Patent Publication Number: US-2023147508-A1

Title: Power regulating device and light

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to the technical field of lighting equipment, particularly to a power regulating device. 
     Background Power regulating of lights is usually realized with a dedicated dimmer, such as 0-10V dimmer, controllable silicon dimmer, etc. Such dimmers are usually independent from the light, and the specification of the dimmer should match the specification of the driving power supply inside the light, so that the dimmer can be used. The operation of such application is complex. Also, when the specification of the dimmer does not match that of the driving power supply, the circuit is easy to burn out, and accidents will occur. Additionally, existing lights usually apply continuous power regulating which is hard to realize precise dimming of specific power and affects the service effect. 
     The foregoing content is only used for assisting in understanding the technical scheme of the present invention, but does not mean the acknowledgement that the above content is the prior art. 
     SUMMARY 
     To solve the above problem, the present invention provides a power regulating device and light that can realize both continuous dimming and precise dimming to realize composite dimming of the light. 
     To realize the above purpose, the power regulating device of the present invention comprises: 
     Amounting base provided on the light; the mounting base provided with a mounting space; 
     Variable resistance provided inside the mounting space and electrically connecting to the control power supply of the light; 
     A control switch provided in the mounting base and electrically connecting the control power supply of the light; 
     Regulating part, connecting to the mounting base in a flexible way and provided with the first regulating section and the second regulating section; the first regulating section connecting to the variable resistance, the second regulating section enabling switch of the state of the control switch; when the regulating part rotates or slides corresponding to the mounting base, the resistance value of the variable resistance can be changed, or the state of the control switch can be switched; when the state of the control switch is switched, the control power supply outputs the corresponding specific power according to the control switch, i.e. the precise dimming power; when the state of the control switch is not switched, the control power supply outputs corresponding power according to the resistance value of the variable resistance, i.e. the continuous dimming power. Other characteristics and corresponding beneficial effects of the present invention are elaborated in the latter part of the description. 
     The solving ideas of technical problems of the present invention and relevant product design solutions are as shown below: 
     Taking the light with the maximum power of 63 W as an example, the light body is provided with a power regulating device. The power regulating device comprises a rotatable regulating part, a potentiometer, at least one control switch and one control power supply. The regulating part comprises the first regulating section and the second regulating section. The first regulating section connects to the potentiometer (variable resistance RT 1 ), and can change the resistance value of the potentiometer during rotation of the regulating part to generate continuously changing first control signals, enabling the control power supply to realize corresponding continuous power output. During rotation of the regulating part, the second regulating section can gradually start one or multiple control switch/es to change the state of the control switch and generate specific second control signals, enabling the control power supply to realize specific precise power output [in the embodiment, the control switch can be normally open, when the second regulating section contacts the control switch, the switch will be turned off to send the second control signals to the control power supply; when the second regulating section does not contact the control switch, the switch will be turned off automatically, so that the second control signals will not be sent]. For example, when the second regulating section rotates to the first control switch SW 1 , one second control signal enabling output of 36 W power will be sent to the control power supply, when the second regulating section rotates to and contacts the second control switch SW 2 , another second control signal enabling output of 54 W power will be sent to the control power supply ( FIG.  14   ). The control power supply gives priority to handling of the second control signal, that is, when the first regulating section and the second regulating section send control power supply to the first control signal and the second control signal respectively at the same time, the control power supply will output the corresponding power according to the second control signal, and the first control signal is invalid in such a case, so that it is guaranteed that the control power supply can output specific power precisely. When the control power supply only receives the first control signal, the control power supply outputs continuous dimming power. In other embodiments, the rotation design scheme of the regulating part can be changed into the slide design scheme. The new scheme has the following strengths: 
     (1) The dimming device enables both the continuous dimming and precise dimming, achieving good service effects. 
     (2) This can avoid hidden safety hazards arising from mismatch between the dimmer and the light power supply and improve the operation safety during dimming of the light. 
     (3) Multiple specific power points for precise dimming can be added, the power regulating precision is high, and the working stability of lights can be improved. 
     (4) This facilitates unification of the light specification. Users only need to buy one specification of products. By regulating the dimming device manually, the power demands of different lighting scenes can be met. Users can freely select brighter or more energy-saving working models according to personal likes. No matter the light is supplied with electricity, the power can be adjusted, enabling convenient and safe operation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an embodiment of the power regulating device of the present invention. 
         FIG.  2    is a breakdown drawing showing the structure of the power regulating device in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is the sectional drawing of the power regulating device in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  4    is a schematic diagram showing the structure of one regulating state of the power regulating device in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  5    is a schematic diagram showing the structure of another regulating state of the power regulating device in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  6    is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the regulating part in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  7    is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the mounting base in  FIG.  2   . 
         FIG.  8    is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the variable resistance in  FIG.  3   . 
         FIG.  9    is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the control switch in  FIG.  3   . 
         FIG.  10    is a drawing showing the position relationship between the second regulating section and contact in  FIG.  4   . 
         FIG.  11    is a schematic diagram showing the structure of an embodiment of the lamp in the present invention. 
         FIG.  12    is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the local section in  FIG.  11   . 
         FIG.  13    is one diagram showing control of the light in  FIG.  12   . 
         FIG.  14    is one diagram showing the circuit of the light in  FIG.  13   . 
         FIG.  15    is one diagram showing the amplification circuit of the rectifier filter circuit in  FIG.  14   . 
         FIG.  16    is one diagram showing the amplification circuit of the power control circuit in  FIG.  14   . 
         FIG.  17    is one diagram showing the amplification circuit of the power output circuit in  FIG.  14   . 
         FIG.  18    is one diagram showing the amplification circuit of the dimming signal control circuit in  FIG.  14   . 
         FIG.  19    is one diagram showing the amplification circuit of the U 2  power supply circuit in  FIG.  14   . 
     
    
    
     Notes: In the schematic diagram of the circuit, U 1  is the main control chip, U 2  is the sub-control chip, SW 1  is the first control switch, SW 2  is the second control switch, RT 1  is the variable resistance, the definition of other sign numbers and names is shown in the content of the concrete embodiment. 
     The shape, dimension, proportion or position relationship of parts of the product in drawings may be real data of embodiments and they are under protection of the present invention. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     To make the objective, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer and be understood better, further detailed descriptions of embodiments of the present invention are made in combination with drawings. Understandably, the specific embodiments described are just used to explain but not limit the present invention. 
     The present invention provides a power regulating device for regulating the power of lights. As shown in  FIG.  1   - FIG.  5   ,  FIG.  11    and  FIG.  14   , the power regulating device comprises a mounting base  3 , a regulating part  1 , a variable resistance  5  and at least a control switch  6 . The mounting base is provided on the light body  20  of the light; the inside of the mounting base  3  is provided with a mounting space  31 ; the variable resistance  5  is provided inside the mounting space  31  and electrically connects to the control power supply  9  of the light; the control switch  6  is provided inside the mounting space  31  and electrically connects to the control power supply  9  of the light; the regulating part  1  flexibly connects to the mounting base  3 , the regulating part  1  is provided with the first regulating section  11  and the second regulating section  12 ; the first regulating section  11  connects to the variable resistance  5 , the second regulating section  12  can switch the state of the control switch  6 . 
     The regulating part  1  can rotate or slide corresponding to the mounting base  3  to change the resistance value of the variable resistance  5  and switch the state of the control switch  6 . when the state of the control switch  6  is switched, the control power supply  9  outputs the corresponding specific power according to the control switch  6 ; when the state of the control switch  6  is not switched, the control power supply  9  can output corresponding continuously changing power according to the resistance value of the variable resistance  5 . 
     In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG.  3   , the regulating part  1  can rotate around the rotating shaft  13  corresponding to mounting base  3 . It is defined that the direction of the rotating shaft  13  is the up-down direction, and the direction vertical to the rotating shaft  13  is the horizontal direction. The first regulating section  11  is provided on one end of the regulating part  1  and parallel to or overlapped with the rotating shaft  13 , the second regulating section  12  is vertical to the rotating shaft  13 ; the cross section of the first regulating section  11  is in the “cross” shape ( FIG.  8   ), the insertion slot  51  on the variable resistance  5  is provided as a concave slot with a cross section in the “cross” shape; the first regulating section  11  is inserted into the insertion slot  51 , rotation of the first regulating section  11  can drive the variable resistance  5  (knob-type potentiometer) to rotate, so that the resistance value of the variable resistance  5  can be regulated to supply control power supply  9  with continuously changing first control signal and realize continuous dimming. 
     The control switch  6  comprises the contact  61  flexibly provided on its top and on the moving path of the second regulating section  12 , the second regulating section  12  can move along with the rotation of the regulating part  1 , the second regulating section  12  can contact the contact  61  during its movement, the contact  61  will move downward when it is extruded by the second regulating section  12 , and the control switch  6  will switch from the first state to the second state as a result (from the closed state to the open state, or from the open state to the closed state). The control switch  6  can be normally closed, or normally open and can recover to the first state under the natural state. When the state of the control switch  6  is changed, the second control signal will be sent to the control power supply  9  to realize precise dimming There may be one or multiple control switch(es)  6 . When the power regulating device  20  comprises multiple control switches  6  ( FIG.  4    and  FIG.  5   ), during rotation of the regulating part  1 , the second regulating section  12  can contact each control switch  6  one by one and successively generate multiple second control signals. 
     Preferentially, the power regulating device also comprises the circuit board  4  provided inside the mounting space, the variable resistance  5  is provided on the lower surface of the circuit board  4 , the control switch  6  is provided on the upper surface of the circuit board  4 ; the circuit board  4  is provided with an avoiding hole  41 , the first regulating section  11  passes through the avoiding hole  41  and connects to the variable resistance  5 ; the structure is more compact. In other embodiments, the variable resistance  5  and the control switch  6  can be flexibly provided in different positions of the circuit board  4 . Further, the surface of the mounting base  3  is also provided with a support pillar  35 , and the circuit board  4  is fixed onto the support pillar  35  via the second fastener  23 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  10   , to ensure that the second regulating section  12  can contact the contact  61  effectively, the height of the bottom of the second regulating section  12  should be lower than the top of the contact  61  to form a height difference H, the effective contact length of the second regulating section  12  and the contact  61  is W, and the effective contact length of the contact  61  and the bottom of the second regulating section  12  is L. The process where the second regulating section  12  rotates to L and W is the effective working stage. When the continuous dimming and the precise dimming are switched, the output power of the power supply will suddenly change from the high power at the critical point of continuous dimming into precise power, or from the lower power at the critical point of the continuous dimming into the precise power, presenting the feeling of transition of brightness and darkness; to reduce the sense of transition of brightness and darkness, the numerical value of W and L should be decreased, so that the numerical value of the high power and the low power of the critical point of continuous dimming can be closer to the precise power to weaken the above obvious transition of brightness and darkness. To decrease the numerical value of W, the effective contact surface at the bottom of the second regulating section  12  can be designed into a taper or other pointed geometric structures; to reduce the numerical value of L, the effective contact top of the contact  61  can be designed into an arc surface or other pointed geometric structures. 
     As shown in  FIG.  4   - FIG.  7   , the regulating part  1  also comprises the first locating arm  14  vertical to the rotating shaft  13 , the lateral surface inside the mounting base  3  corresponding to the first locating arm  14  is provided with several locating slots  32 , several locating slots  32  are provided in a annular shape, when the regulating part  1  rotates to one angle, the first locating arm  14  and the locating slots  32  will be of interference fit to restrict the angle of the regulating part  1 . 
     To prevent rotation of the regulating part  1  exceeds the extreme power scope of the light, preferentially, as shown in  FIG.  6    and  FIG.  7   , the regulating part  1  also comprises the second locating arm  15  vertical to the rotating shaft  13 , the inner surface of the mounting base  3  corresponding to the second locating arm  15  is provided with two locating sections  33 , when the regulating part  1  rotates clockwise or counterclockwise to the limiting position, the second locating arm  15  can be against the locating section  33 , preventing the regulating part  1  rotating outside the adjustable scope of the light power. The locating section  33  can be provided on the top surface or the lateral surface of the mounting base  3 . 
     Preferentially, the top of the regulating part  1  is provided with a keycap  2 ; the keycap  2  can rotate or slide to drive corresponding rotation or slide of the regulating part  1 ; The surface of the mounting base  3  or the light nearby the keycap  2  is provided with a power sign, when the keycap  2  rotates or slides to one position, the indicating section points to the corresponding power sign to improve the operation convenience. As shown in  FIG.  3    and  FIG.  6   , the upper end of the regulating part  1  is provided with a slope  16 , when the regulating part  1  is inserted into the mounting hole of the keycap  2 , rotation of the regulating part  1  and the keycap  2  around the rotating shaft  13  can be prevented; the first fastener  22  connects to the regulating part  1  and the keycap  2 , preventing peeling off of the keycap  2 . The second regulating section  12 , the first locating arm  14  and the second locating arm  15  are distributed from the bottom to the top and on the same side of the regulating part  1 . 
     Preferentially, the mounting base  3  comprises the bottom cover  8  provided on its bottom; the upper end of the bottom cover  8  is provided with an elastic snap joint  81 , the lateral side of the mounting base  3  corresponding to the snap joint  81  is provided with a clamping slot  34 , the bottom cover  8  is installed onto the bottom of the mounting base  3  through connection of the snap joint  81  and the clamping slot  34 . 
     By referring to several technical schemes as mentioned above, the present invention can also provide a power regulating device comprising a stroke part, a continuous regulator and a precise regulator. the stroke part can move along the regulating stroke; movement of the stroke part along the regulating stroke drives the continuous regulator to continuously adjust the power in a linear way; the precise regulator comprises one or several precise power triggering point/s on the regulating stroke of the stroke part, so that it can regulate the power to get the corresponding precise power when the stroke part reaches the precise power triggering point. 
     the stroke comprises the rotation movement path or the linear movement path. 
     the continuous regulator is used for continuous regulation (stepless dimming) of the output power of the control power supply of the light; it is understood that all the mechanisms that enable continuous regulation of the output power of the control power supply are within the protection scope of the present invention (for example, the continuous regulator can comprises the variable resistance); the continuous regulator can send continuous regulation signals to the control part of the control power supply according to the numerical value of the resistance introduced into the circuit, and the control part of the control power supply of the light receives the continuous regulation signal to regulate the output power. 
     The precise regulator can regulate the output power of the control power supply of the light into one or several preset constant value/s. It is understood that all the mechanisms that can realize the above functions are within the protection scope of the present invention (for example, the precise regulator can comprises a position sensor). the position sensor can be a proximity sensor, when the position sensor senses that the stroke part moves to the corresponding position, it sends the precise power regulation signal, the control part of the control power supply of the light receives the precise power regulation signal to regulate the output power of the power supply; the precise regulator can comprise a concrete control switch, the stroke part reaches the precise power triggering point to contact the contact of the control switch to switch the first state of the control switch into the second state, the precise power regulation signal is sent, and the control part of the control power supply of the light receives the precise power regulation signal to regulate the output power of the power supply. 
     As regards the control part of the control power supply of the light, the precise power regulation signal is prior to the continuous regulation signal. 
     As shown in  FIG.  11    and  FIG.  12   , the present invention also provides a light, comprising a control power supply  9 , a power regulating device  20  and the light body  10 , the light body  10  is provided with a mounting slot for providing the light power regulation device  20 , and the power regulation device  20  is provided in the mounting slot. The power regulating device  20  is provided with a lead wire  7  connecting to the control power supply  9 . 
     In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG.  13 - 19   , the control circuit of the control power supply  9  comprises the switch-in end  91 , rectifier filter circuit  92 , power control circuit  93 , power output circuit  94 , output end  9 , dimming signal control circuit  96  and U 2  power supply circuit  97  electrically connected in sequence; wherein, U 2  power supply circuit  97  provides working power for dimming signal control circuit  96 ; the rectifier filter circuit  92  and the power output circuit  94  can be regular circuits; Dimming signal control circuit  96  can be used for receiving the first control signal and the second control signal sent by the power regulating device  20 . 
     As shown in  FIG.  14   , the U 2  power supply circuit  97  access power from the power output circuit  94 , constant voltage is output from the pin  6  via regulation of the U 3  chip and its peripheral circuit, the output voltage in the embodiment is 5V; in other embodiments, U 2  power supply circuit  97  can also access power from other places. 
     As shown in  FIG.  14    and  FIG.  18   , the dimming signal control circuit  96  comprises the sub-control chip U 2 , variable resistance RT 1  (i.e. variable resistance  5 ) and two control switches SW 1  and SW 2 . one end of variable resistance RT 1  connects to the pin  2  of the sub-control chip U 2 , one end connects to the grounding wire, the other end connects to the constant voltage, under the action of the constant voltage, different resistance values of variable resistance RT 1  are converted into different sizes of current signals, so that the chip U 2  can identify the size of the first control signal; there is also a resistance R 13  between the pin  2  of the chip U 2  and the variable resistance RT 1  for improving the anti-interference capacity of the circuit and improving the precision of chip U 2 &#39;s recognition of resistance value changes of the variable resistance RT 1  to realize higher power regulation precision; one end of two control switches SW 1  and SW 2  electrically connects to pin  4  and pin  5  of sub-control chip U 2  respectively, and the other end connects to the ground. The first control switch SW 1  and the second control switch SW 2  are corresponding to one triggering point of precise power respectively; the corresponding precise power is set when the second regulating section  12  reaches the precise power triggering point. The resistance value of the variable resistance RT 1  changes to send the first control signal to chip U 2 ; when the state of the control switch SW 1 , SW 2  or more control switches is switched, the second control signal is sent to the chip U 2 . Chip U 2  (sub-control chip) can output different internal control signals via pin  6  according to the first control signal from pin  2 , one second control signal form pin  4  and another second control signal from pin  5 . This internal control signal can be PWM signal that is delivered to the main control chip U 1  of power control circuit  93  via the optocoupler (PC 1 A/PC 1 B). 
     The main control chip U 1  can be SY5892 constant current control chip supplied by Silergy Semiconductor Technology (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. Chip U 2  (sub-control chip) can be SCM. Priority is given to handing of the second control signal. For example, the control switch SW 1  is corresponding to 36 W precise power, and control switch SW 2  is corresponding to 54 W precise power; when the state of control switch SW 1  is switched, the chip U 2  receives the first control signal and the second control signal at the same time, chip U 2  only outputs the specific PWM value A corresponding to SW 1 , enabling power control circuit  93  to output 36 W specific precise power; when the state of control switch SW 2  is switched, the chip U 2  receives the first control signal and the second control signal at the same time, chip U 2  only outputs the specific PWM value B corresponding to SW 2 , enabling power control circuit  93  to output 54 W specific precise power; when chip U 2  only receives the first control signal, chip U 2  recognizes the first control signal, outputs the corresponding PWM value C, enables power control circuit  93  to output the corresponding power, and since the first control signal changes continuously, the power output by power control circuit  93  according to the changing first control signal is also continuous. The PWM value A, B and C of the above internal control signals are different and possess different duty ratios ranging from 0 to 100%. Different duty ratios are corresponding to different power output values. Wherein, 100% means the maximum power, and 0% means the minimum power. 
     The present invention provides a power regulation method of the power regulating device, characterized in that: sub-control chip U 2  sends corresponding internal control signals to the main control chip U 1  respectively according to change of the resistance value of the variable resistance and switch of the state of the control switch; 
     The first regulating section  11  is used to regulate the resistance value of the variable resistance  5 , the change of the resistance value enables generation of continuously changing first control signal; the second regulating section  12  is used to switch the state of the control switch  6 , the switch of the state of the control switch  6  enables generation of the specific second control signal; 
     The dimming signal control circuit  96  can switch the first control signals and the second control signals into different internal control signals; when the state of the control switch  6  is not switched, the dimming signal control circuit  96  outputs corresponding internal control signals of the power control circuit  93  according to the continuously changing first control signals, enabling the power control circuit  93  to output corresponding continuously changing power; when the state of the control switch  6  is switched, the dimming signal control circuit  96  will send the specific internal control signal to the power control circuit  93  according to the second control signal, so that the power control circuit  93  will output specific precise power. 
     The above description only presents the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and it is not for this reason that the patent scope of the invention is limited. Any equivalent structural transformation made by using the description of the invention and the drawings, or direct/indirect application in other related technical fields under the inventive concept of the invention, is included in the patent protection scope of the invention.