating a rocker switch  311  built into the switch plate  310  described above. The rocker switch  311  sends a signal to the microchip  356  to manually brighten or dim the LED lighting system  320 . The LED controller  350  has a set of outbound terminals  359 . The outbound terminals  359  provide the conduit that allows outbound flow of D/C power output  340  from the LED controller  350  to the LED lighting system  320 . 
         [0031]      FIG. 4  illustrates a view of an exemplary embodiment of a LED controller and lighting system  400  that utilizes a radio frequency (RF) module  470  for remote control functionality. The LED controller  450  is similar to that shown in  FIG. 3  in that it utilizes a D/C power source  430 . However, instead of having a manual user control in the form of a rocker switch on the switch plate  410 , the embodiment in  FIG. 4  utilizes a RF module  470  to allow the user to wirelessly control the brightness/dimming features of the LED controller  450  in order to brighten or dim the LED lighting system  420 . As can be seen in  FIG. 4 , the rocker switch  311  on the switch plate  410  from  FIG. 3  has been removed and a RF module  470  with an RF interface  480  to the microchip  456  has been added to the LED controller  450 . The remaining LED controller components are similar: the terminal blocks  451 , voltage regulator  452 , capacitor  454 , additional voltage regulator  455 , microchip  456 , additional capacitors  457 , additional resistors  458 , and outbound terminals  459 . Furthermore, the D/C power output  440  corresponds to that shown in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 5  illustrates a close-up view of an exemplary embodiment of a microchip component  556  of a LED controller and lighting system. As can be seen in  FIG. 5 , there are a number of inputs and outputs associated with the microchip  556 . One set of inputs provides the microchip  556  with its supply of power. In the exemplary embodiment in  FIG. 5 , the power supply inputs  591  receive 5 volts of clean, regulated D/C power. A second set of inputs, the switch inputs  592 , is shown in  FIG. 5 : they extend from the manual rocker switch  511  in the wall plate  510  to the microchip  556 . The rocker switch  511  is triggered manually by the user and signals to the microchip  556  that the LED lighting system should either be dimmed or brightened. In response, the microchip  556  enters a repeating loop process in which the microchip  556  first determines whether the rocker switch  511  is activated. If it is, the microchip  556  then determines the switch state of the rocker switch  511 : the switch is set to brighten or the switch is set to dim. In the first case, the microchip  556  increases the intensity level output to the LED lighting system and then enters a programmable-length delay mode before restarting the loop. In the second case, the microchip  556  decreases the intensity level output to the LED lighting system and then enters a programmable-length delay mode before restarting the loop. At the beginning of the loop, the microchip  556  once again determines whether the rocker switch  511  is active or inactive. If active, the loop progresses as above. If inactive, the microchip  556  exits the loop and holds steady the brightness level of the LED lighting system. 
         [0033]    In another embodiment, the microchip  556  uses RF inputs  593  to determine the status of the RF interface  580 . If the RF interface  580  is active and the rocker switch  511  is active then the microchip  556  enters a programmable-length delay mode before restarting the loop by determining whether the rocker switch  511  and the RF interface  580  are active. If only one of the two is active, the microchip  556  then determines whether the rocker switch  511  or the RF interface  580  is set to brighten or dim. Once that determination is completed, the loop progresses as above: the microchip  556  appropriately modifies the intensity level of the output to the LED lighting system, enters a programmable delay period, and then restarts the loop. If neither of the two is active, the microchip  556  takes no overt action. 
         [0034]    In an alternative embodiment, the microchip  556  utilizes a non-volatile memory (NVM)  595  component. The NVM  595  allows the microchip  556  to reset itself to a user-defined or otherwise predetermined brightness/intensity level for the LED lighting system if the power is lost to the LED controller and lighting system. 
         [0035]    The above specification, examples and data provide a description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments of the described articles of manufacture and methods. Many embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.