CN113597050B

CN113597050B - Control circuit, driving circuit, control method and lighting device

Info

Publication number: CN113597050B
Application number: CN202010514807.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邵蕴奇; 徐勇
Original assignee: Shanghai Looall Electronics Co ltd
Current assignee: Shanghai Looall Electronics Co ltd
Priority date: 2019-06-06
Filing date: 2020-06-08
Publication date: 2024-05-28
Anticipated expiration: 2040-06-08
Also published as: CN113597050A

Abstract

The invention discloses a control circuit, a driving circuit, a control method and a lighting device, wherein the control circuit is used for controlling an electric loop formed by connecting a direct current power supply and n LED groups in series and comprises a control unit and m sub-switch units; the sub-switch units respectively correspond to one LED group; the control unit is used for respectively controlling the on/off of the sub-switch units; when the output voltage of the direct current power supply is not smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, the control unit cuts off m separation switch units to form a main loop; when the output voltage is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, the control unit conducts at least one of the separation switch units and cuts off the rest separation switch units to form a separation loop. The invention controls the on or off of the sub-switch unit under the condition that the output voltage of the direct current power supply is reduced, so that the LED can be still lightened under the condition that the output voltage is reduced.

Description

Control circuit, driving circuit, control method and lighting device

The present application claims priority from chinese patent application CN201910493482.1, date 2019, month 6.

The present application claims priority from chinese patent application CN201911106847.7, the filing date of which is 2019, 11, 13.

The present application claims priority from chinese patent application CN201911106813.8, the filing date of which is 2019, 11, 13.

The present application claims priority from chinese patent application CN201911106939.5, the filing date of which is 2019, 11, 13.

The present application claims priority from chinese patent application CN201911106790.0, the filing date of which is 2019, 11, 13.

The present application claims priority from chinese patent application CN201911107801.7, the filing date of which is 2019, 11, 13.

The present application claims priority from chinese patent application CN202010340456.8, whose filing date is 4/27/2020.

The present application claims priority from chinese patent application CN202010507672.7, 6 and 5 of the filing date 2020.

The present application incorporates the entirety of the above-mentioned chinese patent application.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of LED lighting, and in particular, to a control circuit, a driving circuit, a control method, and a lighting device.

Background

The LED (light emitting diode) is a currently mainstream light emitting element, voltage and current changes on the LED can cause the change of the light emission amount of the LED, a desired current is applied to the LED to form a conduction voltage drop, the desired light emission amount is obtained, the LED is one of important design indexes of a driving circuit, and the other design index of the driving circuit is stable in input power, so that the heat productivity of the LED device is prevented from being too large, and the service life of the LED device is ensured.

Fig. 1 is a graph of the parameters of an LED rated at 9V and 60mA, from which it can be seen that the LED has a conduction voltage drop of about 9V to obtain the desired 60mA drive current. When the voltage across the LED decreases, the driving current of the LED decreases, and the power of the LED and the light emission luminance of the LED also decrease, but the power and the light emission luminance of the LED do not have a linear proportional relationship with the driving current of the LED. In other words, when the drive current through the LED decreases, the voltage across the LED decreases, and the power and the light emission luminance of the LED also decreases, and vice versa.

As a result of the search of the prior art, conventional driving circuits are mostly shown in fig. 2 or 3. The driving circuit of fig. 2 realizes stable light emission luminance by controlling the stabilization of the current flowing through the LED. As shown in fig. 2, the commercial power VACA is filtered by the rectifier bridge DBA and the electrolytic capacitor CA to form a dc power supply, and the dc power supply supplies a pulsating dc voltage VRECA to the LED a, where the LED a is formed by connecting one or more LEDs in series or in parallel, and the voltage reference VA, the operational amplifier EAA, the MOS tube QA and the resistor RSA form a current source UA. When the pulsating dc voltage VRECA is greater than the on-voltage drop VLEDA of LEDB, the current through LEDA is controlled to a steady value by the current source UA.

The drive circuit of fig. 3 achieves input power stabilization by controlling the power variation across the LEDs. As shown in fig. 3, the commercial power VACB is filtered by a rectifier bridge DBB and an electrolytic capacitor CB to form a dc power supply, and a pulsating dc voltage VRECB is output to supply power to the LEDB, wherein the LEDB is formed by connecting one or more LEDs in series or in parallel, and the voltage reference VB, the op-amp EAB, the MOS transistor QB, and resistors RSB and R2 form a current source UB, and further includes a resistor R1 and a capacitor CF to detect signals of the filtered pulsating dc voltage VRECB. When the pulsating direct voltage VRECB is greater than the on-voltage drop VLEDB of LEDB, the current through LEDB decreases with increasing pulsating direct voltage VRECB and vice versa, achieving a stable input power.

However, when the pulsating dc voltage VREC is reduced, as shown in fig. 4, the LED will be darkened or even not be lighted when the pulsating dc voltage VREC is reduced below the on-voltage drop VLED of the LED, or the current periodicity of the LED (corresponding to the power frequency of 50/60 HZ) is increased and decreased, so that a low-frequency strobe is generated, the strobe depth is reduced with the reduction of the mains voltage, and generally, when the mains voltage is reduced by 10%, the strobe depth exceeds 10%, which affects the light emitting effect of the lighting device.

Disclosure of Invention

It would be beneficial if the tolerance (tolerance) of multiple LED groups/arrays capable of facilitating series-parallel coupling to variations in supply voltage was increased, i.e., a wider range of variations in supply voltage was tolerated.

It would be beneficial if the tolerance (tolerance) of multiple LED arrays capable of facilitating series-parallel coupling to variations in supply voltage was increased, i.e., a wider range of variations in supply voltage was tolerated.

Floating ground/common circuit structure

In one embodiment of the present invention, a solid state lighting load (solid STATE LIGHTING load) or lighting load (lighting load) control circuit is presented for driving n lighting load arrays powered by a dc power supply, the lighting load control circuit comprising:

A control unit;

m switch units configured to correspondingly couple m light-emitting loads of the n light-emitting loads respectively when the control circuit drives/is applied to the n light-emitting loads, the control ends of the m switch units are respectively connected to the control units and controlled by the control units to bypass the corresponding light-emitting loads;

wherein, m and n are integers, n is more than or equal to 2, m is more than or equal to 1, and m is less than or equal to n.

Alternatively, the light emitting load is a Light Emitting Diode (LED), OLED, polymer light emitting diode, or the like.

Further alternatively, the method, apparatus, device, etc. of any of the embodiments of the present application, which are exemplified by LED-based loads, may be applied to a light-emitting load, a solid-state lighting load, etc., and further, words such as "LED", "LED array (or also referred to as" LED group "), etc. in any of the embodiments of the present application may be replaced with a light-emitting load, a solid-state lighting load, a light-emitting unit, a solid-state lighting unit, etc.

Optionally, each lighting load, solid state lighting load or LED array may comprise a plurality of LED units, for example: a plurality of LED units connected in series, a plurality of LED units connected in parallel and a plurality of LED units connected in series and parallel.

Optionally, in another embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a control circuit for an array of LEDs for driving n LED arrays mutually coupled (e.g. connected in series) supplied by a dc power supply, the control circuit comprising:

A control unit;

m switching units (or simply switches) configured to: when the control circuit is applied to (or integrated with) n LED arrays, x of the m switch units are respectively (e.g., one-to-one) connected in parallel (or coupled in parallel) to x of the n LED arrays, the remaining m-x switch units are respectively connected across (adjacent) two-to-two/two connection points of (m-x) n LED arrays, and B) between the common ground connection points (or bypass connection points).

Wherein the common ground connection point is located between the n LEDs (as a whole) and the output of the dc power supply. The control terminals of the m switch units are respectively connected to the control units. n is more than or equal to 2, m is more than or equal to 1, n is more than or equal to m is more than or equal to 0, and x, m and n are integers.

Alternatively, if the m switch cells are N-type devices, the common ground connection point may be located: i) After the current outflow ends of the n LED arrays, 2) between the current outflow ends of the n LED arrays and the negative output end of the dc power supply, or 3) (when the serial loop formed by the n LED arrays and the dc power supply works), between the last LED array in the current direction of the n LED arrays and the negative output end of the dc power supply. Alternatively, the x switching units may also be arranged at least partially upstream of the m-x switching units in the current direction.

Alternatively, if the m switch cells are P-type devices, the common ground connection point may be located: i) Before the current inflow end of the n LED arrays, or 2) between the current inflow end of the n LED arrays and the positive polarity output end of the direct current power supply, or 3) between the first LED array in the current direction and the positive polarity output end of the direct current power supply when the n LED arrays are all turned on. Alternatively, the x switching units may be at least partially arranged downstream of the m-x switching units in the current direction.

Optionally, in another embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a control circuit for an array of LEDs for driving n LED arrays mutually coupled (e.g. connected in series) supplied by a dc power supply, the control circuit comprising: a control unit and m switch units. m switching units configured to: when the control circuit is applied to (or integrated with) n LED arrays, x of the m switch units are respectively (e.g., one-to-one) connected in parallel (or coupled in parallel) to x of the n LED arrays, the remaining m-x switch units are respectively connected across a) the m-x connection points, and B) between the common ground connection points (or bypass connection points).

Wherein these m-x connection points are located between (adjacent) two/two of the n LED arrays. The common ground connection point is located between the n LEDs (as a whole) and the output of the dc power supply. The control terminals of the m switch units are respectively connected to the control units. n is more than or equal to 2, m is more than or equal to 1, n is more than or equal to m is more than or equal to 0, and x, m and n are integers.

Alternatively, if the m switch cells are P-type devices, the common ground connection point may be located: i) Before the current inflow ends of the n LED arrays, or 2) between the current inflow ends of the n LED arrays and the positive polarity output end of the direct current power supply, or 3) between the LED arrays at the first position along the current direction and the positive polarity output end of the direct current power supply when all the n LED arrays are turned on. Alternatively, the x switching units may be at least partially arranged downstream of the m-x switching units in the current direction.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a control circuit for driving n LED arrays powered by a dc power supply is presented, the control circuit comprising:

A control unit;

The m switch units are configured to be respectively correspondingly coupled with m LED arrays in the n LED arrays when the control circuit drives the n LED arrays, and the control ends of the m switch units are respectively connected to the control unit and controlled by the control unit to bypass the corresponding LED arrays;

wherein, m and n are integers, n is more than or equal to 2, m is more than or equal to 1, and m is less than or equal to n. In addition, the control circuit herein may also be referred to as a drive control circuit in other embodiments.

Alternatively, the direct voltage may be from an energy storage device such as a battery, and may be a stable voltage or a constant voltage.

Of course, it should be understood that: although some embodiments of the present invention have been described with respect to rectified ripple power, these embodiments may be applied to power that varies periodically, power that varies non-periodically, power that is not stable with voltage ripple, etc., or various modifications may be made to these various variable and constant power based on these embodiments, and the methods, apparatuses, devices, circuits, etc. in these modifications are within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Alternatively, among N LED arrays connected in series, the P-pole (or positive pole) of each LED array may be connected with the N-pole (or negative pole) of the LED array adjacent thereto.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the m switch units bypass the corresponding one or more LED arrays by being controlled by selective conduction of the control unit. By switching on various possible combinations of the m switching cells, different bypass loops (or sub-loops) and bypass loop currents therein are selectively established. If none of the m switching elements is on, the first loop (or main loop) of the direct current power supply and all of the n LED arrays operates.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, x switch units in the m switch units are correspondingly (for example, in one-to-one correspondence) connected in parallel with x LED arrays in the m LED arrays, and the remaining m-x switch units are respectively and correspondingly connected across one end of the remaining m-x LED arrays in the m LED arrays and the output end of the direct current power supply, where x is an integer, m is greater than or equal to 2, and m is greater than or equal to x is greater than or equal to 0. The connection between the m-x common-ground switches and the dc power supply output terminal may be directly connected in a common manner, or may be indirectly connected to the dc power supply output terminal through a current limiting device (for example, a current limiting resistor, a controlled current source) in the first loop, an LED array that is not bypassed, and other circuit units. Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the m-x switch units are respectively turned on to allow a dc power supply to be looped back (Loop back to) from a corresponding end of each of the m-x LED arrays to form a common ground bypass path (bypass path), so that current can flow from a positive polarity end of the dc power supply, through a corresponding end of one of the m-x LED arrays, and back to a negative polarity end of the dc power supply. Of course, the m-x common-ground switching units may be connected to a current limiting device through which they are indirectly coupled/connected to the common-ground or the power output before being connected to the common-ground.

Optionally, if the m switch units are N-type devices, when the control circuit is connected to the N LED arrays and drives the N LED arrays, the x LED arrays, the m-x LED arrays, and the current limiting devices are sequentially arranged along the current direction, positive polarity ends of the m-x switch units are respectively connected to anodes of the corresponding LED arrays, and negative polarity ends of the m-x switch units are respectively connected between the current limiting devices and cathodes of the dc power supply; wherein x is an integer, m is more than or equal to 2, and m is more than or equal to 0.

Optionally, in the case that the m switch units are N-type devices, the LED arrays and the current limiting devices corresponding to/coupled with the m switch units are sequentially arranged along the current direction, wherein two ends of the x switch units are connected to the upstream of the current limiting device, two ends of the remaining m-x switch units are respectively connected to the upstream and downstream of the current limiting device, wherein x is an integer, m is greater than or equal to 2, and m is greater than or equal to 0.

Optionally, in the case that the m switch units are P-type devices, the current limiting devices and the LED arrays corresponding to/coupled with the m switch units are sequentially arranged along the current direction, wherein two ends of the x switch units are connected to the downstream of the current limiting devices, two ends of the remaining m-x switch units are respectively connected to the upstream and downstream of the current limiting devices, wherein x is an integer, m is greater than or equal to 2, and m is greater than or equal to 0.

Wherein, in view of the characteristics of the connection relationship thereof, the x switching units may be referred to as floating switching units, and the remaining m-x switching units among the m switching units may be referred to as common ground switching units.

Optionally, the m switching units are NPN and N-type devices, and the ports (e.g., current input/anode, or current output/cathode) of each of the m-x LED arrays are respectively coupled to the dc power supply through the corresponding switching units. Alternatively, in a first loop where the dc power supply supplies n LED arrays in series, the floating switches may be arranged interleaved with the common switch, for example: floating switch unit-common ground switch unit-floating switch unit-common ground switch unit. The floating switch units may also be arranged partly or wholly before the common-ground switch unit, i.e. between the common-ground switch unit and the dc power supply, or upstream in the current direction, so that these floating switch units are not affected/bypassed by the common-ground switch unit.

Optionally, the m switch units are PNP and P-type devices, and the ports (e.g., current input/anode, or current output/cathode) of each of the m-x LED arrays in the m LED arrays that can be bypassed are respectively coupled to the dc power supply through the corresponding switch units. Alternatively, in a first loop where the direct current power supply supplies power to n LED arrays connected in series, the floating switch may be arranged in units staggered with the common switch unit. The floating switch units may also be arranged partly or wholly between the common ground switch unit and the dc power supply, i.e. downstream in the current direction, so that these floating switch units are not affected/bypassed by the common ground switch unit.

Optionally, the m switch units are NPN and N-type devices, at least part of the x switch units and the m-x switch units are serially connected in sequence along the current direction. Alternatively, a current limiting device may be provided in series with n LED arrays in the first loop, for example, between the n LED arrays and the negative dc output of the dc power supply, the positive pole of each of the n LED arrays being connected to the negative pole of the LED array adjacent thereto. Further alternatively, if the control circuit couples m LED arrays through m switching units, the n-m LED arrays that are not coupled may be connected in series between the positive polarity terminal of the dc power supply and the LED arrays that are coupled to the m switching units, i.e., the n-m LED arrays that are not bypassed are connected in series in the first loop at a position closer to the positive polarity terminal of the dc power supply.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, x=0, and m switch units are all common-ground switch units.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, m=x > 0, and m switch units are all floating switch units.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, m > x > 0, the m switch units include both floating switch units and common-ground switch units.

Alternatively, the x value may be relatively small. For example: in the case where the number x of floating switch units is relatively small or the number of floating switch units is smaller than the common ground switch unit, 5 > x > 0,4 > x > 0,3 > x > 0 or 2 > x > 0, the control circuit is made easier to be integrated in one chip (chip), so that a cost advantage is obtained because the floating switch units cannot be connected in common, need to be isolated/insulated from each other, and manufacturability is relatively low. In contrast, the common-ground switch or the common-ground bypass circuit is easier to integrate and is lower in cost. However, the floating switch unit, when turned on, bypasses only the LED arrays connected in parallel therewith, and does not bypass other LED arrays at the same time, whereas the common ground switch unit may bypass all LED arrays after their connection terminals in the main loop. In contrast, when the output voltage of the direct current power supply is low and insufficient to support simultaneous conduction of all the LED arrays, the common ground switch unit can bypass a part of the LED arrays, and in the same case, the floating switch unit can selectively conduct different LED array combinations as required under different direct current power supply voltages, and in combination with proper design, n LED arrays can be conducted at least once in a period of one power supply voltage. This more flexible control capability of the x (floating) switch units for the lighting load may be combined with a timer or the like to support (actively) controlling the on-off state of the bypass loop and the corresponding bypassed lighting load at a certain frequency, forming a commutating lighting of the corresponding lighting load, whereas the commutating frequency may be set to a higher frequency, e.g. several tens kHz, to reduce the low frequency strobing of the lighting load, which is also applicable to the control circuit, the driving circuit, the lighting device, the driving/controlling method in other embodiments.

Optionally, the m switch units are respectively controlled by the control unit, and are switched to an on state and an off state, or may further have or be switched to a third state: as a linear current source for regulating the current (control current or the course of the control current).

Optionally, the control circuit in some embodiments further comprises a current limiting device connected in the control circuit, for example in series in the first loop described above, such that when the control circuit drives n LED arrays, a series loop is formed with the n LED arrays and the dc power supply.

Optionally, a current limiting device is connected in series in the first loop, and is also connected in series with the n LED arrays, where the current limiting device is not limited in position in the first loop (or called the main loop), and may be, for example, between the n LED arrays and the negative polarity output terminal of the dc power supply, or between the n LED arrays and the positive polarity output terminal of the dc power supply. The first loop, also referred to herein as the main loop, in some other embodiments, is a series loop.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the current limiting device and at least part of the m switching units are configured to independently or jointly regulate the current flowing through at least part of the n LED arrays.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the current limiting device and at least part of the x (floating) switch units are configured to independently or jointly regulate the current flowing through at least part of the n LED arrays.

Optionally, the current limiting device has a control terminal connected to the control unit, the current limiting device and/or at least part of the m switching units being operable to regulate the respective currents in dependence of a control signal of the respective control terminal.

Optionally, the current limiting device has a control terminal connected to the control unit, the current limiting device and/or at least part of the x (floating) switching units being operable to adjust the respective current in dependence on the control signal of the respective control terminal, thereby adjusting the current in the bypass loop in which the switching unit is located.

Alternatively, 2.gtoreq.m.gtoreq.1, n=2. The control circuit includes:

the first pin is configured to be coupled with a positive polarity output end of the direct current power supply or a positive polarity end of a first LED array in the n LED arrays;

A second pin configured to couple the negative polarity end of the first LED array and the positive polarity end of the second LED array out of the n LED arrays;

A third pin configured to couple to a negative polarity output of the dc power source;

a fourth pin configured to couple the negative polarity end of a second LED array of the n LED arrays;

And

The positive polarity terminal of a first switching unit (e.g., one of the x floating switches or one of the m-x common switches) among the m switching units is connected to the second pin, and the negative polarity terminal of the first switching unit is coupled to the third pin.

Optionally, the positive polarity terminal of the current limiting device is connected to the fourth pin; the negative terminal is connected to the third pin. Optionally, the third pin is grounded. The negative terminal of the first switch unit is directly connected to the third pin. Or the negative terminal of the first switching unit may also be indirectly connected/coupled to the third pin, namely: the negative terminal of the first switching unit is connected to the fourth pin, and is coupled to the third pin through the current limiting device. Optionally, the m switch units further include a second switch unit, a positive polarity end of the second switch unit (e.g. one of the x floating switches) is connected to the first pin; the negative terminal of the second switch unit is connected to the second pin.

Optionally, a current limiting device may also be connected in series in the first loop in other ways, for example, the positive polarity end of the current limiting device is connected to the first pin; the negative polarity end of the first LED array is connected with the positive polarity end of the first LED array; and the negative terminal of the first switch unit is directly connected to the third pin. Alternatively, the current limiting device may also be connected in a direction consistent with the current flow between the second pin and the negative polarity end of the first LED array, or between the second pin and the positive polarity end of the second LED array.

Optionally, the n LED arrays further comprise a third LED array, i.e. m=2, n=3; the third LED array may be connected in series in the main loop, and not bypassed by any switching unit, and may be kept in a normally-on state at a voltage level of a general dc power supply (e.g., the voltage level of the dc power supply is at least higher than the on-voltage drop of the third LED array), so as to improve the energy conversion efficiency of the n LED arrays.

Optionally, the control circuit in some embodiments further comprises: a first carrier and a second carrier electrically isolated from each other, the second carrier being configured to carry the second switching unit, the first carrier being configured to carry the first switching unit, and the current limiting device and the control unit being provided on the first carrier or the second carrier. Further alternatively, i) the first carrier and its carried circuit units/devices, 2) the second carrier and its carried circuit units/devices, both may be manufactured as one integrated circuit device, e.g. a package based on a double-island frame.

Optionally, the control circuit in some embodiments further includes one or more current programming interfaces respectively disposed in one or more of the m bypasses corresponding to the current limiting device or the m switch units. Further optionally, the current programming interface/interfaces are provided in a circuit corresponding to the current limiting device or to the current source in the bypass, which is/are part of the current limiting device or the corresponding current source. For example, a first current programming interface is provided to receive a first resistor operatively connected from the periphery (periferal). By means of the first resistor, the current regulation performance of the current source in the main loop and/or the bypass loop can be controlled, and in turn the current or power in the corresponding main loop/bypass loop can be defined/regulated. Further optionally, the current programming interface may include a fifth pin and/or a sixth pin that are disposed externally, so that when a user of the control circuit uses the control circuit to manufacture the lighting device/lamp, a resistor with a certain resistance value is connected between the fifth pin and the sixth pin according to requirements such as power, thereby setting current/power of the bypass loop, and the power of the lamp can be configured in a manufacturing link in a customized manner. Of course, the second current programming interface may be disposed in the second switch unit, which is not described herein. In addition, it can be appreciated that: the sixth pin may be connected to a power ground, in which case only one pin, e.g. the fifth pin, is required to cooperate with the power ground (or be considered as the sixth pin) to collectively receive a first resistor operatively connected from the periphery.

Further, it would be beneficial for the scenario of supply voltage variations if the power/luminous flux stabilization capability (capability for stabilizing) of multiple LED arrays coupled in series-parallel could be facilitated to accommodate a wide range of supply voltages.

For this purpose, in the control circuit of another embodiment of the present invention, the pulsating direct current voltage output for the direct current power supply is an unstable electric energy with voltage ripple, the control unit is configured to: the current in the one or more switching cells or current limiting devices being turned on is regulated to vary inversely with the pulsating direct voltage/voltage experienced by the n LED arrays (e.g., the turn-on voltage drop). In other words, the current flowing in the LED array or arrays in the on-state of the n LEDs, or bypass loop, is dynamically regulated by the on-state switching element or elements, so as to vary in inverse/negative relation to the voltage across the n LED arrays in the main/bypass loop.

In the present application, the concept of threshold values such as on threshold value, full bright threshold value, etc. may have multiple angles of understanding, and each understanding is not necessary for the embodiments in the present application, but only for a certain application scenario. For example, alternatively, at one of the angles, the related concepts may be understood as follows: the voltage experienced by the LED array, or the on-drop of the LED array, may be considered as the on-threshold of the LED array, i.e., the minimum forward voltage that can cause the LED array to emit light, or the voltage experienced by the LED array, or the on-drop of the LED array may also be considered as the voltage experienced by the LED array, or the on-drop of the LED array, as shown in fig. 1, due to the fact that the LED array is substantially not configured to emit light only "can emit light", while it is expected to experience a sufficient forward on-drop to produce a sufficient amount of light: the luminous flux generated when turned on can meet the voltage of the LED array required by the implemented product, or the voltage born by the LED array, or the on-voltage drop of the LED array is between the "minimum forward voltage capable of making the LED array emit light" and the "voltage of the LED array required by the implemented product" generated when turned on. In addition, the LED array that is not turned on is theoretically not subjected to a conduction voltage drop or "voltage applied" enough to drive it to emit light, but for convenience of description, it is still assumed in the present specification that it has the same "voltage applied" or "conduction voltage drop". The current in the LED array refers to: the current flowing in the LED array that is turned on in the corresponding loop, but the absence of operating current or current in the LED array that is not turned on, may be ignored. The power or total power of the n LED arrays refers to: the power of the LED arrays that are turned on in the bypass/main loop is not present or can be ignored in the LED arrays that are turned on. Furthermore, for a lighting load or LED embodied in a commercial product, the photoelectric conversion parameter thereof is substantially constant or substantially predictable, and therefore, it can be considered that: by controlling the (electrical) power of the LED array to remain constant, the luminous flux of the LEDs is indirectly controlled to remain substantially constant. In this regard, the details are not described in detail. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the voltage experienced by the LED arrays, or the on-voltage drop of the LED arrays, may also be referred to as the on-threshold, different numbers of LED arrays having different on-thresholds, and the on-threshold of all n LED arrays in series may be referred to as the full-bright threshold.

In addition, the turn-on threshold may be understood from another perspective as follows: all or part of the n LED arrays may be turned on and the luminous flux reaches a voltage value of a dc power supply of a predetermined value.

The predetermined value is the demand of the product to be embodied, typically a prescribed light flux value, e.g. 1000 lumens. From a third perspective, the turn-on threshold can also be understood as follows: the turn-on threshold is related to the LED array that can be turned on/off by the output dc voltage of the dc power supply. If the dc voltage is below the turn-on threshold, fewer of the n LED arrays may only be turned on. Or can only turn on the LED array group of "having a lower sum of turn-on voltage drops" among the n LED arrays.

From a fourth perspective, the turn-on threshold can also be understood as follows: the turn-on threshold is related to the LED array that can be turned on/off by the output dc voltage of the dc power supply. If the dc voltage is above this turn-on threshold it is sufficient to turn on the first LED array group, if the dc voltage is below this turn-on threshold it is insufficient to turn on the first LED array group, but it may only be possible to turn on the second LED array group. Wherein the first LED array group has a higher sum of on-voltage drops relative to the second LED array group, or the first LED array group has a greater number of LED arrays relative to the second LED array group. If the first LED array group comprises all n LED arrays in the lighting device, this on threshold may also be referred to as full brightness threshold. This means: if the dc voltage is above Quan Liang threshold, it is sufficient to turn on all n LED arrays, and if the dc voltage is below Quan Liang threshold, only a portion of the n LED arrays can be turned on. Also optionally, the full brightness threshold in some embodiments may correspond to a first threshold in the control circuit, the lighting device.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: the current in the turned-on LED array in the n LED arrays is reduced with the increase of the pulsating direct voltage/the voltage born by the n LED arrays or the current in the turned-on LED array in the n LED arrays is increased with the decrease of the pulsating direct voltage/the voltage born by the n LED arrays.

Thus, adjusting the power of the n LED arrays remains within a neighborhood of a first power value, which may be the range of power that the first/main loop maintains during operation, where the first power value is typically dependent on the requirements of the particular lighting device being implemented. Correspondingly, a first power value over the n LED arrays may produce a first luminous flux.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the control unit includes an electrical signal measurement unit coupled to the control circuit (coupled to the main loop or possibly the bypass circuit) to obtain a first electrical signal reflecting/representing the pulsating direct voltage or the conduction voltage drop of the n LED arrays, or having a positive/negative correlation between the first electrical signal and the pulsating direct voltage or the voltage to which the n LED arrays are subjected. If there is a positive correlation between the first electrical signal and the voltage of the direct current power supply or the on-voltage drop of the n LED arrays, the control unit is further configured to: 1) Controlling at least one of the m switching units to be turned on to establish a bypass in response to the first electrical signal being less than a first threshold; 2) And controlling all of the m switch units to be turned off in response to the first electrical signal being greater than or equal to a first threshold. Or if there is a negative correlation between the first electrical signal and the voltage of the direct current power supply or the conduction voltage drop of the n LED arrays, the control unit is further configured to: controlling at least one of the m switching units to be turned on to establish a bypass in response to the first electrical signal being greater than a first threshold; ii) controlling at least one of the m switching units to be turned off in response to the first electrical signal being less than or equal to a first threshold.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the control unit comprises an electrical signal measurement unit coupled to the control circuit (coupled in the main loop or possibly the bypass circuit) to obtain a first electrical signal reflecting/positively correlated/negatively correlated the pulsating direct voltage or the on-voltage drop of the n LED arrays or the difference between the pulsating direct voltage and the on-voltage drop of the LED arrays. If there is a positive correlation between the first electrical signal and the voltage of the direct current power supply or the difference between the on-voltage drop of the n LED arrays or the pulsating direct current voltage and the on-voltage drop of the LED arrays, the control unit is further configured to: 1) Controlling at least one of the M switching units to be turned on to establish a bypass in response to the first electrical signal being less than a first threshold; 2) And controlling all of the M switch units to be turned off in response to the first electric signal being greater than or equal to a first threshold. Or if there is a negative correlation between the first electrical signal and the voltage of the direct current power supply or the on-voltage drop of the n LED arrays or the difference between the pulsating direct current voltage and the on-voltage drop of the LED arrays, the control unit is further configured to: controlling at least one of the M switching units to turn on to establish a bypass in response to the first electrical signal being greater than a first threshold; ii) controlling at least one of the M switching units to be turned off in response to the first electrical signal being less than or equal to a first threshold.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first electrical signal may be derived from both terminals of the (derived from) dc power supply, or alternatively, derived by a circuit coupled to the positive and negative polarity outputs of the dc power supply.

Alternatively, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the first electrical signal may be acquired based on one or more circuit parameters in the control circuit in a state in which at least one of the switching units is turned off. For example, the first electrical signal may be obtained from at least one of a voltage across the current limiting device, a voltage at a control terminal of the current limiting device, and a current of the current limiting device. Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the first electrical signal is taken from at least one of a voltage across the current limiting device, a voltage at a control terminal of the current limiting device, and a current of the current limiting device in a state in which the at least one switching unit is turned on. The control unit of the control circuit is configured to determine by one or more circuit parameters: i) Whether the direct voltage is sufficient to turn on all n LED arrays, or ii) the magnitude of the direct voltage versus the first threshold. Wherein if the dc voltage is greater than the first threshold, it is sufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays, and if the dc voltage is less than the first threshold, only a portion of the n LED arrays can be turned on. Specifically, in the control circuit, a first electrical signal is generated based on one or more circuit parameters and compared to a first threshold value configured in the control unit.

Alternatively, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the first electrical signal may be taken from both ends of the at least one common ground switching unit.

Alternatively, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the first threshold value configured in the control circuit may correspond to one of: i) A value reflecting the voltage experienced by an LED array having sufficient voltage/current/power to meet the required luminous flux when all n LED arrays are turned on; ii) a voltage value of the direct current power supply reflecting a luminous flux having sufficient voltage/current/power to meet the demand when all of the n LED arrays are turned on; iii) A value of a first electrical signal reflecting a luminous flux having sufficient voltage/current/power to meet a demand when all of the n LED arrays are turned on; iv) full brightness threshold.

Alternatively, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the first threshold value configured in the control circuit may correspond to one of: i) A value of a first electrical signal reflecting a minimum voltage of the direct current power supply sufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays, ii) a reference voltage value having a constant positive value as a difference from the minimum voltage value, iii) a voltage value of the direct current power supply that can bring on current/luminous flux of the n LED arrays to a predetermined value; iv) a minimum voltage of the direct current power supply sufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays, v) a value of the first electrical signal reflecting a voltage value of the direct current power supply that causes luminous fluxes of the LEDs in the n LED arrays to reach a predetermined value; VI) a value of a first electrical signal reflecting a minimum voltage of the direct current power supply when luminous flux generated by the voltage/current/power on the n LED arrays reaches a predetermined value; VII) a dc voltage value just sufficient to render all n LED arrays conductive.

Optionally, when at least one of the n LED arrays is bypassed, the current through the n LED arrays, or through the bypass/sub-loop, is regulated by the control unit to be greater than the current of the main loop when the n LED arrays are all on.

The control unit is further configured to: and regulating the first bypass current in the conducted at least one switching unit to be larger than the current value of the n LED arrays when all the m switching units are turned off, so that the product of the conduction voltage drop of the n LED arrays and the first bypass current is kept in the neighborhood of the first power value.

Optionally, in the control circuit or the driving/controlling method of any embodiment of the present application, x=0, the control unit is further configured to switch the m switch units to establish or cancel the bypass loop in response to fluctuation of the first electric signal with respect to the first threshold value. So that after a portion of the n LED arrays is bypassed, the dc supply voltage is sufficient to turn on the other LED arrays.

Optionally, in the control circuit or the driving/controlling method of any embodiment of the present application, wherein m > x is equal to or greater than 1, m is equal to or greater than 2, the control unit is further configured to a) in response to the first electrical signal falling below the first threshold, alternately turn off a plurality of the m switching units (for example: the switch unit A is turned on and the switch unit B is turned off in the first period; the switch unit B is turned on and the switch unit A is turned off in the second period; the switching unit a is turned on and the switching unit B is turned off) in the third period to alternately turn on the corresponding plurality of LED arrays; or b) complementarily switching on or off states of a plurality of switching units including at least one of the x switching units and at least one of the m-x switching units in response to the first electrical signal falling below a first threshold, thereby establishing a plurality of alternating bypass loops. For example, when a first part of the plurality of switch units is in an on state, a second part of the switch units is in an off state, and when the second part of the switch units is in an on state, the first part of the switch units is in an off state. The first or second partial switching unit includes at least one of x switching units. Alternatively, the alternate or rotated conduction has a first predetermined frequency.

In the control circuit or driving circuit/control method of any of the embodiments of the present application, by alternately/alternately turning on different parts of the n LED arrays, such as the first subset (subset) and the second subset, in a low voltage section of the dc power supply (having a lower voltage that is insufficient to turn on all the n LED arrays, such as the first voltage section), the above low voltage section cannot, in general, simultaneously turn on the LED arrays in the union/union (union) of the first subset and the second subset, optionally both the first subset and the second subset have: when the LED is in a low-voltage region, the direct current power supply conducts the largest number of LED arrays in the n LED arrays. Alternatively, the number of LED arrays in the union of the first subset and the second subset is greater than the (e.g., maximum) number of LED arrays that the dc power supply can turn on in the low voltage region. To a certain extent, the electric energy provided by the direct current power supply in the low-voltage region is released into light energy through a larger number of LED arrays, so that a larger LED luminous surface is brought, and low-frequency stroboscopic/flickering is restrained to a certain extent.

Further alternatively, the number of LED arrays in the first subset is the same as the number of LED arrays in the second subset, which results in that the above-mentioned light energy released by a larger number of LED arrays forms a relatively constant light emitting area, in other words, n LED arrays will produce a stable power/luminous flux with a visually constant light emitting area, suppressing low frequency strobing/flickering to some extent.

Still further alternatively, the union of the first subset and the second subset contains all n LED arrays, so that the total light emitting area of the n LED arrays may remain substantially unchanged during a change from a normal voltage interval of the dc power supply to, for example, a first voltage interval having a lower voltage value, improving the lighting experience. In other words, the combination of current regulation means keeps the n LED powers substantially unchanged, and the n LED arrays consistently and stably produce a stable power/luminous flux at their maximum possible luminous area, thereby further suppressing low frequency flash/flickering.

Alternatively, the LED arrays in the plurality of subsets, e.g., the first subset and the second subset, that are turned on in a rotation are not identical, and there may or may not be an intersection between the two.

Alternatively, the LED arrays in the first subset and the second subset that are alternately turned on are different, and there is no intersection between the two.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: when the first electrical signal is less than a first threshold, currents in the plurality of switching cells being switched (or alternatively, currents in the plurality of alternately operating bypass loops) are coordinated (coordinate) such that power to the n LED arrays remains substantially constant before and after switching, all within a neighborhood of the first power value.

Optionally, the control unit is further configured to: the current drop in the first partial switching unit switched from on to off state and the current rise in the second partial switching unit switched from off to on state are synchronously controlled such that the sum of the powers of all LED arrays in the loop in which both the first partial switching unit and the second partial switching unit are located is substantially constant, or such that the sum of the powers of n LED arrays is substantially constant, thereby controlling the luminous flux of n LED arrays to be substantially constant or to remain within a neighborhood of a first luminous flux predetermined value, for example within ±5% or less of the neighborhood of the first luminous flux predetermined value.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: the currents in the plurality of alternating bypass loops are coordinated by the plurality of switching units such that the power of the LED arrays in the plurality of alternating bypass loops is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the plurality of alternating bypass loops includes a first bypass loop and a second bypass loop, and if an LED array on voltage drop in the first bypass loop of the n LED arrays is greater than an LED array in the second bypass loop, the current in the second bypass loop is adjusted to be greater than the current in the first bypass loop so that a relative rate of change of power of the LED array in the second bypass loop to the LED array in the first bypass loop is less than a first predetermined percentage, the first predetermined percentage being a value less than 10%, 5% or 2%.

Alternatively (ALTERNATIVELY), if the LED array on-voltage drop in the first bypass loop is substantially equal to the LED array in the second bypass loop (e.g., the relative rate of change of the two during the mutual switching does not exceed a first predetermined percentage), the control unit is further configured to: adjusting the current in the second bypass loop to be substantially equal to the current in the first bypass loop (e.g., the relative rate of change of the two during the switching of each other does not exceed a first predetermined percentage) such that the relative rate of change of the power of the LED array in the second bypass loop to the LED array in the first bypass loop is less than the first predetermined percentage, which is a value of less than 10%, 5% or 2%; and

Optionally, the number of LED arrays in the union of the LED arrays in the first bypass loop and the LED arrays in the second bypass loop is greater than the maximum number of n LED arrays that can be turned on by the dc power supply when the first electrical signal is less than the first threshold.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: when m > x is greater than or equal to 1, coordinating the current in the current limiting device and the current in the switched plurality of switching units during fluctuation of the first electrical signal relative to the first threshold value such that the power of the n LED arrays remains within the neighborhood of the first power value in a state where the plurality of switching units are all turned off and at least partially turned on

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: when x=0, during fluctuations of the first electrical signal relative to the first threshold, the current in the current limiting device and the current in the m switching units are coordinated such that the power of the n LED arrays remains within a neighborhood of the first power value in a state where the m switching units are all turned off and at least partially turned on.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: in the transition where a plurality of switching units are switched,

I) Synchronously controlling the current in a first part of the switch units to decrease along with the current increase in a second part of the switch units so that the power decrease of the LED array corresponding to the first part of the switch units is compensated/counteracted by the power increase of the LED array corresponding to the second part of the switch units; and

Ii) synchronously controlling the current in a first part of the plurality of switching units to increase as the current in a second part of the plurality of switching units decreases, such that the power drop of the LED array corresponding to the second part of switching units is compensated/counteracted by the power increase of the LED array corresponding to the first part of switching units.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: in a transition of switching between the first bypass loop and the second bypass loop, i) synchronously controlling the current in the first bypass loop to decrease as the second bypass loop current increases, such that the power drop of the LED array in the first bypass loop is compensated/counteracted by the power increase of the LED array in the second bypass loop; and ii) synchronously controlling the current in the first bypass loop to increase as the current in the second bypass loop decreases such that the power drop of the LED array in the second bypass loop is compensated/counteracted by the power increase of the LED array in the first bypass loop.

Here, the current regulation during switching will be described by taking only the transient process of switching between the first bypass circuit and the second bypass circuit as an example. The current regulation means may be adapted to be used in a switching process between any two/more loops in the control circuit, for example between a main loop (or first loop/series loop) and a bypass loop. In the control circuit in the related embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: in the transition of the switching between the first loop and the bypass loop, i) synchronously controlling the current in the first loop to decrease as the bypass loop current increases, such that the power drop of the LED array in the first loop is compensated/counteracted by the power increase of the LED array in the bypass loop; and ii) synchronously controlling the current in the first loop to increase as the current in the bypass loop decreases such that the power drop of the LED array in the bypass loop is compensated for/counteracted by the power increase of the LED array in the first loop.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: in the transition from the switching on of the second partial switching unit to the switching on of the first partial switching unit, the current in the first partial switching unit is controlled to increase synchronously before the current in the second partial switching unit exceeds a preset amplitude with respect to the amplitude of the decrease before the start of the transition.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: in the transition process of switching conduction from the first part of switch units to the second part of switch units, the current in the second part of switch units is controlled to synchronously increase before the current in the first part of switch units exceeds a preset amplitude relative to the decreasing amplitude before the transition process starts

Optionally, the preset amplitude is any value less than 5%.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, a union of the LED arrays in each of the plurality of alternating bypass loops includes a cap or includes all n LED arrays.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the union of the plurality of LED arrays that are alternately turned on includes all n LED arrays.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, a union of the non-bypassed n-m LED arrays of the n LED arrays and the alternately-turned-on plurality of LED arrays includes all n LED arrays.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, any one of the following three: i) The LED arrays that each of the plurality of switching units is turned on by, ii) a union of the n-m LED arrays and the LED arrays that each of the plurality of switching units is turned on by, or iii) the LED arrays in each of the plurality of alternating bypass loops, corresponding to the LED arrays of which the output of the maximum or next largest number of dc power sources is capable of lighting among the n LED arrays. Wherein, the plurality of switch units (sw 1, sw2, sw 3) to be switched can be divided into a plurality of switch groups, for example: the 3 switching groups sw1, sw2, sw3 establish 1 bypass loop when they are on, respectively, and when the control circuit controls the n LED arrays, the n LED arrays have three bypasses. Or may be split into two handover packets 1) sw1, 2) sw2 and sw3. When the two groups of switches are conducted alternately, two bypass loops are established alternately.

The plurality of switching units or m switching units are provided with a first switching group, and an LED array that can be lighted among n LED arrays is outputted corresponding to the maximum number or the next largest number of direct current power sources.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, a union of the LED arrays in each of the plurality of alternating bypass loops corresponds to all n LED arrays; or a plurality of alternating bypass loops, including a cover/overlay/including all n LED arrays.

Optionally, the switching unit is a field effect transistor, a triode, a transistor, a power tube, or a MOS tube.

Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, m > 1, the control unit further includes a timing logic circuit in addition to the electric signal measurement unit, an input end of the timing logic circuit is connected to the electric signal measurement unit, and an output end of the timing logic circuit is connected to a control end of the switching unit and/or a control end of the current limiting device; generating at least two time signals complementary in time/waveform to control the at least two switching units/bypass loops to alternately conduct in response to the first electrical signal being below a first threshold; or specifically, in response to the first electrical signal being below a first threshold, establishing a first bypass loop for a time corresponding to the first time signal, then canceling the first bypass loop, establishing a second bypass loop for a time corresponding to the second time signal, then canceling the second bypass loop, establishing the first bypass loop for a time corresponding to the first time signal, and alternately switching on the first bypass loop and the second bypass loop; or when the time signal is greater than two, for example three, in response to the first electrical signal being below the first threshold, establishing a first bypass loop for a time corresponding to the first time signal, then canceling the first bypass loop, establishing a second bypass loop for a time corresponding to the second time signal, then canceling the second bypass loop, establishing a third bypass loop for a time corresponding to the third time signal, then canceling the third bypass loop, establishing the first bypass loop for a time corresponding to the first time signal again, and thus cyclically conducting the first bypass loop, the second bypass loop and the third bypass loop.

Optionally, in the control unit in some embodiments, the timing logic further includes: a timer (or other circuit with timing/time delay functionality, such as an oscillator, frequency generator, clock generator, etc., which is or will not be described in detail) and at least one flip-flop. The electric signal measuring unit, the timer and the at least one trigger are connected in sequence; the electric signal measuring unit is configured to output a comparison signal according to the magnitude relation between the first electric signal and the first threshold value; the timer generates at least one timing signal related to time in response to the comparison signal reaching a preset timing threshold, the output end of the at least one trigger is respectively connected with the control end of the at least one switch unit, and the timer outputs the at least one time signal in response to the at least one timing signal to control the on or off of the at least one switch unit.

Optionally, in the control unit of some embodiments, the comparison signal is input to a control terminal of at least one switching unit, and the at least one switching unit is turned on or off in response to the input comparison signal.

Optionally, in the control unit of some embodiments, an output of the electrical signal measurement unit is coupled to an input of a timing logic circuit, the timing logic circuit being coupled to control terminals of a first part of the m switch units and a second part of the m switch units, respectively, the electrical signal measurement unit being configured to: if the first electrical signal indicates that the output voltage of the DC power supply is within the first voltage range, outputting a first comparison signal to the timing logic circuit, and the timing logic circuit is configured to: in response to the comparison signal, the first and second partial switching units are controlled/coordinated to be alternately/alternately turned on at a first predetermined frequency, thereby alternately/alternately turning off corresponding first and second partial LED arrays of the n LED arrays. Or it is also understood that the timing logic is configured to: the first and second partial switching units are controlled/coordinated to be alternately/alternately turned off at a first predetermined frequency in response to a comparison signal from the electrical signal measuring unit, thereby alternately/alternately turning on the corresponding first and second partial LED arrays.

Further alternatively, the control unit may further comprise a trigger, the output of the timer being connected to an input of the trigger, i.e. indirectly coupled to the control terminal of the first and/or second partial switching unit via the trigger, and controlling/coordinating the two partial switching units.

A flip-flop herein may be understood as a term of a flip-flop circuit or device, such as an R-S flip-flop, JK flip-flop, D flip-flop, T flip-flop, etc., or other circuit or device that may perform the same function, such as other circuits or devices having set/reset function logic.

The first predetermined frequency, which is substantially equal in value to the frequency of alternating/commutating conduction of the plurality of switching units controlled by the timer and the corresponding plurality of bypass loops or the LED array of the plurality of parts, may be set to any one value of [0.5kHz,50kHz ] or any one value of the frequency intervals of [0.5kHz,5kHz ], [5kHz,10kHz ], [20kHz,40 ], [60kHz,100kHz ], [100kHz,500kHz ], [10kHz,50kHz ], by configuring the circuit parameters of the timing logic 06A, generally if the above first predetermined frequency is located at [20kHz,50kHz ], for example 30kHz, the overall performance is good, for example, the strobe is reduced to a large extent, while the electromagnetic interference generated is also not too large. The exemplary configurations of timers and triggers in the pair of control units described above are also applicable here to any other related embodiment of the invention.

The first predetermined frequency is substantially equal in value to the frequency of alternating/rotating conduction of the plurality of switching cells and the corresponding plurality of bypass loops or the plurality of portions of the LED array controlled by the timing logic, and may be set by configuration of circuit parameters of the timing logic. Setting the first predetermined frequency higher, the human eye is not easily or perceivable, e.g., a strobe greater than 3125HZ may be considered safe to avoid deep inspection, alternating/rotating greater than audio (about 20 KHZ) may avoid noise caused by energy variations that are audible to the human ear, greater than 40K may avoid interference with infrared equipment, etc., however, the frequency is higher, the energy variations produced by alternating/rotating conduction tend to cause unacceptable electromagnetic interference, and a more precise design is relatively desirable; in addition, since the manufacturing process of the chip is not easy to realize a large capacity capacitor, the setting of the first predetermined frequency needs to take into consideration various factors. Generally, if the first predetermined frequency is located at [4kHz,30kHz ], [50kHz,100kHz ], the combination is good, and the strobe frequency, the electromagnetic interference intensity, the manufacturability and other various factors are considered.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the control unit further comprises timing logic. The output of the electrical signal measuring unit is coupled to the input of the timing logic circuit, the control terminals of the plurality of switching units are respectively coupled to the outputs of the timing logic unit, and the electrical signal measuring unit is configured to: in response to the first electrical signal being less than a first threshold, a first comparison signal is output to the timing logic. The timing logic is configured to cyclically output a plurality of control signals complementary in time at a first predetermined frequency in response to the first comparison signal. The plurality of switch units are operable to be turned on alternately at a first predetermined frequency according to the plurality of control signals, respectively; alternatively, a plurality of control signals complementary in time are cyclically generated at a first predetermined frequency in response to the first comparison signal, and are alternately input to the control terminals of the plurality of switching units (respectively). Wherein the first electrical signal is positively correlated with the pulsating direct current voltage (or the difference between the pulsating direct current and the on-voltage drop of the LED array).

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the electrical signal measurement unit further comprises a second comparator. The second comparators are respectively coupled to the one or more switch units through the signal processing units, so that the second comparison signals output by the second comparators are adapted to the control terminals of the one or more switch units. The inputs of the second comparator are configured as a second electrical signal and a first threshold, respectively.

Further optionally, the electrical signal measurement unit further comprises an integration unit. The second comparator, the integration unit, the signal processing unit and the one or more switch units are sequentially connected, and the integration unit controls the on/off of the one or more switch units and the conversion of the current regulation state through the signal processing unit. Gradual switching of the one or more switching units between different states can be achieved by means of the integration unit, so that the strobe is reduced. Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the electrical signal measurement unit further comprises a first comparator. The second comparator, the integration unit, and the first comparator are connected in sequence, and an output terminal of the first comparator is coupled to a control terminal of one or more switch units, for example, directly coupled to the control terminal of one or more switch units, or indirectly coupled to the control terminal of one or more switch units through a signal processing unit, and control signals output by the first comparator for the one or more switch units are correspondingly transmitted to, or distributed to, the respective control terminals of the plurality of switch units through the signal processing unit.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the signal processing unit further comprises timing logic. The first comparison signal generated by the electric signal measuring unit is input into the timing logic circuit, the control ends of the switch units are respectively coupled to the output of the timing logic unit, and the electric signal measuring unit is configured to: in response to the first electrical signal being less than a first threshold, a first comparison signal is input to the timing logic. The timing logic is configured to cyclically output a plurality of control signals complementary in time at a first predetermined frequency in response to the first comparison signal. The plurality of switch units are operable to be turned on alternately at a first predetermined frequency according to the plurality of control signals, respectively; alternatively, a plurality of control signals complementary in time are cyclically generated at a first predetermined frequency in response to the first comparison signal, and are alternately input to the control terminals of the plurality of switching units (respectively). Wherein the first electrical signal is positively correlated with the pulsating direct current voltage (or the difference between the pulsating direct current and the on-voltage drop of the LED array).

The second comparator is configured to receive the second electrical signal and the first threshold value, and output a comparison result to the integrating unit.

The first comparator is configured to compare the first electrical signal with an output of the integrating unit.

Wherein the second electrical signal reflects: a minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage or a minimum value of the difference between the pulsating direct voltage and the voltage to which the LED array is subjected. The at least one electrical signal includes a first electrical signal and a second electrical signal. Alternatively, the first electrical signal may be an instantaneous value for reflecting the pulsating direct voltage in real time, and the second electrical signal may be a minimum value reflecting only the pulsating direct voltage. The second electrical signal may be acquired (derived from) based on the first electrical signal.

Alternatively, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the input of the electrical signal measurement unit is coupled to the control circuit (somewhere in or outside) to obtain a characteristic reflecting the pulsating direct voltage, which characteristic may be at least one of i) maximum, ii) minimum, iii) average or iii) effective value of the pulsating direct voltage.

The output terminals of the electrical signal measuring units are coupled to the control terminals of the m switching units. It is assumed that when the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage is above the turn-on threshold, the pulsating direct voltage is sufficient to turn on p of the n LED arrays during the full period, while at this time there are y of the m switch units controlled by the control unit to remain on allowing p of the (enable) n LED arrays to be turned on, if y=0, meaning that all m switch units are turned off and correspondingly all n LED arrays are turned on. The control unit is configured to: in response to at least one electrical signal indicating that the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falls below the turn-on threshold, z of the m switching cells remain turned on for a full period of the pulsating direct current voltage.

In the control circuit of some embodiments, z of the m switch cells are kept on such that a minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage is sufficient to illuminate q of the n LED arrays, q being a maximum number of LED arrays that can be illuminated by a minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage below the on threshold; or the conduction voltage drop of q LED arrays in series is the largest of the combinations of all LED arrays that can be turned on in n LED arrays for the current pulsating direct voltage (over the full period). And y switch units in the m switch units are kept on, and q is equal to or less than p is equal to or less than n, optionally 0 is equal to or less than y is equal to or less than z is equal to or less than m. Of course, in some cases, z may be greater than y, depending on the connection positions of the floating switch and the common switch in the control circuit among the z switch units. But z switching cells are turned on, which results in more LED arrays being bypassed to accommodate the decreasing minimum pulsating dc voltage than y switching cells are turned on.

Specifically, in some embodiments, assume x=0, m=1, n=2, q=1, p=2, y=0. When the control circuit is used/applied to the n LED arrays, the positive polarity end of the pulsating direct voltage, the first LED array and the second LED array of the n LED arrays are sequentially connected to form a series loop. The second of the m switching units is bridged between 1) and 2) below: 1) A junction of the first LED array and the second LED array, and 2) a negative polarity end of the pulsating direct voltage. Thus, in response to at least one electrical signal indicating that the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falls below the conduction threshold, the second switching unit remains on for the full period of the pulsating direct current voltage, whereby the first LED array is individually illuminated and the second LED array is not illuminated for the full period of each of the following pulsating periods of the pulsating direct current voltage. Depending on the circuit configuration, the value of the on-voltage drop of the individual LED arrays, etc., the on-threshold may comprise a number of specific values, such as a full-bright threshold in this embodiment. Here, the state of the first LED array being individually turned on may be continued for at least one ripple period until the minimum value of the ripple voltage again undergoes a certain degree of up-down change within several ripple periods to cross some of the on thresholds or voltage intervals again.

Optionally, in the control circuit of another embodiment of the present invention, the electrical signal measurement unit is coupled to the control circuit to obtain at least one electrical signal reflecting the pulsating direct voltage characteristic. The at least one electrical signal may comprise, for example, at least one of the second electrical signal and the first electrical signal. The second electrical signal is used to reflect the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage or the voltage value of the valley portion, and the first electrical signal is used to reflect the pulsating direct voltage or the voltage to which the n LED arrays are subjected.

The electric signal measuring units are respectively coupled with the control ends of one or more of the m switch units. The electrical signal measurement unit is configured to: it is determined from the at least one electrical signal whether the output voltage of the dc power source (e.g., near a valley position of the output voltage) is sufficient to turn on the n LED arrays.

The control unit is configured to control the m switching units to keep the first part of the LED arrays on for a full period of at least one pulsing period of the dc power supply in response to the at least one electrical signal reflecting that the output voltage of the dc power supply is insufficient to turn on the n LED arrays. Thus, during the at least one pulsing period, the portion of the LED array may be steadily illuminated without strobing due to LED array (low frequency) switching.

Optionally, in the control circuit of one embodiment of the present invention, the electrical signal measurement unit further includes a second comparator, and an output end of the second comparator is coupled to the m switch units or a part of the switch units, respectively; the second comparator is configured to receive the second electrical signal and the first threshold and output a comparison result for both.

Optionally, in the control circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention, the dc power supply outputs a pulsating voltage, and the control unit is configured to, in response to the second electrical signal reflecting the pulsating voltage, e.g. the valley portion, is insufficient to turn on the n LED arrays, gradually switch i) all n LEDs on to ii) the first portion LED arrays individually on over a plurality of pulsation cycles, the gradual switching being smooth and gradual, the former gradually weakening (fade out), the latter gradually increasing (fade in) so that the luminous flux does not suddenly change.

Optionally, in the control circuit of one embodiment of the present invention, the electrical signal measurement unit further includes an integration unit connected between the second comparator and the m switch units. The integration unit is operable to control the average value of the current in the first part of the LED array and the average value of the current in the n LED arrays to increase and decrease, respectively, from cycle to cycle in a plurality of ripple cycles, based on the output of the second comparator. The variation of the average value here may be embodied as a variation of the duty cycle of the current in the first partial LED array or n LED arrays. After conversion by the integration unit for a plurality of periods, the duty cycle of the all-on state of the n LED arrays becomes zero gradually in each pulse period, while the duty cycle of the state of the first part of LED arrays which are individually turned on in each pulse period is 100%, i.e. occupies the whole time of each pulse period.

Optionally, in the control circuit of one embodiment of the present invention, the electrical signal measurement unit further includes a first comparator connected between the integration unit and the m switch units. The control unit further comprises signal processing units which are respectively connected with the control ends of the m switch units, and the signals from the first comparator and other circuit modules are transmitted to the control ends of the m switch units or are further processed by the signal processing units and then are respectively transmitted to the control ends of the m switch units. The first comparator is configured to receive the first electrical signal and an output of the integrating unit. The output of the integrating unit may have a periodically varying amplitude, for example a sawtooth. Optionally, in the control circuit of one embodiment of the present invention, the signal processing unit includes a timing logic circuit connected between the control terminals of the m switching units and the output terminals of the first comparator, so that, if the output of the first comparator is high, which represents that the output of the integrating unit is greater than the first electric signal, the timing logic circuit cyclically outputs a control signal complementary in time to at least part of the m switching units at a first predetermined frequency in response to the output of this high level. Thereby controlling the LED arrays of the plurality of portions of the n LED arrays to be cyclically lighted. For example, within the control circuit, the timing logic circuit alternately sends a control signal complementary in time to i) a switching unit corresponding to at least one of the first partial LED arrays, and 2) a switching unit corresponding to a second partial LED array of the n LED arrays, to control the on-off state of the associated switching unit.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the electrical signal measurement unit, the integration unit, the m switch units are coupled in sequence, such that, by the integration unit and its cooperation with the electrical signal measurement unit and the switch units, the control unit is operable to: in response to at least one electrical signal indicating that the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falls below the conduction threshold, gradually switching to a second locked state in which z switching cells are kept on by a plurality of pulsating cycles.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the switching/transitional process of the first locking state to the second locking state further includes coordinating current in the z switch cells with current in the y switch cells in opposite directions:

Coordinating i) the current in the z switching units or the average value thereof increases over a plurality of cycles, and ii) the current in the y switching units or the average value thereof decreases synchronously over a plurality of ripple cycles.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, coordinating the current in the z switching cells with the current in the y switching cells in reverse variation further comprises:

The duty cycle/amplitude of the on-current in the y switching cells is adjusted in a cycle-by-cycle decreasing manner over a plurality of ripple cycles, and the duty cycle/amplitude of the on-current in the z switching cells is adjusted in a cycle-by-cycle increasing manner in synchronization.

Optionally, the z switching units are at least partially selected from the x switching units. Or z switching units including at least one of the x switching units. Preferably, the z switching units include at least one of m-x switching units in addition to the at least one floating switch.

In the control circuit of some embodiments, the electrical signal measurement unit, the timing logic, and the m switch units are coupled in sequence, such that the control unit is operable, through the timing logic and its cooperation with the electrical signal measurement unit and the m switch units: in response to at least one electrical signal indicating that the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falls below the turn-on threshold, z switching cells among the m switching cells are dynamically selected/configured and turned on by a time-complementary control signal that is cyclically output by the timing logic circuit at a first predetermined frequency. So that the number of switching elements turned on at each instant remains z, although the number of switching elements acted on by the control signal circulating at the first predetermined frequency is more than z as a whole. This makes it possible to turn on at most q LED arrays due to a decrease in pulsating dc voltage, but the number of LED arrays actually available for releasing luminous flux is larger than q, and if the voltage is not decreased much and z switch units are properly configured, n LED arrays can all be kept releasing luminous flux to the outside, improving lighting performance.

Specifically, in some embodiments, the n LED arrays driven by the control circuit further include a third LED array connected in series in a series loop formed by the first LED array, the second LED array, and the dc power supply. The m switching units further include a first switching unit. When the control circuit is applied to the first LED array, the second LED array and the third LED array in the series loop, the first switching unit will correspond to the first LED array and be connected in parallel with the first LED array. Thus, in response to at least one electrical signal indicating that the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falls below a full-lighting threshold (e.g., insufficient to simultaneously turn on either of the first LED array and the second LED array, but may be separately turned on), the first LED array and the second LED array are alternately illuminated at a first predetermined frequency by temporally complementary control signals alternately output by the timing logic circuit to the control terminals of the first LED array and the second LED array, respectively. In addition, since the third LED array is not bypassed by any switching unit, it may be in a normally bright state.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the coupling between the timing logic circuit and the switch unit (or the control end thereof), the coupling between the integrating unit and the switch unit (or the control end thereof), and the coupling between the multiple modules/units/components in other embodiments are not limited to direct electrical connection/coupling, and may be formed by other indirect connection means, which will not be described in detail.

Here, the above-described exemplary configurations of the electrical signal measurement unit, the timing logic, the timer, and the trigger in the pair of control units are also applicable to other related embodiments of the present invention.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: i) Switching between the series loop and the plurality of bypass loops is performed stepwise over successive pulse cycles of the first electrical signal in response to a change/rise of the lowest value of the first electrical signal relative to the first threshold value; or ii) switching between the series loop and the plurality of bypass loops is accomplished stepwise through successive multiple pulse cycles of the first electrical signal in response to a change in the minimum value of the first electrical signal across the first threshold.

Alternatively, the response of the lowest value of the first electrical signal to the change in the first threshold may be delayed to form a "non-timely response" of varying degrees, thereby ignoring abrupt changes in electrical energy.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: a) Gradually adjusting the relative ratio of i) the duration of the plurality of bypass loops in rotation to ii) the duration of the series loop through a plurality of pulsation cycles in switching between the series loop and the plurality of bypass loops in rotation; or B) gradually adjusting the current in a) the plurality of bypass loops in the alternate conduction and B) the current in the series loop in the switching between the series loop and the plurality of bypass loops in the alternate conduction, the duty cycle/value/average in each pulsing period.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, wherein the first electrical signal is positively correlated with a pulsating direct current voltage; and the control unit is further configured to: conducting the series loop in a maximum value or a neighborhood of the first electrical signal in a plurality of pulsation cycles; when the series circuit is cut off, a plurality of bypass circuits are alternately conducted; wherein i) the current in the series loop is complementary to ii) the current in the plurality of bypass loops in time domain or in pulse shape.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to:

i) Coordinating the decreasing duty cycle/value/average of the current in the plurality of bypass loops over each of the plurality of ripple cycles, in synchronization with the increasing duty cycle/value/average of the current in the series loop over each of the plurality of ripple cycles; or alternatively

Ii) coordinating the increasing duty cycle/value/average of the current in the plurality of bypass loops over each of the plurality of pulsation cycles, in synchronization with the decreasing duty cycle/value/average of the current in the series loop over each of the plurality of pulsation cycles; or alternatively

Iii) Coordinating the decreasing duty cycle/average/amplitude of the current pulses in the plurality of bypass loops during the plurality of pulsation cycles, synchronously increasing the duty cycle/average/amplitude of the current pulses in the series loops; or alternatively

Iii) coordinating the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the plurality of bypass loops to increment in a plurality of pulsation cycles, synchronously, the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the series loops to decrement.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the LED arrays in the multiple bypass loops may or may not have an intersection and have the same conduction voltage drop.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the plurality of bypass loops are respectively configured to have a maximum number or a next-largest number of conductive pulsating direct current voltages corresponding to a lowest value of the first electrical signal in the n LED arrays. The union of the LED arrays in the plurality of bypass loops that are turned on alternately contains n or n-1 of the n LED arrays, wherein the plurality of pulsing periods includes any number of pulsing periods in the range of 3-1000, or the plurality of pulsing periods last from 1ms to 1000ms.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the control unit further includes: a timer and an integrating unit coupled to each other; the control unit is further configured to: a) Adjusting, by the integration unit, the full brightness threshold to increment/decrement over a plurality of pulsation periods based at least in part on the timing signal from the timer; and b) triggering a switch between the series loop and the plurality of bypass loops based at least in part on the incremented/decremented full bright threshold.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the control unit further includes a first comparator coupled with the integration unit; the first comparator triggers either i) switching between the series loop and the plurality of bypass loops, or ii) switching on or off of the m-x switching units and the current limiting device, depending on the input of the integrating unit and the first electrical signal.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: 1) In switching between the series circuit and the plurality of bypass circuits in alternating conduction, the relative proportion of i) the duration of the plurality of bypass circuits in alternating conduction to ii) the duration of the series circuit is gradually adjusted over a plurality of pulsation cycles. Or the control unit is further configured to: 2) In switching between the series circuit and the plurality of bypass circuits in the switching conduction, the current in a) the plurality of bypass circuits in the switching conduction and the current in b) the series circuit are gradually adjusted, the duty ratio/the value/the average value in each pulsation period.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: switching between the series loop and the bypass loop is performed stepwise over successive pulse cycles of the first electrical signal in response to a fluctuation/rise of the minimum value of the first electrical signal relative to the first threshold value. Alternatively, the control unit is further configured to: switching between the series loop and the bypass loop is accomplished in steps through successive multiple pulse cycles of the first electrical signal in response to a change in the minimum value of the first electrical signal across the first threshold.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: in switching between the series circuit and the bypass circuit, the relative proportion of i) the duration of the bypass circuit, which is switched on in rotation, to ii) the duration of the series circuit is gradually adjusted over a plurality of pulsation cycles. Or the control unit is further configured to: in switching between the series circuit and the commutating bypass circuit, the current in a) the commutating bypass circuit and b) the current in the series circuit are gradually adjusted, the duty cycle/value/average value in each pulsation cycle.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the first electrical signal is positively correlated with a pulsating direct current voltage; and the control unit is further configured to: conducting the series loop in a maximum value or a neighborhood of the first electrical signal in a plurality of pulsation cycles; when the series circuit is cut off, the bypass circuit is conducted; wherein i) the current in the series loop is complementary to ii) the current in the bypass loop in the time domain or in the pulse shape.

i) The duty cycle/value/average value of the current in the coordination bypass loop in each of the plurality of pulsation cycles is decremented, and the duty cycle/value/average value of the current in the series loop in each of the plurality of pulsation cycles is incremented in synchronization; or alternatively

Ii) coordinating the increase in the duty cycle/value/average of the current in the bypass loop over each of the plurality of pulsation cycles, in synchronism with the decrease in the duty cycle/value/average of the current in the series loop over each of the plurality of pulsation cycles; or alternatively

Iii) The duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the coordination bypass loop is decremented in a plurality of pulsation cycles, and the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the series loop is incremented in synchronization; or alternatively

Iii) the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the coordination bypass loop is incremented over a plurality of pulsation cycles, and the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the series loop is decremented in synchronization.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the bypass loop is configured to have a maximum or next largest number of conductive ones of the n LED arrays of the pulsating direct current voltage corresponding to the lowest value of the first electrical signal.

In one embodiment of the present application, there is also provided a lighting device including the control circuit of any one of the embodiments of the present application, the control circuit being integrated as a chip or integrated circuit; and, further comprising n LED arrays coupled from the periphery to the chip or integrated circuit.

Optionally, the lighting device in some embodiments further comprises a first resistor connected to the first switching unit and its bypass circuit/loop through the current programming interface.

Optionally, the lighting device in some embodiments further comprises a dc power supply comprising a rectifying circuit configured to receive input power, such as mains or other ac power, and rectify the input power for output to the n LED arrays.

Optionally, the electrical signal measurement unit includes a voltage detection circuit connected in parallel to an output of the rectification circuit or n LED arrays to detect the first electrical signal by a corresponding voltage signal; or the electrical signal measuring unit is connected in series with at least part of the n LED arrays and/or the m switching units or the current limiting devices to detect the first electrical signal by the corresponding current signal.

Alternatively, when the LED arrays in the bypass loop are current-regulated by the linear current source/switching unit in the bypass loop, the current may be regulated in opposite directions or in negative relation to the on-voltage drop of the n LED arrays in the bypass loop, i.e. the current value in the bypass loop is raised with a decrease in the on-voltage drop of the n LED arrays, thereby maintaining the power of the LED arrays in the bypass loop, or the light output/luminous flux substantially constant, in other words, by regulating the current of the n LED arrays, the decrease in the power, light output/luminous flux of the n LED arrays due to the voltage drop of the direct current power supply is substantially compensated.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, at least one of the m switching units and/or the current limiting device is configured as part of the voltage detection circuit.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, the output end of the dc power supply is connected across the electrolytic capacitor, so that electrical energy can be stored to some extent, and the value may be, for example: several muF to several tens muF. If the common ground switch unit, the floating ground switch unit and the current regulating method are properly configured, even in the limit of the voltage zero crossing point of an external direct current power supply (such as the mains), all LED groups are not generally turned off, which reduces the stroboscopic effect to a larger extent.

Optionally, in the lighting device in some embodiments, n is equal to or greater than 2, at least two of the n LED arrays have the same conduction voltage drop, and the n LED arrays may be turned on by corresponding switching units of the m switching units alternately.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, at least part of the n-m LED arrays not coupled with the m switch units are connected in series before/upstream of the m LED arrays in the current direction. That is, when m is smaller than N, the switching unit and the LED array are NPN or N-type, respectively, and a portion of LEDs in the N LED arrays that cannot be bypassed by the m switches is connected in series in a (main) loop at a position closer to the positive polarity output end of the power supply, and is normally in a normally bright state because of the non-bypass, so that the energy conversion efficiency of the whole loop can be improved. Additionally, in some embodiments, the switching unit or current limiting device is operable to regulate current flowing therein, or may also be referred to as a current source.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, the LED array that can be bypassed by the first partial switching unit and the LED array that can be bypassed by the second partial switching unit have the same on-voltage drop. Correspondingly, during the switching process of the first part of switch unit and the second part of switch unit, the current of the two bypasses can keep the same value, and the power of the lighting device can be kept unchanged. The switching circuit can not generate noise due to the fact that current is greatly regulated during switching, and design requirements on a driving circuit are reduced.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, the n-m LED arrays not coupled to the m switch units are connected in series with the dc power source such that the n-m LED arrays thereof are at least partially free from being bypassed by the m switch units or the m-x switch units.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, the n-m LED arrays are located between the dc power supply and the m-x switching units in a series loop.

In one embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a control method for an LED array for driving n LED arrays supplied with power from a direct current power source, including:

Selectively bypassing the n LED arrays to accommodate the dc power supply when the dc power supply is low enough to turn on the n LED arrays; wherein the selective bypass may establish at least one bypass loop for at least a portion of the n LED arrays.

When the dc power supply is sufficient to turn on the n LED arrays, the selective bypass for the n LED arrays is canceled to establish a first loop including the dc power supply and all of the n LED arrays.

Optionally, the step of selectively bypassing at least one of the n LED arrays to accommodate a direct current power source further comprises at least one of the following steps a), B):

A) A bypass is established for a first portion of the n LED arrays, across each of the first portion of the LED arrays.

B) A bypass is established across the second partial LED array for a second partial LED array of the n LED arrays to entirely bypass the second partial LED array and loop back to the DC power supply.

Alternatively, the step of selectively bypassing the n LED arrays to accommodate a direct current power supply may further comprise at least one of the following steps a), b):

a) Each of the first partial LED arrays of the n LED arrays is bypassed separately.

B) The second partial LED array located at one side of the n LED arrays connected in series is entirely bypassed to allow the other LED arrays of the n LED arrays except the second partial LED array and the direct current power source to establish a closed loop.

Wherein the at least one bypass loop comprises two types of bypass loops: a first type bypass loop and a second type bypass loop. The bypass loop for bypassing the first portion of the LED array is of the first type, or referred to as a floating loop. Optionally, the bypass loop for bypassing the second portion of the LED array belongs to a second type of bypass loop, or referred to as a common ground loop.

Optionally, the method for controlling an LED array of some embodiments further includes the steps of: the currents flowing through at least part of the n LED arrays are coordinated, for example by means of current sources in at least one bypass loop or the like, such that the power values of the n LED arrays remain in the neighborhood of the first power value. The neighborhood of the first power value is also the power range that the first loop/main loop maintains during operation, so that the main loop and the bypass loop switch to each other without substantially affecting the power or luminous flux of the LED array.

Here, it should be understood that: the luminous flux of the LEDs and the power of the LEDs are strongly correlated, which helps to control the luminous flux output of the n LED arrays to be substantially constant by controlling the power of the LEDs to be substantially constant.

Correspondingly, in the control method of the LED array of some embodiments, the method may further include the steps of:

The power of the n LED arrays in the vicinity of the first power value is converted to luminous flux/lumen emitted by the n LED arrays in the vicinity of the first luminous flux value.

Alternatively, the neighborhood of the first luminous flux, the neighborhood of the first power value may be set relatively small, e.g. within a range of + -5% or 2% or even less of a certain normal operating power value/lumen value of the LED array, thereby achieving a constant power, constant luminance to a certain extent.

Optionally, in the method for controlling an LED array of some embodiments, the step of coordinating the current further includes: the current in the first loop and the current in at least one of the bypass loops formed by the selective bypass LED arrays are adjusted in association or in synergy such that the power of each of the n LED arrays remains at a neighborhood first power value of the first power value during the first loop and the at least one bypass loop are established.

Optionally, in the method for controlling an LED array of some embodiments, the step of adjusting the current further includes at least one of the following three steps:

i) The current in the first loop is regulated and varies inversely with the pulsating direct voltage or the average value of the pulsating direct voltage.

Ii) adjusting the current of each of the at least one bypass loop and the on-voltage drop of the LED array in that bypass loop, respectively, to vary inversely with respect to/against the ratio.

Iii) If at least one of the n LED arrays is bypassed, the current flowing in the bypass loop is adjusted to be greater than the current in the first loop when all of the n LED arrays are on.

Optionally, the method for controlling an LED array of some embodiments further includes:

S-1) switching between the first loop and the at least one bypass loop in response to the voltage of the dc power supply fluctuating around the full bright threshold, or with the output voltage of the dc power supply fluctuating around the full bright threshold.

S-2) coordinating the current of the first loop with the current of the at least one bypass loop such that the power of the n LED arrays remains within a neighborhood of the first power value.

Optionally, step S-2) further comprises:

S-2-1) in response to the first loop switching to the first type bypass loop, adjusting the current in the first type bypass loop to be greater than the current of the first loop, such that the power of the n LED arrays remains within a neighborhood of the first power value before and after (or also including during) the switching process of the first loop to the first type bypass loop; wherein the first type bypass loop corresponds to the first partial LED array or is for bypassing the first partial LED array in a first manner; or (b)

S-2-2) in response to the first loop switching to the second type bypass loop, adjusting the current in the second type bypass loop to be greater than the current of the first loop such that the power of the n LED arrays remains within the neighborhood of the first power value before, after (or also including during, e.g., a transition of, the switching process of the first loop to the second type bypass loop); wherein the second type bypass loop corresponds to or is used to bypass the second partial LED array in a second manner; or (b)

S-2-3) in response to the first loop switching to a third type bypass loop, adjusting the current in the third type bypass loop to be greater than the current of the first loop such that the power of the n LED arrays remains within the neighborhood of the first power value before, after (or also including during the switching process, e.g., the transition of the switching process) the first loop to the third type bypass loop; wherein the third type bypass loop corresponds to the first and second partial LED arrays or is used to synchronously bypass the first and second partial LED arrays in a third manner.

Alternatively, the first and second partial LED arrays may not have an intersection, or there may be an intersection.

Step S-1) further comprises:

in response to the voltage of the direct current power source being below the full-lighting threshold, at least one bypass loop is turned on to illuminate a maximum or next largest number of the n LED arrays that the voltage of the direct current power source is capable of illuminating. This makes it possible to turn off as many LED arrays as possible while utilizing the voltage of the dc power supply to the maximum.

Optionally, the control method of the LED array of some embodiments further includes one of the following two steps:

I) And in response to the first loop being switched to one of the first type bypass loop, the second type bypass loop or the third type bypass loop, alternately conducting at least two of the first type bypass loop, the second type bypass loop and the third type bypass loop. Or alternatively

II) when the voltage of the direct current power supply is lower than the full-brightness threshold value, alternately conducting at least two of the first type bypass loop, the second type bypass loop and the third type bypass loop.

Optionally, the control method of the LED array of some embodiments further includes one or more of the following 3 steps:

1) In response to the first loop switching to a first type bypass loop, alternately switching on a plurality of first type bypass loops; or alternatively

2) Alternately switching on a plurality of second type bypass loops in response to the first loop switching to the second type bypass loop; or alternatively

3) In response to the first loop switching to a third type bypass loop, alternately switching on a plurality of third type bypass loops;

Optionally, in the method for controlling an LED array of some embodiments, the step of alternately conducting further includes any one of the following steps: step i) coordinating (coordinate) the currents of at least two of the first, second, and third type bypass loops such that during alternating conduction, the power of the n LED arrays is maintained within a neighborhood of the first power value; or step ii) coordinates the currents of any of a) the plurality of first type bypass loops, b) the plurality of second type bypass loops, c) the plurality of third type bypass loops such that during alternate conduction, the power of the n LED arrays is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value.

Optionally, in the method for controlling an LED array of some embodiments, the step of current coordination further includes:

Step AA) dynamically controlling the current in the first type bypass loop to decrease synchronously with the increase in current in the second type bypass loop during the switching from the first type bypass loop to the second type bypass loop such that the decrease in power in the first type bypass loop is compensated for/offset by the increase in power in the second type bypass loop, and

Step BB) dynamically controlling the current in the second type bypass loop to decrease synchronously with increasing current in the first type bypass loop during the switching from the second type bypass loop to the first type bypass loop such that the decrease in power in the second type bypass loop is compensated/counteracted by the increase in power in the first type bypass loop.

Step CC) dynamically controlling the current in the bypass loop to increase synchronously with decreasing current in the first loop during switching from the first loop to a bypass loop such that the decrease in power in the first loop is compensated for/counteracted by the increase in power in the bypass loop, and

Step DD) dynamically controlling the current in the bypass loop to decrease synchronously with increasing current in the first loop during the switching from the bypass loop to the first loop such that the decrease in power in the bypass loop is compensated for/counteracted by the increase in power in the first loop.

Step EE) during the transition from the second type bypass loop to the first type bypass loop, the current in the first type bypass loop is controlled to increase synchronously before the magnitude of the decrease in current in the second type bypass loop relative to the magnitude of the decrease before the start of the transition exceeds a preset magnitude. And/or

In a transition from a first type bypass loop to a second type bypass loop, the current in the second type bypass loop is controlled to increase synchronously before the current in the first type bypass loop exceeds a preset magnitude with respect to the magnitude of the decrease before the start of the transition.

Step FF) during a transition from the first loop to a bypass loop, the current in the bypass loop is controlled to increase synchronously before the current in the first loop exceeds a preset magnitude with respect to the magnitude of the decrease before the start of the transition. And/or

In a transition from a bypass loop to a first loop, the current in the bypass loop is controlled to decrease synchronously before the current in the first loop exceeds a preset magnitude with respect to the magnitude of the rise before the start of the transition.

The preset amplitude may be any value between 0.1% and 5%, or any value in the adjacent ranges of 3% to 10%, 0.01% to 3%, etc., where the amplitude and some amplitude and data range of other embodiments of the present application may be different according to the related method or different applications of the lighting device and the driving circuit, and are not limited to the data range/interval explicitly mentioned in the present application.

Optionally, in the method for controlling an LED array of some embodiments, the step of alternately conducting further includes:

alternately conducting the first type bypass loop and the second type bypass loop, so that luminous flux of the n LED arrays is distributed on the largest luminous area; or alternatively

The first type bypass loop and the second type bypass loop are alternately turned on to illuminate all n LED arrays in a single alternate turn-on period. Alternatively (optional), the maximum area of the n LED arrays that can emit light can be understood as the normal light emitting area of the lighting device with the n LED arrays at rated power.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for controlling an LED array is also provided, including: at a driving circuit for driving n LED arrays supplied by a direct current power supply, or at a lighting device having n LED arrays:

SA-1): when the voltage of the direct current power supply is high enough to conduct the n LED arrays by Yu Quanliang threshold values, driving the n LED arrays to be lighted;

SA-2): when the dc power is below the full-lighting threshold and insufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays, only a portion of the LED arrays (e.g., a first portion of the LED arrays) that drive the n LED arrays are lit.

SA-1) driving the n LED arrays to be lighted when the voltage of the direct current power supply is high enough to turn on the n LED arrays by Yu Quanliang threshold values;

SA-2) driving the n LED arrays to be partially lit when the voltage of the DC power supply is below the full-lighting threshold but insufficient to turn on the n LED arrays; or in response to a fluctuation in the voltage of the direct current power supply with respect to the full-lighting threshold, a part of and all of the n LED arrays are lit correspondingly/alternately.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for controlling an LED array is also provided, including: at a driving circuit for driving n LED arrays in series, or at a lighting device having n LED arrays:

SA-1) supplying power to the n LED arrays through a direct current power supply;

SA-2) correspondingly lighting part of and all n LED arrays in the n LED arrays according to the voltage of the direct current power supply relative to the full-brightness threshold value; or in response to the voltage of the dc power source being below/above Yu Quanliang threshold, to correspondingly/respectively illuminate some or all of the n LED arrays.

SA-1): detecting the voltage of a direct current power supply; the voltage of the direct current power supply with the high Yu Quanliang threshold is enough to conduct n LED arrays, and the voltage of the direct current power supply with the low total brightness threshold is insufficient to conduct all n LED arrays;

SA-2) individually illuminating some or all of the n LED arrays in response to/as a function of the voltage of the DC power supply relative to the full-illumination threshold.

Alternatively, the detection of the voltage of the dc power supply may be performed by acquiring an electric signal proportional to or positively/negatively correlated with the voltage of the dc power supply, not limited to directly measuring the value of the voltage of the dc power supply. Details of other related embodiments are described in the description of the related embodiments, and are not repeated here.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, step SA-2) or similar steps may further include the sub-steps of:

SA-2-1) adjusts the current through the n LED arrays in substantially inverse/negative relation to the conduction voltage drop of the n LED arrays such that the power of the n LED arrays is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value. Here, the n LED arrays may be all turned on, or only some of the LED arrays may be turned on.

Optionally, the LED array control method of some embodiments of the present invention or step SA-2-1) or similar steps therein may further include the sub-steps of:

SA-2-1-1. Coordinating i) the current flowing when the n LED arrays are all turned on, and ii) the current when the partial LED arrays are individually turned on, such that the power of the all-on n LED arrays and the power of the individually turned-on partial LED arrays are both kept within a neighborhood of the first power value, in other words, such that the power of the n LED arrays remains substantially unchanged during all-on by the n LED arrays to only turn-on a portion of the LEDs thereof.

Optionally, the LED array control method of some embodiments of the present invention or the step SA-2-1-1) or the like therein may further include the sub-steps of:

In response to a portion of the LED arrays being individually illuminated, current in the portion of the LED arrays is raised to a current greater than that flowing when the n LED arrays are all on to maintain the power of the n LED arrays within the neighborhood of the first power value.

Optionally, the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention or the step SA-2-1-1) or the like may further include the sub-steps of:

I) When the voltage of the direct current power supply is higher than the full-brightness threshold value, the current in the n LED arrays is increased along with the reduction of the voltage of the direct current power supply; decreasing the current in the n LED arrays as the voltage of the dc power supply increases; and

II) when part of the LED arrays are conducted independently or the voltage of the direct current power supply is lower than the full-brightness threshold value, the current in part of the LED arrays is increased along with the reduction of the conduction voltage drop of the part of the LED arrays; reducing current in a portion of the LED array as the turn-on voltage drop of the portion of the LED array increases;

Thus, during the change in the voltage of the dc power supply, the power of the n LED arrays is kept within the neighborhood of the first power value.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a control method of the LED array, which comprises the following steps: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays coupled to each other powered by a dc power supply:

SA-1): driving to illuminate i) all of the n LED arrays, or ii) one of the first set of at least one partial LED array of the n LED arrays (one of A FIRST AT LEAST one of THE N LED ARRAY), in response to/if the output voltage of the dc power supply is higher than or equal to the turn-on threshold;

SA-2): in response to/if the output voltage of the DC power supply is below the turn-on threshold, only one of the second set of at least one partial LED arrays of the n LED arrays is driven to light (one of a second at least one portion of THE N LED ARRAY).

SA-1): driving to illuminate one of i) all n LED arrays, or ii) a first set of at least one partial LED array of the n LED arrays, in response to/if the output voltage of the dc power supply is higher than or equal to the turn-on threshold;

SA-2): one of the second set of at least one partial LED array of the n LED arrays is driven to light in response to/if the output voltage of the dc power supply is below the on threshold.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the number of LED arrays in each/any portion of the first set of at least one partial LED array is greater than/equal to the number of LED arrays in each/any portion of the second set of at least one partial LED array; and/or

The on-voltage drop of the LED arrays in each/any of the first set of at least one partial LED array is greater than/equal to the on-voltage drop of the LED arrays in each/any of the second set of at least one partial LED array.

Optionally, in some embodiments, one of the second set of at least one partial LED array has a maximum/multiple number or a maximum/multiple on-voltage drop in the second set of at least one partial LED array.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the turn-on threshold may take different specific values, such as threshold a (70 volts), threshold B (180 volts), etc., depending on different operating states of the drive circuit, different configurations of the dc power supply, etc. The on threshold may include a full bright threshold (e.g., 215 volts).

The embodiment of the invention also provides a control method of the LED array, which comprises the following steps: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays powered by a dc power supply:

SA-1): driving to light p LED arrays out of the n LED arrays in response to/if the output voltage of the direct current power supply is higher than or equal to the on threshold;

SA-2): and driving to light q LED arrays in the n LED arrays in response to/if the output voltage of the direct current power supply is lower than the on threshold, wherein p and q are integers, and q is equal to or less than p and equal to or less than n.

Here, the n LED arrays have a certain association/synergistic relation with each other in terms of light emission, and may be coupled to each other, for example, at least partially in series with each other, partially in series, at least partially in parallel, coupled in series-parallel, etc. The particular manner of connection between the LED arrays is not limiting of the method-like embodiments of the present invention. The control method, the driving method and the like of the embodiment of the invention can be applied to any LED array and LED array group which are related to light emission. Here, the statement of broad applicability of the method of this embodiment also applies to some other method embodiments of the present invention, where it is or will not be repeated.

It should be understood that: in step SA-2) or similar, driving the q LED arrays means that: the other n-q of the n LED arrays are extinguished/bypassed. Wherein p LED arrays and q LED arrays are a proper subset of n LED arrays. The p LED arrays and the q LED arrays are selected from n LED arrays, can be a fixed/determined LED array combination in the n LED arrays, can be uncertain, unfixed or p and q LED arrays dynamically selected/configured from the n LED arrays, and p or q LED arrays dynamically alternated in the n LED arrays. For example: n=3, q=2, n LED arrays include [ A1, A2, A3], q LED arrays may be [ A1, A2] at the previous time, and q LED arrays may be [ A1, A3] at the next time. It can be understood that: at the same time as the output period of the dc power supply, only a part of the 3 LED arrays, i.e. 2 LEDs, are coupled to the control circuit, so as to be sufficiently turned on by the dc power supply.

Here, it should be noted that: in the control method, the driving circuit or the control circuit according to some embodiments of the present application, more diversified descriptions are made from the perspective of driving and lighting q LED arrays, of course, the related control method, driving circuit and control circuit may also be described from the perspective of another n-q turned-off LED arrays, and for brevity and avoidance of redundancy, these different angles are not described in equal detail, but only one or two typical angles are selected to be described in more detail. It should be understood that these embodiments are within the scope of the present application and should be considered as being set forth herein. The applicant reserves the right to divide, continuation-in-the-application, and part-continuation-in-application for these more various variants. In addition, q LED arrays driven to be lighted are turned off corresponding to q floating switch units inside the control circuit, or a certain number of floating switch units and common ground switches are cooperatively switched to be turned off, and n-q LED arrays turned off are turned on corresponding to n-q floating switches inside the control circuit, or a certain number of floating switch units and common ground switches are cooperatively switched to be turned on. While there is a high similarity and correspondence between the LED array and the control method of the switching unit corresponding to each other, in some embodiments of the present application, the operation mode and control method of the corresponding switching unit have been (implicitly) disclosed, although the view angle at which the LED array is turned on/off is typically selected for more detailed description. It should be understood that these related embodiments are all within the scope of the present application and should be considered as described in the present application. The applicant reserves the right to divide, continuation-in-the-application, and part-continuation-in-application for these more various variants.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, q < p; and/or, the on-voltage drop of the p LED arrays is larger than the on-voltage drop of the q LED arrays.

Optionally, in some embodiments, wherein the q LED arrays have a maximum/next largest number of n LED arrays that can be turned on by an output voltage of the dc power supply below the turn-on threshold.

Optionally, in some embodiments, wherein the p LED arrays have a maximum/next largest number of the n LED arrays that can be turned on when the output voltage of the dc power source is above the turn-on threshold.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the turn-on threshold comprises a full-on threshold, and an output voltage of the dc power supply above Quan Liang thresholds is sufficient to turn on all n LED arrays.

SA-1): driving to illuminate i) all n LED arrays, or ii) a larger (greater/greater) portion of the n LED arrays, in response to/if the output voltage of the dc power supply is greater than or equal to the turn-on threshold;

SA-2): in response to/if the output voltage of the DC power supply is below the turn-on threshold, driving to illuminate a smaller portion of the n LED arrays.

SA-1): driving to illuminate i) all n LED arrays, or ii) a greater portion of the n LED arrays, in response to/if the output voltage of the dc power supply is greater than or equal to the turn-on threshold;

SA-2): in response to/if the output voltage of the DC power supply is below the turn-on threshold, only a smaller portion of the n LED arrays are driven to light.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a control method of the LED array, which comprises the following steps: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays in series powered by a dc power supply:

SA-1): driving the n LED arrays to be fully lit in response to/if the output voltage of the dc power supply is above Quan Liang threshold values sufficient to turn on the n LED arrays;

SA-2): in response to/if the output voltage of the DC power supply is below Quan Liang threshold, which is insufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays, only the LED arrays driving portions of the n LED arrays are lit.

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the invention, the amplitude of the output voltage of the dc power supply is variable, and such voltage variation may or may not be periodic. Correspondingly, step SA-2) further comprises step SA-2-NO): in response to the magnitude of the output voltage of the DC power source falling below the full-lighting threshold, only a portion of the n LED arrays are driven to be lit.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, the dc power supply outputs a rectified pulsating dc voltage, and step SA-2) further comprises the steps of SA-2-NO): in response to the lowest value of the pulsating direct current voltage falling below the full-lighting threshold, driving only a portion of the n LED arrays to be lit in each of at least one pulsating cycle of the pulsating direct current voltage;

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the invention, q LED arrays, or a portion of the LED arrays being the first portion of n LED arrays, may be turned on/off by the minimum voltage of the pulsating direct current voltage during each pulsating period.

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the present invention, a portion of the LED arrays are a plurality of n LED arrays, which may be individually turned on/off by a pulsating dc voltage, for example, a minimum voltage in each pulsating period.

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the present invention, the q LED arrays are LED arrays of dynamically rotated portions of the n LED arrays that are individually turned on/off by the minimum voltage of the pulsating direct current voltage (in each pulsating period).

Alternatively, some embodiments of the invention wherein the first portion of the LED arrays has a maximum or next-largest number of the n LED arrays that can be turned on by the lowest voltage in the ripple period of the ripple dc voltage. Or the plurality of partial LED arrays have the maximum or next largest number of possible conduction of the lowest voltage among the n LED arrays in the ripple period of the ripple direct current voltage, respectively.

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the invention, the number of LED arrays in a union of multiple partial LED arrays is n or n-1.

Optionally, some embodiments of the invention further comprise the steps of: coordinating i) the current when the n LED arrays are all on, and ii) the current when the first partial LED arrays are individually on, such that the total power of the n LED arrays remains within a neighborhood of the first power value.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, step SA-2-NO) further comprises step SA-2-NO-c): the method includes actively controlling the plurality of partial LED arrays to be cycled on/off at a first predetermined frequency within or across one or more of each of the at least one pulsing period in response to a minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falling below a full-bright threshold.

Here, it should be noted that: whether the pulsating direct voltage falls below the full bright threshold can be determined by measuring whether the valley portion/minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage is less than Quan Liang threshold. The specific detection and determination means are not limiting to the present invention, for example, all the determination of the change of the pulsating dc voltage with respect to the full-bright threshold value by the minimum value of the pulsating dc voltage within a certain period of time in the present invention may be replaced by directly or real-time determining the change of the pulsating dc voltage with respect to the full-bright threshold value by using the (instantaneous/current) value of the pulsating dc voltage, and similarly, the control method of some embodiments of the present invention is applicable to not only the pulsating voltage but also other forms of variable voltage (with or without periodicity). Even for the variable voltage with periodicity, the related steps of the control method of some embodiments of the present invention, such as step-by-step conversion between LED arrays of different portions, high-frequency rotation, etc., may be performed synchronously or not synchronously with the period of the output voltage of the dc power supply, which is also applicable to other embodiments of the present invention, and will not be repeated. In the steps of other related embodiments, corresponding modification can be performed based on the judgment result. In addition, a hysteresis/hysteresis mode can be adopted for detecting and judging whether the direct current voltage such as the pulsating voltage crosses the voltage interval or the conduction threshold value. The applicant reserves the right to divide, continuation-in-the-application, and part-continuation-in-application for these more various variants.

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the present invention, the output voltage of the dc power supply is variable, meaning that the output voltage passes from one voltage interval to another voltage interval if the output voltage crosses the turn-on threshold, and the combination of LED arrays that can be turned on by the two voltage intervals is different, such as two different voltage intervals corresponding to a first set of at least one LED array comprising the first set of LED arrays and a second set of at least one LED array comprising the second set of LED arrays, respectively. Correspondingly, step SA-2) further comprises step SA-2-NO-x): in response to the output voltage crossing/crossing the turn-on threshold, a transition from driving the first set of LED arrays to driving the second set of LED arrays to be lit. Wherein the number of the second group to the LED arrays is less than/greater than the number of the first group of the LED arrays, or the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the second group of the LED arrays is less than/greater than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first group of the LED arrays.

Optionally, the on threshold is a full bright threshold. The output voltage falls below the full-bright threshold and enters a first voltage interval, and for a subsequent period of time, the output voltage is below the full-bright threshold and above a first bypass threshold, which may be referred to as the first voltage interval. The first set of LED arrays may comprise all n LED arrays and the second set of LED arrays comprises part of the n LED arrays. Correspondingly, step SA-2-NO-x) further comprises step SA-2-NO):

in response to the output voltage falling below the full-lighting threshold, driving only a portion of the LED array to be lit; or alternatively

In response to the output voltage (of the DC power supply) falling within the first voltage interval, the driving portion LED array is individually illuminated for a duration in which the output voltage is within the first voltage interval.

The minimum value of the output voltage of the dc power supply is sufficient to turn on a portion of the LED array, or the first voltage interval corresponds to a portion of the LED array, that is: the conduction voltage drop of a portion of the LED array is substantially within the first voltage interval.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, the partial LED array is a first partial LED array of the n LED arrays, and the output voltage below the full-lighting threshold is sufficient to turn on/light the first partial LED array; or the following: the voltage value in the first voltage interval is enough to turn on/light the first part of the LED array.

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the present invention, a part of the LED arrays are LED arrays of a plurality of n LED arrays, and may be turned on/lighted by the voltage value in the first voltage interval or the output voltage below the full lighting threshold, respectively.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, the first portion of the LED array has: the maximum or next-largest number of the n LED arrays can be conducted by the output voltage with the voltage value in the first voltage interval or below the full-brightness threshold; or alternatively

The plurality of partial LED arrays each have: the maximum or next largest number of the n LED arrays that can be turned on by the voltage value within the first voltage interval or the output voltage below the full-bright threshold.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, step SA-2-NO) further comprises step SA-2-NO-c): in response to the output voltage falling below the full-bright threshold, the plurality of partial LED arrays are controlled to be cycled on/off at a first predetermined frequency for a duration in which the output voltage is below the full-bright threshold or within a first voltage interval.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, step SA-2-NO) further comprises step SA-2-NO-c): in response to the output voltage falling below the full-bright threshold or within a first voltage interval, controlling LED arrays of the plurality of portions of the n LED arrays to be cycled on/off at a first predetermined frequency for a duration in which the output voltage is below the full-bright threshold or within the first voltage interval.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, the LED array of the plurality of parts further comprises a first part LED array and a second part LED array, and the step SA-2-NO-c) further comprises the steps of:

In response to the output voltage falling below the full-bright threshold or within a first voltage interval, the first and second partial LED arrays are controlled to alternately or alternately turn on/off at a first predetermined frequency for a duration of the output voltage falling below the full-bright threshold or within the first voltage interval.

Optionally, the method of some embodiments further comprises step SA-2-NO-cc): switching illumination between the first and second sets of LED arrays is performed over a first period of time in response to a change in the output voltage of the dc power supply across the turn-on threshold.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, the on threshold is a full-bright threshold, and step SA-2-NO-cc) further comprises step SA-3-NO): switching lighting between the n LED arrays and a portion of the LED arrays through a first period of time in response to a change in an output voltage of the dc power supply across a full-lighting threshold; or alternatively

Each transition between the n LED arrays and a portion of the LED arrays is performed step by step over a first period of time in response to a change in the output voltage of the dc power supply across the full-bright threshold; or alternatively

Each transition between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays is accomplished step-wise over a first period of time in response to a change in the output voltage of the dc power supply across the full-bright threshold.

Wherein the first period of time has a duration, for example, 0.1 to 1 second/2 seconds.

Optionally, step SA-2-NO-cc) of the method of some embodiments further comprises step SA-3-NO-bb): during the transition between the first and second sets of LED arrays, the current in the first set of LED arrays (or average thereof) and the current in the second set of LED arrays (or average thereof) are coordinated, changing inversely during a first period of time, for example: respectively decrementing and incrementing.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, the on threshold is a full-bright threshold, and step SA-3-NO-bb) or SA-3-NO) further comprises step SA-3-NO-1):

in a first time period (elsewhere or simply referred to as a first time period), coordinating an average value of currents in all the n LED arrays turned on and an average value of currents in the part of the LED arrays turned on individually, respectively decreasing and increasing; or alternatively

Coordinating the average value of the currents in the n LED arrays which are all conducted and the average value of the currents in the part of the LED arrays which are conducted independently, and respectively increasing and decreasing in a first time period; or alternatively

The currents or average values of the n LED arrays which are conducted completely are coordinated with the currents or average values of the n LED arrays which are conducted separately, and the currents or average values of the n LED arrays which are conducted separately respectively have an overall rising trend and an overall falling trend in a first time period.

Optionally, the first time period is divided into a plurality of time slots, in each of which the first group of LED arrays and the second group of at least one LED are both turned on substantially complementarily in time, step SA-3-NO-bb) of the method of some embodiments further comprising step SA-3-NO-bb): the relative proportion of times the first set of LED arrays is turned on in the plurality of time slots is coordinated with the second set of LED arrays to be decremented or incremented, respectively. Wherein the plurality of time slots may be uniformly divided or non-uniformly divided.

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the present invention, the first set of LED arrays is all n LED arrays and the second set of LED arrays is part of the n LED arrays. Step SA-3-NO-bb) or step SA-3-NO) further comprises step SA-3-NO-1):

In the conversion process between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays, coordinating the relative proportion of the working time of all conducting the n LED arrays to the working time of independently conducting the partial LED arrays, and decreasing or increasing in a plurality of time slots; or alternatively

In a first time period, coordinating the time duration for which the n LED arrays are all turned on to be incremented/decremented from time slot to time slot, and correspondingly, the time duration for which portions of the LED arrays are individually turned on to be decremented/incremented from time slot to time slot;

wherein the individually turned-on partial LED array is the first partial LED array or each of the plurality of partial LED arrays that are turned on alternately.

Optionally, step SA-3-NO-bb) further comprises step SA-3-NO-bb-2) adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the first set of LED arrays turned on in a time slot by time slot decrease in a plurality of time slots in response to the output voltage falling below the turn-on threshold or within the first voltage interval, and synchronously adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the second set of LED arrays turned on in a time slot by time slot increase.

In response to the output voltage rising above the turn-on threshold or within a voltage interval of higher, the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the turned-on state of the first group of LED arrays is adjusted incrementally from time slot to time slot over a plurality of time slots, and the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the turned-on state of the second group of LED arrays is adjusted incrementally from time slot to time slot in synchronization.

Of course, it should be understood that: in each time slot, the first and second sets of LED arrays are complementarily turned on, and when the second set of LED arrays is turned on, the other LED arrays of the n LEDs will not be turned on; while when the first group of LED arrays is turned on, the other LED arrays of the n LEDs will not be turned on.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, step SA-3-NO-bb-2) or step SA-3-NO-1) further comprises any one of the following sub-steps:

SA-3-NO-1 a) in response to the output voltage falling below the full-brightness threshold, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully on state of the n LED arrays from time slot to time slot, and, synchronously, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the individually on state of the first portion of the LED arrays from time slot to time slot, over a plurality of time slots; or alternatively

SA-3-NO-1 b) in response to the output voltage rising above the full-brightness threshold, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully on state of the n LED arrays from time slot to time slot, and synchronously, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the individually on state of the first portion of the LED arrays from time slot to time slot, in a plurality of time slots;

SA-3-NO-1 c) in response to the output voltage falling below the full-brightness threshold, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully on state of the n LED arrays from time slot to time slot within a plurality of time slots, and, synchronously, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the rotated on state of the plurality of partial LED arrays from time slot to time slot; or alternatively

SA-3-NO-1 d) in response to the output voltage rising above the full-brightness threshold, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully on state of the n LED arrays from time slot to time slot within a plurality of time slots, and synchronously, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the rotated on state of the plurality of partial LED arrays from time slot to time slot;

wherein the plurality of time slots are adjacent/corresponding in time domain to at least one time slot, and the current in the all-on state of the n LED arrays and the current in the individual-on state of the first partial LED array are complementary in time/waveform, or the current in the all-on state of the n LED arrays and the current in the alternating-on process of the plurality of partial LED arrays are complementary in time/waveform.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, the first predetermined frequency is provided at least in part from a timer/frequency generator, step SA-3-NO-bb-2), step SA-3-NO-1 a), SA-3-NO-1 b), SA-3-NO-1 c) or SA-3-NO-1 d) further comprises the steps of:

The full bright threshold/on threshold is adjusted incrementally/decrementally by the integration unit with the time slot of the output voltage according to the input from the timer.

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the invention, the first period of time has a duration, for example, 0.05 seconds to 3 seconds. The first time period comprises any number of time slots in the range of 5-1000.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, step SA-2) further comprises step SA-2-FX): the method may include controlling the plurality of partial LED arrays in the first group of LED arrays to alternately/alternately light up at a first predetermined frequency and/or controlling the plurality of partial LED arrays in the second group of LED arrays to alternately/alternately light up at the first predetermined frequency.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, step SA-2) further comprises step SA-2-F): the LED arrays of a plurality of portions of the n LED arrays are controlled to be alternately/alternately lit at a first predetermined frequency.

Optionally, the method in some embodiments of the invention further comprises the step SA-2-F1): at least one of the n arrays other than the rotated LED arrays of the plurality of portions is kept normally on.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, each of the plurality of partial LED arrays is configured to have a maximum or next-largest number of output voltages that can be conducted among the n LED arrays;

I) A union of the LED arrays of the plurality of parts and at least one LED array that is normally on, or II) a union of the LED arrays of the plurality of parts, comprising n or n-1 out of n LED arrays; and the LED arrays of the plurality of sections have the same on-voltage drop.

Optionally, the method of some embodiments of the invention further comprises the step SA-2-F2X): switching lighting between the first group of LED arrays and the second group of LED arrays is performed step by step in a first period of time in response to a change/rise of the output voltage with respect to the on threshold; or alternatively

Switching between the first and second sets of LED arrays is turned on in response to a change in the output voltage across the on threshold, gradually completing over a plurality of time slots within the first time period.

Optionally, step SA-2-F2X) further comprises step SA-2-F25X): gradually adjusting, over a plurality of time slots, i) a relative proportion of the duration of time that n LED arrays are fully illuminated, and ii) a duration of time that a plurality of partial LED arrays in the first group of LED arrays are alternately illuminated; or alternatively

Gradually adjusting, over a plurality of time slots, a relative ratio of i) a duration of the partial LED array toggle-on in the first group of LED arrays to ii) a duration of the partial LED array toggle-on in the second group of LED arrays; or alternatively

The relative ratio of i) the current (or average value thereof) for driving the partial LED arrays in the first group of LED arrays to the current (or average value thereof) for driving the partial LED arrays in the second group of LED arrays to the current (or average value thereof) for driving the partial LED arrays to the light is gradually adjusted through a plurality of time slots.

Wherein i) the current to alternately illuminate the plurality of partial LED arrays in the first set of LED arrays is complementary in time domain or pulse shape to ii) the current to alternately illuminate the plurality of partial LED arrays in the second set of LED arrays.

Optionally, the on threshold in the above embodiment is a full bright threshold. Correspondingly, step SA-2-F2X) of the method of the related embodiment further comprises step SA-2-F2): in response to a change/rise of the output voltage relative to the full-lighting threshold, performing stepwise switching lighting between the n LED arrays and a part of the LED arrays for a first period of time; or alternatively

Switching between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays is turned on in response to a change in the output voltage across the full-bright threshold, accomplished step by step through a plurality of time slots.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, step SA-2-F25X) or step SA-2-F2) further comprises step SA-2-F25):

Gradually adjusting the relative proportion of i) the duration of the partial LED array turn-on to ii) the duration of the n LED arrays all-on over a plurality of time slots; or alternatively

Gradually adjusting a) the current to alternately light a portion of the LED array and b) the current to light all n LED arrays, duty ratio/value/average in each pulsing period. Wherein i) the current to alternately illuminate part of the LED arrays is complementary to ii) the current to illuminate all n LED arrays in time domain or pulse waveform.

Optionally, the method comprises the step of. Steps SA-2-F25X) in the method of some embodiments further comprise at least one of the sub-steps of:

i) Coordinating the duty cycle/value/average value of the current for driving the plurality of partial LED arrays to alternately light in the first group of LED arrays in each of the plurality of time slots to decrease, and synchronously, driving the duty cycle/value/average value of the current for driving the plurality of partial LED arrays to alternately light in the second group of LED arrays in each of the plurality of time slots to increase; or alternatively

Ii) coordinating the duty cycle/value/average of the currents for driving the plurality of partial LED arrays in the first group of LED arrays to alternate lighting in each of the plurality of time slots to increment, and synchronously, the duty cycle/value/average of the currents for driving the plurality of partial LED arrays in the second group of LED arrays to alternate lighting in each of the plurality of time slots to decrement.

Iii) Coordinating (in a plurality of time slots) decreasing pulse width/average value/amplitude of current pulses for alternately illuminating a plurality of partial LED arrays in the first group of LED arrays, and synchronously increasing pulse width/average value/amplitude of current pulses for alternately illuminating a plurality of partial LED arrays in the second group of LED arrays; or alternatively

Iii) coordinates (in a plurality of time slots) the pulse width/average value/amplitude increment of the current pulses for alternately lighting the plurality of partial LED arrays in the first group of LED arrays, and simultaneously, the pulse width/average value/amplitude decrement of the current pulses for alternately lighting the plurality of partial LED arrays in the second group of LED arrays.

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the invention, the amplitude of the output voltage of the dc power supply is variable, and such voltage variation may or may not be periodic. Correspondingly, step SA-2) further comprises step SA-2-NO): in response to the lowest value of the pulsating direct current voltage falling below the full-lighting threshold, only a portion of the n LED arrays are driven to be lit during each of at least one pulsating period of the pulsating direct current voltage.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, step SA-2-NO) further comprises step SA-2-NO-c): the LED array cycling on/off of portions of the n LED arrays is actively controlled at a first predetermined frequency within or across one or more of each of the at least one pulsing period in response to the pulsing dc voltage falling below the full-lighting threshold.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, the LED array of the plurality of parts further comprises a first part LED array and a second part LED array, and the step SA-2-NO-c) further comprises the steps of: the first and second partial LED arrays are actively controlled to alternately or alternately turn on/off at a first predetermined frequency within or across one or more of each of the at least one pulsing period in response to the pulsing dc voltage falling below the full-lighting threshold.

Optionally, some embodiments of the present invention further comprise step SA-3-NO), which step SA-3-NO) may be one of the following: 1) Switching (or switching) between n LED arrays and a portion of the LED arrays is illuminated by successive multiple pulsing periods in response to a change in the pulsing dc voltage across the full-bright threshold. 2) Each transition between n LED arrays and a portion of the LED arrays is made in steps over successive multiple pulsing periods in response to a change in the pulsing dc voltage across the full-bright threshold. 3) Each transition between n LED arrays and a portion of the LED arrays is accomplished in steps through successive multiple pulsing periods in response to a change in the pulsing dc voltage across the full-bright threshold.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, step SA-3-NO) further comprises step SA-3-NO-1), and step SA-3-NO-1) may be one of the following:

A) Coordinating an average value of currents in the n LED arrays which are all conducted and an average value of currents in the part of the LED arrays which are independently conducted in a conversion process between the n LED arrays and the part of the LED arrays, and respectively decrementing and incrementing in a plurality of pulsation periods; or alternatively

B) Coordinating the average value of the currents in the n LED arrays which are all conducted and the average value of the currents in the part of the LED arrays which are independently conducted, and respectively increasing and decreasing in a plurality of pulsation periods; or alternatively

C) The currents or average values of the n LED arrays which are all turned on are coordinated with the currents or average values of the n LED arrays which are all turned on, and the currents or average values of the n LED arrays which are all turned on are respectively in an overall rising trend and an overall falling trend in a plurality of pulsation periods.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the invention, step SA-3-NO) further comprises step SA-3-NO-1):

a) In the conversion process between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays, coordinating the relative proportion of the working time of all conducting the n LED arrays to the working time of independently conducting the partial LED arrays, and decreasing or increasing in a plurality of pulsation periods; or alternatively

B) Coordinating the time duration for which n LED arrays are all turned on to be incremented/decremented from cycle to cycle and, correspondingly, for which portions of LED arrays are individually turned on to be decremented/incremented from cycle to cycle in a plurality of pulsing cycles;

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, step SA-31-NO) is further included, which may be one of: in response to a change in the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage across the full-bright threshold, during a transition between the n LED arrays and the individually turned-on partial LED arrays,

A) Coordinating the average value of the currents in the n LED arrays which are all conducted and the average value of the currents in the part of the LED arrays which are independently conducted, and respectively decreasing and increasing in a plurality of pulsation periods; or alternatively

D) Coordinating the relative proportion of the operating time of all conducting of the n LED arrays to the operating time of the conducting part of the LED arrays separately, and decreasing or increasing in a plurality of pulsation periods; or alternatively

E) The duration of n LED arrays being fully on is coordinated to be incremented/decremented from cycle to cycle and, correspondingly, the duration of portions of LED arrays being individually on is decremented/incremented from cycle to cycle in multiple pulsing cycles.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, step SA-3-NO-1) or SA-31-NO) further comprises any one of the following four sub-steps:

SA-3-NO-1 a) in response to the lowest value of the pulsating DC voltage falling below the full-brightness threshold, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully-on state of the n LED arrays in a cycle-by-cycle decreasing manner over a plurality of pulsating cycles, and adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the individually-on state of the first portion of the LED arrays in a cycle-by-cycle increasing manner in synchronization; or alternatively

SA-3-NO-1 b) in response to the lowest value of the pulsating direct current voltage rising above the full-brightness threshold, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully on state of the n LED arrays in a cycle-by-cycle increment and, synchronously, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the individually on state of the first partial LED arrays in a cycle-by-cycle decrement over a plurality of pulsation cycles;

SA-3-NO-1 c) in response to the lowest value of the pulsating DC voltage falling below the full-brightness threshold, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully-on state of the n LED arrays in a cycle-by-cycle decreasing manner in a plurality of pulsating cycles, and adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the cycle-by-cycle increasing manner in a plurality of partial LED arrays in a cycle-by-cycle increasing manner; or alternatively

SA-3-NO-1 d) in response to the lowest value of the pulsating direct current voltage rising above the full-brightness threshold, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully-on state of the n LED arrays in a cycle-by-cycle increasing manner over a plurality of pulsating cycles, and adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the cycle-by-cycle decreasing manner over a plurality of partial LED arrays in synchronization;

Wherein, in a locally shorter period of time, for example, in a switching process from "n LED arrays are all on" to "partial LED arrays are all on in at least one ripple period", a plurality of ripple periods occupied by the switching process (or referred to as switching process) may be regarded as being located before the corresponding at least one ripple period in the time domain, and in a switching process from "partial LED arrays are all on in at least one ripple period" to "n LED arrays are all on" the plurality of ripple periods occupied by the switching process may be regarded as being located after the corresponding at least one ripple period in the time domain. Whereas in a broader view i) a plurality of pulsing periods for switching operation between n LED arrays and a part of the LED arrays, and ii) at least one pulsing period for keeping the part of the LED arrays "locked"/individually operated, may be regarded as occurring alternately in the time domain, e.g. one-to-one according to a pulsating direct voltage variation situation, or having a one-to-many relationship. The current in the n LED arrays being fully on-state and the current in the (first) partial LED arrays being individually on-state are complementary in time/waveform, or the current in the n LED arrays being fully on-state and the current in the multiple partial LED arrays being rotated on-state are complementary in time/waveform. Note that the text placed in parentheses in the present application may be understood as optional text.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, the dc power supply outputs a rectified pulsating dc voltage, and step SA-2) further comprises the steps of SA-2-NO):

in response to the lowest value of the pulsating direct current voltage falling below the full-lighting threshold, only a portion of the n LED arrays are driven to be lit during each of at least one pulsating period of the pulsating direct current voltage. Or alternatively

In response to the lowest value of the pulsating direct current voltage falling below the full-lighting threshold, actively controlling a portion of the n LED arrays to be individually lit during each of at least one pulsating period of the pulsating direct current voltage.

Wherein a portion of the LED arrays may certainly correspond to at least one LED array having a number of n-1 or less. From another perspective, a portion of the LED arrays may also be understood as at least one LED array with a fixed/locked number less than or equal to n-1, which is kept running and no longer switched during the corresponding voltage cycle. That is, the n LED arrays are no longer switched to other parts of the LED arrays or all n LED arrays in a passive (sufficient) voltage-adapted manner with a variation of the pulsating direct voltage so as to optimize the power consumption efficiency of the n LED arrays. At a certain moment, the number of LED arrays in a part of the LED arrays is less than or equal to n-1, but at different moments, the driving may be actively rotated at a certain frequency (generally set to a higher frequency to reduce the low frequency strobe) under the active control of the control unit of the driving circuit, which is described in the related embodiments and not repeated herein. That is, even if some portion of the pulsating dc voltage is sufficient to turn on all n LED arrays, it is not controlled that all n LED arrays are turned on.

Alternatively, it should be appreciated that: a first bypass threshold, or a second bypass threshold, may also be provided. When the pulsating direct current voltage drops from between the full lighting threshold and the first bypass threshold and stabilizes between the first bypass threshold and the second bypass threshold for a period of time, the LED array configuring the other part is kept individually lit, in other words, during each pulsating period of time, the corresponding other part of the LED array is actively controlled to be individually lit, which is not repeated.

In other words, when the lowest value occurring in each cycle of the pulsating direct voltage is detected, the full-lighting threshold is passed from top to bottom, that is, falls below the full-lighting threshold, only a part of the n LED arrays is kept driven to light. Further, subsequently, in the case where the lowest value of the periodically occurring is below the full-lighting threshold, even if the pulsating direct current voltage exceeds the full-lighting threshold for a part of the period in each period, it is sufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays, but only a part of the n LED arrays is kept driven to light. This avoids that the LED arrays of different parts of the n LED arrays are frequently switched on and thus strobed with a varying pulsating dc voltage, in particular across the full-bright threshold.

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the present invention, the pulsating direct current voltage will periodically exhibit a minimum value during the pulsation change, and if the waveform of the pulsating direct current voltage is relatively stable over a certain period, the minimum values in different pulsation periods of the period are equal or substantially equal, which same minimum value may be referred to as the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage. The partial LED arrays include a first partial LED array having a maximum or next largest number of n LED arrays that can be turned on with a minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage. Thereby fully utilizing the energy supply of the direct current power supply and improving the electricity utilization efficiency of the n LED arrays.

Optionally, the method in some embodiments of the invention further comprises the step of: coordinating i) the current when the n LED arrays are all on, and ii) the current when the first partial LED arrays are individually on, such that the total power of the n LED arrays remains within a neighborhood of the first power value.

Alternatively, in the method in some embodiments of the invention, the first portion is dynamically alternately configured among the n LED arrays. In particular, the first portion of the LED arrays are alternately/cyclically configured at a first predetermined frequency, respectively configured as different subsets of the n LED arrays within different alternating/cyclic periods. Or the first portion of the LED arrays are alternately/cyclically configured at a first predetermined frequency, corresponding to different subsets of the n LED arrays, respectively, in different alternating/cyclic periods. Or the first portion of the LED arrays are cyclically configured at a first predetermined frequency, each comprising a different subset of the n LED arrays during a different cycle period. Or the first portion of the LED arrays are alternately arranged at a first predetermined frequency, each comprising a different subset of the n LED arrays during a different rotation period.

Step SA-2-NO) further comprises the steps of: in response to the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falling below the full-lighting threshold, one or more of at least one pulsating period within (in) or across (across) each of the at least one pulsating period, actively controlling the plurality of LED array subsets to be cycled on/off at a first predetermined frequency.

Optionally, in the method of some embodiments of the invention, the plurality of LED array subsets are configured such that the number of their union sets is greater than the number of the first partial LED arrays.

Optionally, in the method of some embodiments of the invention, the number of LED arrays in the union of the plurality of LED array subsets is n or n-1.

Optionally, in the method of some embodiments of the present invention, the partial LED array further includes a second partial LED array of the n LED arrays, and the step SA-2-NO) further includes the steps of:

the first and second partial LED arrays are actively controlled to alternately or alternately turn on/off at a first predetermined frequency within or across one or more of each of the at least one pulsing period in response to the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falling below the full-lighting threshold.

Of course, in this and other similar embodiments, it is not excluded that there is a third or fourth partial LED array among the n LED arrays, which are switched on in cooperation with the first and second partial LED arrays under active control of the control unit. This also applies to other similar embodiments or not described in detail.

Optionally, in the method according to some embodiments of the invention, step SA-2-NO) further comprises the steps of:

in response to the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falling below the full-bright threshold, or in response to the periodic minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falling from above the full-bright threshold to below the full-bright threshold, one or more of within or across each of the at least one pulsating period is actively controlled at a first predetermined frequency, for example by a control unit comprising a timer: i) At least one of the first partial LED arrays is alternately or alternately turned on/off with ii) at least one of the n LED arrays other than the first partial LED array.

In response to the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falling below the full-bright threshold, or in response to the periodic minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falling from above the full-bright threshold to below the full-bright threshold, one or more of within or across each of the at least one pulsating period is actively controlled at a first predetermined frequency, for example by a control unit comprising a timer: i) At least one of the partial LED arrays is alternately or alternately turned on/off with at least one of the ii) n LED arrays other than the partial LED arrays.

It should be understood that components such as the lighting device, the control circuit, the control unit in the driving device, etc. hardware devices in other embodiments of the invention may be configured to perform the methods herein and in other embodiments of the invention. Particularly in lighting devices, driving devices provided with floating switch units, the high frequency alternate lighting of different parts of the n LED arrays may be actively controlled, for example at a first predetermined frequency, by means of a timer or pulser/counter comprised by the control unit.

Optionally, in the method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the method further comprises step SA-3-NO of one of the following: a) In response to a change in the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage across the full-bright threshold (e.g., the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage decreasing from above the full-bright threshold to below the full-bright threshold, or from below the full-bright threshold to above the full-bright threshold), transition lighting between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays occurs over a continuous plurality of pulsating cycles. b) Each transition between n LED arrays and a portion of the LED arrays is made in steps over successive multiple pulsing periods in response to a change in the minimum value of the pulsing dc voltage across the full-bright threshold. Or c) in response to a change in the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage across the full-bright threshold, completing each transition between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays step by step through a consecutive plurality of pulsating cycles.

Optionally, in step SA-3-NO), the plurality of pulse periods temporally precede the corresponding at least one pulse period in some other embodiments. Specifically, in response to the occurrence of this condition/event (event) in which the lowest value of the pulsating direct current voltage crosses the full-lighting threshold, the switching lighting between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays is dispersed stepwise over a first plurality of pulsating cycles, and after this switching process is completed in a gradual manner, only the above-described partial LED array/first partial LED array is individually lighted in each of the following first plurality of at least one pulsating cycles, without passively switching the other partial LED arrays to be lighted with the fluctuation of the voltage. Wherein the first plurality of pulse periods occurs substantially consecutively in time with the first at least one pulse period, both of which may be considered to correspond sequentially from a temporal perspective.

Alternatively, the currents in the n LED arrays in the fully on state and the currents in the first part of the LED arrays in the individually on state are complementary in time/waveform, which can reduce the strobe to a greater extent.

Here, since the switching process between n LED arrays and a part of the LED arrays is controlled to be performed stepwise in a plurality of pulsation periods extending/crossing (transition), not in two or even the same pulsation period adjacent to each other in front and back. This further avoids abrupt full interchange/conversion (e.g., occurring within one pulsing period) between n LED arrays and a portion of the LED arrays resulting in abrupt brightness transitions. Furthermore, in combination with the means for individually lighting the LED arrays when the minimum pulsating dc voltage falls below the full-lighting threshold in other embodiments, the occurrence of low frequency stroboscopic effects of the n LED arrays when the minimum pulsating dc voltage is changed across one or more voltage thresholds is substantially eliminated. Furthermore, the smooth degree of the change of the luminous flux in the process of switching and lighting the LED arrays among different parts of the n LED arrays or in the process of switching and lighting the LED arrays among the n LED arrays and a certain part of the n LED arrays is improved.

Optionally, in the method of some embodiments of the invention, step SA-3-NO) further comprises step SA-3-NO-1):

Coordinating the average value of the currents in the n LED arrays which are all conducted and the average value of the currents in the part of the LED arrays which are conducted independently, and respectively decrementing and incrementing in a plurality of pulsation periods (periodically or every 2-3 periods); or alternatively

Coordinating the average value of the currents in the n LED arrays which are all conducted and the average value of the currents in the part of the LED arrays which are independently conducted, and respectively increasing and decreasing in a plurality of pulsation periods; or alternatively

The currents or average values of the n LED arrays which are all turned on are coordinated with the currents or average values of the n LED arrays which are all turned on, and the currents or average values of the n LED arrays which are all turned on are respectively in an overall rising trend and an overall falling trend in a plurality of pulsation periods.

It will be appreciated, of course, that the individual periods are not precluded from leveling off, or even dropping slightly, from the last period in such an overall upward trend. The overall downward trend does not exclude that the individual period is leveled with the previous period and even slightly rises.

Coordinating the relative proportion of the working time of all conducting of the n LED arrays to the working time of the independent conducting of part of the LED arrays, and decreasing or increasing in a plurality of pulsation periods; or alternatively

The duration of n LED arrays being fully on is coordinated to be incremented/decremented from cycle to cycle and, correspondingly, the duration of portions of LED arrays being individually on is decremented/incremented from cycle to cycle in multiple pulsing cycles.

Optionally, in the method according to some embodiments of the invention, step SA-3-NO-1) further comprises any one of the following sub-steps:

SA-3-NO-1 b) in response to the minimum value of the pulsating DC voltage rising above the full-brightness threshold, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully on state of the n LED arrays in a cycle-by-cycle increment over a plurality of pulsating cycles, and adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the individually on state of the first partial LED arrays in a cycle-by-cycle decrement in synchronization.

Optionally, in the method of some embodiments of the invention, the first predetermined frequency is provided at least in part from a timer/frequency generator, the SA-3-NO-1 a) or SA-3-NO-1 b) further comprising the steps of:

optionally, the full brightness threshold is incrementally/decrementally adjusted by the integration unit with the period of the pulsating direct voltage, based on input from the timer.

Optionally, in response to a magnitude comparison between the pulsating direct voltage across the full bright threshold and the full bright threshold, generating a first threshold value incrementally/decrementally adjusted with a period of the pulsating direct voltage by an integration operation, dynamically switching the first loop and one bypass loop (or at least two bypass loops alternately operating at a first frequency) in response to the pulsating direct voltage crossing the first threshold value.

Alternatively, in the method of some embodiments of the invention, the plurality of pulse periods comprises any number of pulse periods in the range of 5-1000, or the plurality of pulse periods lasts 1ms to 1000ms.

It should be understood that: the determination of the magnitude relation between the pulsating dc voltage or the minimum value thereof and the full-bright threshold value can be performed by the control unit collecting the electrical signals in the driving circuit or some circuit modules in the lighting device, and the specific electrical signal obtaining position, the determination logic and the setting method of the full-bright threshold value do not limit the present invention. In addition, when the control unit includes a timer and an integration unit coupled to each other, the control unit is operable to dynamically set the full brightness threshold or other threshold. And further, the on duty ratio of the first part of the LED arrays or the n LED arrays in each/corresponding pulse period is changed, which is also applicable to other embodiments or is not repeated.

In step SA-2) of some embodiments, in response to the output voltage of the dc power supply being below Quan Liang threshold, only a first portion of the LED arrays driving the n LED arrays are illuminated. More preferably, one or more of the first partial LED arrays may be actively controlled to be alternately or alternately turned on/off with a second partial LED array of the n LED arrays at a first predetermined frequency (e.g. 30kHz, etc.) higher than the power frequency (typically the frequency of the mains supply, e.g. 50HZ or 60 HZ). Here, it should be understood that: by these steps and embodiments thereof, only a part of the n arrays, but not all, are lit at any/any instant in the pulsing period of the dc voltage. This ensures to some extent that: although the direct current voltage floats in its ripple period, if the on-voltage of the LED array of the portion is reduced below the minimum value of the direct current voltage in the ripple period, the LED array of the portion can be driven to be lit at all times. And this reduces the flicker of the n LED arrays during the pulsing period, since the value of the dc voltage no longer rises back below the full-bright threshold to above the full-bright threshold and then transitions (passively) from the state in which part of the LED arrays are lit back to the state in which all n LEDs are lit.

From another perspective, through step SA-1) of some embodiments, when the dc voltage is higher by Yu Quanliang threshold for a full period of the ripple period, then all n LED arrays are lit, if a certain neighborhood of the minimum or even minimum occurs in the ripple period below the full-bright threshold, then all n LED arrays are attempted to be turned on during the full ripple period without any further dynamic configuration of the circuit, although the maximum value of the dc voltage and its certain neighborhood in the ripple period may still be greater than the full-bright threshold enough to turn on all n LED arrays. Further alternatively, the LED arrays of the plurality of portions may be alternately/alternately lit at a first predetermined frequency, such as a first portion LED array, a second portion LED array, or also a third portion LED array, etc. Still further, the method optionally further comprises the step of: at least one of the n arrays other than the rotated LED arrays of the plurality of portions is kept normally on. Optionally, the first, second and third partial LED arrays have the same on-voltage drop.

Wherein, optionally, if a normally-on LED array is not configured, each of the LED arrays of the plurality of parts may be configured with a maximum or a next-largest number of the n LED arrays that can be turned on by a lowest value of the pulsating direct current voltage, respectively; if the n LED arrays are configured with normally-on LED arrays other than the LED arrays of the plurality of portions, the number of LED arrays of each portion, for example, the first portion LED array, of the LED arrays of the plurality of portions and the combined and concentrated LED arrays of the normally-on LED arrays, that is, the sum of the number of the first portion LED array and the number of the normally-on at least one LED array, may be configured as the maximum number or the next-largest number that the lowest value of the pulsating direct current voltage can be conducted in the n LED arrays. This number of configurations according to the on-voltage drop of the n LED arrays allows adapting (adapted for) the ripple variation of the dc voltage with respect to the full-lighting threshold value with maximum efficiency among the n LED arrays. Also, a) a union of the plurality of partial LED arrays that are rotated, or b) a union of the plurality of partial LED arrays and at least one LED array (if any) that is always on, the number of LED arrays in one of the two may be configured as n or n-1. This number configuration is such that: from the perspective of one or more successive pulsing periods, all n or n-1 arrays are in a state of being actively rotated on a first predetermined frequency or in a normally on state, and thus the light emitting area of the n LED arrays as a whole may remain substantially unchanged relative to a case where the dc voltage is sufficient (the minimum voltage value in the pulsing period is greater than the full-on threshold) and all n LED arrays are turned on, where the dc voltage is insufficient to turn on all n LED arrays despite at least part of the voltage value in the pulsing period being below the full-on threshold.

Preferably, the switching/transition process between step SA-1) and step SA-2) is not accomplished by: i) The conversion process is completed in the current pulse period, for example, the lowest value of the direct current voltage is detected to be lower than the full brightness threshold value in the first pulse period, and the conversion process is completed in the first pulse period; ii) the switching process is completed in one cycle or two cycles adjacent to each other, for example, the lowest value of the direct current voltage is detected to be lower than the full brightness threshold value in the first pulse cycle, and the switching process is completed in the second pulse cycle.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the switching process allocation between "n LED arrays all lit" and "partial LED array toggle lit" is done stepwise/gradually over multiple pulsing periods. Specifically, for the above-described conversion process from "n LED array full-on" to "partial LED array turn-on" or from "partial LED array turn-on" to "n LED array full-on", the method of the related embodiment may further include the step of gradually adjusting (e.g., incrementally or decrementally) the relative ratio between the duration of "partial LED array turn-on" and the duration of "n LED array full-on" or the duty ratio/value/average of the current corresponding to "partial LED array turn-on" and the current corresponding to "n LED array full-on" in each of the pulsation periods, e.g., one gradually increasing and the other gradually decreasing, through a plurality of consecutive pulsation periods.

Generally, in some mains application scenarios, the dc voltage is a pulsating dc voltage that is output after rectifying the mains input, and the fluctuations of the mains are typically not more than a range of ±10% or ±20%, and are sporadic or gradual, rather than completely unpredictable, extremely severe, e.g. varying the mains between a higher level and a lower level, but the frequency of such variations is not high, and the sustain time at both the higher level and the lower level is also relatively long, e.g. 1 hour, or occasional short fluctuations, e.g. voltage spikes, which may be filtered out by suitable hardware devices, e.g. capacitors, or even not filtered out, because of the sporadic, may be accepted. Sometimes, the dc voltage, although at a low level as a whole, is still at a maximum value in its ripple period that is greater than the full-lighting threshold, i.e. sufficient to illuminate all n LED arrays. The method of some embodiments of the present invention will be further described herein by taking this case as an example, but it should be understood that: the method of the related embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the case of such fluctuation of the dc voltage with respect to the full-bright threshold, but is also applicable to the case of the dc voltage falling to a lower level, for example, the maximum value of the dc voltage in the ripple period thereof also falls below the full-bright threshold, that is, the dc voltage fluctuates with respect to other lower voltage thresholds or spans a lower voltage interval. The applicant reserves the right to divide, continuation-in-the-application, and part-continuation-in-application for these more various variants.

As described above, since the maximum value of the dc voltage in the pulse period and a certain neighborhood thereof are still greater than the full-lighting threshold, during the transition (or gradual transition) between the "all-lighting of the n LED arrays" and the "alternate-lighting of the partial LED arrays", all the n LED arrays are lighted by the dc voltage greater than the full-lighting threshold in the multiple pulse periods (for example, the greater dc voltage may be located in the neighborhood of the maximum value of each pulse period); at a time other than when the n LED arrays are all lit, the LED arrays of the part are lit (or alternately lit). And i) coordinating the duty cycle/value/average of the currents of the alternately lit portions of the LED arrays in each of the plurality of ripple cycles to be decremented, and simultaneously, the duty cycle/value/average of the currents of all n LED arrays lit up in each of the plurality of ripple cycles to be incremented; or ii) the duty cycle/value/average of the currents of the LED arrays of the coordinated rotation lighting section in each of the plurality of pulsation periods is increased, and the duty cycle/value/average of the currents of all n LED arrays in each of the plurality of pulsation periods is decreased in synchronization. Alternatively, the method in some embodiments of the invention may further comprise the steps of: a) In a plurality of pulsation cycles, duty ratio/average value/amplitude of current pulses for turning on part of the LED arrays are decreased in a coordinated rotation manner, and duty ratio/average value/amplitude of current pulses for turning on all n LED arrays are increased in a synchronized manner; or b) coordinating the duty cycle/average/amplitude of the current pulses for alternately illuminating the partial LED arrays to be increased in a plurality of pulsing periods, and synchronously, the duty cycle/average/amplitude of the current pulses for illuminating all n LED arrays to be decreased.

Alternatively, I) the current pulses for alternately illuminating part of the LED arrays are complementary to ii) the current pulses for illuminating all n LED arrays (over successive pulse periods) in time domain, so that the n LED arrays have only the two mutually switched states described above, without the presence of a totally extinguished state and the resulting strobe.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for controlling an LED array is further provided, including: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays in series powered by a dc power supply:

SA-1): the control signals/power are provided to n LED arrays,

SA-2): in response to a periodic voltage output by the dc power supply passing through (transition) a plurality of on threshold changes (in some embodiments, the on threshold may also be simply referred to as a threshold), a plurality of groups of LED arrays corresponding to the plurality of on threshold (e.g., one-to-one correspondence) among the n LED arrays are turned on by a control signal.

SA-1): a control signal is provided to the n LED arrays,

SA-2): in response to a change in the minimum value of the periodic voltage output by the direct current power supply over/traversing (reverse) the plurality of turn-on thresholds, groups of the n LED arrays corresponding to the plurality of turn-on thresholds (e.g., one-to-one) are respectively illuminated by the control signal in a plurality of periods of the groups (multiple plurality of period). That is, only one set of LED arrays is illuminated during a first plurality of cycles (afirstplurality of period) until the voltage changes after the first plurality of cycles, e.g., a first bypass threshold is reached.

Optionally, in the method of some embodiments of the invention, the plurality of turn-on thresholds includes a full-on threshold corresponding to a high voltage group of LED arrays of the plurality of groups of LED arrays, including all n LED arrays; and, the plurality of turn-on thresholds further includes at least one turn-on threshold below the full-on threshold, the at least one turn-on threshold corresponding to at least one other low-voltage group of the plurality of groups of LED arrays, respectively, the number of LED arrays in the at least one low-voltage group of LED arrays being less than or equal to a proper subset of the n-1n LED arrays. That is, if the output voltage of the dc power supply is below Quan Liang threshold, it is insufficient to turn on all n LED arrays.

Alternatively, in the method of some embodiments of the invention, the dc power supply outputs a pulsating dc voltage; each of the plurality of periods of the plurality of groups includes a successive plurality of pulse periods. And, step SA-2) further comprises step SA-2-NO): switching between every two of the LED arrays is performed through a plurality of pulse periods of the plurality of groups; wherein the switching between the groups of LED arrays comprises switching from a high voltage group of LED arrays to a first group of LED arrays of the at least one low voltage group of LED arrays and/or switching between the plurality of low voltage groups of LED arrays comprised by the at least one low voltage group of LED arrays.

SA-1): the control signals/power are provided to n LED arrays,

SA-2): and responding to the periodical voltage output by the direct current power supply to change among a plurality of voltage intervals, and turning on a plurality of groups of LED arrays corresponding to the voltage intervals in the n LED arrays through a control signal.

SA-1): a control signal is provided to the n LED arrays,

SA-2): in response to a periodic voltage minimum of the DC power supply output varying between a plurality of voltage intervals, groups of LED arrays corresponding to the plurality of voltage intervals (e.g., one-to-one) among the n LED arrays are respectively illuminated by a control signal in a plurality of periods of the groups (multiple plurality of period). That is, in each of the plurality of periods (each of plurality of period), only one group of LED arrays is lit up until the voltage enters the second voltage interval from the first voltage interval after, for example, the first plurality of periods, and then another group of LED arrays corresponding to the second voltage interval is switched on.

Optionally, in the method of some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of voltage intervals includes a high voltage interval with a high Yu Quanliang threshold, the high voltage interval corresponds to a high voltage group LED array of the plurality of groups of LED arrays, including all n LED arrays; and at least one low voltage group LED array corresponding to at least one low voltage section below the full brightness threshold in the plurality of voltage sections is a proper subset of the n LED arrays. In other words, the plurality of voltage intervals includes a high voltage interval of high Yu Quanliang thresholds, corresponding to a corpus of n LED arrays; and a voltage interval of the plurality of voltage intervals below the full-bright threshold, corresponding to a proper subset of the n LED arrays. When the output voltage of the direct current power supply is in a voltage interval lower than the full-brightness threshold value, the output voltage is insufficient to conduct all n LED arrays.

Here, like some other embodiments, the conversion process between the LED arrays of the plurality of groups is performed and completed step by step (or gradual) across a plurality of cycles, instead of rapidly and in real time completing the conversion process in one cycle in response to the crossing of a certain threshold of the pulsating dc voltage. By such a conversion means of the present embodiment, abrupt changes in luminous flux that may occur during conversion are dispersed in a plurality of pulsation periods to thereby homogenize and smooth the change in such luminous flux, and thus the degree of change in the light emission of the LED array is reduced.

Optionally, in the method of some embodiments of the invention, step SA-2-NO) further comprises step SA-2-NO-1): coordinating i) the current in the LED array group or average thereof converted to among the plurality of groups of LED arrays, and ii) the current in the converted LED array group or average thereof, respectively, to increment and decrement in a plurality of ripple cycles of the current group/conversion occurrence/corresponding group.

Optionally, in the method of some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of sets of the plurality of pulse periods includes a first plurality of pulse periods, and step SA-2-NO-1) further includes any one of the following sub-steps:

i) When the output voltage of the direct current power supply falls into a first low-voltage interval in at least one low-voltage interval from the high-voltage interval, adjusting the current or the average value thereof in the high-voltage group LED array in a cycle-by-cycle decreasing manner in a first plurality of pulsation periods, and adjusting the current or the average value thereof in the first group LED array in a cycle-by-cycle increasing manner synchronously; or alternatively

Ii) adjusting the current in the high voltage group of LED arrays or the average value thereof in a cycle-by-cycle manner in a first plurality of pulsation cycles when the output voltage of the direct current power supply rises from a first low voltage section of the at least one low voltage section to a high voltage section, and adjusting the current in the first group of LED arrays or the average value thereof in a cycle-by-cycle manner in synchronization;

Thus, preferably, the electrical power/luminous flux during the conversion of the high voltage group LED array to the first group LED array is kept substantially stable and the same as before the switching.

Alternatively, the LED array control method of some embodiments of the present invention or step SA-2) or similar steps therein, and sub-steps of these steps may further include either of the following two sub-steps (alternative) of step SA-2-a) or 4 sub-steps including the two sub-steps (alternative) of step SA-2-b):

SA-2-a) substep 1. In response to the voltage of the DC power source being within a first voltage interval, actively controlling a plurality of subsets/portions of the n LED arrays corresponding to the first voltage interval to be cycled on/off within the duration of the first voltage interval, such as by a periodic signal generated by a timer/frequency generator or a trigger signal generated in conjunction with a trigger, etc.; wherein the voltage of the DC power supply is within any voltage sub-interval or at any voltage level in the first voltage interval, and a plurality of subsets corresponding to the first voltage interval in the n LED arrays can be circularly conducted (for example, at high frequency of tens of k), or

Actively controlling a plurality of subsets of the n arrays corresponding to the first voltage intervals within the duration of each of the plurality of first voltage intervals, for example, by a periodic signal generated by a timer/frequency generator or a trigger signal generated by a re-match trigger, so that the subsets are cyclically/alternately turned on; the voltage of the direct current power supply is located in any voltage sub-interval or at any voltage level in the first voltage interval, and a plurality of subsets corresponding to the first voltage interval in the n LED arrays can be circularly conducted (for example, at a high frequency of tens of k).

Wherein the first voltage interval has a voltage range below the full brightness threshold; or alternatively

SA-2-b) substep 3. Periodically generating a first voltage interval in response to a voltage change of the DC power source, actively controlling a plurality of subsets of the n arrays corresponding to the first voltage interval such that the plurality of subsets are cycled on/off; the frequency of the cyclic conduction is larger than, smaller than or equal to the frequency of the voltage change of the direct current power supply; wherein the voltage of the DC power supply is within any voltage sub-interval or at any voltage level in the first voltage interval, and a plurality of subsets corresponding to the first voltage interval in the n LED arrays can be circularly conducted (for example, at high frequency of tens of k), or

Actively controlling a plurality of subsets corresponding to the first voltage intervals in the n arrays to be lighted in turn in the duration of the first voltage intervals; wherein one of the plurality of first voltage intervals, or two or more consecutive ones, corresponds to only one of the plurality of subsets. In other words, only one of the subsets is lit in 1 of the first voltage intervals, or in 2 to 5 consecutive voltage intervals.

The first voltage interval has a voltage range below the full bright threshold. Of course, it is not excluded that the second voltage interval is also arranged below the lower limit of the first voltage interval (or alternatively referred to as the first bypass threshold) or lower. In other words, the first voltage section may be defined by both the full brightness threshold and the first bypass threshold as an upper bound (upper bound) and a lower bound (lower bound) of the first voltage section, respectively. If the voltage of the direct current power supply is between the full brightness threshold value and the second threshold value, the first voltage interval is entered. In other words, the dc power supply voltage falls below the full bright threshold, and enters a first voltage interval, and if the dc voltage continues to fall below the first bypass threshold, enters a second voltage interval lower than the first voltage interval. Correspondingly, the method of some embodiments of the present invention defined by the first voltage interval, the at least one voltage interval, may also be defined by a step based on a plurality of thresholds, such as a full brightness threshold, a first bypass threshold, etc. The applicant reserves the right to divide, continuation-in-the-application, and part-continuation-in-application for these more various variants.

In addition, the alternate lighting means: the LED arrays of the subsets will be repeatedly lit in sequence, i.e. sub-step 4 etc. will be cycled/repeated with repeated occurrences of the first voltage interval.

Optionally, the LED arrays in the plurality of subsets that are turned on in rotation, e.g., the first subset and the second subset, or also the third subset, are not identical, and there may or may not be an intersection between the two.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the corresponding plurality of subsets of the n LED arrays in the first voltage interval include a first subset/first partial LED array and a second subset/second partial LED array;

step SA-2-a) further comprises the sub-steps of:

SA-2-a-1) alternately turns on the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array for the duration of the first voltage interval.

Step SA-2-b) further comprises the sub-steps of:

SA-2-b-1) respectively conducts the first part of LED array and the second part of LED array in two first voltage intervals which occur adjacently in a cyclic manner. For example, in the first pulse period, a first voltage interval a and a second voltage interval b occur in sequence, and are located at two sides of the peak value of the first pulse wave, so that in the first voltage interval a, only a first part of the LED arrays are conducted, and in the first voltage interval b, a second part of the LED arrays are conducted independently; and in a subsequent pulsing period, cyclically turning on the first portion of the LED array and the second portion of the LEDs in this manner. In this case, the period of cyclic conduction of the first and second part LEDs can be regarded as the same as the period of the pulsating direct voltage of the direct current power supply.

Of course, alternatively, in the two different first voltage intervals a and b occurring in succession in the first pulse period described above, only the first partial LED array may be turned on, whereas in the two first voltage intervals occurring in the second pulse period that follows, only the second partial LED array may be turned on, in which case the frequency of the cyclic conduction of the first partial and second partial LEDs may be regarded as being smaller than the frequency of the pulsating direct voltage of the direct current power supply. Further alternatively, in the first voltage interval a, the first LED array and the second LED array may be alternately turned on a plurality of times (for example, several tens of times) in a single first pulse period, and the alternating frequency thereof is greater than the frequency of the pulsating dc voltage of the dc power supply.

The number of LED arrays in the union of the first and second partial LED arrays is greater than the maximum number of LED arrays for which the first voltage interval is sufficient for lighting in the n LED arrays. For example, the n LED arrays include 5 LED arrays: n1, N2, N3, N4, N5. Wherein N1, N2, N5 belong to the first partial LED array and N1, N2, N3, N4 belong to the second partial LED array. And because the first voltage interval is lower than the preset voltage threshold value, the first voltage interval is insufficient to conduct all 5 Led arrays, but only N1, N2, N3 and N4 can be conducted. In addition, the on voltage of N5 is lower than the sum of the on voltage drops of N3 and N4, so the first voltage interval is also sufficient to turn on the first portion of the LED array. During the rotation, the union of the first and second partial LED arrays includes N1, N2, N3, N4, N5. That is, if the rotation frequency is proper, all 5 LED arrays may have luminous flux generated in the first voltage interval. In other words, when the first and second partial LED arrays are turned on alternately, the LED arrays that emit light among the n LED arrays are the union of the first or second partial LED arrays, and therefore, the light-emitting areas of the n LED arrays are larger in the sense than the light-emitting areas of the first or second partial LED arrays when they are turned on individually.

Alternatively, in the LED array control method of some embodiments of the present invention, in step SA-2-a-1) or the like, the alternating frequency of alternating conduction is any one value of [0.5khz,1000khz ].

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the first part LED array and the second part LED array are proper subsets of n LED arrays, and the first part LED array and the second part LED array have an intersection or no intersection.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, if the first portion LED array and the second portion LED array have no intersection, the control method further includes the steps of: when the output voltage of the direct current power supply is enough to conduct a first LED array in the n LED arrays, the first LED array lamp is kept to be always on, wherein the first LED array does not belong to the LED arrays of the first part/subset and does not belong to the LED arrays of the second part/subset. The first LED array is connected with the n LED arrays in series, and keeps always on, so that the energy efficiency of a driving circuit where the n LED arrays are located is improved.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the first portion LED array and the second portion LED array respectively include one or more of n LED arrays, or one or more of other LEDs except at least one LED array (for example, one or more LED arrays connected to a negative electrode of a power supply) of n LED arrays connected in series to accommodate the first voltage interval.

Alternatively, the control method/circuit structure related to the control method of the present application herein and in some embodiments of the present application may be referred to in the related description including the summary of the application under the heading "floating/common circuit structure".

Alternatively, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the union of the first part LED array and the second part LED array covers/covers all or n-1 of the n LED arrays, so that when the second part LED array and the first part LED array are alternately turned on, especially at a high frequency, the (light source) light emitting area can be kept (substantially) the same as that of the n LED arrays when all turned on by a sufficient dc power supply voltage, and the strobe is reduced to a large extent.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the number of first partial LED arrays is the maximum number/next largest number of LED arrays that can be lit in the n LED arrays for the first voltage interval, and the number of second partial LED arrays is the next largest number/maximum number of LED arrays that can be lit in the n LED arrays for the first voltage interval. For example, the n LED arrays include 5 LED arrays: n1, N2, N3, N4, N5. Wherein N1, N2, N5 belong to the first partial LED array and N1, N2, N3, N4 belong to the second partial LED array. And the first voltage interval is lower than the preset voltage threshold value, so that all 5 Led arrays are not sufficiently turned on, but only N1, N2, N3 and N4 are turned on, and the number is 4. In addition, the on voltage of N5 is lower than the sum of the on voltage drops of N3 and N4, so the first voltage interval is also sufficient to turn on the first portion of the LED array. In the rotation process, the first portion of LED arrays has a first voltage interval that is the next largest number of LED arrays that can be lit in 5 LED arrays: 3. The second partial LED array has a maximum number of LED arrays that can be lit in 5 LED arrays for the first voltage interval: 4.

Optionally, the number of the first partial LED arrays is the same as the number of the second partial LED arrays. For example, in the above embodiment, for example, the n LED arrays include 5 LED arrays: n1, N2, N3, N4, N5. Wherein N1, N2, N3, N5 belong to the first partial LED array and N1, N2, N3, N4 belong to the second partial LED array. Since the power of the first and second LED arrays is kept substantially the same, the same power is always dispersed over the same number of LEDs when the LED arrays are turned on by rotation, especially by high frequency rotation, thus avoiding bright/dark variations due to the repeated concentration/dispersion of the same energy.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the dc power supply outputs rectified pulsating dc voltage, and the first part of LED arrays and the second part of LED arrays have the same conduction voltage drop, correspondingly, in the alternating conduction process, currents flowing in the first part of LED arrays and the second part of LED arrays are controlled by the switching unit to be square waves with complementary shapes or square waves similar to trapezoids with smoother rising and falling edges, and the magnitudes are substantially the same, and the duty ratios are respectively 50%, which is more beneficial to brightness uniformity and light-emitting effect improvement. Of course, it will be appreciated that if the on-voltage drops of the first and second partial LED arrays are different, the current waveforms flowing in the first and second partial LED arrays may remain complementary in shape, but the amplitude is alternatively inversely proportional to the voltage, the duty cycle may no longer be 50% but 4:6 or other ratio. The purpose of this section is to adjust the power and luminous flux of the first and second LED arrays in the alternating conduction process, and to make the first and second LED arrays not generate difference or strobing on illumination effect for the alternating conduction process, and under this purpose, the values of duty ratio and current amplitude can be adjusted according to the needs, and are not limited to the exemplary values given above.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of first voltage intervals periodically occur with the pulsating dc voltage. The plurality of first voltage intervals occur in time within the same voltage ripple period or are distributed in a continuous plurality of ripple periods.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the step SA-2-a-1) or SA-2-b-1) or similar steps may further include: SA-2-ab-1) coordinates the currents in the first and second partial LED arrays during alternating conduction such that the power of the n LED arrays is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the step SA-2-a-1) or SA-2-b-1) or similar steps may further include:

The currents in the first and second partial LED arrays are adjusted according to the on-voltage drops of the first and second partial LED arrays, respectively, such that the relative rate of change of the power of the first and second partial LED arrays is less than a predetermined percentage. Wherein the predetermined percentage is less than 10%, for example 0.5%, 2% or 5%.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, step SA-2-ab-1) or similar steps may further include:

SA-2-ab-1-1), the current in the first partial LED array being dynamically controlled to decrease synchronously with increasing current in the second partial LED array during and/or before switching from the first partial LED array to the second partial LED array such that a decrease in power or luminous flux of the first partial LED array is compensated/counteracted by an increase in power of the second partial LED array, and

SA-2-ab-1-2), the current in the second partial LED array is dynamically controlled to decrease synchronously with increasing current in the first partial LED array during the back-and-forth and/or switching from the second partial LED array to the first partial LED array, such that the power or luminous flux drop of the second partial LED array is compensated/counteracted by the power increase of the first partial LED array.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, step SA-2-ab-1-2) or similar steps may further include:

In the transition process of switching from the second part of LED array to the first part of LED array, controlling the current in the first part of LED array to synchronously increase before the decreasing amplitude of the current in the second part of LED array exceeds the preset amplitude; and step SA-2-ab-1-1) further comprises:

In the transition process of switching from the first part of LED array to the second part of LED array, the current in the second part of LED array is controlled to synchronously increase before the decreasing amplitude of the current in the first part of LED array exceeds the preset amplitude. Wherein the preset amplitude is optionally an arbitrary value between 0 and 5%.

The methods of some embodiments of the invention may be implemented in the drive circuitry or control circuitry of some embodiments. For example, when m=1, x=0, i.e. there is only one common-ground switch in the driving circuit, there is no floating switch, and both the current limiting device and the common-ground switch can be implemented as linear current sources. The control method for n (e.g., 2) LED arrays implemented by the driving/control circuit based on these embodiments may include the steps of:

detecting a signal related to an external power supply voltage within the driving circuit; and judging the relation between the voltage at two ends of the external power supply and the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the conduction voltage drop of the second load according to the signals, and controlling the on or off of the first current source according to the judging result.

Optionally, in the control method of some embodiments, the controlling step of the first current source further includes:

controlling the first current source to be turned off in response to the external power supply voltage being greater than a sum of the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the conduction voltage drop of the second load to form a second energy loop: external power source → first load → second current source → external power source; and

Controlling the first current source to conduct in response to the external power supply voltage being less than the sum of the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the conduction voltage drop of the second load to form a first energy loop: external power source → first load → first current source → external power source.

Optionally, in the control method of some embodiments, the method further includes the step of:

the current of the first current source and the current of the second current source are coordinated before and after switching of the first energy loop and the second energy loop such that the rate of change of the sum of the power of the first load and the second load does not exceed a predetermined percentage.

Optionally, in the control method of some embodiments, the first load and the second load are light emitting loads, and the step of current coordination further includes:

Adjusting the current in the first load and the second load according to the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load respectively, so that the change rate of the sum of the luminous fluxes of the first load and the second load before and after switching is smaller than a preset percentage; the predetermined percentage is less than 10%.

Optionally, in the control method of some embodiments, the step of current coordination further includes: synchronously controlling the current in the first current source to decrease along with the current increase in the second current source in the transition process of switching the first energy loop and the second energy loop so that the decrease of the power of the first load is compensated by the increase of the power of the second load; or the current in the first current source is synchronously controlled to increase as the current in the second current source decreases so that the decrease in the power of the second load is compensated by the increase in the power of the first load.

Optionally, in the control method of some embodiments, the step of current coordination further includes:

during a transition from the second energy loop to the first energy loop, adjusting the current in the first current source to increase synchronously before the current in the second current source exceeds a predetermined percentage relative to the magnitude of the decrease before the start of the transition; and/or

During a transition from a first energy loop to a second energy loop, the current in the second current source is controlled to increase synchronously before the current in the first current source exceeds a predetermined percentage with respect to the magnitude of the decrease before the start of the transition.

The current controlling the second current source in the second energy loop decreases with increasing external supply voltage or an average value thereof, and/or,

The current of the first current source in the first energy loop is controlled to be greater than the current of the second current source in the second energy loop.

Optionally, the control method of some embodiments, wherein the external power source provides a rectified pulsating direct voltage; and, the control method further comprises the steps of:

Step S8-1) if the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage is sufficient to turn on the first load and the second load, controlling the first current source to be turned off so as to keep operating the second energy loop in the corresponding pulsating period of the external power supply: external power source → first load → second current source → external power source;

Step S8-2) if the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage is insufficient to turn on the first load and the second load, controlling the first current source to be turned on so as to keep running the first energy loop in the corresponding pulsating period of the external power supply: external power source → first load → first current source → external power source.

Optionally, in the control method of some embodiments, the method further includes step S8-3):

switching the second energy loop and the first energy loop through a plurality of successive pulsing periods in response to a minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage crossing a sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load; or alternatively

Switching between the second energy loop and the first energy loop in steps over successive pulse cycles in response to a minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage crossing a sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load; or alternatively

Each switching between the second energy loop and the first energy loop is accomplished step-wise through a continuous plurality of pulse cycles in response to a change in the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage across the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load.

Optionally, in the control method of some embodiments, the switching process between the second energy loop and the first energy loop further includes the steps of:

coordinating the average value of the current in the second energy loop and the average value of the current in the first energy loop to respectively decrease and increase in a plurality of pulsation periods; or alternatively

The current in the second energy loop, or an average thereof, is coordinated with the current in the first energy loop, or an average thereof, to monotonically increase and monotonically decrease, respectively, over a plurality of pulsation cycles.

Optionally, the control method in some embodiments further includes the step of, during the switching between the second energy loop and the first energy loop:

coordinating the relative proportion of the operating time of the second energy loop to the operating time of the first energy loop, decreasing or increasing over a plurality of pulsation cycles; or alternatively

The run time of the second energy loop is coordinated to increment/decrement from cycle to cycle and, correspondingly, the run time of the first energy loop is coordinated to decrement/increment from cycle to cycle over a plurality of ripple cycles.

Optionally, the control method in some embodiments, wherein the step of coordinating the currents in the second energy loop and the first energy loop further comprises:

SA-3-NO-1 a) in response to the minimum value of the pulsating DC voltage falling below the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the second energy loop cycle by cycle incrementally over a plurality of pulsating cycles, and adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the first energy loop cycle by cycle incrementally in synchronization; or alternatively

SA-3-NO-1 b) in response to the minimum value of the pulsating DC voltage rising above the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the second energy loop cycle by cycle incrementally over a plurality of pulsating cycles, and adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the first energy loop cycle by cycle incrementally in synchronization;

Wherein the current in the second energy loop and the current in the first energy loop are complementary in time/waveform, and the plurality of ripple periods comprises any number of ripple periods in the range of 5-1000, or the plurality of ripple periods lasts 1ms to 1000ms.

The methods of some embodiments of the invention may be implemented in the drive circuitry or control circuitry of some embodiments. For example, when m=1, x=1 in the driving circuit, i.e., 1 common ground switching unit, 1 floating ground switching unit are configured, the two switching units are respectively used for coupling 1 light emitting load. And both the current limiting device and the common-ground switch may be implemented as linear current sources. The control method for n (e.g. 2) LED arrays implemented based on the driving circuit or the control circuit of such an embodiment may comprise the steps of:

detecting a signal associated with/reflecting an external power supply voltage within the driving circuit,

Judging the relation between the external power supply voltage and the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the conduction voltage drop of the second load,

And controlling the switching switch and the first current source to be switched on or off according to the judging result, so as to switch between the following two modes:

first mode: when the external power supply voltage is greater than the sum of the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the conduction voltage drop of the second load, the change-over switch and the first current source are cut off to form a third energy loop, and an energy flow path of the third energy loop is as follows: an external power supply, a first load, a second current source, and an external power supply, and supplying energy to the first load and the second load;

Second mode: when the external power supply voltage is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the conduction voltage drop of the second load and is larger than the larger value of the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the conduction voltage drop of the second load, the change-over switch and the first current source are controlled so as to be alternately switched between a first state and a second state at a first preset frequency;

the first state is that the change-over switch is turned off and the first current source is turned on, so as to form a first energy loop, and an energy circulation path of the first energy loop is as follows: external power source → first load → first current source → external power source; the second state is that the change-over switch is turned on, the first current source is turned off, and a second energy loop is formed; the energy flow path of the second energy circuit is: external power source, change-over switch, second load, second current source and external power source.

Optionally, in the control method of some embodiments, the current of the second current source in the first mode is controlled to decrease with an increase in the external power supply voltage or an average value thereof, and/or the current of the first current source and the current of the second current source in the second mode are controlled to be greater than the current of the second current source in the first mode.

Optionally, in the control method of some embodiments, the external power source provides a rectified pulsating direct voltage; the first preset frequency is higher than the power frequency; thereby helping to reduce low frequency strobe.

The first mode further includes: if the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage is larger than the sum of the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the conduction voltage drop of the second load, the change-over switch and the first current source are turned off so as to keep running the third energy loop in the corresponding pulsation period of the external power supply;

The second mode further includes: and if the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the conduction voltage drop of the second load and is larger than the larger value of the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the conduction voltage drop of the second load, controlling the change-over switch and the first current source so as to keep alternately switching between the first state and the second state at a first preset frequency in the corresponding pulsation period of the external power supply.

Optionally, the control method of some embodiments further includes the steps of:

Switching between the first mode and the second mode through a plurality of successive pulse cycles in response to a minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage crossing a sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load; or alternatively

Switching between the first mode and the second mode is performed step by step over successive pulse periods in response to a minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage crossing a sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load; or alternatively

Each transition between the first mode and the second mode is accomplished stepwise through a continuous plurality of pulse cycles in response to a change in the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage across the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load.

Optionally, the control method of some embodiments, the step of switching between the first mode and the second mode further includes:

Coordinating the average value of the current in the first mode with the average value of the current in the second mode, respectively decreasing and increasing in a plurality of pulsation periods; or alternatively

Coordinating i) the current in the first mode or average thereof with ii) the current in the second mode or average thereof, monotonically increasing and monotonically decreasing, respectively, over a plurality of pulsation cycles.

Optionally, in the control method of some embodiments, the step of switching between the first mode and the second mode further includes:

Coordinating the relative proportion of the operating time of the second mode to the operating time of the first mode, decreasing or increasing over a plurality of pulsation cycles; or alternatively

The run time of the second mode is coordinated to increment/decrement from cycle to cycle and, correspondingly, the run time of the first mode is coordinated to decrement/increment from cycle to cycle in a plurality of ripple cycles.

Optionally, in the control method of some embodiments, the step of coordinating the currents in the second mode and the first mode further includes:

SA-3-NO-1 a) in response to the lowest value of the pulsating DC voltage falling below the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load and being greater than the greater of the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the conduction voltage drop of the second load, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the first mode in cycles by cycles in a plurality of pulsating cycles, and simultaneously, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the second mode in cycles by cycles in increments; or alternatively

SA-3-NO-1 b) in response to the minimum value of the pulsating DC voltage rising above the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current of the first mode incrementally from cycle to cycle and, synchronously, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current of the second mode incrementally from cycle to cycle;

Wherein the current in the second mode and the current in the first mode are complementary in time/waveform and the plurality of pulse periods comprises any number of pulse periods in the range of 5-1000 or the duration of the plurality of pulse periods for switching between the second mode and the first mode is in the range of 1ms to 1000ms.

It should be understood that: the driving circuit/device, each component/unit/module in the lighting device may be implemented as a corresponding physical device in a hardware manner such as a comparator, a timer or a delay circuit, a trigger, etc., and may also be understood as a functional module that must be established to implement each step of the related program flow or each step of the method. Thus, in some embodiments of the present invention, the method may be implemented mainly by a computer program/method described in the specification, and in other embodiments, the method may be implemented by hardware as a related entity apparatus.

In a further embodiment of the application a driving device for use in a lighting device is also presented, comprising a control unit configured to perform any one of the methods of the application, or steps thereof.

In another embodiment of the application, there is also provided a driving circuit or control circuit for use in a lighting device, comprising a control unit configured to: any one method or steps thereof of the control method/driving method and the like in the present application are performed when the control circuit is operated or in an operating state.

In another embodiment of the present application, there is also provided a lighting device including: a control unit configured to: any one method or steps thereof of the control method/driving method and the like in the present application are performed when the driving circuit or the control circuit is operated or in an operating state.

In another embodiment of the application, there is also provided a lighting device configured to: any one of the methods of the control method/driving method and the like or the steps thereof in the present application are performed when the lighting device is operated or in an operating state.

In another embodiment of the application, there is also provided a lighting device comprising one or more circuit modules configured to: any one of the methods of the control method/driving method and the like or the steps thereof in the present application are performed independently or cooperatively when the lighting device is operated or in an operating state.

In another embodiment of the present application, a driving apparatus for use in a lighting apparatus is also presented, comprising means/modules for performing any one of the methods of the control methods/control methods and the like in the present application or the physical or virtual of the steps therein.

In another embodiment of the present application, there is also provided a driving circuit for use in a lighting device, including: an entity (physical) circuit module for performing any one of the control methods in the present application or steps therein.

Of course, it is understood that: the control circuit for implementing the driving/controlling method for the light-emitting load such as the LED array in some embodiments of the invention realizes the control for the LED array through the switch unit in a floating or common ground mode, so the control method for the light-emitting load by the driving circuit or the control circuit and the control for the switch unit by the control unit inside the driving device are mutually corresponding. The control unit in the control circuit in some embodiments of the invention may also be configured to perform the control method of the switching unit. Because the control method and the step thereof for the switch units have higher correspondence and similarity with the control method and the step thereof for the LED array in some embodiments, the description thereof is omitted.

Alternatively, the control unit in some embodiments may be implemented as a hardware circuit module or as a programmable control unit, processor.

In another embodiment of the application, a computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs is also presented, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor/control unit, cause the processor/control unit to perform any one of the methods of driving/controlling the application or steps thereof.

In a further embodiment of the invention a driving circuit for use in a lighting device is also presented, comprising a storage medium as presented in other embodiments of the invention, and a processor/control unit.

In another embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a lighting device including: any one of the driving circuits or driving devices as set forth in other embodiments of the present invention, and n LED arrays, are coupled to and controlled by the driving circuits.

Optionally, the lighting device of some embodiments of the present invention further comprises an electrical signal measurement unit and a dc power supply, the dc power supply comprising a rectifying circuit configured to receive ac input power and rectify the ac input power for output to the n LED arrays; and an electrical signal measuring unit coupled to the lighting device and configured to measure an output of the rectifying circuit in a voltage or current manner.

Optionally, the n LED arrays are composed of one or at least two parallel LED strings, each LED string being composed of a plurality of series connected LED groups, each LED group being composed of at least one LED in any arbitrary electrical configuration.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, an output end of the dc power supply is connected across the electrolytic capacitor. The capacitance value of the electrolytic capacitor may be [1 muF, 20 muF ], or may be selected in accordance with factors such as stability of the DC power supply, or may be out of the range.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, the LED array in the first type bypass loop and the LED array in the second type bypass loop have the same on-voltage drop.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, n+.2, at least two of the n LED arrays (for example, LED a and LED b) have the same conduction voltage drop, and are respectively connected to the first type bypass circuit and the second type bypass circuit that are alternately turned on. By alternately establishing the first type bypass circuit and the second type bypass circuit by alternately turning on the LEDs a and the LEDs b, the current in the first type bypass circuit and the second type bypass circuit is adjusted to be substantially the same, so that the overall power of the n LEDs can be maintained unchanged.

In one embodiment of the application, a lighting device is also presented, comprising a plurality of lighting loads, such as: a first lighting load and a second lighting load. Optionally, the first lighting load and the second lighting load have different strobe characteristics. For example, the second load may be an LED array in a second bypass loop in other embodiments, or an LED array in a second portion of the LED arrays; the first load may be an LED array in the first bypass loop or an LED array in the first portion of the LED array in other embodiments. The first load and the second load each comprise an LED or a plurality of LEDs, wherein the plurality of LEDs may be connected in series and/or in parallel. Optionally, the first light emitting load and the second light emitting load may also be controlled by the driving circuit in other embodiments of the present application, so as to have different or relatively close strobe characteristics, and further, by overlapping/interleaving, dispersing and/or centrally symmetrically arranging one or more LED arrays in the first light emitting load and one or more LED arrays in the second light emitting load in other embodiments, the existence of the LED array in the higher portion of the strobes in the plurality of light emitting loads is weakened, so as to improve the overall lighting effect and strobe characteristics of the lighting device.

In one embodiment of the present application, a lighting device is further provided, including a first load and a second load, where the second load may be an LED array in the second bypass loop in some other embodiments, or an LED array in the second portion of the LED array; the first load may be an LED array in the first bypass loop or an LED array in the first portion of the LED array in other embodiments. The first load and the second load are each configured as a lighting load and each comprise one LED or a plurality of LEDs, wherein the plurality of LEDs may be connected in series and/or in parallel.

Optionally, the lighting device may further comprise a control circuit or a driving circuit in other embodiments of the application for driving the first load and the second load.

Optionally, the lighting device of some embodiments further comprises a substrate configured to carry the first load and the second load; the plurality of LEDs of the first load and the plurality of LEDs of the second load are at least partially staggered, or the plurality of LEDs of the first load and the outline area of the plurality of LEDs of the second load are at least partially overlapped.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the lighting device, the plurality of LEDs of the second load are at least partially interspersed (e.g., discretely/dispersedly disposed) within the contoured area of the plurality of LEDs of the first load; or alternatively

The plurality of LEDs of the second load are distributed and at least partially wrapped/surrounded in the plurality of LEDs of the first load.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, the plurality of LEDs of the second load are at least partially interspersed in the contoured region of the plurality of LEDs of the first load.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the lighting device, the plurality of LEDs of the second load are integrally dispersed within the contoured region of the plurality of LEDs of the first load, e.g., with 60% to 100% overlap between the contoured region of the second load and the contoured region of the first load.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the lighting device, the contoured area of the plurality of LEDs of the second load is smaller than the contoured area of the plurality of LEDs of the first load by a proportion of at least 10% to 40%.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, the plurality of LEDs of the second load and the plurality of LEDs of the first load are distributed substantially symmetrically about a center of the overall profile area of the first load and the second load.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, the plurality of LEDs of the second load and the plurality of LEDs of the first load are respectively arranged in center symmetry; and the center of symmetry of the plurality of LEDs of the second load and the center of symmetry of the plurality of LEDs of the first load are substantially coincident.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, the plurality of LEDs of the second load and/or the plurality of LEDs of the first load are arranged in a rectangular, circular, annular, curved/linear, symmetrical or asymmetrical radial shape, or the only LEDs in the second load are arranged substantially at the center of symmetry of the plurality of LEDs of the first load.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the lighting device, the plurality of LEDs of the first load are distributed on the substrate of the lighting device within a rectangular, circular, annular, curved/rectilinear, symmetrical or asymmetrical radial area, and the plurality of LEDs of the second load are arranged within the plurality of LEDs of the first load.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, the plurality of LEDs of the second load are distributed in a rectangular, circular, annular, curved/rectilinear, symmetrical or asymmetrical radial shape; and, in area, the plurality of LED outline areas/coverage areas of the second load are comparable to, or smaller than, the outline areas/coverage areas of the plurality of LEDs of the first load. It should be understood that: the outline area/coverage area herein refers to the envelope or outline area of the second load or the plurality of LEDs in the first load as a whole, or in total, rather than just the sum of the locations of all individual LEDs, and also includes the area/space between LEDs, etc.

Optionally, in the lighting device of some embodiments, the plurality of LEDs of the second load and the plurality of LEDs of the first load are disposed adjacent to each other correspondingly or in pairs.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a control circuit for controlling an electrical loop including n LED groups and a dc power supply connected in series, the control circuit including a control unit and m sub-switching units; n is more than or equal to 2, m is more than or equal to 1, m is less than or equal to n, and m and n are integers;

The control unit is respectively connected with the m sub-switch units and controls the sub-switch units to be turned on or turned off; when the sub-switch unit is turned on, the corresponding LED group is bypassed, and when the sub-switch unit is turned off, the corresponding LED group is turned on;

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, the control unit cuts off the m sub-switch units to form a main loop comprising the n LED groups and the direct current power supply;

when the output voltage of the direct current power supply is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, the control unit conducts at least one of the split switch units and cuts off the rest of the split switch units to form a split loop comprising the conducted split switch units, the conducted LED groups and the direct current power supply, and the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the conducted LED groups is smaller than the output voltage of the direct current power supply.

Optionally, the current flowing through the main loop is a main loop current, the current flowing through the sub-loop is a sub-loop current, and the control unit controls the sub-loop current to be larger than the main loop current.

Optionally, the control unit turns on at least one of the split switching units and turns off the remaining split switching units to form a split loop including the turned-on split switching unit, the turned-on LED group, and the dc power supply, including:

When the number of the sub-loops is greater than or equal to two, the control unit controls the control circuit to alternately operate at least two different sub-loops selected from all the sub-loops at an alternate frequency.

Optionally, the LED groups turned on in at least two different sub-loops comprise all n LED groups.

Optionally, all sub-loops are respectively sequenced into a first stage, a second stage and up to more stages of priority sub-loops from high to low according to the degree of the proximity of the sum of the voltage drops of the conducted LED groups and the output voltage of the direct current power supply;

The at least two different sub-circuits include at least a first level priority sub-circuit and a second level priority sub-circuit.

Optionally, the m separate switch units are respectively connected in parallel to two ends of the m corresponding LED groups.

Optionally, the control circuit further comprises at least one current limiting device connected in series on the electrical circuit; the impedance of the current limiting device sets the main loop current flowing through the main loop and the sub-loop current flowing through the sub-loop.

Optionally, the control circuit further comprises at least one current limiting device connected in series on the electrical circuit; the impedance of the current limiting device sets the main loop current flowing through the main loop.

Optionally, the current limiting device and at least one LED group adjacent to the current limiting device form at least one serial branch; x of the m switching units are respectively connected in parallel at two ends of the serial branch, and the rest m-x switching units are respectively connected in parallel at two ends of the corresponding LED group; x is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m, x being an integer.

Optionally, when at least one of the x sub-switching units connected in parallel to two ends of the serial branch is turned on, the control unit sets the sub-loop current flowing through the sub-loop by controlling the on-resistance of the turned-on sub-switching unit;

when the x split switch units connected in parallel at two ends of the series branch are all cut off, the impedance of the current limiting device sets the split loop current flowing through the split loop.

Optionally, the control unit controls the sub-loop current and/or the main loop current so that the variation range of the output power of the direct current power supply does not exceed a first preset threshold value;

and/or the number of the groups of groups,

The control unit controls the sub-loop current and/or the main loop current so that the difference value between the luminous quantity of the conducted LED groups of the sub-loop and the luminous quantity of the n LED groups of the main loop does not exceed a second preset threshold value.

Optionally, the current limiting device comprises at least one resistor.

Optionally, the current limiting device comprises a field effect transistor and/or a triode, and the impedance of the current limiting device is realized by controlling the conduction degree of the field effect transistor and/or the triode through the control unit.

Optionally, the separation switch unit comprises a field effect transistor and/or a triode.

Alternatively, when the dc power supply is a pulsating dc power supply, the rotation frequency is greater than the pulsation frequency of the pulsating dc voltage output by the pulsating dc power supply.

Optionally, at least a portion of the control circuitry is integrated in one or more integrated circuits.

The invention also provides a driving circuit, which comprises the control circuit, and an electric loop, wherein the electric loop comprises a direct current power supply and n LED groups which are connected in series.

Alternatively, the dc power source comprises a regulated dc power source or a pulsed dc power source.

Optionally, the pulsating direct current power supply comprises a rectifier and an energy storage capacitor, wherein the input end of the rectifier is connected with alternating current, and the output end of the rectifier is connected with the energy storage capacitor in parallel.

Optionally, at least a portion of the control circuit and at least a portion of the rectifier are integrated in one or more integrated circuits.

The invention also provides a control method which is realized by the driving circuit, and the control method comprises the following steps:

judging the relation between the output voltage of the direct current power supply and the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups;

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, the m separation switch units in the control circuit are cut off to form a main loop comprising the n LED groups and the direct current power supply;

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, at least one sub-switch unit is turned on, and the rest sub-switch units are turned off, so that a sub-loop comprising the turned-on sub-switch units, the turned-on LED groups and the direct current power supply is formed; the sum of the voltage drops of the turned-on LED groups is smaller than the output voltage of the direct current power supply.

Optionally, the current flowing through the main loop is a main loop current, the current flowing through the sub-loop is a sub-loop current, and the sub-loop current is greater than the main loop current.

Optionally, turning on at least one of the sub-switching units and turning off the remaining sub-switching units to form a sub-loop including the turned-on sub-switching unit, the turned-on LED group, and the dc power supply, comprising:

when the number of the sub-loops is greater than or equal to two, the driving circuit is controlled to alternately operate at least two different sub-loops selected from all the sub-loops at an alternate frequency.

Optionally, all sub-loops are respectively sequenced into a first stage, a second stage and up to more stages of priority sub-loops from high to low according to the degree of the proximity of the sum of the voltage drops of the conducted LED groups and the output voltage of the direct current power supply; the at least two different sub-circuits include at least a first level priority sub-circuit and a second level priority sub-circuit.

Optionally, when the m separate switch units are respectively connected in parallel to two ends of the corresponding m LED groups, and the electrical circuit is further connected in series with at least one current limiting device:

The control method sets the main loop current flowing through the main loop and the sub-loop current flowing through the sub-loop through the impedance of the current limiting device.

Optionally, the electrical loop is further connected in series with at least one current limiting device, the current limiting device and at least one LED group adjacent to the current limiting device to form at least one series branch; the control method sets the main loop current flowing through the main loop through the impedance of the current limiting device.

Optionally, when x of the m switching units are respectively connected in parallel to two ends of the serial branch, and the remaining m-x switching units are respectively connected in parallel to two ends of the corresponding LED group:

The control method also sets the sub-loop current flowing through the sub-loop by controlling the conduction resistance of the conducted sub-switching units when at least one of the x sub-switching units connected in parallel at two ends of the serial branch is conducted;

the control method also sets the sub-loop current flowing through the sub-loop through the impedance of the current limiting device when the x sub-switch units connected in parallel at the two ends of the serial branch are all cut off;

Wherein x is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m, and x is an integer.

Optionally, controlling the sub-loop current and/or the main loop current to ensure that the variation range of the output power of the direct current power supply does not exceed a first preset threshold value;

and/or the number of the groups of groups,

And controlling the sub-loop current and/or the main loop current to ensure that the difference value between the luminous quantity of the conducted LED groups of the sub-loop and the luminous quantity of the n LED groups of the main loop does not exceed a second preset threshold value.

Optionally, when the current limiting device comprises a field effect transistor and/or a triode, the impedance of the current limiting device is achieved by controlling the degree of conduction of the field effect transistor and/or the triode.

Some embodiments of the invention further provide a lighting device manufactured by adopting the driving circuit.

Alternatively, the switching elements in some embodiments are transistors, such as DMOS transistors.

In some embodiments of the invention there is also provided a control circuit for driving at least partially series connected n LED arrays powered by a dc power supply, the control circuit comprising:

A control unit;

The m switch units are configured to be respectively correspondingly coupled with m LED arrays in the n LED arrays when the control circuit is applied to the n LED arrays, and the control ends of the m switch units are respectively connected to the control unit and controlled by the control unit to bypass the corresponding LED arrays;

Optionally, in the control circuit according to some embodiments of the present invention, the dc power supply is a pulsating dc power supply, and the control unit is configured to, in response to an output voltage of the dc power supply (for example, a voltage value of a partial waveform thereof) being insufficient to turn on the n LED arrays, control at least part of the m switch units to be turned off so that the corresponding partial LED arrays remain on for a full period during at least one pulsating period of the dc power supply, or may be also understood as: the m switching units are controlled to be at least partially conducted to bypass the corresponding LED arrays, so that the other part of the LED arrays can be kept conducting in the whole period in at least one pulse period of the direct current power supply.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments of the present invention, the control unit includes:

an electrical signal measurement unit configured to determine whether an output voltage of the direct current power supply is sufficient to turn on the n LED arrays; and

And the signal processing unit is respectively connected with the electric signal measuring unit and the at least one switch unit and is operable to control the switch unit according to the comparison result of the electric signal measuring unit.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments of the present invention, the dc power supply outputs a pulsating voltage, and the control unit is configured to gradually complete the conversion from turning on the n LED arrays to turning on the partial LED arrays by a subsequent plurality of pulsating periods in response to the valley portion voltage/the partial voltage being insufficient to turn on the n LED arrays in a single pulsating period.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments of the present invention, the electrical signal measurement unit includes:

An integrating unit operable to output an integration signal varying with time according to a determination result of whether or not the output voltage of the direct current power supply is sufficient to turn on the n LED arrays; and

A first comparator connected with the integration unit and configured to control the switch unit to operate in an on, off or current regulation mode based on a comparison result of the integration signal and the first electric signal,

The first electric signal reflects/represents the output voltage of the direct current power supply or the voltage born by the n LED arrays, or has positive correlation/negative correlation with the pulsating direct current voltage or the voltage born by the n LED arrays.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments of the present invention, the signal processing unit is configured to control, in accordance with a change in the integrated signal, an average value of currents in the LED array of the portion and an average value of currents in the n LED arrays to increase and decrease, respectively, in a plurality of pulsation periods.

Optionally, in the control circuit of some embodiments of the present invention, the signal processing unit is further configured to: the relative proportion of the operating time of all conducting the n LED arrays to the operating time of the partial LED arrays conducting independently is coordinated, and the operating time is sequentially decreased by a plurality of pulsation periods.

On the basis of conforming to the common knowledge in the field, the above preferred conditions can be arbitrarily combined to obtain the preferred examples of the invention.

In addition, it should be understood that: variations and modifications may be made to the circuit structures of some embodiments of the application in accordance with the principles of equivalent transformation of the circuits. For example: a more varied embodiment is obtained by converting a current source (also referred to as a switching unit in some embodiments) into a voltage source, converting a series configuration into a parallel configuration, etc., but such variations and modifications are within the scope of the present disclosure. The applicant reserves the right to divide, actively modify, continue and partially continue the application for these more diverse variants.

The present invention has been described in relation to particular examples, which are intended in all respects to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative examples will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains without departing from its scope.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all the ends and objects hereinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the system and method. It should be understood that the specific features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

The invention has the positive progress effects that: when the output voltage of the direct current power supply is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of all the LED groups, all the LED groups are conducted; and under the condition that the output voltage of the direct current power supply is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of all the LED groups, the partial LED groups in the circuit are conducted by controlling the on or off of the partial switch units and selecting the partial loops. Further, by setting the sub-loop current to be larger than the main loop current, the change of the output power of the direct current power supply and/or the change of the LED luminous quantity does not exceed a preset threshold value, and the change of the LED luminous quantity is reduced or even eliminated. Further, when the operation conditions of the multiple sub-loops are met, the multiple sub-loops are ordered into a first stage, a second stage and up to more stages of priority sub-loops from high to low according to the degree of the proximity of the sum of the voltage drops of the conducted LED groups to the output voltage of the direct current power supply, and the driving circuit is controlled to alternately operate at least two different sub-loops selected from the multiple sub-loops at an alternate frequency. The LED groups that are selected to be on in the sub-loop include all LED groups so that all LED groups can be lit. Meanwhile, the current of the sub-loop is controlled to be larger than that of the main loop, the current of the sub-loop of the low priority level is controlled to be larger than that of the sub-loop of the high priority level, and the change of the output power of the direct current power supply and/or the change of the luminous quantity of the LED does not exceed a preset threshold value when the main loop or any sub-loop operates. Further, the change of the luminous quantity of the LED does not exceed the preset threshold value, so that the luminous stroboscopic effect of the LED is reduced, and the damage to human eyes is reduced.

Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the application and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the application and together with the description serve to explain the application and do not constitute a limitation on the application. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of the parametric relationship of LEDs in the prior art;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a circuit structure of a driving circuit in the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a circuit structure of another driving circuit in the prior art;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the voltage-current relationship of a driving circuit in the prior art;

Fig. 5 is a schematic circuit diagram of a control circuit and a driving circuit according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a schematic circuit diagram of a control circuit and a driving circuit when the current limiting device of embodiment 2 of the present invention is at least one of a field effect transistor and a triode;

fig. 7 is a circuit configuration diagram of a control circuit and a driving circuit when m=n=3 according to embodiment 2 of the present invention;

Fig. 8 is a circuit configuration diagram of a control circuit and a driving circuit when n=2, m=1 in embodiment 2 of the present invention;

Fig. 9 is a schematic circuit diagram of a control circuit and a driving circuit when the current limiting device of embodiment 2 of the present invention is a resistor;

fig. 10 is a schematic circuit diagram of a control circuit and a driving circuit according to embodiment 3 of the present invention;

Fig. 11 is a schematic circuit configuration diagram of a control circuit and a driving circuit when n=2, m=1 in embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the control method of embodiment 4 of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of the control method of embodiment 5 of the present invention;

fig. 14 is a flowchart of a control method of the first circuit structure of embodiment 6 of the present invention;

fig. 15 is a flowchart of a control method of a second circuit configuration of embodiment 6 of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a graph of a pulsating DC voltage waveform and current regulation waveforms of a switching unit/current source operating at the pulsating DC voltage in another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a current waveform diagram of a switching unit or a corresponding LED array in a transition state of switching in another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a schematic circuit schematic diagram of a current source in a driving circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19A is a functional block diagram (function block diagram) of a control circuit in a driving circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19B is a block diagram of a control circuit with a timer according to another embodiment of the present invention (function block diagram);

FIG. 20 is an electrical waveform diagram of an alternately conducting switching unit or corresponding LED array in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a functional block diagram of a driving circuit with a control circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is a graph showing a pulsating DC voltage waveform and a current regulation waveform of a switching cell/current source that is alternately turned on at high frequency under the pulsating DC voltage in another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is a graph of a pulsating DC voltage waveform and current regulation waveforms of a switching unit/current source operating at the pulsating DC voltage in another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24 is a graph showing a pulsating DC voltage waveform and current regulation waveforms of switching cells/current sources alternately conducting at the pulsating DC voltage in another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25 is a graph showing a pulsating DC voltage waveform and current regulation waveforms of the switching cells/current sources alternately conducting at the pulsating DC voltage in another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26 is a graph showing a pulsating DC voltage waveform and current regulation waveforms of switching cells/current sources alternately conducting at the pulsating DC voltage in another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27 is a functional block diagram of a driving circuit and a lighting device capable of operating the control method of other embodiments of the present invention in another embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 27 a-27 c are various variations of the LED array of FIG. 27 and other embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 28 is a schematic diagram of two LED arrangements with different strobe characteristics among n LEDs in another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 29 is a schematic diagram of two LED arrangements with different strobe characteristics among n LEDs in another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 30 is a schematic diagram of two LED arrangements with different strobe characteristics among n LEDs in another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 31 is a schematic diagram of a switch unit/current source with an internal reserved current programming interface that can accept external resistors in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 32 is a schematic diagram of a switch unit/current source with an internal reserved current programming interface that can accept external resistors in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 33 is a schematic diagram of a package frame used for a driving circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 34 is a schematic diagram showing the voltage at different levels and the corresponding regulated current in the light-emitting load provided by the DC power supply for supplying power to the light-emitting load and the driving circuit thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 35 is a schematic waveform diagram illustrating a two-part LED array switching on/off in a first voltage interval according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 36a and 36b are functional block diagrams of two hardware circuits of a driving circuit/lighting device according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 37 is a schematic diagram of two sets of LED arrangements with different strobe characteristics among n LEDs in another embodiment of the invention;

fig. 38 is a schematic circuit diagram of a driving circuit and a control circuit when n=2, m=2, and x=1 according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 39 is a schematic circuit diagram of a driving circuit and a control circuit when n=2, m=2, and x=1 according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 40 is a schematic circuit diagram of a control circuit and a driving circuit when m=n=3 according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 41 is a schematic diagram showing a control unit in a control circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 42A is a schematic diagram of a control unit in a control circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 42B is a schematic diagram of a control unit in a control circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 43 is a waveform diagram of a current change in the driving circuit shown in fig. 11 during gradation conversion;

fig. 44 is another current variation waveform diagram of the driving circuit shown in fig. 11 during gradation conversion;

FIG. 45 is a schematic circuit diagram of a control circuit and a driving circuit according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 46 is a waveform diagram of current variation in the driving circuit shown in fig. 45 during gradation conversion;

fig. 47 is another current variation waveform diagram of the driving circuit shown in fig. 45 during gradation conversion;

fig. 48 is a waveform diagram of current variation in the driving circuit shown in fig. 27 during gradation conversion.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various described embodiments. It will be apparent, however, to one of ordinary skill in the art that the various described embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the embodiments.

The terminology used in the description of the various illustrated embodiments herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used in the description of the various described embodiments and in the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein refers to and encompasses any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," and/or "including," when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term "if" is optionally interpreted to mean "when..once..once.," "when" or "upon") or "in response to a determination" or "in response to detection" depending on the context. Similarly, the phrase "if determined" or "if detected [ stated condition or event ]" is optionally interpreted to mean "upon determination" or "in response to determination" or "upon detection of [ stated condition or event ]" or "in response to detection of [ stated condition or event ]" depending on the context.

The word "through" as used in this application may be interpreted as "by" (by), "dependent" (by virtue of) or "by" (by means of) depending on the context. The words "if", as used herein, may be interpreted as "at … …" or "at … …" or "in response to a determination" or "in response to a detection", depending on the context. Similarly, "when … …" or "when … …" in some embodiments may also be interpreted as conditional assumptions of "if", "like", etc., depending on the context. Similarly, the phrases "if (stated condition or event)", "if determined" or "if detected (stated condition or event)", depending on the context, can be interpreted as "when determined" or "in response to a determination" or "when detected (stated condition or event)". Similarly, the phrase "responsive to (a stated condition or event)" in some embodiments may be interpreted as "responsive to detection (a stated condition or event)" or "responsive to detection (a stated condition or event)" depending on the context.

It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used in this disclosure to describe various information, these information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one type of information from another. For example, a first may also be referred to as a second, and vice versa, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "at …" or "at …" or "in response to a determination" depending on the context.

The invention is further illustrated by means of examples which follow, without thereby restricting the scope of the invention thereto.

LED

LEDs, i.e. light emitting diodes, are widely used in the lighting field as commonly used light emitting devices, and it is common to fix LED chips on a base or frame, for example, package names 2835, 3030, etc. In addition to the COB type package, in which a plurality of LED chips are directly attached to a metal substrate and connected, the LED described herein generally refers to a light emitting device having a light emitting diode characteristic, and is not limited to the number, connection, and whether or not the LED chips are packaged, for convenience of description.

LED array

To accommodate different lighting requirements, multiple LEDs are typically used in combination to build a diverse lighting scene. When a plurality of LEDs are used in combination, the plurality of LEDs may be divided into a plurality of LED arrays (which may also be referred to as LED groups or LED segments) according to one or more of differences in arrangement positions thereof in a space, differences in functions implemented in a lighting scene, or differences in connection positions in the same circuit.

When the division logic of the plurality of LEDs is changed, the plurality of LED arrays formed by the division is changed accordingly.

Taking the LED arrays divided according to the difference of the connection positions of the LEDs in the same circuit as an example, each LED array includes at least one LED, when an LED array includes a plurality of LEDs, the plurality of LEDs may be directly connected in parallel, in series or in a combination of series and parallel, or indirectly connected through other devices (such as resistors).

Stroboscopic flash

The lighting device may produce flickering light, which may cause serious diseases such as headache, vision impairment, or in extreme cases epileptic seizures. Even though flicker is not noticeable, e.g., at a frequency of 100HZ, your eye may not consciously look at it, the brain may still be able to detect and react to it with negative consequences, as well as having an impact on the operation that is very dependent on the lighting effects, e.g., interfering with camera shots, typically roller shutter images displayed on the cell phone screen.

Since the grid (or mains) is an alternating voltage that periodically fluctuates at 50/60HZ, the corresponding energy frequency is 100/120HZ, which makes almost all types of lamps susceptible to periodic flickering, including incandescent, halogen, and even LED bulbs. But the effect of each ray is different. Among them, LEDs respond faster to current changes, so flicker is more pronounced.

Common terms of characterizing flicker level include strobe depth, strobe percentage, fluctuation depth, strobe index, etc., a measure of which is the amplitude of the fluctuation of the periodic light, e.g., strobe depth (PERCENT FLICKER) is equal to the difference between maximum and minimum light output divided by the sum of maximum and minimum light output over a switching period, and strobe index (flicker index) is equal to the amount of excess average light output divided by the total light output over a switching period. The lower the strobe depth and strobe index, the less the light fluctuation or resulting strobe effect; another measure is the frequency of the fluctuations of the light, which is generally more likely to cause discomfort and to affect operation at lower frequencies (e.g. 100 HZ), and slightly better at higher frequencies, e.g. higher frequencies, which are not limited in some regulations to fluctuations above 3125HZ, i.e. high frequency exemptions, because to some extent it has substantially no effect on the environment and the user.

For convenience of description, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, periodic flashing of light may be referred to as strobing, and dividing strobing with less than 3125HZ into low frequency strobing, and strobing with greater than 3125HZ into high frequency strobing.

Technical prejudice

The technical bias refers to the common understanding of a technical problem and deviation from objective facts of a technician in a certain technical field within a certain period of time, and the technical bias guides the technician to avoid considering other possibilities and prevents the technician from researching and developing the technical field. The invention overcomes the technical bias of the person skilled in the art, adopts the technical means that people discard due to the technical bias: the technical problem of low-frequency stroboscopic generation of the lighting device is solved to a certain extent by changing the number of the turned-on LEDs and/or adjusting the current flowing through the turned-on LEDs.

The lighting devices are powered by an ac mains (mains), typically the lighting devices are required to have a low frequency strobe, and the lighting devices with higher power (e.g. greater than 25W) are required to have a higher power factor (or lower input current harmonics), which requires a different scheme to be configured, common means of lighting devices driven with linearly regulated current sources (linear current sources) include:

Means one: comprising a single segment (or single) LED array with an energy storage capacitor connected in parallel to the ac rectified output to produce a smooth pulsating dc voltage, as shown in fig. 2. When the grid voltage is rated value, the pulsating direct current voltage is larger than the conducting voltage drop of the LED, the current flowing through the LED is controlled to be a stable value by the current source, the light emission is stable without stroboscopic effect, but when the grid voltage is lower, the pulsating direct current voltage is periodically smaller than the conducting voltage drop of the LED in a part of time interval, the current drop of the LED is even zero, as shown in fig. 3, and low-frequency stroboscopic effect is generated. Thus, the disadvantage of a lighting device comprising a single segment LED array is: the conduction voltage drop of the configured LED array cannot be too high, otherwise, the adaptability of the LED array to alternating current power grid voltage fluctuation is affected, and low-frequency stroboscopic is generated due to insufficient light emission when the power grid voltage is low; when the on-voltage drop of the configured LED array is low, the efficiency of the lighting device is low; that is, in the prior art, the lighting device including the single-segment LED array cannot achieve both reduction of the low-frequency strobe, improvement of the efficiency, and adaptation to a wide range of mains fluctuation.

Means II: the LED power supply comprises a multi-section (or a plurality of) LED arrays, and an energy storage capacitor is not connected in parallel at an alternating current rectification output end. The principle is as follows: the LED arrays at higher potentials in the loop are turned on in turn in response to a gradual rise in the ac rectified voltage (instantaneous value), causing a gradual increase in the conduction voltage drop of the turned-on LED arrays, and the LED arrays at lower potentials in the loop are bypassed in turn in response to a gradual fall in the ac rectified voltage (instantaneous value), causing a gradual fall in the conduction voltage drop of the corresponding LED arrays, and, in response to the ac rectified voltage (instantaneous value), adjusting the current of the turned-on LED arrays in positive correlation with the ac rectified voltage value, which is advantageous for achieving higher power factors and lower current harmonics. Since the output end of the rectifier is not connected with the energy storage capacitor in parallel, all the LED arrays do not flow current at or near the periodic zero crossing point of the alternating current, and low-frequency stroboscopic is generated.

Means III: on the basis of the second means, an energy storage capacitor is connected in parallel with the AC rectification output end. If the capacity of the energy storage capacitor is large enough, the change amplitude of the pulsating direct current voltage of the rectification output is small when the commercial power is stable, and the multi-section LED is fully conducted and basically has no stroboscopic effect. However, when the mains supply falls to a certain range, it is inevitable that periodically, some of the LEDs are turned on and some of the LEDs are turned off, i.e. when the mains voltage is low, a low frequency strobe is also generated. Likewise, the conduction voltage drop of the configured LED array cannot be too high, otherwise, the adaptability of the LED array to ac grid voltage fluctuation is affected, and low-frequency stroboscopic effect is caused by insufficient light emission when the grid voltage is low; when the on-voltage drop of the configured LED array is low, the efficiency of the lighting device is low; that is, in the prior art, the lighting device including the multi-segment LED array cannot achieve both reduction of the low-frequency strobe, improvement of the efficiency, and adaptation to a wide range of mains fluctuation.

As shown in fig. 3, those skilled in the art also know that the average value of the rectified voltage is detected by the resistor R1, the resistor R2 and the capacitor CF or similar means to control the power flowing through the LED to decrease with the increase of the input voltage, and the LED is relatively stable by compromising the light emission amount of the LED in exchange for the input power, however, the resistor R1 more or less inevitably introduces a pulsating component of the rectified voltage, which causes the current of the LED to vary with the pulsating period of the rectified voltage, so as to generate a low-frequency strobe, and on the other hand, when the pulsating dc voltage of the rectified output is periodically low enough to not drive the LED array, the low-frequency strobe problem still cannot be solved.

The first means has lower power factor but lower low-frequency stroboscopic effect under rated grid voltage; means two has higher power factor but low frequency flash; the third means is the compromise result of the first means and the second means, and in combination with the constant power means as shown in fig. 3, the method brings a habitual thinking to the person skilled in the art: for linear current source driven lighting devices, the purpose of varying the LED drive current is to achieve higher power factors or lower current harmonics, or to keep the power at the ac grid input constant, which more or less sacrifices the amount of lighting of the lighting device and increases the low frequency strobe.

In particular, it is known that varying the current of an LED varies the amount of light emitted by the LED, which in turn causes a strobe. This is certainly true on the premise that the LED on does not change, and therefore, one skilled in the art has always tended to reduce the strobe by controlling the current of the LED constant. The common means are: the energy storage capacitor with large capacity is connected in parallel with the LED and the current source with stable series connection is connected in series with the LED, such as a first means and a third means, or the LED with lower conduction voltage drop is used, and the improvement of low-frequency stroboscopic is traded off by compromising energy conversion efficiency. One skilled in the art ignores an important fact: the lighting device is a luminous body, the luminous effect of which is produced jointly by all luminous sources (single LEDs) inside. The mere concern of the person skilled in the art about the strobing of a fixed/local light-emitting source rather than the strobing of the entire light-emitting body has led to technical prejudice and limited innovations.

Furthermore, those skilled in the art always expect: it is also a technical prejudice that the current of the LEDs inside a lighting device driven by a linear current source is as stable and ripple free as possible. The strobe of the lighting device is generated by periodic light waves, not by high or low luminous flux, and the unacceptable strobe is only a strobe of a specific frequency range, not a strobe of all frequency ranges. Improving the luminous effect of a lighting device is usually only needed to improve the strobe in a specific frequency range.

Thus, it is generally recognized by those skilled in the art that: for a lighting device powered by mains supply, the linear current source driving scheme cannot achieve the three indexes of energy conversion efficiency, luminous stroboscopic and adaptability to a wider range of mains supply power. This general knowledge limits innovations in linear current source drive schemes by those skilled in the art.

And, the switching power supply schemes for driving lighting devices are increasingly sophisticated and lower in cost, and it is well known that the switching power supply schemes have advantages over linear current sources in terms of technical maturity, versatility, flexibility, insulation safety, etc., which also limit the power for innovation by those skilled in the art.

Moreover, generally, the field test for stroboscopic lighting devices is performed at rated voltage, while the actual grid voltage fluctuates within a certain range, which causes the person skilled in the art to further ignore the potential problem in such a practical application: the strobing of the lighting device may frequently occur in actual utility power application scenarios.

Based on the above habitual awareness and technical prejudice, the development and innovation of linear current sources is limited. No prior art has been proposed yet: by varying the number of LEDs that are turned on and adjusting the current of the LEDs that are turned on, the low frequency strobe of the lighting device is improved. Since this is generally believed to be not beneficial for improving strobe, one skilled in the art has no motivation to improve low frequency strobe by adjusting current.

When the potential needs are realized, the inventor of the invention overcomes the related technical prejudice of the person skilled in the art, adopts the technical means of adjusting the current and adjusting the conducting LED array, which are abandoned by the person due to the technical prejudice, further solves the technical problems of eliminating or reducing the stroboscopic effect of the lighting devices such as LEDs and the like, and improves the energy conversion efficiency and the capability of adapting to the change of the power grid voltage.

The inventors of the present invention have realized that by bypassing a portion of the LEDs to accommodate a wider range of mains fluctuations, then by bypassing different LED loops alternately/alternately by means of a switching unit, all LEDs can be lit up in one ac rectified voltage cycle to improve the lighting effect of the lighting device, then that the power can be maintained substantially constant by controlling the current of the loop in which the LED array is located to be relatively small, and/or that the switching unit is configured to be structurally configured to operate in a constant loop continuously during at least one pulsing period or to operate in at least two bypass loops alternately/alternately conducting at a certain frequency during mains operation, and controlling the gradual switching between different loops during mains operation to reduce or eliminate low frequency stroboscopic and improve the lighting effect, then further by trial and error determining to be significantly effective for improving the low frequency and further improving the lighting effect by positionally specific limited arrangement of the LED array, finally forming the complete concept of the present invention, and that the switching unit is configured to be structurally configured to be integrated in a more flexible manner and packaged for a more integrated frame.

Alternatively, one aspect of the invention is contemplated as follows: first, a portion of the LEDs may be bypassed to accommodate a wider range of mains fluctuations; secondly, by alternately/alternately bypassing different LED loops through the switch unit, all LEDs can be lightened in one alternating current rectification voltage period so as to improve the luminous effect of the lighting device; third, by controlling the current of the loop in which the LED array containing fewer turns on is located to be larger so as to maintain the power constant, and/or by controlling the driving circuit to continuously operate in one fixed loop or at least two bypass loops alternately/alternately turned on at a certain frequency in at least one pulsing period when the power is supplied by the pulsating direct current voltage rectified by the mains, and controlling gradual conversion between different loops when the mains is powered, the low-frequency stroboscopic effect is reduced or eliminated and the luminous effect is improved; fourth, it was confirmed through trial and error that the improvement of the low frequency flash was remarkably effective; fifth, the low frequency strobe is improved still further by performing a specific restrictive layout of the LED array in position; sixth, the switch unit is electrically configured as both a floating ground and a common ground to facilitate easier implementation into a unitary integrated circuit package; seventh, a double-base island package frame is designed corresponding to the floating and common-ground structures.

The driving circuit in some embodiments of the present invention allows the voltage of a power supply source such as a direct current source to be higher than or not higher than the conduction voltage drop of n LED arrays, when the voltage is higher than the conduction voltage drop of LEDs, all LED currents are stably controlled to be a smaller value by a current source connected in series to a main circuit of LEDs, when the voltage is not higher than the conduction voltage drop of LEDs, a part of LEDs is bypassed, and the current of the remaining other part of LEDs is controlled to be a larger value, the more LEDs are bypassed, the current of the remaining other part of LEDs is controlled to be larger, and according to the number of the remaining other part of LEDs, a suitable larger value is configured, so that the light emission amount of LEDs is approximately unchanged, and/or when the pulsating direct current voltage rectified by the mains supply is supplied, the driving circuit is controlled to continuously operate in the main circuit, or a fixed bypass circuit, or at least two bypass circuits alternately/alternately switched at a certain frequency in at least one pulse period, and when the mains voltage value or the mains voltage range is changed to a different frequency, the control loop is controlled to be switched to be a different, and the light emission effect is reduced or the effect is improved.

When the supply voltage is periodically changed, for example, a pulsating dc voltage output by an ac power supply after rectification and filtering, possible operation modes are:

1) The pulsating direct current voltage is always larger than the n LED array conduction voltage drops, and the LED array current is always controlled to run at a smaller value, so that the power or luminous flux is basically constant, and no low-frequency flash exists;

2) The pulsating dc voltage cannot make all the n LED arrays conductive, i.e.: the power supply voltage is smaller than the conduction voltage drop when all the n LED arrays are conducted, but is always larger than the conduction voltage drop of the rest other part of the LED arrays which are not bypassed after bypassing one part of the LED arrays, the current of the rest other part of the LED arrays is always controlled to be operated at a larger value, the power or the luminous flux is kept to be basically constant and is basically the same as that in 1), and then basically no low-frequency flash exists in the switching process between a plurality of different loops.

3) The driving circuit of the related embodiment may control the supply of substantially constant electric power to the n LED arrays such that the n LED arrays have a stable luminous flux, when the supply voltage is periodically changed according to 1) and 2) above, the current of the n LED arrays is controlled to a small value when the main loop is operated, and the current of the other part of the LED arrays remaining after bypassing a part of the LED arrays is controlled to a large value when the LED arrays are turned on to operate. In this case, the light emission amount of the single LED array periodically varies, but the total light emission amount of the n LEDs is unchanged. Whereas for an average user of the lighting device controlled by the associated driving circuit, when the user or the test instrument is very close to the LED, the light emitting strobe of the single LED unit may be perceived; as the user or test instrument gets farther from the LED array, the amount of light emitted by the overall LED is perceived more and more, and thus the perceived strobe is lower and lower. Experiments prove that when the commercial power voltage of the product designed by the embodiment is reduced by 10%, the actually tested low-frequency flash depth is less than 5%, and compared with the traditional scheme, the product has obvious improvement effect and can meet most of lighting requirements.

4) When the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage supplied by the mains supply is always larger than the conduction voltage drop of the n LED arrays in at least one pulsating period, the control driving circuit operates in the main loop, and when the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage supplied by the mains supply is insufficient to drive the conduction voltage drop of the n LED arrays, the control driving circuit continuously operates in the corresponding bypass loop or at least two bypass loops alternately/alternately conducted at a certain frequency in at least one pulsating period, so that the low-frequency flash can be eliminated. Experiments prove that: when the commercial power voltage is reduced by 10%, the low-frequency flash depth of the actual test is smaller than 2.5%, and compared with the traditional scheme, the product designed by the embodiment has obvious improvement effect and can meet most of lighting requirements.

5) Because the bypass LED array has larger change of the luminous brightness compared with the bypass LED array, in order to reduce the influence of the bypass LED array on the whole luminous of the lighting device, the bypass LED array is distributed in a targeted way or is staggered with other LED arrays which cannot be bypassed, so that the low-frequency stroboscopic effect of the lighting device can be further reduced or eliminated, and the luminous effect is improved.

Based in part on these technical biases that exist to those skilled in the art, and through extensive analytical studies, the inventors have proposed a number of embodiments of the present invention with significant improvements.

Example 1

The embodiment provides a control circuit and a driving circuit, as shown in fig. 5, the control circuit 1 is used for controlling an electric loop formed by connecting a direct current power supply U and n LED groups LED1 … LEDn in series, and the control circuit 1 comprises a control unit D1 and m separation switch units Q1 … Qm; wherein n is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and m is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to n. The driving circuit 2 includes a control circuit 1 and a dc power supply U, n LED groups LED1 … LEDn.

The LED group LED1 … LEDn is an LED combination formed by connecting 1 or more LEDs in series or in parallel respectively; the switching units Q1 … Qm respectively correspond to one LED group, when the switching units are turned on, the corresponding LED groups are bypassed, when the switching units are turned off, the corresponding LED groups are turned on so that the corresponding LED groups are turned on or off, in fig. 5, the switching units Q1 correspond to LEDs 1, the switching units Q2 correspond to LEDs 2, and the switching units Qm correspond to LEDs n; the control unit D1 is connected to the m sub-switch units, respectively, and controls the on or off of the sub-switch unit Q1 … Qm.

The correspondence relation of each of the sub-switching units and the LED groups is not limited to fig. 5, and the numbers of m and n may be equal, as a schematic circuit configuration of the control circuit 1 and the driving circuit 2 in m=n=3 shown in fig. 7; the number of m and n may also be unequal, as shown in fig. 8, with only one separate switching unit Q1 corresponding to each of the two ends of the LED 2.

The foregoing series connection includes direct connection through a wire or indirect connection through any device, such as a resistor, and the order of connection is not limited, and the following series connection is meant to be the same.

The switching unit Q1 … Qm includes a field effect transistor and/or a triode. The dc power supply includes a constant dc power supply, which refers to a non-periodically fluctuating dc power supply, such as a battery output or a dc power supply generated by a high frequency switching power supply, or a pulsating dc power supply. The pulsating direct current power supply refers to a periodically fluctuating direct current power supply, such as a power supply supplied by alternating current rectification or a power supply converted by other conversion modes; the rectifying mode includes full-bridge rectification, full-wave rectification, half-wave rectification or voltage doubling rectification, for example, the pulsating direct current power supply shown in fig. 2 includes a mains supply, a rectifier and at least one capacitor, the input end of the rectifier is connected with the mains supply, the capacitor is connected in parallel with two ends of the direct current output end of the rectifier, and the direct current output end of the rectifier outputs a pulsating direct current voltage with a pulsating period to supply power.

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups LED1 … LEDn, the control unit D1 cuts off the m separation switch units Q1 … Qm to form a main loop comprising the n LED groups LED1 … LEDn and the direct current power supply U, and the n LED groups LED1 … LEDn in the main loop are all conducted.

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of n LED groups LED1 … LEDn, the control unit D1 turns on at least one of the separation switch units and cuts off the rest of the separation switch units to form a separation loop comprising the direct current power supply U, the conduction LED groups and the conduction separation switch units, wherein the conduction LED groups comprise the LED groups corresponding to the cut-off separation switch units and the LED groups which are not corresponding to the separation switch units and are always conducted, and the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the conduction LED groups is smaller than the output voltage of the direct current power supply U.

In the embodiment, when the output voltage of the direct current power supply is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of all the LED groups, all the LED groups are conducted; under the condition that the output voltage of the direct current power supply is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of all the LED groups, the LED lamp cannot be lighted when the output voltage is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of all the LED groups by controlling the conduction or the cut-off of the sub-switch units and selecting the sub-loop to conduct part of the LED groups in the circuit.

Example two

The embodiment is further optimized based on the first embodiment, and provides a control circuit and a driving circuit, wherein the control circuit 1 comprises a control unit D1 and m sub-switch units Q1 … Qm, and further comprises a current limiting device Q0, wherein the current limiting device Q0 is connected in series with a direct current power supply U and an electric loop formed by connecting n LED groups LED1 … LEDn in series; wherein n is an integer greater than or equal to 2, and m is an integer greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to n. The driving circuit 2 includes a control circuit 1 and a dc power supply U, n LED groups LED1 … LEDn.

The current limiting device Q0 may be a resistor, a field effect transistor and/or a triode, and may be disposed at a desired position in the control circuit 1 and the driving circuit 2. When the current limiting device Q0 is a field effect transistor and/or a triode, a specific circuit structure is shown in fig. 6.

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups LED1 … LEDn, the control unit D1 cuts off the m separation switch units Q1 … Qm to form a main loop comprising a current limiting device Q0, the n LED groups LED1 … LEDn and the direct current power supply U, and the n LED groups LED1 … LEDn in the main loop are all conducted. The control unit D1 is connected to the current limiting device Q0, and sets the main loop current flowing through the main loop by controlling the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0.

The sub-circuits are sequentially sequenced into multi-level priority sub-circuits from high to low according to the proximity of the sum of the voltage drops of the conducted LED groups to the output voltage of the direct current power supply U, for example, the first-level priority sub-circuit and the second-level priority sub-circuit … sequentially represent multi-level priority sub-circuits which are arranged from high to low according to the proximity of the sum of the voltage drops of the conducted LED groups to the output voltage, and the multi-level priority sub-circuits are also arranged from high to low in efficiency in the process of converting the energy of the direct current power supply U in the circuits to the energy of the LED groups. The control unit D1 also controls the driving circuit 2 to alternately operate at least two different sub-circuits selected from the plurality of sub-circuits at an alternate frequency. Wherein, the LED groups conducted in at least two different sub-loops comprise all n LED groups LED1 … LEDn, so that all the LED groups can be conducted in one rotation period; and at least two different sub-circuits comprise at least a first-stage priority sub-circuit and a second-stage priority sub-circuit, optimizing the efficiency of the operation of the drive circuit 2.

The control unit D1 controls the sub-loop current flowing through the sub-loop, and controls the sub-loop current to be larger than the main loop current, and the sub-loop current of the low-level priority sub-loop to be larger than the sub-loop current of the high-level priority sub-loop, so that the variation range of the output power of the dc power supply U does not exceed a first preset threshold, that is, when the driving circuit 2 operates in the main loop, the first-level priority sub-loop, the second-level priority sub-loop … or any other sub-loop, the variation range of the sum of the power of the LED group conducted in the circuit, the power of the current limiting device Q0 and the power of the conducted sub-switching unit does not exceed the first preset threshold, that is, the power drawn by each sub-loop current from the dc power supply U and the power drawn by the main loop current from the dc power supply U are as close as possible, and the power variation of the driving circuit 2 is reduced or eliminated. Wherein the smaller the value of the first preset threshold, the better the effect.

Or the control unit D1 controls the sub-loop current to be larger than the main loop current, and the sub-loop current of the low-level priority sub-loop to be larger than the sub-loop current of the high-level priority sub-loop, so that the difference value between the luminous quantity of the LED group conducted in the sub-loop and the luminous quantity of n LED groups of the main loop does not exceed a second preset threshold value, and the change of the luminous brightness of the LED units in the driving circuit 2 under different direct current voltages can be reduced or even eliminated; when the DC power supply U is a pulsating DC power supply, the stroboscopic effect is reduced or even eliminated. Wherein the smaller the value of the second preset threshold, the better the effect.

When the direct current power supply is a pulsating direct current power supply, the periodically fluctuating direct current voltage causes the periodic operation and stop of the sub-loops or the periodic switching between different sub-loops. The control unit D1 controls the rotation frequency of the rotation operation of different sub-loops, so that the rotation conduction times of each LED group in different unit time are unchanged as much as possible, the luminous quantity of the corresponding LED group in different unit time is approximately constant, the stable luminous quantity of the LEDs is facilitated, the larger the rotation frequency is, the better the effect is, and when the rotation frequency exceeds the audio frequency, the mechanical vibration sound caused by the rotation frequency is not easy to be perceived by human hearing.

It should be noted that, the first-stage priority circuit, the second-stage priority circuit …, or any other priority circuit merely represents the order of the voltage drops of the LED groups that are turned on and the voltage drops of the dc power supply U at the output voltage of the specific dc power supply, and the priority orders of the sub-circuits may be different at different dc voltages.

The specific case of the present embodiment will be described below by taking a driving circuit with n=3 and m=3 as an example, and a schematic circuit configuration is shown in fig. 7.

For convenience of explanation of the embodiment idea of fig. 7, it is assumed that under the same driving current, the luminous quantity per unit power of each LED group is the same, and the conduction voltage drops of three LED groups LED1, LED2, and LED3 are V1, V2, and V3, respectively, where V1 is greater than or equal to V2 is greater than or equal to V3, and v2+v3 is greater than or equal to V1; the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is V.

When V is greater than or equal to v1+v2+v3, the control unit D1 controls the 3 sub-switching units to be turned off, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to turn on the main loop formed by the direct current power supply U, the first LED group LED1, the second LED group LED2, the third LED group LED3 and the current limiting device Q0 with the main loop current IM, at this time, the output power pm=v×im of the direct current power supply, the light emission quantity lm=im× (v1+v2+v3) ×km of the LED groups, where KM is the corresponding light emission quantity of the unit power of the LED groups when driving the current IM.

When V < v1+v2+v3, the present embodiment has six different sub-circuits, i.e., the first to sixth sub-circuits, according to the on/off states of the different sub-switch units, as shown in table 1:

TABLE 1

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A first sub-loop: the first sub-switching unit Q1, the second sub-switching unit Q2 and the third sub-switching unit Q3 are turned off, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to conduct the first sub-loop consisting of the direct current power supply U, the first LED group LED1, the second LED group LED2, the third sub-switching unit Q3 and the current limiting device Q0 by a first current I1, the power P1=V×I1 of the first sub-loop, the luminous quantity L1= (V1 +V 2) multiplied by I1×K1 of the LED group, and K1 is the corresponding luminous quantity of unit power when the LED group drives the current I1;

a second sub-loop: the first sub-switching unit Q1 and the third sub-switching unit Q3 are turned off, the second sub-switching unit Q2 is turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to conduct the direct current power supply U with the second current I2, and a second sub-loop consisting of the first LED group LED1, the third LED group LED3, the second sub-switching unit Q2 and the current limiting device Q0, wherein the power P2=V×I2 of the second sub-loop, the luminous quantity L2= (V1 +V 3) multiplied by I2 multiplied by K2, and K2 is the corresponding luminous quantity of unit power of the LED group when the current I2 is driven;

Third branch loop: the second sub-switching unit Q2 and the third sub-switching unit Q3 are turned off, the first sub-switching unit Q1 is turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to conduct the third sub-loop consisting of the direct current power supply U, the second LED group LED2, the third LED group LED3, the first sub-switching unit Q1 and the current limiting device Q0 with a third current I3, the power P3=V×I3 of the third sub-loop, the luminous quantity L3= (V2 +V 3) x I3×K3 of the LED group is the corresponding luminous quantity of unit power of the LED group when the current I3 is driven;

Fourth branch loop: the first sub-switching unit Q1 is turned off, the second sub-switching unit Q2 and the third sub-switching unit Q3 are turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to conduct the direct current power supply U with the fourth current I4, a fourth sub-loop is formed by the first LED group LED1, the second sub-switching unit Q2, the third sub-switching unit Q3 and the current limiting device Q0, the power P4=V×I4 of the fourth sub-loop, the luminous quantity L4=V 1×I4×K4 of the LED group is the corresponding luminous quantity of unit power when the LED group drives the current I4;

fifth branch loop: the second sub-switching unit Q2 is turned off, the first sub-switching unit Q1 and the third sub-switching unit Q3 are turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to conduct the direct current power supply U with a fifth current I5, a fifth sub-loop is formed by the second LED group LED2, the first sub-switching unit Q1, the third sub-switching unit Q3 and the current limiting device Q0, the power P5=V×I5 of the fifth sub-loop, the luminous quantity L5=V 2×I5×K5 of the LED group is the corresponding luminous quantity of unit power when the LED group drives the current I5;

Sixth branch loop: the third sub-switching unit Q3 is turned off, the first sub-switching unit Q1 and the second sub-switching unit Q2 are turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to conduct the sixth sub-loop composed of the dc power supply U, the third LED group LED3, the first sub-switching unit Q1, the second sub-switching unit Q2 and the current limiting device Q0 with a sixth current I6, the power p6=v×i6 of the sixth sub-loop, the light emission quantity l6=v3×i6×k6 of the LED group is the corresponding light emission quantity of the unit power of the LED group when the current I6 is driven.

The working idea of the embodiment is described below according to the change condition of the output voltage of the direct current power supply.

When v1+v2+v3> V is greater than or equal to v1+v2, the first to sixth sub-loops are sequentially ordered into first to sixth priority loops, and in theory, the control unit D1 may control any one of the first to sixth priority loops to operate or any multiple of the rotation operations. From the viewpoint of efficiency conversion optimization, selecting a first priority loop operation; the first priority loop and the second priority loop are selected to run alternately from the standpoint of efficiency conversion optimization and the lighting effect is improved by the LED groups being all lit.

When v1+v2> V is equal to or greater than v1+v3, the second to sixth sub-circuits are sequentially ordered into first to fifth priority sub-circuits, and in theory, the control unit D1 may control any one of the first to fifth priority sub-circuits to operate or any multiple of the rotation operations. From the viewpoint of efficiency conversion optimization, selecting a first priority loop operation; the first priority loop and the second priority loop are selected to run alternately from the standpoint of efficiency conversion optimization and the lighting effect is improved by the LED groups being all lit.

When v1+v3> V is equal to or greater than v2+v3, the third to sixth sub-loops are sequentially ordered into first to fourth priority loops, and in theory, the control unit D1 may control any one of the first to fourth priority loops to operate or any multiple of the rotation operations. From the viewpoint of efficiency conversion optimization, selecting a first priority loop operation; the first priority loop and the second priority loop are selected to run alternately from the standpoint of efficiency conversion optimization and the lighting effect is improved by the LED groups being all lit.

When v2+v3> V is equal to or greater than V1, the fourth to sixth sub-circuits are sequentially ordered into first to third priority sub-circuits, and in theory, the control unit D1 may control any one of the first to third priority sub-circuits to operate or any multiple of the rotation operations. From the viewpoint of efficiency conversion optimization, selecting a first priority loop operation; the first priority circuit, the second priority circuit, and the third priority circuit are selected to be operated alternately from the viewpoint of improving the illumination effect when the LED groups are all lit.

When V1> V is more than or equal to V2, the fifth and sixth sub-loops are sequentially sequenced into a first and second priority loop, and in theory, the control unit D1 can control any one of the first and second priority loops to run or two turns to run. From the viewpoint of efficiency conversion optimization, selecting a first priority loop operation; from the standpoint of improving the illumination effect when the LED groups are all lit, neither the first priority loop nor the second priority loop can be realized.

When V2> V.gtoreq.V3, only one sixth sub-loop can be operated, only the third LED group LED3 can be lit.

When V < V3, all the sub-loops are not running and all the LED groups are not lit.

The control unit D1 controls the sub-loop current and the main loop current of the first to sixth sub-loops, so that PM (P1) P2P 3P 4P 5P 6 is equal to or greater than V3, the output power change of the direct current power supply does not exceed a first preset threshold value, or LM (L1) L2L 3L 4L 5L 6 is equal to or greater than L3, and the luminous quantity change of the LED group does not exceed a second preset threshold value when V is greater than or equal to V3, so that the brightness change is reduced or eliminated. When V is more than or equal to V < 2+ > V < 3 >, the first priority loop and the second priority loop are selected to run alternately, so that all the LED groups are lighted; or when V is larger than or equal to V1, the first priority loop, the second priority loop and the third priority loop are selected to run alternately so that all LED groups are lighted. It should be noted that, in order to simplify the complexity of the circuit design, in practical application, only the difference between the power of a part of the sub-circuits and the power of the main circuit may be set to be not more than a first preset threshold, for example, only the sub-circuits with high priority level may be set; likewise, it is also possible to set only partial loops in which the difference between the light emission amount of the LED group of the partial loop and the light emission amount of the LED group of the main loop does not exceed a second preset threshold, for example, only partial loops having a high priority level.

When n=2 and m=1 are taken, the schematic circuit configurations of the control circuit 1 and the driving circuit 2 are shown in fig. 8, and the time-division switching unit Q1 corresponds to the LED2, and the following implementation concept is implemented:

for convenience of explanation of the idea of the embodiment of fig. 8, it is assumed that under the same driving current, the unit power light-emitting amounts of the first LED group LED1 and the second LED group LED2 are the same, the on-voltage drop of the first LED group is V1, and the on-voltage drop of the second LED group is V2; the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is V.

When V is greater than or equal to v1+v2, the control unit D1 controls the sub-switching unit Q1 to be turned off, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to turn on the main loop formed by the direct current power supply U, the first LED group LED1, the second LED group LED2 and the current limiting device Q0 with the main loop current IM, at this time, the output power pm=v×im of the direct current power supply, and the light emission quantity lm=im× (v1+v2) ×km of the LED group, where KM is the corresponding light emission quantity per unit power of the LED group when driving the current IM.

When v1+v2> V is greater than or equal to V1, the separation switch unit Q1 is turned on, and the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to turn on the sub-loop formed by the dc power supply U, the first LED group LED1, the sub-switch unit Q1 and the current limiting device Q0 with the sub-loop power p1=vχi1, the light emission quantity l1=v1×i1×k1 of the LED group, and K1 is the corresponding light emission quantity of the unit power of the LED group when driving the current I1.

When V1> V, both the main loop and the sub-loop cannot operate, and all the LED groups cannot be lighted.

The control unit D1 controls the main loop current and the sub-loop current to enable PM (pulse width modulation) to be equal to P1, so that when V is equal to or larger than V1, the output power change of the direct current power supply does not exceed a first preset threshold value, or LM (pulse width modulation) to be equal to L1, and when V is equal to or larger than V1, the luminous quantity change of the LED group does not exceed a second preset threshold value, and brightness change is reduced or eliminated.

It is to be noted that the assumption in the above embodiment is not a necessary condition, and the control unit D1 may control the operation states of the different sub-switch units to be changed without departing from the concept of the present invention, so that the expected effect of the present invention may still be achieved. The same is true for the assumptions in the following embodiments. In contrast to fig. 7, in fig. 8, only one switching unit is formed, and the switching on of at least two switching units cannot be realized. But the circuit of fig. 8 is simple and low in implementation cost.

When the current limiting device Q0 is a resistor, a specific circuit configuration is shown in fig. 9. The current limiting device Q0 is a resistor, which is not directly connected with the control unit D1, the current of the resistor Q0 is directly proportional to the voltage VQ0 at two ends of the resistor Q0, the voltage VQ0 is not directly controlled by the control unit D1, but is determined by the output voltage V of the dc power supply U and the sum VZ of the conduction voltage drops of the main circuit or the LED groups in the sub-circuit, where the formula is expressed as follows: vq0=v-VZ, VZ is related to the LED group being turned on, and to the on or off state of the control unit controlling the sub-switching unit, so the voltage VQ0 across the resistor Q0 and the current across the resistor Q0 are also controlled by the control unit D1. The sum of the conduction voltage drops of the LED groups of the main loop and the sub-loop is properly configured, so that the expected main loop current and the sub-loop current can be obtained. In engineering application, if the precision requirement on the LED current is not high, a resistor can be used for replacing a field effect transistor or a triode as a current limiting device to limit the wide fluctuation of the LED current for reducing the cost.

At least a part of the control circuit 1 in this embodiment is integrated in one or more integrated circuits, at least a part comprising at least one of a sub-switching unit, a part or all of the control unit, and a current limiting device. Still further, at least a portion of the rectifier in the drive circuit 2 may be included in one or more of the integrated circuits.

In this embodiment, when the output voltage of the dc power supply is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of all the LED groups, all the LED groups operate with the main loop current; under the condition that the output voltage of the direct current power supply is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of all the LED groups, the sub-loop is selected to operate with the sub-loop current by controlling the conduction or the cut-off of the sub-switch unit, and the variation of the output power of the direct current power supply and/or the variation of the LED luminous quantity does not exceed a preset threshold value by setting the sub-loop current to be larger than the main loop current. And when the operation conditions of the multiple sub-loops are met, the multiple sub-loops are respectively sequenced into a first stage, a second stage and a priority sub-loop from high to low according to the proximity degree of the sum of the voltage drops of the conducted LED groups and the output voltage of the direct current power supply, the control circuit is controlled to alternately operate in at least two different sub-loops by one alternating frequency, and the at least two different sub-loops are selected from the multiple sub-loops. The LED groups that are selected to be on in the sub-loop include all LED groups so that all LED groups can be lit. The control sub-loop current is larger than the main loop current, the sub-loop current of the low-level priority sub-loop is larger than the sub-loop current of the high-level priority sub-loop, the change of the output power of the direct current power supply and/or the change of the luminous quantity of the LED does not exceed a preset threshold value when the main loop or any sub-loop operates is realized, and the luminous effect is improved. Further, the change of the luminous quantity of the LED does not exceed the preset threshold value, so that the luminous stroboscopic effect of the LED is reduced, and the damage to human eyes is reduced.

The preset thresholds are a first preset threshold and a second preset threshold, and may be a percentage of a nominal parameter of the specific article of merchandise, such as power, luminous flux, etc., identified on the article name plate, such as ± 3%.

Example III

The difference between this embodiment and the second embodiment is that the current limiting device Q0 and at least one LED group adjacent to the current limiting device Q0 form at least one serial branch, x of the m separate switch units Q1 … Qm are respectively connected in parallel at two ends of the serial branch, and the remaining m-x separate switch units are respectively connected in parallel at two ends of the corresponding LED group, as shown in fig. 10, x is an integer, where x is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m.

At this time, when the output voltage of the dc power supply U is greater than or equal to the sum of the on-voltage drops of all the LED groups, all the separate switching units are turned off, and the control unit D1 sets the main loop current by controlling the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0. When the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of all the LED groups, and when at least one of the x sub-switch units connected in parallel at two ends of the serial branch consisting of the corresponding LED group and the current limiting device Q0 is conducted, the current limiting device Q0 is bypassed by the conduction sub-switch units connected in parallel at two ends of the serial branch consisting of the corresponding LED group and the current limiting device Q0, and the sub-circuit does not comprise the current limiting device Q0 at this time, so the control unit D1 sets the sub-circuit current by controlling the conduction impedance of the conduction sub-switch units; when the x split switching units connected in parallel at two ends of the serial branch consisting of the corresponding LED group and the current limiting device Q0 are all turned off, the turned-on split switching units are connected in parallel at two ends of the corresponding LED group, the current limiting device Q0 is not bypassed any more, the split loop comprises the current limiting device Q0, and the control unit D1 sets the split loop current by controlling the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0.

Such a connection allows for easier integration of both the switching unit and the current limiting device Q0 in parallel across the series arm on one integrated circuit, reducing circuit size, such as an integrated circuit implemented using the dual island frame of some embodiments of the present invention.

Preferably, when the last-stage switching unit Qm is connected in parallel to two ends of the serial branch circuit formed by the corresponding LED group LEDn and the current limiting device Q0, the composition of the first-stage priority sub-circuit and the second-stage priority sub-circuit and the number of sub-circuits are not affected.

The control circuit and the driving circuit in fig. 8 are modified as described above to form a circuit in which the switching unit Q1 is connected in parallel to both ends of the serial branch circuit formed by the corresponding LED group LED2 and the current limiting device Q0 when n=2 and m=1 as shown in fig. 11. In fig. 11, it is assumed that the light emission amount per unit power of the first LED group LED1 and the second LED group LED2 is the same at the same driving current, the on-voltage drop of the first LED group is V1, and the on-voltage drop of the second LED group is V2; the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is V.

When v1+v2> V is greater than or equal to V1, the separation switch unit Q1 is turned on, the branch connected in series with the current limiting device Q0 and the second LED group LED2 is bypassed, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the separation switch unit Q1 to conduct the separation loop formed by the direct current source U, the first LED group LED1 and the separation switch unit Q1 with the separation loop current I1, the power p1=vχi1 of the separation loop, the light emission quantity l1=v1×i1×k1 of the LED group, and K1 is the corresponding light emission quantity of the unit power of the LED group when driving the current I1.

The control unit D1 controls the main loop current and the sub-loop current to enable PM (pulse width modulation) to be equal to P1, so that when V is equal to or larger than V1, the output power variation of the direct current power supply does not exceed a first preset threshold value, or LM (pulse width modulation) to be equal to L1, and when V is equal to or larger than V1, the luminous quantity variation of the LED group does not exceed a second preset threshold value, and brightness variation is reduced or eliminated. In addition, the current limiting device Q0, the separation switch unit Q1 and part or all of the control unit D1 are more easily integrated in the same integrated circuit, and have obvious cost advantages.

Example IV

The present embodiment provides a control method, as shown in fig. 12, including the steps of:

s1, judging the magnitude relation between the output voltage and the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, and respectively entering a step S21 and a step S22 according to the magnitude relation of the output voltage and the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups.

The control circuit judges the relation between the output voltage of the direct current power supply and the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups by detecting the voltage or current signals on the main circuit. Including but not limited to the following three ways of judgment:

firstly, directly detecting the output voltage of a direct current power supply, comparing the output voltage with the sum of conduction voltage drops of n LED groups, and determining the magnitude relation of the output voltage and the sum of conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups;

Secondly, detecting voltage signals at two ends of the current limiting device, when the voltage signals are larger than a preset voltage threshold, regarding that the output voltage of the direct current power supply is larger than the sum of conduction voltage drops of n LED groups, and otherwise regarding that the output voltage is smaller than the sum of conduction voltage drops of n LED groups;

Thirdly, by detecting the current signal flowing through the main loop (such as the current limiting device), when the current signal is larger than the preset current threshold, the output voltage of the direct current power supply is considered to be larger than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, otherwise, the output voltage is considered to be smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups.

Two conditions are judged according to the judging mode:

First case: step S21 is performed when the output voltage of the direct current power supply is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups;

second case: step S22 is performed when the output voltage of the direct current power supply is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups;

S21, cutting off m sub-switch units to form a main loop comprising n LED groups and a direct current power supply.

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, the direct current power supply can provide enough power supply for the n LED groups, so that the control unit cuts off m sub-switch units in the driving circuit to enable the n LED groups to be all conducted. At this time, the direct current power supply and the n LED groups are connected in series to form a main loop.

S22, at least one sub-switching unit is conducted, and the rest sub-switching units are cut off, so that a sub-loop comprising the conducted sub-switching units, the conducted LED group and the direct current power supply is formed.

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, the direct current power supply can not provide enough power supply for the n LED groups, so that the control unit turns on at least one sub-switch unit according to the output voltage and turns off the rest of the sub-switch units to enable the partial LED groups to be conducted. The sub-loop comprises a turned-on sub-switch unit, a turned-on LED group and a direct current power supply, the turned-on LED group comprises an LED group corresponding to the turned-off sub-switch unit and an LED group which is not corresponding to the sub-switch unit and is always turned on, and the sum of conduction voltage drops of the turned-on LED groups is smaller than the output voltage of the direct current power supply U.

In the embodiment, when the output voltage of the direct current power supply is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of all the LED groups, all the LED groups are conducted; under the condition that the output voltage of the direct current power supply is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of all the LED groups, the LED lamp cannot be lightened when the output voltage of the direct current power supply is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of all the LED groups by controlling the conduction or the cut-off of the sub-switch units and selecting the sub-loop to conduct part of the LED groups in the circuit.

Example five

This embodiment is further optimized on the basis of embodiment four, as shown in fig. 13. In step S21, when the main loop is formed, the control unit also controls the main loop current; in step S22, when forming the sub-loop, the control unit controls the sub-loop current, and the control unit also controls the sub-loop current to be larger than the main loop current.

Based on the fourth embodiment, the control unit controls the sub-loop current and the main loop current to make the sub-loop current larger than the main loop current, so that the change of the output power of the direct current power supply and/or the change of the light emitting quantity of the LED does not exceed the preset threshold value, and the change of the light emitting quantity of the LED is reduced or even eliminated.

Example six

The present embodiment is further optimized on the basis of the fifth embodiment, and the driving circuit is divided into two cases, and is controlled separately, as shown in fig. 14 and 15. Fig. 14 shows a first circuit configuration: the control method of the driving circuit when the m separation switch units are respectively connected in parallel with the two ends of the m corresponding LED groups; fig. 15 shows a second circuit configuration: the control method of the driving circuit comprises the steps of forming at least one serial branch by the current limiting device and at least one LED group adjacent to the current limiting device, wherein x of m sub-switch units are respectively connected in parallel at two ends of the serial branch, and the other m-x sub-switch units are respectively connected in parallel at two ends of the corresponding LED group.

As shown in fig. 14, when m separate switching units are respectively connected in parallel to both ends of the corresponding m LED groups, the control method includes the steps of:

step S1 is the same as the fourth embodiment, and will not be described here again.

In step S21, controlling the main loop current includes setting the main loop current through the impedance of the current limiting device.

In step S22, turning on at least one of the sub-switching units and turning off the remaining sub-switching units includes controlling the driving circuit to alternately operate at least two different sub-circuits selected from the plurality of sub-circuits at an alternate frequency; controlling the sub-loop current includes controlling the on-resistance of the current limiting device to set the sub-loop current.

The sub-switching units can form a plurality of sub-loops according to different on or off states, the sub-loops are respectively sequenced into a first stage, a second stage and a priority sub-loop from high to low according to the sum of voltage drops of the conducted LED groups and the output voltage, the driving circuit is controlled to alternately operate at least two different sub-loops selected from the plurality of sub-loops at an alternate frequency, namely the sub-switching units are alternately turned on or off at the alternate frequency, and the driving circuit is alternately operated on at least two different sub-loops.

Wherein, the LED groups conducted in the selected at least two different sub-loops should comprise all n LED groups, so that all the LED groups can be conducted in one rotation period; and the selected at least two different sub-loops at least comprise a first-level priority sub-loop and a second-level priority sub-loop, so that the operation efficiency of the driving circuit is ensured.

When m separate switch units are respectively connected in parallel at two ends of the m corresponding LED groups, all the separate loops comprise current limiting devices, so that the control of the separate loop current is realized by controlling the on-resistance of the current limiting devices.

As shown in fig. 15, the current limiting device and at least one LED group adjacent to the current limiting device form at least one serial branch, and when x of the m switching units are respectively connected in parallel at two ends of the serial branch and the other m-x switching units are respectively connected in parallel at two ends of the corresponding LED group, the control method comprises the following steps:

In step S22, turning on at least one of the sub-switching units and turning off the remaining sub-switching units includes controlling the driving circuit to alternately operate at least two different sub-circuits selected from the plurality of sub-circuits at an alternate frequency; when at least one of the x split switching units connected in parallel at two ends of a serial branch consisting of the corresponding LED group and the current limiting device is conducted, setting the current of the split loop by controlling the conducting resistance of the conducted split switching units; when x separate switch units connected in parallel at two ends of a serial branch consisting of the corresponding LED group and the current limiting device are cut off, the current of the separate loop is set through the impedance of the current limiting device.

The sub-switching unit can form a plurality of sub-loops according to different on or off states, the sub-loops are respectively sequenced into a first stage, a second stage and up to more stages of priority sub-loops from high to low according to the sum of voltage drops of the conducted LED groups, and the driving circuit is controlled to alternately operate at least two different sub-loops selected from the plurality of sub-loops at an alternate frequency. Wherein, the LED groups corresponding to the cut-off separating switches in the at least two different separating loops are selected to comprise all n LED groups, so that all the LED groups can be conducted in one rotation period; and the selected at least two different sub-loops at least comprise a first-level priority sub-loop and a second-level priority sub-loop, so that the operation efficiency of the driving circuit is ensured.

When the separate switch units connected in parallel with the two ends of the serial branch circuit formed by the corresponding LED group and the current-limiting device are all cut off, the on separate switch units are connected in parallel with the two ends of the corresponding LED group, and the current-limiting device is not bypassed, namely the current-limiting device is included in the current-dividing circuit, so that the current of the current-dividing circuit is set through the impedance of the current-limiting device.

When at least one of the branch switch units connected in parallel at two ends of the serial branch circuit formed by the corresponding LED group and the current-limiting device is conducted, the current-limiting device is bypassed, and the branch circuit does not comprise the current-limiting device at the moment, so that the current of the branch circuit is set by controlling the conducting resistance of the conducted branch switch units.

In the control process of the main loop current and the sub-loop current, when the current limiting device comprises a field effect transistor and/or a triode, the impedance of the current limiting device is realized by controlling the conduction degree of the field effect transistor and/or the triode; by setting the sub-loop current to be larger than the main loop current, the output power of the direct current power supply is changed, and/or the LED luminous quantity is changed to be not more than the expected range. When the operation conditions of a plurality of sub-loops are met, the sub-loop current is controlled to be larger than the main loop current, the sub-loop current of the low-level priority sub-loop is controlled to be larger than the sub-loop current of the high-level priority sub-loop, and the change of the output power of the direct current power supply and/or the change of the LED luminous quantity does not exceed a preset threshold value when the main loop or any sub-loop is operated. When the DC power supply is a pulsating DC power supply, the stroboscopic effect can be reduced or even eliminated.

It is to be noted that, in the fourth embodiment and the corresponding fig. 12, the fifth embodiment and the corresponding fig. 13, the sixth embodiment and the corresponding fig. 14 and fig. 15, three implementation methods and corresponding illustrations are provided, in which the step one, the step, etc. and the paragraph sequence, the sequence of the flow chart are only one way of describing the implementation method of the present invention, and not limiting the sequencing of the implementation method of the present invention, and many changes or modifications may be made to these embodiments without departing from the principle and essence of the present invention, but these changes and modifications fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

In the fifth embodiment, when the operating conditions of the multiple sub-circuits are satisfied, the multiple sub-circuits are ordered from high to low according to the sum of the voltage drops of the turned-on LED groups and the output voltage of the dc power supply to be the first stage, the second stage, and up to more stages of priority sub-circuits, and the driving circuit is controlled to alternately operate at least two different sub-circuits selected from the multiple sub-circuits at a rotation frequency. The LED groups that are selected to be on in the sub-loop include all LED groups so that all LED groups can be lit. Meanwhile, the sub-loop current is controlled to be larger than the main loop current, the sub-loop current of the low-level priority sub-loop is controlled to be larger than the sub-loop current of the high-level priority sub-loop, and the change of the output power of the direct current power supply and/or the change of the luminous quantity of the LED does not exceed a preset threshold value when the main loop or any sub-loop operates. Further, the change of the luminous quantity of the LED does not exceed the preset threshold value, so that the luminous stroboscopic effect of the LED is reduced, and the damage to human eyes is reduced.

Example seven

The present embodiment provides a lighting device manufactured by using the driving circuit described in the first to third embodiments.

Example eight

As shown in fig. 5, the present embodiment provides a control circuit 1 and a driving circuit 2, the control circuit 1 is configured to control the operation of n LED arrays, including: a control unit D1; and m switch units configured to couple m LED arrays of the n LED arrays respectively when the control circuit 1 drives the n LED arrays, wherein m and n are integers, n is greater than or equal to 2, m is greater than or equal to 1, and m is less than or equal to n.

Wherein, the n LED arrays are LED1 … LEDn, the m switch units are Q1 … Qm, and each switch unit corresponds to an LED array, specifically, as an example, fig. 5 shows a specific correspondence between a switch unit and an LED array: the switching unit Q1 corresponds to the LED1, the switching unit Q2 corresponds to the LED2, and the switching unit Qm corresponds to the LEDn, but this is not a limitation of the present embodiment, and those skilled in the art can understand that all the technical schemes of the one-to-one correspondence between the switching units and the LED array are all within the protection scope of the present embodiment.

When any switch unit is turned on, the corresponding LED array can be bypassed, and correspondingly, when any switch unit is turned off, the bypass of the corresponding LED array is canceled.

Wherein the m switching units bypass the corresponding one or more LED arrays by selective conduction controlled by the control unit D1, e.g. when Q1 is on, LED1 is bypassed; when Q1, Q2, and Qm are all on, LED1, LED2, and LEDn are all bypassed.

The m switch units are controlled by the control unit D1 to be selectively turned on, that is, turned on and turned off of the m switch units are controlled by the control unit D1, specifically, the m switch units respectively have control ends connected to the control unit D1 and are controlled by the control unit D1 to be switched to at least on, regulated or off states.

The m switch units may include one or any combination of a field effect transistor, a triode, a transistor, a power tube or a MOS tube, and may be an N type/NPN type device or a P type/PNP type device.

In this embodiment, the m switch units are taken as field effect transistors as examples, and more specifically, the field effect transistors may be N-type devices or P-type devices, and for convenience of description, the field effect transistors are taken as N-type devices as examples.

The driving voltage of the n LED arrays is provided by a dc power supply U, which may be a steady dc power supply or a pulsating dc power supply. The constant direct current power supply refers to a direct current power supply which fluctuates aperiodically, such as a storage battery output or a direct current power supply generated by a high-frequency switching power supply; the pulsating dc power supply refers to a periodically fluctuating dc power supply, such as a power supply supplied by ac rectification, or a power supply converted by other conversion means, where the rectification means includes full-bridge rectification, full-wave rectification, half-wave rectification, or voltage doubler rectification. The pulsating direct current power supply shown in fig. 2 comprises a mains supply, a rectifier and at least one capacitor, wherein the input end of the rectifier is connected with the mains supply, the capacitor is connected in parallel with the two ends of the direct current output end of the rectifier, and the direct current output end of the rectifier outputs a pulsating direct current voltage with a pulsating period so as to supply power.

In fig. 5, two connection lines between the control unit D1 and each of the split switch units Q1 … Qm are merely illustrative, and in practical application, one or more connection lines may be provided according to the specific embodiment of the split switch unit or the control unit D1.

It should be noted that m may be smaller than n, where a portion of the LED array cannot be bypassed by m switch units; m and n may be equal, in which case each of the n LED arrays may be bypassed by m switching units.

It should be noted that the foregoing series connection includes direct connection through a wire or indirect connection through any device, such as an electrical resistor, and the order of connection is not limited, and the meaning of series connection is the same as that mentioned below.

In the control circuit 1 provided in this embodiment, when the output voltage of the dc power supply U is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn, the control unit D1 turns off the m switch units Q1 … Qm to form a main loop including the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn and the dc power supply U, where the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn in the main loop are all turned on.

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn, the control unit D1 turns on at least one switching unit and turns off the remaining switching units, forming a bypass loop including the direct current power supply U, the turned-on switching units and the LED arrays that are not bypassed, wherein the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the LED arrays that are not bypassed is smaller than the output voltage of the direct current power supply U.

The LED array which is not bypassed at least comprises an LED array corresponding to the switch unit which is turned off, and when m is smaller than n, the LED array which is turned on also comprises an LED array which is not connected with the switch unit in parallel and cannot be bypassed.

The bypass circuit includes at least one on-state switching unit, so the switching unit may also be referred to as a sub-switching unit, and at least one LED array in the sub-circuit may also be referred to as a bypass circuit, and further, in this specification, for convenience of description, the sub-circuit, the bypass circuit, and the main circuit may also be collectively referred to as a circuit, and correspondingly, a current flowing through the sub-circuit may be referred to as a sub-circuit current, a current flowing through the bypass circuit may be referred to as a bypass circuit current, a current flowing through the main circuit may be referred to as a main circuit current, and a current flowing through the above-described circuits may be collectively referred to as a circuit current.

In the embodiment, when the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of n LED arrays, the n LED arrays are all conducted; when the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED arrays, the bypass loop is selected to conduct part of the LED arrays in the circuit by controlling the conduction or the cut-off of the switch unit, and the condition that the lighting device cannot be normally lightened when the output voltage is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED arrays does not occur.

Example nine

This embodiment is further optimized on the basis of some of the above embodiments, and as shown in fig. 6, a control circuit 1 and a driving circuit 2 are provided, and further includes a current limiting device Q0 connected in the control circuit 1 so as to form a series loop with the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn and the dc power supply U when the control circuit 1 drives the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn. The current limiting device Q0 is an N-type field effect transistor, and the control end thereof is connected to the control unit D1, and the on-resistance thereof can be set by the control of the control unit D1, so as to set the current flowing through the current limiting device Q0. Specifically, the current limiting device Q0 and the m switching units each have a control terminal connected to the control unit D1, and the current limiting device and/or at least a portion of the m switching units are operable to adjust respective on-resistances according to control signals of the respective control terminals, thereby setting currents of the corresponding main/bypass loops.

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn, the control unit D1 turns off the m switch units Q1 … Qm to form a main loop including the current limiting device Q0, the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn and the direct current power supply U, and the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn in the main loop are all turned on to obtain the highest possible energy conversion efficiency, and the control unit D1 controls the conduction resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to set the main loop current.

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn, the control unit D1 turns on at least one switching unit and turns off the rest of the switching units, at this time, although some LED arrays in the circuit are turned on, the situation that the LED arrays cannot be lighted is avoided, but the overall light-emitting brightness is correspondingly reduced due to the reduction of the number of the turned-on LED arrays. In order to solve this technical problem at least to a certain extent, in this embodiment, the current limiting device Q0 is set, and the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 is controlled by the control unit D1 to set the current flowing through the current limiting device Q0, so that in the main loop and the bypass loop, the power of the LED array that is turned on remains substantially unchanged, or the light emission amount of the LED array that is turned on remains substantially unchanged, and of course, in implementation, the power of the LED array that is turned on in the bypass loop may be controlled to be smaller than the power of the LED array that is turned on in the main loop, so that the power of the LED array is smaller when the output voltage of the dc power supply U is lower, or the output power of the dc power supply U is smaller when the output voltage of the dc power supply U is lower, which is more consistent with the characteristics of the conventional lighting such as an incandescent lamp.

The power of the LED array turned on in the main circuit and the bypass circuit is kept substantially unchanged, and specifically, as shown in fig. 7, the driving circuit 2 is described as an example in which n=3 and m=3.

The three LED arrays are respectively a first LED array LED1, a second LED array LED2 and a third LED array LED3, and the conduction voltage drops of the three LED arrays are respectively V1, V2 and V3, wherein V1 is more than or equal to V2 and more than or equal to V3, and V2+ V3 is more than or equal to V1; the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is V; the first switching unit Q1, the second switching unit Q2, and the third switching unit Q3 are respectively connected in parallel with the first to third LED arrays.

When V is greater than or equal to v1+v2+v3, the control unit D1 controls the three switching units to be turned off, and the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0, so that the current of a main loop formed by the direct current power supply U, the first LED array LED1, the second LED array LED2, the third LED array LED3 and the current limiting device Q0 is IM, at this time, the output power pm=v×im of the direct current power supply U, and the light emission quantity lm=im× (v1+v2+v3) ×km of the LED arrays, where KM is the corresponding light emission quantity per unit power of the LED arrays when the driving current is IM.

When V < v1+v2+v3, six different bypass loops, respectively, are formed according to the on-off states of the different switch units, as shown in table 2:

TABLE 2

First bypass circuit: the first switching unit Q1 and the second switching unit Q2 are turned off, the third switching unit Q3 is turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to conduct the direct current power supply U with the first current I1, a first bypass loop formed by the first LED array LED1, the second LED array LED2, the third switching unit Q3 and the current limiting device Q0, the power P1=V×I1 of the first bypass loop, the luminous quantity L1= (V1+V2) multiplied by I1×K1 of the LED array is the corresponding luminous quantity of unit power when the driving current of the LED array is I1;

a second bypass loop: the first switching unit Q1 and the third switching unit Q3 are turned off, the second switching unit Q2 is turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to conduct the direct current power supply U with the second current I2, the first LED array LED1, the third LED array LED3, the second switching unit Q2 and a second bypass loop formed by the current limiting device Q0, the power P2=V×I2 of the second bypass loop, the luminous quantity L2= (V1 +V 3) multiplied by I2 multiplied by K2, and K2 is the corresponding luminous quantity of unit power of the LED array when the driving current is I2;

third bypass loop: the second switching unit Q2 and the third switching unit Q3 are turned off, the first switching unit Q1 is turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to turn on the dc power supply U with a third current I3, a third bypass loop composed of the second LED array LED2, the third LED array LED3, the first switching unit Q1 and the current limiting device Q0, the power p3=v×i3 of the third bypass loop, the light emission quantity l3= (v2+v3) ×i3×k3 of the LED array, and K3 is the corresponding light emission quantity of the unit power of the LED array when the driving current is I3;

Fourth bypass circuit: the first switching unit Q1 is turned off, the second switching unit Q2 and the third switching unit Q3 are turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to conduct the direct current power supply U with a fourth current I4, a fourth bypass loop is formed by the first LED array LED1, the second switching unit Q2, the third switching unit Q3 and the current limiting device Q0, the power P4=V×I4 of the fourth bypass loop, the luminous quantity L4=V1×I4×K4 of the LED array is the corresponding luminous quantity of unit power when the driving current of the LED array is I4;

Fifth bypass loop: the second switching unit Q2 is turned off, the first switching unit Q1 and the third switching unit Q3 are turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to conduct the direct current power supply U with a fifth current I5, a fifth bypass loop is formed by the second LED array LED2, the first switching unit Q1, the third switching unit Q3 and the current limiting device Q0, the power p5=v×i5 of the fifth bypass loop, the light emission quantity l5=v2×i5×k5 of the LED array is the corresponding light emission quantity of the unit power of the LED array when the current I5 is driven;

Sixth bypass loop: the third switching unit Q3 is turned off, the first switching unit Q1 and the second switching unit Q2 are turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to conduct the dc power supply U with the sixth current I6, the third LED array LED3, the sixth bypass loop formed by the first switching unit Q1, the second switching unit Q2 and the current limiting device Q0, the power p6=v×i6 of the sixth bypass loop, the light emission amount l6=v3×i6×k6 of the LED array is the corresponding light emission amount of the unit power of the LED array when the current I6 is driven.

For convenience of explanation, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the light emission amount per unit power of each LED array is the same under the same driving current; the bypass loop current and the main loop current of the first to sixth bypass loops are controlled by the control unit D1, PM (P1) P2P 3P 4P 5P 6) is enabled to be equal to or smaller than a first preset threshold value, or LM (L1) L2L 3L 4L 5L 6) is enabled to be equal to or smaller than a second preset threshold value, and the luminous quantity change of the LED array is enabled to be not larger than a second preset threshold value when V is not smaller than V3, so that the luminous quantity change generated when the LED array is switched between the main loop and the bypass loop or between the bypass loops is reduced, and the lighting effect is improved.

The first preset threshold and the second preset threshold can be set according to actual demands of users. For example, the first preset threshold may be set to any one of 2%, 5% or 10% of the output power of the dc power supply U at the rated voltage; the second set threshold may be set as: when the output voltage of the dc power supply U is the rated voltage, the LED array emits light at any one of 2%, 5% or 10%. The first preset threshold and the second preset threshold are also applicable to other embodiments, and are not described in detail.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, the control process of the current of the main circuit/bypass circuit is described by controlling the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 as an example, in a practical application scenario, the m switch units also have control terminals and are operable to adjust the current of the corresponding bypass circuit according to the control signal of the control terminals, that is, the current flowing through at least part of the n LED arrays may also be adjusted jointly by the switch units and the current limiting device Q0.

By the control circuit provided in this embodiment, although the light emission amount or the output power of the LED array can be kept within a predetermined range in different bypass loops, the priorities of the first to sixth bypass loops are changed when the output voltage of the dc power supply U is changed based on the efficiency conversion and/or the lighting effect.

Specifically, when v1+v2+v3> V is equal to or greater than v1+v2, theoretically, the control unit D1 may control any one of the first to sixth bypass loops to operate or any multiple of the rotation operations to ensure the conduction of a part of the LED array. From the viewpoint of efficiency conversion optimization, the priorities of the first to sixth bypass circuits are sequentially lowered, that is, the first bypass circuit operation is preferentially selected; from the standpoint of both efficiency conversion and improved lighting effect, the first bypass loop and the second bypass loop are preferably alternately operated such that the entire LED array is lit at least once in one rotation period.

When v1+v2> V is greater than or equal to v1+v3, theoretically, the control unit D1 may control any one of the second to sixth bypass loops to operate or any multiple of the rotation operations to ensure the conduction of a part of the LED array. From the viewpoint of efficiency conversion optimization, the priorities of the second to sixth bypass circuits are sequentially lowered, that is, the second bypass circuit operation is preferentially selected; from the standpoint of both efficiency conversion and improved lighting effect, the second bypass loop and the third bypass loop are preferably alternately operated so that the entire LED array is lit at least once in one rotation period.

When v1+v3> V is equal to or greater than v2+v3, theoretically, the control unit D1 may control any one of the third to sixth bypass loops to operate or any multiple of the rotation operations to ensure the conduction of a part of the LED array. From the viewpoint of efficiency conversion optimization, the priorities of the third to sixth bypass circuits are sequentially lowered, that is, the third bypass circuit operation is preferentially selected; from the standpoint of both efficiency conversion and improved lighting effect, the third bypass loop and fourth bypass loop are preferably alternately operated so that the entire LED array is lit at least once in one rotation period.

When v2+v3> V is equal to or greater than V1, theoretically, the control unit D1 may control any one of the fourth to sixth bypass loops to operate or any multiple of the rotation operations to ensure the conduction of a part of the LED array. From the viewpoint of efficiency conversion optimization, the priorities of the fourth to sixth bypass circuits are sequentially lowered, that is, the fourth bypass circuit operation is preferentially selected; from the standpoint of both efficiency conversion and improved lighting effect, the fourth bypass loop, the fifth bypass loop, and the sixth bypass loop are preferably alternately operated so that the entire LED array is lit at least once in one rotation period.

When V1> V is greater than or equal to V2, the control unit D1 can theoretically control any one of the fifth and sixth bypass loops to operate or any multiple of the fifth and sixth bypass loops to operate alternately so as to ensure the conduction of part of the LED arrays. From the viewpoint of efficiency conversion optimization, the priorities of the fifth to sixth bypass circuits are sequentially lowered, that is, the fifth bypass circuit operation is preferentially selected; from the viewpoint of both efficiency conversion and improvement of the lighting effect, the fifth bypass loop and the sixth bypass loop are preferably selected to be operated alternately so that the number of LED arrays that are lit in one rotation period is as large as possible.

When V2> V.gtoreq.V3, only the sixth bypass loop is capable of achieving the conduction of the LED array, specifically, only the third LED array LED3 is capable of being lit.

When V < V3, all bypass loops are disabled and all LED arrays are not illuminated.

It should be noted that, in order to simplify the complexity of the circuit design, in practical application, only the difference between the power of a part of the bypass loop and the power of the main loop may be set to not exceed the first preset threshold, for example, only the bypass loop with higher priority level is set; likewise, it is also possible to set only the bypass loop having a higher priority, for example, only the bypass loop having a higher priority, in which the difference between the light emission amount of the LED array of the partial bypass loop and the light emission amount of the LED array of the main loop does not exceed the second preset threshold.

In addition, taking n=2 and m=1 as an example, as shown in fig. 8, for convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the unit power light emission amounts of the first LED array LED1 and the second LED array LED2 are the same under the same driving current, the on voltage drop of the first LED array is V1, and the on voltage drop of the second LED array is V2; the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is V.

When V is greater than or equal to v1+v2, the control unit D1 controls the switching unit Q1 to be turned off, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to turn on the main loop formed by the direct current power supply U, the first LED array LED1, the second LED array LED2 and the current limiting device Q0 with the main loop current IM, at this time, the output power pm=v×im of the direct current power supply, and the light emission quantity lm=im× (v1+v2) ×km of the LED array, where KM is the corresponding light emission quantity per unit power of the LED array when driving the current IM.

When v1+v2> V is greater than or equal to V1, the switching unit Q1 is turned on, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the current limiting device Q0 to turn on the bypass loop formed by the dc power supply U, the first LED array LED1, the switching unit Q1 and the current limiting device Q0 with the bypass loop power p1=vxi1, the light emission quantity l1=v1 xi1 xk 1 of the LED array, and K1 is the corresponding light emission quantity per unit power of the LED array when driving the current I1.

When V1> V, neither the main loop nor the bypass loop is operational and all the LED arrays cannot be illuminated.

The control unit D1 controls the main loop current and the bypass loop current to enable PM (pulse width modulation) to be equal to P1, so that when V is equal to or larger than V1, the output power change of the direct current power supply does not exceed a first preset threshold value, or LM (pulse width modulation) to be equal to L1, and when V is equal to or larger than V1, the luminous quantity change of the LED array does not exceed a second preset threshold value, and brightness change is reduced or eliminated.

It is to be noted that the assumption in the above embodiment is not a necessary condition, and the control unit D1 may control the operation states of the different switch units to be changed without departing from the concept of the present invention, so that the expected effect of the present invention may still be achieved. The same is true for the assumptions in the following embodiments.

Compared with fig. 7, only one switch unit is arranged in fig. 8, so that only one bypass loop can be formed, and although the alternate conduction of at least two bypass loops cannot be realized, the circuit in fig. 8 is simple, the realization cost is low, and the practical application value is high.

When the current limiting device Q0 is a resistor, a specific circuit configuration is shown in fig. 9. The current limiting device Q0 is a resistor, which is not directly connected with the control unit D1, the current of the resistor Q0 is directly proportional to the voltage VQ0 at two ends of the resistor Q0, the voltage VQ0 is not directly controlled by the control unit D1, but is determined by the output voltage V of the dc power supply U and the sum VZ of the conduction voltage drops of the LED arrays conducted in the main circuit or the bypass circuit, and the formula is expressed as follows: vq0=v-VZ, VZ is related to the LED array being turned on, and to the on or off state of the control unit controlling the switching unit, so the voltage VQ0 across the resistor Q0 and the current across the resistor Q0 are also controlled by the control unit D1. The sum of the conduction voltage drops of the LED arrays of the main loop and the bypass loop is properly configured, and the desired main loop current and bypass loop current can be obtained. In engineering application, if the precision requirement on the LED current is not high, a resistor can be used for replacing a field effect transistor or a triode as a current limiting device to limit the wide fluctuation of the LED current for reducing the cost.

Preferably, when at least one of the n LED arrays is bypassed, the current through the n LED arrays or the current of the bypass loop is adjusted by the control unit D1 to be greater than the current of the main loop when the n LED arrays are all on, i.e. the power of the LED arrays in the bypass loop is kept substantially unchanged, or the power variation does not exceed the first preset threshold, by adjusting the current in the bypass loop.

Although the current limiting device Q0 is exemplified by an N-type field effect transistor in the present embodiment, this is not limited to the present embodiment, and in some implementations, the current limiting device Q0 may be a combination device formed by one or more of a P-type field effect transistor, a triode, and a resistor, and when the current limiting device Q0 is formed by a resistor alone, the resistor is a variable resistor or a non-variable resistor.

Although the current limiting device Q0 is disposed downstream of the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn in the current direction in the present embodiment, this is not limited to the present embodiment, and in some embodiments, the current limiting device Q0 may be disposed upstream of the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn in the current direction, or between the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn.

Examples ten

The present embodiment is further optimized based on the foregoing embodiments, and provides a control circuit, where when m switch units are N-type devices, LED arrays corresponding to/coupled with the m switch units and a current limiting device Q0 are sequentially disposed along a current direction, where two ends of the x switch units are connected to an upstream of the current limiting device Q0, two ends of the remaining m-x switch units are connected to an upstream and a downstream of the current limiting device Q0 (or two ends of the remaining m-x switch units are connected to an upstream and a downstream of a serial body formed by connecting the current limiting device Q0 and at least one LED array in series, respectively), where x is an integer, and m is greater than or equal to x is greater than or equal to 0.

Taking the switching units as N-type devices, n=2, m=2, and x=1 as examples, as shown in fig. 38, the two LED arrays are respectively a first LED array LED1 and a second LED array LED2, and the first LED array LED1, the second LED array LED2, and the current limiting device Q0 are sequentially disposed along the current direction, the two switching units are respectively a first switching unit Q1 (x switching units described above) and a second switching unit Q2 (the remaining m-x switching units described above), the first switching unit Q1 is coupled with the first LED array LED1, that is, both ends thereof are connected to the upstream of the current limiting device Q0, and both ends of the second switching unit Q2 are respectively connected to the positive polarity end of the second LED array LED2 and the negative polarity end of the dc power supply U, that is, respectively connected to the upstream and downstream of the current limiting device Q0.

Correspondingly, when the m switch units are P-type devices, the current limiting device Q0 and the LED arrays corresponding to/coupled with the m switch units are sequentially arranged along the current direction, wherein two ends of the x switch units are connected to the downstream of the current limiting device Q0, two ends of the other m-x switch units are respectively connected to the upstream and downstream of the current limiting device Q0, x is an integer, and m is more than or equal to x and more than or equal to 0.

Wherein, the x switch units are Q1 … Qx and the m-x switch units are Qx+1 … Qm respectively.

Among them, x switching units Q1 … Qx may be referred to as floating switching units, and the remaining m-x switches among the m switching units may be referred to as common ground switching units, in view of differences in connection relationships thereof.

When x=0, the m switch units are all common-ground switch units.

When x=m, the m switch units are all floating switch units.

When m > x >0, the m switch units include both floating switch units and common-ground switch units.

Because the floating switch units and the current limiting devices cannot be connected in a common mode, the floating switch units and the current limiting devices need to be isolated/insulated from each other, the integration manufacturing difficulty is high, and the common-mode switch units are easier to integrate and have lower cost relatively.

Therefore, the value of x may be preferably small from the viewpoints of reducing the manufacturing cost and simplifying the manufacturing process. For example: 3 > x > 0 or 2 > x > 0, the control circuit 1 is more easily integrated in one chip in the case where the number x of floating switch units is relatively small, thereby achieving low cost advantages.

However, when there are a plurality of floating switch units and a plurality of common-ground switch units, each floating switch unit bypasses only the LED array connected in parallel therewith when turned on, and at most one of the plurality of common-ground switch units can bypass only the LED array connected in parallel therewith, and the other common-ground switch units collectively bypass the plurality of LED arrays when turned on, that is, the floating switch units are arranged, so that the formation of bypass loops of the LED arrays can be more various and flexible, and from this point of view, the value of x can be preferably larger, for example, m+.x+.m < -1 >.

The x switch units in the m switch units can be correspondingly connected in parallel with the x LED arrays in the m LED arrays, the other m-x switch units are respectively connected between one ends of the other m-x LED arrays and the output end of the direct current power supply U in a bridging manner, and the corresponding ends of the m-x LED arrays can be respectively conducted so that the corresponding ends of the m-x LED arrays can be looped back to the direct current power supply U through the corresponding switch units in a circuit structure, thereby allowing corresponding loop currents.

Specifically, the remaining m-x switch units are respectively and correspondingly bridged between one end of the remaining m-x LED arrays, which is close to the positive pole of the direct current power supply U, and the negative pole of the direct current power supply U.

Or the floating switch unit may be provided alternately with the common-ground switch unit, for example: floating switch unit-common ground switch unit-floating switch unit-common ground switch unit. Since the floating switch unit disposed upstream of the common-ground switch unit in the current direction can be prevented from being bypassed by the common-ground switch unit, the floating switch unit may be disposed partially or entirely upstream of the common-ground switch unit in the current direction, and further preferably the floating switch unit is disposed entirely upstream of the common-ground switch unit in the current direction.

In summary, based on the control circuit 1 provided in the present embodiment, by setting the floating switch unit and the common switch unit, a person skilled in the art can select the types of m switch units (the floating switch unit and/or the common switch unit), the number of each type of switch unit, and the connection relationship between the m switch units and the n LED arrays LED1 … LEDn and the current limiter Q0 according to the actual requirements (any one of the process requirements, the cost requirements, and the bypass loop requirements).

Example eleven

The present embodiment is further optimized based on some of the above embodiments, in this embodiment, as shown in fig. 11, when n=2 and m=1, the switching unit Q1 is connected in parallel to two ends of a series body formed by connecting the corresponding LED array LED2 and the current limiting device Q0 in series. Assuming that the luminous quantity of the unit power of the first LED array LED1 and the luminous quantity of the unit power of the second LED array LED2 are the same under the same driving current, the conduction voltage drop of the first LED array LED1 is V1, and the conduction voltage drop of the second LED array LED2 is V2; the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is V.

When v1+v2> V is greater than or equal to V1, the switching unit Q1 is turned on, the branch connected in series with the second LED array LED2 and the current limiting device Q0 is bypassed, the control unit D1 controls the on-resistance of the switching unit Q1 to turn on the bypass loop formed by the dc power supply U, the first LED array LED1 and the switching unit Q1 with the bypass loop current I1, the power p1=vxi1 of the bypass loop, the light emission quantity l1=v1×i1×k1 of the LED array is the corresponding light emission quantity of the unit power of the LED array when the current I1 is driven.

The control unit D1 controls the main loop current and the bypass loop current to enable PM (pulse width modulation) to be equal to P1, so that when V is equal to or larger than V1, the output power variation of the direct current power supply does not exceed a first preset threshold value, or LM (pulse width modulation) to be equal to L1, and when V is equal to or larger than V1, the luminous quantity variation of the LED array does not exceed a second preset threshold value, and brightness variation is reduced or eliminated. In addition, part or all of the current limiting device Q0, the switching unit Q1 and the control unit D1 are more easily integrated in the same integrated circuit, and have obvious cost advantages.

As shown in fig. 16, the working waveforms of the embodiment shown in fig. 11 are further described, wherein the horizontal axis is a time axis, V (T) of the vertical axis is an output voltage waveform obtained by rectifying an ac voltage, 4-1-v1+v2 is a sum of an on voltage drop of the first LED array LED1 and an on voltage drop of the second LED array LED2, the current waveform of the current limiter Q0 corresponds to 4-1-IQ0 (T), the current waveform of the switching unit Q1 corresponds to 4-1-IQ1 (T), the waveform of the power or the light emission amount of the first LED array LED1 corresponds to 4-1-P1 (T), and the waveform of the power or the light emission amount of the second LED array LED2 corresponds to 4-1-P2 (T).

In the TA-TB time interval of the horizontal axis, when V (T) is greater than 4-1-V1+V2 (herein, "greater than" and a certain margin can be left in implementation, for example, the difference between V (T) and 4-1-V1+V2 is greater than a small positive value), the current limiting device Q0 is turned on by the main loop current IM, and the switching unit Q1 is turned off; in the TB-TC time interval of the horizontal axis, when V (T) is smaller than 4-1-V1+V2 (herein, "smaller" is implemented with a certain margin, for example, the difference between V (T) and 4-1-V1+V2 is smaller than a smaller positive value), the current of the current limiting device Q0 is zero, and the switching unit Q1 is conducted with the bypass loop current I1; this is true for each cycle and will not be described in detail herein.

The following parameters are assumed: the on voltage drop of the first LED array LED1 is 200V, the on voltage drop of the second LED array LED2 is 50V, the bypass loop current I1 is set to be 50mA, the main loop current IM is set to be 40mA, then during TA-TB, the power of the first LED array LED1 is 200V x 40 ma=8w, the power of the second LED array LED2 is 50V x 40 ma=2w, the sum is 10W, during TB-TC, the power of the first LED array LED1 is 200V x 50 ma=10w, the power of the second LED array LED2 is zero, the sum is also 10W, that is, the sum of the powers of the first LED array LED1 and the second LED array LED1 is constant, when the light-emitting load is an LED, an approximately constant LED light emission amount can be obtained, and the strobing is reduced.

In fig. 16, the switching between the main loop current and the bypass loop current is instantaneously completed, in a practical device, the switching may have a transition region, in which, optionally, the switching process of the bypass loop current and the main loop current is controlled so that the sum of the powers of the first LED array LED1 and the second LED array LED2 in the transition region is maintained constant, an approximately constant LED light emission amount is obtained, the strobe is reduced, fig. 17 shows a waveform having the transition region, and fig. 18 shows a simple implementation circuit.

In fig. 17, TA1-TA2 is the first transition region, corresponding to time TA in fig. 16, the bypass loop current waveform 4-1-IQ1 (T) decreases from I1 to zero, the main loop current waveform 4-1-IQ0 (T) increases from zero to IM, and the bypass loop current and the main loop current are controlled to change in association/synchronization such that the decrease value of the power of the first LED array LED1 is equal to the increase value of the power of the second LED array LED 2; TB1-TB2 is the second transition region, corresponding to time TB in FIG. 16, the main loop current waveform 4-1-IQ0 (T) falls from IM to zero, the bypass loop current waveform 4-1-IQ1 (T) rises from zero to I1, and likewise, the bypass loop current and the change of the main loop current are controlled in a correlated/synchronous manner so that the falling value of the power of the first LED array LED1 is equal to the rising value of the power of the second LED array LED 2; TC1-TC2 are third transition zones, corresponding to time TC in FIG. 16, and the process of TA1-TA2 is repeated.

In fig. 18, an ac power source VSIN is rectified by a rectifier DB001 and then output by filtering with a parallel capacitor C001 to form a dc power source, and an output voltage V (T) as shown in fig. 16 is provided, where a first load 4-1-D21 corresponds to a first LED array LED1, and a second load 4-1-D22 corresponds to a second LED array LED2.

The control circuit includes: the switching unit is composed of a field-effect transistor Q001, the current limiting device is composed of a field-effect transistor Q002, and the control unit comprises a signal reference VR001, a signal reference VR002, a comparator EA001, a comparator EA002, a resistor R001 and a resistor R002. The comparators EA001 and EA002 may be operational amplifiers or amplifiers.

The first load, the second load, the current limiting device Q002, the resistor R001, the resistor R002 and the direct current power supply together form a main loop, the current flowing through the serial body formed by the resistor R001 and the resistor R002 generates first electric signals positively related to the pulsating direct current voltage at two ends of the serial body, and comparison signals are generated between the first electric signals and a first threshold value Vref1 through a comparator EA 001; when the direct current voltage is enough to drive the conduction voltage drop of the first load and the second load, for example, when the direct current voltage value is far greater than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load and the second load, the voltage of the first electric signal is equal to Vref2 and greater than Vref1, the comparison signal output by EA001 is a low-level signal, the driving field effect transistor Q001 is cut off, and the driving circuit operates in a main loop formed by a direct current power supply, the first load 4-1-D21, the second load 4-1-D22, the field effect transistor Q002, the resistor R001 and the resistor R002; when the dc voltage is insufficient to drive the first load and the second load, for example, the voltage is referred to as: the voltage of the first electric signal is smaller than Vref1 in the first voltage interval, the comparison signal output by EA001 is a high-level signal, the drive field effect transistor Q001 is driven to be conducted, and the drive circuit is switched to a bypass loop formed by a direct current power supply, first loads 4-1-D21, the field effect transistor Q001 and a resistor R001; in the time interval of T0-TA1 and the time interval of TB2-TC1, the current of the current limiting device Q002 is zero, the field effect transistor Q001 is conducted, and the current value is as follows: vref1/R001, vref1 being the output voltage of the signal reference VR 001; in the time interval TA2-TB1, the current limiting device Q002 is turned on, the separation switch unit Q001 is turned off, the value of the main loop current is Vref 2/(R001+R002), and Vref2 is the output voltage of the signal reference VR 002.

In the time range corresponding to the first transition zones TA1-TA2, the current of the sub-loop is reduced from Vref1/R001 to zero, and the current of the main loop is increased from zero to Vref 2/(R001+R002); in the time range corresponding to the second transition zones TB1-TB2, the current of the main loop is reduced to zero from Vref 2/(R001 + R002), and the current of the sub-loop is increased from zero to Vref1/R001; in the two transition regions, the comparator EA0001 outputs an intermediate voltage signal whose amplitude is between the high level signal and the low level signal.

Vref2 is configured to be slightly larger than Vref1 so that the current limiting device Q002 and the main loop are turned on in preference to the split switching unit Q001 and the bypass loop, or by configuring the input offset voltage of the amplifier EA001 and/or EA002 to achieve the same effect.

The ratio of Vref1/R001 to Vref 2/(R001+R002) is basically equal to the quotient of the conducting voltage drop of the first load 4-1-D21 and the conducting voltage drop of the second load 4-1-D22VTH divided by the conducting voltage drop of the first load 4-1-D21, and Vref2 is configured to be slightly larger than Vref1, so that any moment of a transition area and a non-transition area, or the sum of the power of the first load and the power of the second load is basically kept unchanged during the switching process and after the switching process before the switching process of a main loop and a sub-loop, further, the sum of the power or the sum of the luminous flux corresponding to the conducting LED arrays is basically unchanged, and the power of the LED arrays is dynamically adjusted during the switching process, so that the power drop of one part of the LED arrays is compensated or counteracted by the power increase of the other part of the LED arrays.

Example twelve

This embodiment is optimized on the basis of some of the embodiments described above.

When m > x > 0, that is, when the control circuit has both the floating switch unit and the common switch unit, as shown in fig. 33, there is provided a package frame structure provided with a first land a and a second land B disposed adjacent to and insulated from each other, the floating switch unit and the common switch unit of the control circuit 1 being disposed on different lands, respectively.

Wherein the first base island a and the second base island B may be insulated from each other by a space arrangement or may be isolated by an insulating material.

The islands may be made of metal, and the common metal is copper or iron.

The first and second islands a and B are disposed in a main frame (not shown).

The first base island A and the second base island B respectively comprise at least four sides, and reference is made to any base island, and the four sides are respectively: adjacent sides arranged adjacently, deviating sides arranged opposite to the adjacent sides and two pin sides arranged opposite to each other.

Two pin edges of the first base island A and the second base island B are respectively provided with a pair of rib claws, namely a first rib claw C and a second rib claw D which are arranged on the first base island A, and a fourth rib claw C 'and a fifth rib claw D' which are arranged on the second base island B, wherein the rib claws can be configured as pins of a frame structure.

And due to the arrangement of a pair of rib claws on the two pin edges, the packaging stability of the first base island A and the second base island B is improved.

Preferably, a third rib claw E is arranged on the deviating edge of the first base island a, a sixth rib claw E 'is arranged on the deviating edge of the second base island B, and the third rib claw E and the sixth rib claw E' are arranged, so that the packaging stability of the first base island a and the second base island B is further improved.

Preferably, the included angle between the rib claw and the edge where the rib claw is located is 90 degrees, and the arrangement can improve the packaging stability of the base island.

Alternatively, the rib claws are generally disposed at two opposite sides of the island and integrally formed with the island, and the pair of rib claws extend to the outside of the molding compound and can increase the stability of the corresponding island package. The frame structure is usually in the form of a single island, the single island is fixed by a pair of rib claws arranged at two ends, the pair of rib claws are usually arranged corresponding to the positions of the third rib claw E and the sixth rib claw E 'in fig. 33, and the two rib claws are stressed towards the end parts respectively, so that after the fixing and sealing are performed, the frame structure has the function of stabilizing the island, but in the embodiment, the frame structure is in the double island structure, the stability of the first island a and the second island B can not be maintained only by arranging the third rib claw E and the sixth rib claw E', and the frame structure of the double island is still stable by arranging a pair of rib claws on two pin edges respectively.

In this embodiment, the third rib claw E and the sixth rib claw E' are not provided, and the stability of the frame structure of the double-base island can be ensured.

In other implementations of this embodiment, multiple pairs of fingers may be provided on both sides of the pins as desired.

In addition, the rib claws may also be configured as pins of the frame structure, specifically, in the present embodiment, a pair of rib claws on the pin side of the first base island a are configured as the second pin 20 and the seventh pin 10, respectively, and a pair of rib claws on the pin side of the second base island B are configured as the third pin 40 and the sixth pin 30, respectively.

Preferably, the frame structure further comprises a plurality of separation pins, the separation pins are arranged around the base island, and the separation pins are electrically connected with devices on the first base island A and the second base island B through metal connecting wires.

Specifically, taking a frame structure design having eight pins as an example, referring to fig. 33, the eighth pin 50 is disposed between the third rib claw E and the first rib claw C, the first pin 60 is disposed between the third rib claw E and the second rib claw D, the fifth pin 70 is disposed between the fourth rib claw C 'and the sixth rib claw E', and the fourth pin 80 is disposed between the fifth rib claw D 'and the sixth rib claw E'. The first, fourth, fifth and eighth pins are not directly connected to the base island, and the direct connection referred to herein refers to an integral connection or other mechanical connection, and electrical connection between each pin and other structures in the frame structure (e.g., the base island) may be performed by wire bonding during packaging. Of course, any of the first pin, the fourth pin, the fifth pin and the eighth pin may be connected with the base island according to actual requirements.

Specifically, taking m=n=2 as an example, the correspondence relationship with the frame structure when the control circuit 1 is integrally designed as a chip will be described with reference to fig. 38. In fig. 38, a first switching unit Q1 is a floating switching unit, a second switching unit Q2 is a common ground switching unit, the LED arrays are a first LED array LED1 and a second LED array LED2, which are connected in series with a dc power supply U and a current limiter Q0 to form a main loop, and the switching units are a first switching unit Q1 connected in parallel with the first LED array LED1 and a second switching unit Q2 connected in parallel with both ends of a serial branch formed by the second LED array LED2 and the current limiter Q0, respectively.

In general, chips having a common potential can be placed on the same island, and in the control circuit 1 shown in fig. 38, since there is a potential difference between the negative polarity terminal of the first switching unit Q1 and the negative polarity terminal of the second switching unit Q2, it is difficult for the first switching unit Q1 and the second switching unit Q2 to be simultaneously manufactured on a chip having only one substrate, and for the first switching unit Q1 and the second switching unit Q2 to be separately manufactured as two chips, it is also difficult to be simultaneously placed on the same island.

The method adopted in the embodiment is as follows: the first switching unit Q1 (or other devices having a common potential with the negative electrode thereof, for example, a part of the control unit D1) is manufactured as one chip, placed on one base island; and, the second switching unit Q2, the current limiting device Q0 and the control unit D1 (or another part of the control unit D1) are manufactured as another chip and placed on another substrate, thus enabling the first switching unit to be integrated with the second switching unit in the same package, overcoming the limitation of the structure using a single substrate, and further reducing the package size when the control circuit 1 is implemented as an integrated circuit.

Specifically, for fig. 38, it is possible to configure: the positive polarity terminal of the first switching unit Q1 is connected to the first pin 60, and the negative polarity terminal is connected to the second pin 20; the positive polarity terminal of the second switching unit Q2 is also connected to the second pin 20, the negative polarity terminal is connected to the third pin 40, the positive polarity terminal of the current limiting device Q0 is connected to the fourth pin 80, that is, the first switching unit Q1 and the second switching unit Q2 are disposed on the first base island a and the second base island B, respectively, and the current limiting device Q0 is also disposed on the second base island B.

Or as in fig. 39, the difference compared to fig. 38 is that: the first LED array LED1 and the second LED array LED2 in fig. 39 are not directly connected (shown by a broken line in the figure).

With reference to fig. 39, in combination with fig. 33, it is also possible to configure that the first switching unit Q1 and the second switching unit Q2 are disposed on the first base island a and the second base island B, respectively, and the current limiting device Q0 is also disposed on the second base island B, and the positive polarity ends of the first switching unit Q1, the second switching unit Q2, and the current limiting device Q0 are connected to three of the first pin, the fourth pin, the fifth pin, and the eighth pin, respectively.

In other embodiments corresponding to the twelfth and thirteenth embodiments, the preferred manner is as follows: the current limiting device Q0 and the portion of the control unit D1 having a common potential with the negative polarity terminal of the second switching unit Q2 are placed on the second base island B, and the portion of the control unit D1 having a common potential with the negative polarity terminal of the first switching unit is placed on the first base island a. It should be noted that "common potential" herein includes, but is not limited to, a zero potential difference, but may also refer broadly to a potential difference that is low, such as a potential difference that does not exceed a PN junction turn-on threshold, to avoid the integrated circuit entering an undesired latch or dead state (latchup). In addition, for example, the control circuit 1 provided with two floating switch units and one or more common-ground switch units requires that one base island be provided for each of the two floating switch units and one base island be provided for each of the one or more common-ground switch units, and that the three base islands be insulated from each other. That is, those skilled in the art can know based on the present embodiment: each time a floating switch unit is added to the control circuit 1, a new base island insulated from other base islands is preferably added correspondingly.

Example thirteen

The present embodiment is further optimized based on the above embodiment, and further includes at least one current programming interface, where the current programming interface is disposed in a circuit corresponding to a current source in the current limiting device or the corresponding bypass loop, and belongs to a part of the current source in the current limiting device or the corresponding bypass loop, so as to set a current of a loop where the current source in the current limiting device or the bypass loop is located, or a current of an LED array conducted in the n LED arrays.

For example, the current programming interface is configured to receive a first resistor operatively connected from the periphery. By means of the first resistor, the current regulation performance of the current source in the main loop and/or the bypass loop can be controlled, and in turn the current or power in the corresponding main loop/bypass loop can be defined/regulated. Further alternatively, the current programming interface may include two pins disposed externally, and in combination with the fifth pin 70 and the sixth pin 30 of the double-base island frame shown in fig. 33, so that when a user manufactures a lighting device/luminaire using the integrated circuit implemented by the control circuit of the present invention, a resistor with a certain resistance value is connected between the fifth pin 70 and the sixth pin 30 according to requirements of power, so as to set current/power in the main loop/bypass loop, and the power of the luminaire can be configured in a customized manner in the lighting device manufacturing link. In addition, it can be appreciated that: the sixth pin 30 is integrally connected as a second island B, directly with the substrate of the chip provided thereon or with a conductive material or in a wire-bonding manner, and thus may serve as a ground for the common ground switching unit or a ground for the control unit, in which case only one pin, for example the fifth pin 70, is required, cooperatively (or regarded as the sixth pin 30), cooperatively receiving the first resistor is operatively connected from the periphery.

In particular when designing an integrated circuit/chip, the integrated circuit/chip peripheral circuit may comprise only one of the aforementioned current programming interfaces, the power of the driving circuit or the lighting means being set by connecting an external resistor.

Alternatively, for an integrated circuit that has been designed, most of the devices and connections between the devices within it are fixed, i.e. the functionality of the integrated circuit is defined by the design that has been completed, however, whether it is the user of the integrated circuit or the designer of the integrated circuit, it is often more desirable that the integrated circuit be able to meet as many application requirements as possible to maximize commercial value. One more common approach to solve such problems is to reserve ports for the integrated circuit, configure external devices at the reserved ports by a user, and program analog signals or digital logic and the like inside the integrated circuit to a limited extent to achieve the required effect, for example, in the design of the driving circuit, by connecting the reserved ports with the external devices to change the power of the driving circuit and the like; in addition, due to the limitation of the semiconductor technology adopted by the integrated circuit, the integration difficulty of some high-amplitude electric signals, energy signals, negative signals or floating signals is high and the cost is high, at this time, ports are reserved for the integrated circuit, and the external circuit processes the signals and then is in hardware connection with the reserved ports of the integrated circuit.

The circuit module CC1 shown in fig. 31 is a common current source circuit, and includes a common terminal GND and a current terminal OUT, where the circuit module CC1 includes a voltage reference XVR, an amplifier XEA and a field effect XQ, and a current of the current terminal out=a resistance of a voltage/resistance RK of the voltage reference XVR, and changing a resistance value of the resistance RK changes a current value corresponding to the current terminal OUT; the circuit module CC2 shown in fig. 32 is a modification of the circuit module CC1, and one difference is that the circuit module CC2 further includes a current mirror XM, and the current of the current port out=the voltage of the voltage reference XVR is equal to the amplification factor of the current mirror XM/the resistance of the resistor RK, and changing the resistance of the resistor RK changes the current value corresponding to the current port OUT.

Both current source circuits in fig. 31 and 32 include a resistor for setting the current of the current terminal, and have at least one current terminal, and in fact, the current source can cooperatively adjust the currents of a plurality of current terminals through one resistor, which is not described in detail in this specification. Such a current source may be used for the current limiting device, the switching unit of the present invention, or the current source connected in series in the bypass loop, etc., since the user of the lighting device generally needs to adjust the brightness of the LED current/light emitting load according to actual needs, the integrated circuit designed based on the scheme of the present invention may not include the resistor RK in fig. 31 and 32 inside, but reserve the current programming interface, such as the K1 port and the K2 port in fig. 31 and 32, and generally, the K2 port is shared with the common terminal (ground). For example, the R001 resistor in fig. 18 may not be designed inside the integrated circuit, and two ends thereof may be used as a K1 port and a K2 port, so that the resistance value of R001 may be changed, and the power or the light emitting brightness of the driving circuit or the lighting device may be changed, which is also the same as R002 in fig. 18, and will not be described again.

Examples fourteen

The present embodiment is further optimized on the basis of some of the above embodiments, in which the direct current power supply U is capable of outputting a pulsating voltage, the control unit D1 is configured to: the current in the at least one switching unit that is turned on is regulated to vary inversely with the output voltage of the dc power supply U or the voltage sustained by the n LED arrays.

In other words, the current flowing in the LED array or arrays in the on-state of the n LEDs, or in the bypass loop, is dynamically regulated by the on-state switching element or elements and/or the current limiting device Q0, so as to vary in inverse/negative relation to the voltage experienced by the n LED arrays in the main/bypass loop.

Specifically, the control unit D1 is further configured to: reducing the current in the turned-on LED arrays in the n LED arrays according to the increase of the output voltage of the direct current power supply U/the voltage born by the n LED arrays, or increasing the current in the turned-on LED arrays in the n LED arrays according to the decrease of the output voltage of the direct current power supply U/the voltage born by the n LED arrays; thus, the power of the n LED arrays is adjusted to remain within the neighborhood of the first power value.

The first power value may be set according to the specific requirements of the specific implementation of the commodity or the specific requirements of the user, for example, the design specification of the commodity requires that the temperature of the used LED device does not exceed 100 ℃ to meet the service life of the commodity, and the luminous flux is not lower than 1000 lumens to meet the lighting effect of the commodity, so that the designer of the commodity needs to select a suitable LED or LED combination, and the power of the LED or LED combination is controlled to meet the design specification.

The control unit D1 is capable of acquiring a first electrical signal, which may reflect the output voltage of the dc power supply U. For example, the first electrical signal may be obtained by either: i) The voltage to which n LED arrays are subjected, or ii) the difference between the output voltage of the dc power supply U and the voltage to which n LED arrays are subjected.

The first electrical signal may be positively or negatively correlated with the output voltage of the dc power supply U, when the first electrical signal is positively correlated with the output voltage of the dc power supply U, the control unit D1 is further configured to: and controlling at least one of the m switch units to be turned on to establish a bypass loop in response to the first electrical signal being less than a first threshold value, and controlling at least one of the m switch units to be turned off to switch to other bypass loops or main loop operation in response to the first electrical signal being greater than or equal to the first threshold value.

When the first electric signal is inversely related to the output voltage of the direct current power supply U or the voltage born by the n LED arrays or the difference value of the output voltage of the direct current power supply U and the voltage born by the n LED arrays, at least one of the m switch units is controlled to be conducted to establish a bypass loop in response to the first electric signal being larger than a first threshold value, and at least one of the m switch units is controlled to be conducted to be switched to other bypass loops or main loop operation in response to the first electric signal being smaller than or equal to the first threshold value.

For simplicity of description, the first electrical signal is described as being directly related to the output voltage of the dc power supply U.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the control circuit may be configured to obtain the first electrical signal from both ends of the dc power supply, or through a circuit coupled to the positive and negative polarity outputs of the dc power supply.

Alternatively, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the first electrical signal may be acquired based on one or more circuit parameters in the control circuit in a state in which at least one of the switching units is turned off. For example, the first electrical signal may be taken from at least one of a voltage across the current limiting device, a voltage at a control terminal of the current limiting device, and a current of the current limiting device. Optionally, in the control circuit in some embodiments, the first electrical signal is taken from at least one of a voltage across the current limiting device, a voltage at a control terminal of the current limiting device, and a current of the current limiting device in a state in which the at least one switching unit is turned on. The control unit of the control circuit is configured to determine by the first electrical signal: i) Whether the dc voltage is sufficient to turn on all n LED arrays, or ii) the magnitude of the dc voltage versus the full-bright threshold.

Alternatively, in the control circuit of some embodiments, the first electrical signal may be taken across at least one common ground switch.

The control unit D1 is provided with an electrical signal measurement unit to obtain a first electrical signal, and specifically, the electrical signal measurement unit is coupled to the control circuit to obtain the first electrical signal, and the specific method includes:

1) The power supply is coupled to two ends of the direct current power supply U, and the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is collected; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

2) The two ends of a resistor or a MOS tube (such as a current limiting device) which is arranged on the main loop/bypass loop are coupled, and the difference between the output voltage of the direct current power supply U and the conduction voltage drop of the n LED arrays is collected; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

3) Coupled to both ends of at least one LED array connected in series to the main circuit, and collecting the voltage born by the LED array.

Typically, the first threshold value is implemented in an integrated circuit and may be one or more reference voltages or one or more reference currents or reference currents. The first threshold corresponds to one of the following seven: i) A value of a first electrical signal reflecting a minimum voltage of the direct current power supply sufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays; ii) a reference voltage value having a constant positive value as the difference from the minimum voltage value; iii) The voltage value of the direct current power supply when the luminous flux of the LEDs in the n LED arrays reaches a preset value can be realized; iv) a minimum voltage value sufficient to turn on the dc power supply to the n LED arrays; v) a value of a first electrical signal reflecting a voltage value of the DC power supply when luminous fluxes of the n LED arrays reach a predetermined value; VI) a value of a first electrical signal reflecting a minimum voltage of the direct current power supply when luminous flux generated by the voltage/current/power on the n LED arrays reaches a predetermined value; VII) a dc voltage value just sufficient to render all n LED arrays conductive. The predetermined value may be set to a luminous flux when a voltage sufficient to turn on the n LED arrays is applied to both ends of the n LED arrays, or may be set to other values as needed, for example, a luminous flux when a voltage sufficient to turn on the n-1 LED arrays is applied to both ends of the n LED arrays.

In particular, the predetermined value is specified by the specific article of merchandise, typically a specified light flux value, e.g. 1000 lumens.

In connection with fig. 7 and table two, the first threshold value may also be set to a plurality of threshold values, for example, corresponding to the first bypass loop.

Next, an operation process of the driving circuit 2 will be described with reference to fig. 7, wherein the driving circuit 2 is configured to drive three LED arrays, and the three LED arrays are respectively a first LED array LED1, a second LED array LED2, and a third LED array LED3, and the three switching units, i.e., the first switching unit Q1, the second switching unit Q2, and the third switching unit Q3, are respectively connected in parallel with the three LED arrays correspondingly, and the dc power supply U, the current limiter Q0, and the three LED arrays together form a main circuit of the driving circuit 2.

Taking the example that the first electric signal collects the output voltage of the direct current power supply U, the smaller the value of the first electric signal is, the lower the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is, namely the first electric signal is positively correlated with the output voltage of the direct current power supply U.

Wherein the first threshold is set as: the value of the first electric signal reflecting the voltage value of the direct current power supply when the luminous fluxes of the three LED arrays reach a predetermined value. And controlling at least one of the three switching units to be conducted to establish a bypass loop in response to the first electrical signal being smaller than a first threshold value, so that part of the LED arrays (one or two LED arrays) are conducted, and switching all three switching units to be switched to main loop operation in response to the first electrical signal being greater than or equal to the first threshold value.

Optionally, when the first threshold value is set corresponding to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the three LED arrays, at this time, at least one of the three switch units is controlled to be turned on to establish a bypass loop in response to the first electrical signal being smaller than the first threshold value, so that a part of the LED arrays (one or two LED arrays) is turned on. In response to the first electrical signal being greater than or equal to a first threshold, all three switching units are turned off to switch to main loop operation. The control unit D1 is further configured to: and regulating the first bypass current flowing through the at least one on-state switching unit to be larger than the current value flowing through the three LED arrays when all the three switching units are turned off, so that the product of the voltage born by the three LED arrays and the first bypass current is kept in the neighborhood of the first power value.

The specific configuration of the first threshold may be different depending on the number of LED arrays or the coupling structure in the control circuit, and may be affected by the voltage drop of some devices in the driving circuit, for example, the impedance or the voltage drop of the current limiting device Q0 connected in series in the main circuit.

In this embodiment, the conducting voltage drops of the three LED arrays are the same as an example, and when the conducting voltage drops of the three LED arrays are different, the conducting voltage drops of the three LED arrays may be sorted according to the conducting voltage drops, and the switching operation may be performed in a plurality of sub-loops connected to only one LED array.

It is noted that by driving the control circuit 1, at any voltage level (possibly constant) where the output voltage of the dc power supply U is below the full-lighting threshold/the first threshold, a plurality of subsets (e.g. a first subset comprising the first LED array LED1 and the second LED array LED2, and a second subset comprising the first LED array LED1 and the third LED array LED 3) of the three LED arrays corresponding to the voltage level may be cyclically lit or turned on in turn. The cyclic lighting or turning on in this case is actively initiated under the control of the control unit D1.

In this embodiment, by alternately/alternately switching on different parts of the three LED arrays, such as the first subset and the second subset, in a low voltage section of the dc power supply U (a voltage section having a lower voltage that is insufficient to switch on the three LED arrays), the low voltage section generally cannot support series switching on of the LED arrays in a combination of the first subset and the second subset, and optionally, the first subset and the second subset each have the characteristics of: when the LED array is in a low-voltage region, the direct-current power supply U can conduct the largest number of LED arrays. Alternatively, the number of LED arrays in the union of the first subset and the second subset is greater than the (e.g., maximum) number of LED arrays that the dc power supply can turn on in the low voltage region. To a certain extent, the electric energy provided by the direct current power supply U in the low-voltage region is released/converted into light energy through a larger number of LED arrays, so that better energy conversion efficiency is brought, and the lighting performance is improved to a certain extent through a larger LED luminous surface.

Optionally, the number of LED arrays in the first subset is the same as the number of LED arrays in the second subset, which results in that the above-mentioned light energy released by a larger number of LED arrays forms a relatively constant light emitting area, in other words, the LED arrays of the two subsets will generate two power/luminous flux which are closer together, suppressing to some extent the improvement of the lighting effect.

Preferably, the union of the first subset and the second subset covers three LED arrays (in other embodiments, a plurality of LED arrays) and thus the LED light emitting area may remain unchanged during a change from a normal voltage interval of the dc power supply U (an interval sufficient to turn on three LED arrays) to, for example, a first voltage interval having a lower voltage value (an interval insufficient to turn on three LED arrays), improving the lighting performance. In other words, the three LED arrays always generate stable power/luminous flux with the maximum possible luminous area by combining the current regulation means to keep the power of the three LEDs basically unchanged, thereby further improving the lighting effect.

Alternatively, the LED arrays in the plurality of subsets that are turned on in rotation, e.g., the first subset and the second subset, may not be identical, and there may or may not be an intersection between the two.

Optionally, the number of LED arrays in the union of the LED arrays in the first bypass loop and the LED arrays in the second bypass loop is greater than the maximum number of LED arrays that can be turned on by the dc power supply when the first electrical signal is less than the first threshold.

Optionally, if the on-voltage drop of the LED array located in the first bypass loop is larger than the on-voltage drop of the LED array located in the second bypass loop, the control unit D1 is further configured to: adjusting the current in the second bypass loop to be greater than the current in the first bypass loop such that the relative rate of change between the power of the LED array in the second bypass loop and the power of the LED array in the first bypass loop is less than a first predetermined percentage, or the relative rate of change of the power of both during switching is less than a first predetermined percentage, the first predetermined percentage being as small as possible, e.g., a value of less than 5%; or if the on-voltage drop of the LED array in the first bypass loop is substantially equal to the on-voltage drop of the LED array in the second bypass loop, the control unit D1 is further configured to: the rate of change of the current in the second bypass loop relative to the current in the first bypass loop is adjusted to not exceed a first predetermined percentage such that the power of the LED array in the second bypass loop is substantially the same as the power of the LED array in the first bypass loop, or the relative rate of change of the power of the two during switching is less than a first predetermined percentage which is as small as possible, e.g. a value of less than 5%.

Optionally, the control unit D1 is further configured to: the current drop in the first partial switching unit switched from on to off state and the current rise in the second partial switching unit switched from off to on state are synchronously controlled such that the sum of the powers of the two LED arrays in the loop in which both the first partial switching unit and the second partial switching unit are located is substantially constant, or such that the sum of the powers of the two LED arrays is substantially constant, thereby controlling the light power/luminous flux of the two LED arrays to be substantially constant or to remain within a neighborhood of a predetermined value of the first luminous flux, for example within a neighborhood of ±5% or less of the predetermined value of the first luminous flux.

In this embodiment, the on-switch unit in the first bypass loop is defined as a first partial switch unit, and the on-switch unit in the second bypass loop is defined as a second partial switch unit.

Optionally, the control unit D1 is further configured to: in the transition where a plurality of switching units are switched,

Optionally, the control unit D1 is further configured to: in a transition of switching between the first bypass loop and the second bypass loop, i) synchronously controlling the current in the first bypass loop to decrease as the second bypass loop current increases, such that the power drop of the LED array in the first bypass loop is compensated/counteracted by the power increase of the LED array in the second bypass loop; and

Ii) synchronously controlling the current in the first bypass loop to increase as the current in the second bypass loop decreases such that the power drop of the LED array in the second bypass loop is compensated/counteracted by the power increase of the LED array in the first bypass loop.

Optionally, the control unit D1 is further configured to: in the transition process of switching on from the second partial switch unit to the first partial switch unit, before the current in the second partial switch unit exceeds a preset amplitude relative to the descending amplitude before the transition process starts, controlling the current in the first partial switch unit to synchronously increase; and/or in the transition process of switching on from the first part of switching units to the second part of switching units, controlling the current in the second part of switching units to synchronously increase before the current in the first part of switching units exceeds a preset amplitude relative to the decreasing amplitude before the transition process starts; wherein the preset amplitude is an arbitrary value of less than 5%.

The above embodiments of the switching process of the first bypass loop and the second bypass loop are also applicable between the main loop and any bypass loop, and will not be described in detail.

Example fifteen

This embodiment is further optimized on the basis of the above embodiments, and the LED array control method of some embodiments of the present invention or the step SA-2) or similar steps therein, and the sub-steps of these steps may further include any one of 4 sub-steps including two sub-steps (alternative) in the following step SA-2-a) or two sub-steps (alternative) in the following step SA-2-b):

The first voltage interval has a voltage range below the full bright threshold. Of course, it is not excluded that the second voltage interval is also arranged below the lower limit of the first voltage interval (or alternatively referred to as the first bypass threshold) or lower. In other words, the first voltage section may be defined by both the full brightness threshold and the first bypass threshold as an upper bound (upper bound) and a lower bound (lower bound) of the first voltage section, respectively. If the voltage of the direct current power supply is between the full brightness threshold value and the first bypass threshold value, a first voltage interval is entered. In other words, the voltage of the direct current power supply falls below the full-bright threshold, and enters the first voltage interval, and if the direct current voltage continues to fall below the full-bright threshold, enters the second voltage interval lower than the first voltage interval. Correspondingly, the method of some embodiments of the present invention defined by the first voltage interval, the at least one voltage interval, may also be defined by a step based on a plurality of thresholds, such as a full brightness threshold, a first bypass threshold, etc. The applicant reserves the right to divide, actively modify, continue and partially continue the application for these more diverse variants.

Step SA-2-a) further comprises the sub-steps of:

SA-2-a-1) alternately/alternately turns on the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array for the duration of the first voltage interval.

Step SA-2-b) further comprises the sub-steps of:

Of course, alternatively, in the two different first voltage intervals a and b occurring in succession in the first pulse period described above, only the first partial LED array may be turned on, whereas in the two first voltage intervals occurring in the second pulse period that follows, only the second partial LED array may be turned on, in which case the frequency of the cyclic conduction of the first partial and second partial LEDs may be regarded as being smaller than the frequency of the pulsating direct voltage of the direct current power supply. Further alternatively, in the first voltage interval a, the first LED array and the second LED array may be alternately turned on repeatedly (for example, several hundred times) in a single first pulse period, and the alternating frequency is greater than the frequency of the pulsating dc voltage of the dc power supply.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 19A, there is provided a control circuit 01A, a driving circuit 08A, wherein m=2, x=1, the control circuit 01A including a floating switch unit SW21, a common-ground switch unit I21, a current limiting device I22, and a control unit 05A; the negative electrode of the common-ground switch unit I21, the negative electrode of the current limiting device I22 and the negative electrode of the direct current power supply V21 are connected; the negative electrode of the floating switch unit SW21 is connected to the positive electrode of the common-ground switch unit I21, the positive electrode of the current-limiting device I22, and the positive electrode of the floating switch unit SW21 are connected to the first load D21 and the second load D22.

The control unit 05A includes an electric signal measurement unit 02A and a timing logic circuit 06A; the input end of the electric signal measuring unit 02A is coupled to the positive electrode of the dc power supply to obtain a first electric signal related to the dc voltage V21, and the electric signal measuring unit 02 further includes a comparator (not shown), wherein one input end of the comparator is configured with a first threshold value, and the other input end of the comparator is configured to receive the first electric signal, and the first electric signal is compared with the first threshold value to generate a comparison signal reflecting the magnitude relation between the first electric signal and the first threshold value, where the comparator may also employ an amplifier or other circuit or device capable of reflecting the magnitude relation between the two signals.

Typically, the comparison signal is a high level signal or a low level signal, or further comprises an intermediate level signal between the high level signal or the low level signal, which is typically used to control the transition between the main loop and the bypass loop, and the bypass loop. Here, the comparator may also employ an amplifier or an operational amplifier.

Optionally, the control terminal of at least one switching unit is connected to the output terminal of the comparator in the electrical signal measuring unit 02A and is capable of bypassing/cancelling the corresponding load based on the comparison signal.

Alternatively, the timing logic circuit 06A is a circuit or device having a timing function/time delay function, such as an oscillating circuit, a frequency generating circuit, a clock generating circuit, etc., the input end of the timing logic circuit 06A is connected to the electric signal measuring unit 02, and the output end of the timing logic circuit 06A is connected to the control end of the common ground switch unit I21, the control end of the floating ground switch unit SW21, and the control end of the current limiting device I22; when the voltage of the dc power source V21 is insufficient to drive the two loads D21 and D22 connected in series to reach the desired luminous flux, or the voltage of the dc power source V21 is below the full-bright threshold, for convenience of explanation, in this embodiment, a voltage interval below the full-bright threshold is defined as a first voltage interval, the timing logic circuit 06A generates two alternating time signals corresponding to the first predetermined frequency in response to the comparison signal, namely, a first time signal and a second time signal, so as to control the floating switch unit SW21 to be turned on and the common switch unit I21 to be turned off, and two bypass loops formed by the floating switch unit SW21 to be turned on and the common switch unit I21 to be turned on respectively correspond to the two time signals to be turned on alternately.

Optionally, the control unit 05A can also control the current of the common ground switch unit I21 and the current limiting device I22 through the timing logic circuit 06A, so that when the voltage of the dc power source V21 is in the first voltage interval, the current of both bypass loops is greater than the current of the main loop, specifically, according to the state corresponding to the timing logic circuit, the current adjustment of both bypass loops can be achieved by controlling the signal amplitudes of the control ends of the current limiting device I22, the common ground switch I21 and the floating switch SW 21.

In practical applications, the electric signal measurement unit 02A, the timing logic circuit 06A, the common-ground switch I21 and the current limiting device I22 in the control circuit 01A can be easily integrated on the same chip, while the floating switch SW21 is limited to have a higher level at its negative polarity end and has a level floating with respect to the ground, so that the integration difficulty is higher, and thus, the aforementioned double-island frame can be adopted, and the control circuit 01A can be respectively placed on two different islands to manufacture a completed integrated circuit, or by setting a current programming interface according to the requirements of practical applications, the setting of the currents of the common-ground switch unit I21 and the current limiting device I22 in the control circuit 01A is realized.

In fig. 19A, the driving circuit 08A includes a driving control circuit 01A, and further includes a dc power supply V21, a first load D21, and a second load D22, where the dc power supply V21, the first load D21, the second load D22, and the current limiter I22 are sequentially connected in series to form a closed loop.

Specifically, the first load D21 is connected in parallel to both ends of the floating switch unit SW 21; the positive electrode of the common ground switching unit I21 is connected to the connection point of the first load D21 and the second load D22, and the negative electrode of the second load D22 is connected to the positive electrode of the current limiting device I22.

The control unit 01A controls the floating switch unit SW21 and the common ground switch unit I21 to have different on, adjusting or off states, so as to form three different energy loops, which are respectively:

first case: when the voltage of the dc power supply V21 is greater than the sum of the on voltage drop of the first load D21 and the on voltage drop of the second load D22, the floating switch unit SW21 and the common switch unit I21 are turned off, forming a third energy loop: the direct current power supply V21- & gt the first load D21- & gt the second load D22- & gt the current limiting device I22- & gt the direct current power supply V21 supplies energy to the first load D21 and the second load D22, and the third energy loop is a main loop.

Second case: when the voltage of the dc power supply V21 is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drop of the first load D21 and the conduction voltage drop of the second load D22 and is larger than the larger value of the conduction voltage drop of the first load D21 and the conduction voltage drop of the second load D22, the floating switch unit SW21 and the common switch unit I21 are controlled to be alternately switched between a first state and a second state at a first predetermined frequency, wherein the first state is that the floating switch unit SW21 is turned off, and the common switch unit I21 is turned on, so as to form a first energy loop: the direct current power supply V21- & gt the first load D21- & gt the common-ground switching unit I21- & gt the direct current power supply V21 supplies energy for the first load D21; the second state is that the floating switch unit SW21 is turned on, and the common switch unit I21 is turned off, forming a second energy loop: the direct current power supply V21, the floating switch unit SW21, the second load D22, the current limiting device I22 and the direct current power supply V21 are used for providing energy for the second load D22.

In this embodiment, when the voltage of the dc power supply V21 is greater than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load D21 and the second load D22, the energy flow path is a third energy loop, and provides energy for both the first load D21 and the second load D22, so as to obtain higher efficiency; when the voltage of the dc power supply V21 is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first load D21 and the second load D22 and is larger than the larger value of the conduction voltage drops of the first load D21 and the second load D22, the energy circulation path alternately supplies energy to the first energy loop and the second energy loop, and alternately supplies energy to the first load D21 and the second load D22.

Taking the first load D21 and the second load D22 as LED arrays as an example, that is, the first load D21 is a first LED array and the second load D22 is a second LED array, and the driving circuit 08A is configured such that the current of the common ground switching unit I21 and the current limiting device I22 is greater than the current of the current limiting device I22 in the first case in the second case, so that the total power of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 is approximately equal when the direct current voltage V21 is different; and, when the driving circuit 08A is operating in the third energy loop, the driving control circuit 01 controls the current of the current limiting device I22 to decrease with the rise of the voltage or the average value of the voltage of the direct current voltage V21 through the first electric signal reflecting the direct current voltage V21, so as to obtain that the output power of the direct current voltage V21 is approximately unchanged when the direct current voltage V21 fluctuates within a certain range.

Optionally, the first predetermined frequency is less than 5000kHz.

Alternatively, the first predetermined frequency is substantially equal in value to the frequency of alternating/rotating conduction of the plurality of switching units (floating switching unit SW21 and common switching unit I21) controlled by the timing logic circuit 06A and the corresponding plurality of bypass loops (first bypass loop and second bypass loop) or the plurality of portions of the LED array, and may be set to any one of [0.5kHz,50kHz ] or any one of the frequency intervals of [0.5kHz,5kHz ], [5kHz,10kHz ], [20kHz,40kHz ], [60kHz,100kHz ], [100kHz,500kHz ], [10kHz,50kHz ] by configuring the circuit parameters of the timing logic circuit 06A, generally if the above first predetermined frequency is located at [20kHz,50kHz ], for example, 30kHz, the overall performance is good, for example, the high strobe frequency is not easily perceived by human eyes, and the electromagnetic interference generated is not too large. Here, the above-described exemplary structures of the timing logic 06A in the pair control unit 05A may also be applied to any other related embodiment of the present invention.

The first predetermined frequency, which is substantially equal in value to the frequency of alternating/rotating conduction of the plurality of switching elements controlled by the timing logic 06A and the corresponding plurality of bypass loops or the plurality of portions of the LED array, may be set by the configuration of the circuit parameters of the timing logic 06A. Setting the first predetermined frequency higher, the human eye is not easily or perceivable, e.g., a strobe greater than 3125HZ may be considered safe to avoid inspection of the strobe depth, alternating/rotating greater than audio (about 20 KHZ) may avoid noise caused by energy variations that are audible to the human ear, greater than 40K may avoid interference with infrared equipment, etc., however, the frequency is higher, energy variations produced by alternating/rotating conduction may cause more electromagnetic interference, and a more precise design is required; in addition, since the process of the integrated circuit is not easy to realize a large capacity capacitor, the setting of the first predetermined frequency needs to consider various factors. Generally, if the first predetermined frequency is located at [4kHz,30kHz ], [50kHz,100kHz ], the combination is good, and the strobe frequency, the electromagnetic interference intensity, the manufacturability of the integrated circuit and other various factors are considered. Here, the above-described exemplary structures of the timing logic 06A in the pair control unit 05A may also be applied to any other related embodiment of the present invention.

Optionally, during fluctuations of the first electrical signal relative to the first threshold, the current in the current limiting device Q0 and the current in the switched plurality of switching units are coordinated such that the sum of the powers of the two LED arrays is kept substantially unchanged, e.g. always within the neighborhood of the first power value, in a state in which the plurality of switching units are all turned off and at least one turned on.

Alternatively, the switching process between the first and second bypass loops may be to switch to the first bypass loop for a time corresponding to the first time signal, then switch to the second bypass loop for a time corresponding to the second time signal, and then switch to the first bypass loop for a time corresponding to the first time signal, in response to the first electrical signal being below the first threshold, so as to switch on the first bypass loop and the second bypass loop in a switching manner.

As shown in fig. 19B, there is provided a control circuit 01, a driving circuit 08B, wherein m=2, x=1, the control circuit 01 including a floating switch unit SW21, a common-ground switch unit I21, a current limiting device I22, and a control unit 05; the negative electrode of the common-ground switch unit I21, the negative electrode of the current limiting device I22 and the negative electrode of the direct current power supply V21 are connected; the negative electrode of the floating switch unit SW21 is connected with the positive electrode of the common ground switch unit I21, the positive electrode of the current limiting device I22, and the positive electrode of the floating switch unit SW21 are connected with the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22.

The control unit 05 includes an electric signal measurement unit 02 and a timing logic circuit 06; the input end of the electric signal measuring unit 02 is coupled to the positive electrode of the current limiting device I22 to obtain a first electric signal related to the direct current voltage V21 (or the difference between the direct current voltage V21 and the total conducting voltage drop of the two LED arrays D21 and D22), the electric signal measuring unit 02 further includes a comparator and a first threshold value configured therein, and the first electric signal and the first threshold value are compared by the comparator to generate a comparison signal reflecting the magnitude relation between the first electric signal and the first threshold value, where the comparator may also employ an amplifier or other circuit or device capable of reflecting the magnitude relation of the signals. The input end of the timing logic circuit 06 is connected with the output end of the electric signal measuring unit 02, the output end is connected with the control end of the floating switch unit SW21 and the control end of the current limiting device I22, and the control end of the common ground switch unit I21 is connected with the comparison signal.

The timing logic 06 includes a timer 03 and a flip-flop 04; the electric signal measuring unit 02, the timer 03 and the trigger 04 are sequentially connected, and the output end of the trigger 04 is connected with the control end of the floating switch unit SW 21; the timer 03 generates two timing signals in response to the comparison signal reflecting that the voltage of the dc voltage V21 is in the first voltage interval, and the trigger 04 generates two alternating time signals corresponding to the first predetermined frequency according to the two timing signals, and the two time signals are preferably complementary in time domain, so as to control the two bypass loops to be alternately conducted at the time corresponding to the two time signals, respectively.

Alternatively, the current of the current limiting device I22 is controlled by the timing logic circuit 06 and the current of the common-ground switching unit I21 is controlled by the comparison signal such that the current of the two bypass loops is greater than the current of the main loop when the voltage of the direct voltage V21 is in the first voltage interval.

Fig. 20 shows a partial operation waveform of the driving circuit 08A (or the driving circuit 08B), assuming that the conduction voltage drop of the LED arrays is approximately constant, the conduction voltage drop of the first LED array D21 is VD21, the conduction voltage drop of the second LED array D22 is VD22, and the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 is vd21+vd22 for convenience of understanding.

Wherein, the horizontal axis is the time axis, divided into two time intervals: before time T001 and after time T001.

Before time T001, the voltage V21 (T) of the dc power supply V21 is greater than vd21+vd22, and as shown in the vertical axis of fig. 20, the floating switch unit SW21 is turned OFF, corresponding to the OFF state in fig. 20, the current of the common switch unit I21 is turned OFF to zero, corresponding to the I21 (T) waveform in fig. 20, the current limiter I22 is turned on, the current is IL, corresponding to the I22 (T) waveform in fig. 20, the currents of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 are the same IL, and corresponding to the ID21 (T) and ID22 (T) waveforms in fig. 20.

After time T001, the voltage V21 (T) of the dc power supply V21 is smaller than vd21+vd22 and larger than the larger value of VD21 and VD22, as shown by the vertical axis in fig. 20, at this time, the floating switch unit SW21 and the common-ground switch unit I21 are alternately switched between a first state in which the floating switch unit SW21 is turned off and the common-ground switch unit I21 is turned on with IH1, the current of the current limiter is zero, the current of the first LED array D21 is IH1, and the current of the second LED array D22 is zero; in the second state, the floating switch unit SW21 is turned on, the common switch unit is turned off, the current limiting device is turned on by IH2, the current of the first LED array D21 is zero, and the current of the second LED array D22 is IH2.

The conduction voltage drops of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 may be the same or different, and accordingly, after the time T001, the current IH1 of the common-ground switch unit and the current IH2 of the current limiter may also be the same or different, so that, in order to maintain the LED array power as unchanged as possible, the optimal configuration mode is that the product of VD21 and IH1 is equal to the product of VD22 and IH2, and if the LED array is an LED, the change of the light emission amount and the strobe can be reduced.

For example, the on-voltage drops of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 are configured to be the same, and a more common application is in an environment powered by a 24V or 12V battery, and in an alternating current about 110VAC or about 220VAC power environment, the latter can generate a power supply by rectifying and filtering the alternating current.

Another common application is a single input voltage, such as 220VAC power environment, where a third LED array D23 is connected in series with the power supply output in order to achieve both a wider power supply voltage range and better conversion efficiency in the fluctuation range, as shown in fig. 21. In fig. 21, the dc power supply 07 is supplied with AC power AC001 through a rectifier DB001, and a filter capacitor C001 is connected across the output of the rectifier DB001 to smooth the supply voltage.

In fig. 21, the third LED array D23 is connected in series to a closed loop formed by the dc power supply 07, the first LED array D21, the second LED array D22 and the current limiting device I22, and one end of the third LED array D23 is connected to the output end of the dc power supply 07, and fig. 21 shows that the third LED array D23 is connected to the output positive electrode of the dc power supply 07, and in practical application, the third LED array D23 may be connected to the output negative electrode of the dc power supply 07, or the third LED array D23 may be divided into two parts, one part is connected to the output positive electrode of the dc power supply 07, and the other part is connected to the output negative electrode of the dc power supply 07. The description of the better conversion efficiency obtained after the third LED array D23 is connected in series as shown in fig. 21 is as follows:

in the absence of the third LED array D23, the efficiency value of the first energy loop is about the on-voltage drop of the first LED array D21 divided by the voltage of the dc power supply 07; the efficiency value of the second energy loop is about the conduction voltage drop of the second LED array D22 divided by the voltage of the dc power supply 07; the efficiency value of the third energy loop is about the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 divided by the voltage of the dc power supply 07, and it is envisioned that the efficiency value of the energy conversion of the first energy loop and/or the second energy loop is smaller when the voltage of the dc power supply 07 is just insufficient to drive the third energy loop, the driving circuit 08A converts to the first and/or the second energy loop. Examples are as follows: the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 is 250V, the voltage variation range of the dc power supply 07 is 240V to 260V, and it can be calculated that the efficiency of the third energy loop is higher than 250/260≡96% (assuming that the voltage of the dc power supply 07 is 260V), but the efficiency of the first energy loop and the second energy loop is difficult to optimize, no matter how the conduction voltage drops of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 are distributed, the efficiency value of one loop of the first energy loop and the second energy loop is not more than (250/2)/240≡52% (assuming that the voltage of the dc power supply 07 is 240V).

If the third LED array D23 exists, the energy conversion efficiency value of the first energy loop is the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first LED array D21 and the third LED array D23 divided by the voltage of the direct current power supply 07; the efficiency value of the energy conversion of the second energy loop is the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the second LED array D22 and the third LED array D23 divided by the voltage of the direct current power supply 07; the energy conversion efficiency value of the third energy loop is the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first LED array D21, the second LED array D22 and the third LED array D23 divided by the voltage of the dc power supply 07, and when the voltage of the dc power supply 07 is just insufficient to drive the third energy loop, the energy conversion efficiency is improved when the driving circuit 08A converts to the first and/or the second energy loop, for example, as follows: the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first LED array D21, the second LED array D22 and the third LED array D23 is 250V, the voltage variation range of the direct current power supply 07 is 240V-260V, and the efficiency of the third energy loop is high: not less than 250/260≡96% (assuming that the voltage of the dc power supply 07 is 260V), but the efficiency of the first energy loop and the second energy loop may be optimized, for example, assuming that the on-voltage drop of the third LED array D23 is set to 200V and the on-voltage drop of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 are both set to 25V, the efficiency values of the first energy loop and the second energy loop are 225/240≡94% (assuming that the voltage of the dc power supply 07 is 240V).

In fig. 21, depending on the states of the floating switch unit SW21 and the common switch unit I21, different energy circuits are formed, respectively:

i) When the voltage of the direct current power supply V21 is greater than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the third LED array D23, the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22, the floating switch unit SW21 and the common-ground switch unit I21 are turned off, so as to form a third energy loop: the direct current power supply V21- & gt third LED array D23- & gt first LED array D21- & gt second LED array D22- & gt current limiting device I22- & gt direct current power supply V21 supplies energy for the third LED array D23, the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22.

II) when the voltage of the dc power supply V21 is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the third LED array D23, the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22, and is larger than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the third LED array D23 and the first LED array D21, and is also larger than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the third LED array D23 and the second LED array D22, controlling the floating switch unit SW21 and the common switch unit I21 to alternately switch between a first state and a second state, wherein the first state is that the floating switch unit SW21 is turned off, and the common switch unit I21 is turned on, so as to form a first energy loop: the direct current power supply V21- & gt the third LED array D23- & gt the first LED array D21- & gt the common-ground switch unit I21- & gt the direct current power supply V21 supplies energy for the third LED array D23 and the first LED array D21; the second state is that the floating switch unit SW21 is turned on, and the common switch unit I21 is turned off, forming a second energy loop: the direct current power supply V21- & gt the third LED array D23- & gt the floating switch unit SW 21- & gt the second LED array D22- & gt the current limiting device I22- & gt the direct current power supply V21 are used for supplying energy to the third LED array D23 and the second LED array D22.

III) when the voltage of the direct current power supply V21 is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the third LED array D23 and the first LED array D21 and the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the third LED array D23 and the second LED array D22, the floating switch unit SW22 and the common-ground switch unit I21 are controlled to be conducted, so that a fourth energy loop is formed: the direct current power supply V21- & gt the third LED array D23- & gt the floating switch unit SW 22- & gt the common ground switch unit I21- & gt the direct current power supply V21 supplies energy to the third LED array D23.

The beneficial effects are as follows: when the LED lamp runs in the first energy loop, the second energy loop and the third energy loop, all the LED arrays can be lightened, the currents of the first energy loop and the second energy loop are properly configured to be larger than those of the third energy loop, and the approximately constant LED array power and the luminous brightness can be obtained, so that the wider power supply voltage range, the better conversion efficiency and the better luminous stability are considered, and the luminous stroboscopic effect of the LED is reduced; when the LED lamp operates in the fourth energy loop, only the third LED array is lighted, or the current of the fourth energy loop is larger than that of the first energy loop and/or that of the second energy loop and/or that of the third energy loop, so that an improved luminous effect and a stroboscopic effect are obtained, and the specific setting mode is not repeated.

FIG. 22 shows a more optimized partial action waveform corresponding to FIG. 21, wherein the horizontal axis is the time axis, and the vertical axis V21 (T) corresponds to the voltage waveform of the power supply, which is the voltage with the pulse period; for convenience of understanding, assuming that the conduction voltage drops of the LED arrays are unchanged, the conduction voltage drops of the first LED arrays D21, D22 and D23 are VD21, VD22 and VD23 respectively, VD2 is equal to VD3, the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the first LED array D21, the second LED array D22 and the third LED array D23 is vd21+vd22+vd23, the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the third LED array D23 and the first LED array D21 is vd23+vd21, the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the third LED array D23 and the second LED array D22 is vd23+vd22, and different time intervals and action waveforms are provided according to the corresponding relation between the power supply voltage and the conduction voltage drops of the LED arrays:

In fig. 22, in the time interval T2-T3, the voltage V21 (T) of the dc power supply V21 is greater than vd21+vd22+vd23, the floating switch unit SW21 is turned OFF, corresponding to the OFF state of SW22 in fig. 22, the current cutoff of the common switch unit I21 is zero, corresponding to the I21 (T) waveform in fig. 22, the current limiter I22 is turned on, the current is IL, corresponding to the I22 (T) waveform in fig. 22, and the currents of the first LED array D21, the second LED array D22, and the LED array D23 are the same IL, corresponding to the waveforms of ID21 (T), ID22 (T), and ID23 (T) in fig. 22.

In fig. 22, in the time interval T1-T2 and the time interval T3-T4, the voltage V21 (T) of the dc power supply V21 is smaller than vd21+vd22+vd23 and larger than vd23+vd22 and vd23+vd21, at this time, the floating switch unit SW21 and the common-ground switch unit I21 are alternately switched between a first state in which the floating switch unit SW21 is turned off and the common-ground switch unit I21 is turned on with IM, the current of the current limiter is zero, the currents of the first LED array D21 and the LED array D23 are IM, and the current of the second LED array D22 is zero; in the second state, the floating switch unit SW21 is turned on, the common switch unit is turned off, the current limiting device is turned on by IM, the current of the first LED array D21 is zero, and the currents of the second LED array D22 and the LED array D23 are IM.

In fig. 22, in the time interval T0-T1 and the time interval T4-T5, the voltage V21 (T) of the dc power supply V21 is smaller than vd23+vd22 and vd23+vd21 and larger than VD23, at this time, the floating switch unit SW21 is turned on, the common switch unit is turned on by IH, the current of the current limiter is zero, the currents of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 are zero, and the current of the LED array D23 is IH.

In fig. 22, T1', T2', T3', T4', and T5' are the times in the next pulse period of the power supply voltage, corresponding to the times T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively, and the above-described process is repeated in the corresponding time intervals.

In fig. 22, the switching frequency of the first state and the second state is higher than the ripple frequency of the rectified output voltage in two time intervals T1-T2 and T3-T4, and the first state and the second state are included in the two time intervals respectively and all start from the first state, which is only an example and not a limitation, and may be set to start from the second state in specific implementation, or set to start from the first state in one time interval and start from the second state in the other time interval, and the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 have nearly the same power in two time intervals T1-T2 and T3-T4 when the switching frequency is far greater than the ripple frequency.

In fig. 22, according to the LED arrays turned on corresponding to the respective time intervals, appropriate IL, IM and IH values are configured, so that when the power supply voltage periodically fluctuates, the total power of the LED arrays is approximately constant, and the variation of the light emission amount and the strobe can be reduced; in addition, since it is assumed in fig. 22 that the on-voltage drops of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 are the same, the current values IM corresponding to the common-ground switching unit I21 and the current limiting device I22 are also the same, otherwise, the respective values need to be set separately to obtain that the total power of the LED arrays is approximately constant; furthermore, the common-ground switch unit I21 corresponds to a larger current value IH in the time interval T0-T1 and the time interval T4-T1', however, this is not necessary in practical applications, for example, a simpler design is required for low-price goods, and the requirement for the value of IH, for example, design ih=im, can be reduced.

In fig. 22, the fact that the fluctuation of the power supply voltage in one pulse period is large is to illustrate the operation waveforms when the power supply voltage and the LED array turn-on voltage drop are in different correspondence relations, in practical application, only a part of the operation waveforms corresponding to the time intervals may occur due to the difference of the correspondence relations between the power supply voltage and the LED array turn-on voltage drop, for example, when the power supply voltage is stable, the operation waveforms in the time intervals T0-T1 and T4-T1' may not occur, and therefore, the time interval may not need to be considered when the design is performed on the actual commodity.

In more detail, as shown in fig. 22, the switching manner of the first state and the second state in the two time intervals of T1-T2 and T3-T4 is not unique, and may further include:

1) Alternately switching between two time intervals in one pulse period, as shown in fig. 23, setting a time interval of T1-T2 and a time interval of T1'-T2' as a first state, and setting a time interval of T3-T4 and a time interval of T3'-T4' as a second state; or as shown in fig. 24, setting the time interval T1-T2 and the time interval T1'-T2' to be in the second state, and the time interval T3-T4 and the time interval T3'-T4' to be in the first state; in this switching manner, the on-time of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 is different in two time intervals of T1-T2 and T3-T4, and accordingly, the current and the power are not easy to be the same, but the switching above the ripple frequency shown in fig. 22 is not required, so that the control unit is simple and has practical value.

2) Alternately switching in two adjacent pulsation periods: as shown in fig. 25, the T1-T2 time interval and the T3-T4 time interval in the first pulse period are set as the first state, and the T1'-T2' time interval and the T3'-T4' time interval in the second pulse period are set as the second state; or conversely, as shown in fig. 26, the time interval T1-T2 and the time interval T3-T4 in the first pulsation period are set to the second state, and the time interval T1'-T2' and the time interval T3'-T4' in the second pulsation period are set to the first state; because the power supply voltage waveforms of two adjacent pulsation periods are approximate, the mode can also realize that the total power of the LED arrays is approximately constant, and the disadvantage is that the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 are alternately lightened at a pulsation frequency lower than the pulsation frequency of the rectified power grid, which possibly affects the lighting comfort, but the circuit is simple and has practical value.

Combining fig. 22, 23, 24, 25 and 26, the floating switch unit and the common ground switch unit alternately operate in the first state and the second state in the T1-T2 time interval, the T3-T4 time interval, the T1'-T2' time interval and the T3'-T4' time interval, i) the multiple switching of the first state and the second state can be performed in one time interval, ii) the first state and the second state can be alternately switched in two time intervals in one pulse period, iii) or the first state and the second state can be alternately switched in two adjacent pulse periods, or a combination of i), ii) and iii) above.

The foregoing embodiment can achieve an approximately constant amount of light emission by changing the total power of the current-controlled LED array approximately constant when the power supply voltage is changed, and has a positive effect on reducing the light emission strobe of the LEDs, however, due to the periodic change of the dc power supply 07 (or the power supply) voltage, the driving circuit may periodically turn on different loops and the LED arrays on the different loops, and correspondingly, the current per LED/the light emission amount per LED periodically changes, and in extreme cases, when the human eye or the test instrument is infinitely close to the LEDs, the light emission strobe of a single LED can be perceived; when the human eyes or the testing instrument are infinitely far away from the LEDs, the stroboscopic effect is not perceived as the perceived luminous quantity is the total luminous quantity of all LEDs, namely, no stroboscopic effect exists; in practical cases, the human eye or the test instrument can not be used or tested at an infinite distance, and the optical processing part of the lighting device and the influence of air on light rays have a certain reduction effect on stroboscopic light, and one kind of experimental data is as follows: the test instrument can test a strobe depth of about 3-5% at a distance of several centimeters or tens of centimeters from the LED, or can photograph a slight ripple when photographing with a camera within a distance of tens of centimeters.

In this embodiment, the LED array is taken as an example for explanation, and in other embodiments, the control circuit and the driving circuit provided in this embodiment may also be applied to control and drive other light-emitting loads, such as an OLED or other solid-state light-emitting devices.

The present embodiment also provides a lighting device having at least one of the driving circuits shown in some of the above embodiments.

Examples sixteen

In this embodiment, a lighting device is also proposed, as shown in fig. 28, 29, 30 and 37, including a driving circuit in other embodiments of the present application, and a first load and a second load. For example, the second load may be an LED array in a second bypass loop in some other embodiments, or an LED array in a second portion of the LED arrays; the first load may be an LED array in the first bypass loop or an LED array in the first portion of the LED arrays in other embodiments. The first and second partial LED arrays have different strobe characteristics due to the different loops in which they are positioned. The first load and the second load are each configured as a lighting load and each comprise one LED or a plurality of LEDs, wherein the plurality of LEDs may be connected in series and/or in parallel.

Fig. 37 is a schematic diagram of a two-part LED layout with different strobe characteristics in n LED arrays in yet another embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the second partial LED array SPARKLING _z1 and the first partial LED array const_z1 of the two partial LED arrays are laid out to overlap to some extent. In other words, the second partial LED array SPARKLING _z1 is partially dispersed/surrounded in the first partial LED array const_z1, and as shown, the Outline region (outlineregion) outline_z1 of the second partial LED array SPARKLING _z1 and the Outline region outline_z2 of the first partial LED array const_z1 also overlap in a certain proportion, for example, the overlapping region Overlap _z1 may occupy about 60% of the area of the Outline region outline_z1 of the second partial LED array. Thus, at least within or around the overlap region overlap_z1, the strobing of light radiated (illuminating) by the second partial LED array SPARKLING _z1 with higher strobing will be masked to some extent by the first partial LED array const_z1 with lower or no strobing, thereby reducing the strobing of the driving circuit or the lighting device as a whole.

In fig. 28, a substrate OUTLINE-PCB is included that is configured to carry a first partial LED array LEDD21-1, D21-2. The second partial LED array LEDs D22-1, D22-2, D22-3, and D22-4 form an outline area OUTLINE-D22, with the plurality of LEDs in the second partial LED array and the plurality of LEDs in the first partial LED array being arranged in a rectangle.

In FIG. 29, a substrate OUTLINE-PCB ' is included that is configured to carry a first partial LED array LED21-1 ', D21-2'. A. D21-6', and a second partial LED array LED D22-1', D22-2', D22-3', and D22-4', the first partial LED array LED21-1 ', D21-2'. A. D21-6' forms the contoured region OUTLINE-D21', the second partial LED array LED D22-1', D22-2', D22-3', and D22-4' forms the contoured region OUTLINE-D22', a plurality of LEDs in the second partial LED array being arranged in a substantially rectangular pattern, the plurality of LEDs in the first partial LED array being arranged in a substantially circular ring.

In fig. 30, a substrate OUTLINE-PCB "is included that is configured to carry a first portion LED array LED D21-1", D21-2". The first portion LED array LED D21-1", D22-2", and D22-3", the first portion LED array LED D21-1", D21-2". The second portion LED array LED D21-6 ". The first portion LED array LED D21-1", D22-2", and D22-3". The second portion LED array LED is connected to the first portion LED array LED, the outline area OUTLINE-D21 ' is formed, the second partial LED arrays LED22-1 ', D22-2 ', and D22-3 ' form the outline area OUTLINE-D22 ', the plurality of LEDs in the second partial LED array are distributed in a polygonal ring shape, and the plurality of LEDs in the first partial LED array are distributed in a triangular ring shape.

Fig. 28, 29 and 30 have some or all of the following features, respectively:

The LEDs in the first part of LED arrays are staggered with the LEDs in the second part of LED arrays, and the LEDs in the first part of LED arrays are partially overlapped with the outline areas of the LEDs in the second part of LED arrays;

The plurality of LEDs in the second partial LED array are interspersed within the contoured region of the plurality of LEDs in the first partial LED array;

The plurality of LEDs in the second partial LED array are distributed and surrounded by the plurality of LEDs in the first partial LED array.

The second portion LED array having a plurality of LEDs interspersed within the contoured region of the plurality of LEDs in the first portion LED array;

The contoured regions of the plurality of LEDs in the second partial LED array have 60% to 100% overlap with the contoured regions of the plurality of LEDs in the first partial LED array;

The plurality of LEDs in the second partial LED array and the plurality of LEDs in the first partial LED array are distributed substantially symmetrically about the center of the overall outline area in the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array;

the LEDs in the second part of LED arrays and the LEDs in the first part of LED arrays are respectively distributed in a central symmetry mode; and the center of symmetry of one or more LEDs in the second partial LED array is substantially coincident with the center of symmetry of a plurality of LEDs in the first partial LED array;

One LED in the second part of LED array is basically arranged at the symmetrical center of a plurality of LEDs in the first part of LED array, or a plurality of LEDs in the second part of LED array and/or a plurality of LEDs in the first part of LED array are arranged in a rectangular, circular or annular shape, and of course, the LED array can also comprise a curved/linear, symmetrical or asymmetrical radial shape, and the repeated description is omitted;

The plurality of LEDs in the first partial LED array are distributed in rectangular, circular, annular areas on the substrate or, obviously, in curved/rectilinear, symmetrical or asymmetrical radial areas, and the one or more LEDs in the second partial LED array are arranged within the plurality of LEDs in the first partial LED array;

One or more LEDs in the second partial LED array are distributed in a rectangular, circular, annular, and deformable curved/rectilinear, symmetrical or asymmetrical radial shape; and one or more LED outline areas in the second partial LED array being comparable in area to or at least less than the outline areas of the plurality of LEDs in the first partial LED array by a proportion of 10%.

In addition, it is conceivable that one or more LEDs in the second partial LED array and one or more LEDs in the first partial LED array are arranged adjacently, either correspondingly or in pairs.

Since the first load D21 and the second load D22 each include one or more LED light emitting units, the plurality of LED light emitting units may be distributively/dispersedly carried and release power of the first load D21 or the second load D22 in the form of light energy. The LED light emitting units of the first and second loads D21 and D22 may be at least partially staggered, for example, there is overlap in the outer profile areas of both the first and second loads D21 and D22, or the outer profile/envelope lines of both have overlap as a whole. Since there is an overlap between the outline areas formed by the first load D21 and the second load D22, although only the first load D21 is turned on and the second load D22 is turned off when the voltage of the dc power supply is relatively low, and thus there may be some strobe/flicker to some extent, since the first load D21 of the overlap area is still in a normally bright state under a normal low voltage condition, the second load D22 is temporarily turned off, which can be compensated by the light emitted from the normally bright first load D21. This reduces or masks to some extent the strobing of the second load D22 at low voltages. Moreover, in general, the larger the area where the second load D22 overlaps the first load D21, that is, the more the outer areas of the two overlap, it may be more advantageous for the first load D21 to hide the masking of the low-voltage strobe of the second load D22 with its high tolerance to the low voltage.

Further, the staggered arrangement areas of the first load D21 and the second load D22 may be arranged to overlap to a greater extent, so that the area that is substantially bright and has a low strobe is larger. Thus, further, the second load D22 may be disposed entirely within the first load D21, i.e., entirely, the outer area of the second load D22 is located within the outer area of the first load D21, as shown.

Optionally, the plurality of LEDs 21 in the first load D21 has a first number, and the plurality of LEDs 22 in the second load D22 has a second number, the first number being greater than the second number, and in case such a first load D21 has a dominant number, strobe masking of the second load D22 may be better in certain LED layout modes.

Optionally, the plurality of LEDs in the second load D22 and the plurality of LEDs of the first load D21 are distributed substantially symmetrically around the center of the overall profile area of the first load and the second load. Alternatively, the symmetry center of the plurality of LEDs of the first load D21 is set as the symmetry center when the second load D22 is arranged. And if the second load D22 includes only one LED, it may be disposed substantially at the center of symmetry of the plurality of LEDs of the first load D21. The second load D22 and the first load D21 are arranged in a central symmetrical manner, which can be as shown in the figure

Alternatively, the layout shape of the centrosymmetric LED may include: rectangular, circular, annular, curved/rectilinear, symmetrical or asymmetrical radial, etc.

The plurality of LEDs 21 and the plurality of LEDs 22 are arranged around the circuit substrate in a ring shape, for example, in a corresponding arrangement in the radial direction or in a staggered arrangement in the radial direction. Thus, the LED21 and the LED22 pair (pai r) disposed adjacently can be complemented in the on and off states locally, so that the LED21 and the LED22 pair can be kept substantially normally on at the position on the substrate and the peripheral area thereof.

Further, the plurality of LEDs 21 and the plurality of LEDs 22 may be arranged on the substrate in a somewhat uniform manner, for example, in a circular, square, regular hexagonal shape in a "carpet-like" manner or in a circumferentially distributed manner, interspersed on the circuit substrate. For example, 10 LEDs 21 are arranged in an outer ring with a slightly larger radius, and 10 LEDs 22 are arranged in an inner ring with a slightly smaller radius in a one-to-one correspondence. This arrangement in which the plurality of LEDs 21 and the plurality of LEDs 22 are uniformly dispersed with each other can reduce the strobe.

Example seventeen

As can be seen from the above embodiments, in the driving circuit, the current values of the main loop and each bypass loop are configured, and in response to the driving circuit operating in the corresponding main loop/bypass loop, the sum of the powers of the LED arrays on the different main loop/bypass loops that are turned on is located in the neighborhood of the first power value, so that the luminous flux can be maintained substantially unchanged, so as to reduce the strobe or improve the light emission fluctuation of the LED arrays from the frequency perspective.

When the dc power source is a battery or a switching power source, the output voltage waveform is substantially flat, so that, typically, the drive circuit is continuously operating in the main loop, one bypass loop, or a combination of bypass loops (including at least two bypass loops that alternate/alternate at a first predetermined frequency), it may be considered to be free of strobe or considered to be a safe fluctuating frequency to avoid inspection of the strobe depth.

When the DC power supply is generated by rectification and filtering of alternating current, the output voltage waveform of the DC power supply is pulsating, the frequency of the alternating current is usually 50/60HZ, the pulsating frequency after rectification is 100/120HZ, and the following situations exist: in different time intervals in a pulse period, corresponding pulse direct current voltages are different, the driving circuit respectively operates in different loops, and the loops comprise: the main loop, the bypass loop, or a combination of bypass loops may be expected to be further improved in that the amount of light emitted by the LED arrays located in the different loops may be different in response to the loops being operated, and/or the sum of the amounts of light emitted by all the LED arrays in the different loops may be different or slightly different.

Further, the present embodiment provides an inventive concept: at a fixed ac voltage, or a fixed pulsating dc voltage, the control unit controls the driving circuit to continuously operate in the main loop, the fixed bypass loop, or a combination of fixed bypass loops for at least one pulsating period, depending on whether the pulsating dc voltage is sufficient to drive n (or less than n) LED arrays, to reduce or eliminate low frequency stroboscopic generated by the driving circuit operating in different loops respectively during different time intervals within one pulsating period.

It should be noted that, the pulsating dc voltage is continuously and periodically changed, and the number of LED arrays that can be driven by the pulsating dc voltage depends on the number of LEDs that can be driven by the minimum value that occurs in the pulsating period, and in this embodiment, whether the pulsating dc voltage is sufficient to drive n (or less than n) LED arrays may also be understood as follows: whether the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage is sufficient to support the conduction voltage drop of n (or less than n) LED arrays or whether the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage is sufficient to support the luminous flux of n (or less than n) LED arrays having sufficient voltage/current/power to meet the demand when they are simultaneously turned on.

In this embodiment, the control unit includes an electrical signal measurement unit including:

A second electrical signal is configured that reflects or positively correlates/negatively correlates i) the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage ii) the minimum value of the difference between the pulsating direct voltage and the voltage experienced by the LED array. The present description exemplifies that the second electrical signal is positively correlated with the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage or the minimum value of the difference between the pulsating direct current voltage and the voltage to which the LED array is subjected.

Alternatively, the second electrical signal may be taken from the first electrical signal.

Alternatively, the second electrical signal may be taken from both terminals of the dc power supply, or alternatively, via a circuit coupled to the positive and negative polarity outputs of the dc power supply.

Alternatively, the second electrical signal may be acquired based on one or more circuit parameters in the control circuit in a state in which at least one of the switching units is turned off. For example, the second electrical signal may be taken from at least one of a voltage across the current limiting device, a voltage at a control terminal of the current limiting device, and a current of the current limiting device.

Optionally, in a state in which the at least one switching unit is turned on, the second electrical signal is taken from at least one of a voltage across the current limiting device, a voltage at a control terminal of the current limiting device, and a current of the current limiting device.

Alternatively, the second electrical signal may be taken across at least one common ground switch.

The specific method comprises the following steps:

1) The power supply is coupled to two ends of the direct current power supply, and the output voltage of the direct current power supply is collected; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

2) Coupled across a resistor or MOS transistor (e.g., a current limiting device) located on the main/bypass loop; or alternatively, the first and second heat exchangers may be,

3) Coupled to both ends of at least one LED array connected in series to the main loop.

Alternatively, a pulsating direct voltage or a variation law of the difference between the pulsating direct voltage and the voltage sustained by the LED array under a fixed implementation may be foreseen or calculated, i.e. a second electrical signal reflecting the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage (or the first electrical signal minimum value) may be calculated or obtained by suitable circuit conversion based on periodic parameter characteristics of the pulsating direct voltage (or the difference between the pulsating direct voltage and the voltage sustained by the LED array), such as one or more of a periodic maximum value, minimum value, average value, effective value or other time-varying voltage law. For example, the pulsating direct current voltage or the difference between the pulsating direct current voltage and the voltage received by the LED array periodically falls to a minimum value (trough value) and then starts to rise, the time corresponding to the minimum value (trough value) of the pulsating direct current voltage can be obtained by detecting the slope of the voltage change, the pulsating direct current voltage is sampled at or near the time, and the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage or the difference between the pulsating direct current voltage and the voltage received by the LED array in the pulsating period can be obtained. And, a second electrical signal reflecting the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage (or the difference between the pulsating direct voltage and the voltage sustained by the LED array) may also be obtained by other means or methods. For the sake of brevity, this will not be described in detail.

Alternatively, in practical applications, it is desirable that the light emission of the LED array cannot be suddenly reduced or suddenly reduced too much after the mains voltage is reduced, and thus, once the mains voltage is reduced, the driving circuit 100 needs to be timely switched to the bypass loop corresponding to the pulsating dc voltage value to maintain sufficient LED array on and light flux to meet the demand. However, after the mains voltage rises, it is not so important whether the driving circuit is timely switched to the bypass circuit or the main circuit corresponding to the pulsating direct voltage value, because the light emission of the LED array does not have large fluctuation even if the driving circuit is not timely switched to the bypass circuit or the main circuit corresponding to the pulsating direct voltage value. It is therefore desirable that the second electrical signal reflects the instantaneous value of the pulsating direct voltage in good time, from which point of view the second electrical signal reflecting the reduction of the mains supply may be configured as the first electrical signal, or the second electrical signal should be configured to reflect the pulsating direct voltage or the difference between the pulsating direct voltage and the voltage to which the LED array is subjected in good time when the mains supply is reduced.

In this embodiment, the electrical signal measurement unit further includes a second comparator configured to compare the second electrical signal with the first threshold to generate a second comparison signal indicative of whether the pulsating direct current voltage is sufficient to drive n (or less than n) LED arrays, in particular, in response to the second electrical signal reflecting the instantaneous value of the pulsating direct current voltage being less than the first threshold, the second comparison signal is indicative of the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage being insufficient to drive n (or less than n) LED arrays; in response to the second electrical signal reflecting the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage being greater than the first threshold value, the second comparison signal characterizes the pulsating direct voltage as being sufficient to drive n (or less than n) LED arrays over a full period.

Alternatively, the number of LED arrays turned on (or the on voltage drop of the LED arrays turned on) whether the pulsating direct current voltage is sufficient for driving may be various, such as n or n-1 as described above, and thus the first threshold value may be configured as a plurality of values, or the second electrical signal may be configured as a plurality of values, so that the result of comparing the first threshold value and the second electrical signal reflects whether the pulsating direct current voltage is sufficient for driving different numbers of LED arrays, respectively.

As shown in fig. 40 and 41, a driving circuit 100 and a control circuit 200 are provided.

The driving circuit 100 provided in this embodiment includes a control circuit 200, a dc power supply U generated by rectifying and filtering ac power, and three LED arrays, in this embodiment, the control circuit 200 includes a control unit 110, as shown in fig. 41, the control unit 110 includes an electrical signal measuring unit 111 and a signal processing unit 112, wherein an input end of the electrical signal measuring unit 111 is coupled to the driving circuit 100 to obtain a second electrical signal,

The control unit 200 is configured to control the three switching units to bypass at least one LED array to keep the LED arrays that are not bypassed still conductive and to run a ripple period of at least one dc power supply in response to the output voltage of the dc power supply U being insufficient to turn on the three LED arrays.

The electrical signal measuring unit 111 is configured to determine whether the output voltage of the dc power supply U is sufficient to turn on the three LED arrays.

And a signal processing unit 112 connected to the control terminals of the electric signal measuring unit 111 and the three switching units, respectively, and operable to control the switching units according to the comparison result of the electric signal measuring unit 111.

Further, the electrical signal measuring unit 111 has a second comparator 113, one input terminal of the second comparator 113 is configured as a first threshold value, the other input terminal is configured to receive a second electrical signal, the output terminal of the second comparator 113 is connected to the input terminal of the signal processing unit 112, the second comparator 113 compares the second electrical signal with the first threshold value to determine whether the output voltage of the dc power supply U is sufficient to drive the three LED arrays, and sends a second comparison signal to the signal processing unit 112 according to the determination result, and the signal processing unit 112 controls the control terminal of each switching unit connected to the output terminal thereof according to the second comparison signal, so as to control the driving circuit 100 to continuously operate in the main loop, the fixed one bypass loop, or the combination of the fixed one bypass loop for at least one pulse period.

Specifically, when the second electrical signal is greater than the first threshold, that is, the output voltage of the dc power supply U is sufficient to drive the three LED arrays, the driving circuit 100 continues to operate in the main loop for at least one ripple period; conversely, when the second electrical signal is less than the first threshold, i.e., the output voltage of the dc power supply U is insufficient to drive the three LED arrays, the driving circuit 100 continues to operate in one or a combination of the first through sixth bypass loops for at least one pulsing period.

The signal processing unit 112 is responsive to the second comparison signal to control the switching unit/current limiting device to operate in on, off or current mode to operate the driving circuit 100 in different loop modes, and may be designed according to different requirements. For example, when the output terminal drives the switching unit which is alternately/alternately turned on, it is necessary to design the timing logic circuit as shown in the fifteen embodiments, and vice versa; or when the output end drives the floating switch unit, a level conversion circuit is needed to enable the second comparison signal to drive the floating switch unit in a matched mode, otherwise, the level conversion circuit is not needed; or the second comparison signal is processed in time sequence, for example, the rising edge/falling edge of the second comparison signal is converted into a corresponding level signal, such as using a flip-flop with a set-reset function, or similar to the flip-flop shown in the fifteen embodiments of the present invention, even when m=1, x=0, there is only one common ground switching unit, the second comparison signal may directly drive the common ground switching unit, or the signal matching/buffering is performed on the second comparison signal only through the signal processing unit 112, etc., specifically, a person skilled in the art may make an adaptive design according to the technology and method disclosed in the present invention, which will not be repeated herein, and the signal processing unit 112 described in the present embodiment is also applicable to other embodiments.

However, the mains voltage is connected to a plurality of loads, and the characteristics and operation rules of the plurality of loads are different, which may cause the mains voltage to fluctuate, for example, the mains voltage effective value is lower during a peak period of power consumption, and the mains voltage effective value is higher during a valley period of power consumption. In order to obtain better energy conversion efficiency and better maintain the light emission stability of the LED array, the driving circuit 100 should be switched to different loops according to different mains voltages and continuously operate. Concomitantly, at the moment when the driving circuit 100 is controlled to switch from one loop (current loop) to another loop (target loop), the amount of light emitted by a single LED array or the total amount of light emitted by all LED arrays will be abrupt, thereby causing a visual instant abrupt change in brightness that is perceivable to the human eye, and in order to avoid this abrupt change in brightness, in this embodiment, a "gradual switching" manner is adopted to implement switching of the driving circuit 100 in response to mains voltage fluctuations.

Alternatively, the control unit 110 is configured to gradually complete the transition from turning on three LED arrays to turning on a portion of the LED arrays (e.g., two LED arrays) by a subsequent plurality of pulsing periods in response to the trough/portion voltage being insufficient to turn on the three LED arrays in a single pulsing period. As shown in fig. 42A, the control unit 110 further includes an integrating unit 114, where the integrating unit 114 is operable to output an integration signal varying with time according to a determination result of whether the output voltage of the dc power supply U is sufficient to turn on the three LED arrays, specifically, an input terminal of the integrating unit 114 is connected to an output terminal of the second comparator 113, the integrating unit 114 controls an output terminal thereof to output the integration signal varying with time in response to the second comparison signal, the integration signal is input to an input terminal of the signal processing unit 112, and the switching unit/the current limiting device is controlled to operate in an on, off or current mode through an output terminal of the signal processing unit, so that the driving circuit 100 operates in different loop modes. The driving circuit 100 is configured to gradually decrease the current running in the present loop and gradually increase the current running in the target loop in response to a change in the integrated signal, the driving circuit 100 running in a gradual transition direction from the present loop to the target loop; or conversely, the reverse gradual change direction is reversed, so that the current running in the current loop gradually increases, and the current running in the target loop gradually decreases.

Optionally, as shown in fig. 42B, optionally, the electrical signal measurement unit 111 further includes a first comparator 116, one input terminal of the first comparator 116 is configured to collect the first electrical signal, the other input terminal is configured to integrate the signal, an output terminal of the first comparator 116 is connected to an input terminal of the signal processing unit 112, and the signal processing unit 112 controls the switching unit/current limiter to operate in an on, off or current regulation mode in response to an output of the first comparator 116, so that the driving circuit 100 operates in a different loop mode. Alternatively, the driving circuit 100 is configured to gradually decrease the ratio of the time running in the current loop and the time running in the target loop in response to a change in the integrated signal; or conversely, the ratio of the time operating in the current loop to the time operating in the target loop is gradually increased.

Optionally, the integrating unit 114 includes an RC filter circuit (not shown) formed by at least one resistor and a capacitor, one end of the resistor is an input end of the integrating unit 114, the other end is an output end of the integrating unit 114, and two ends of the capacitor are respectively connected to the output end of the integrating unit 114 and ground.

Optionally, the integrating unit 114 includes a bidirectional counter (not shown) and a digital-to-analog converter (not shown), wherein an input end of the bidirectional counter, that is, an input end of the integrating unit 114, is connected to an input end of the digital-to-analog converter, an output end of the digital-to-analog converter, that is, an output end of the integrating unit, and the bidirectional counter outputs an increased or decreased count signal at an output end of the bidirectional counter in response to a change of the second comparison signal, and the digital-to-analog converter outputs an integral signal corresponding to the count signal.

Alternatively, the up-down counter may be an adder-subtractor.

Optionally, the up-down counter is responsive to the clock signal, the count signal increasing or decreasing in synchronism with the clock signal from cycle to cycle.

Preferably, the clock signal is synchronized to the ripple period or to the first predetermined frequency. Of course, the period/frequency of the clock signal may also be independent of the ripple period or the first predetermined frequency.

Alternatively, the signal processing unit 112 is configured to control the average value of the currents in the partial LED arrays (e.g., two LED arrays) and the average value of the currents in the three LED arrays to be increased and decreased, respectively, in accordance with the variation of the integrated signal over a plurality of pulsation periods.

Optionally, the signal processing unit 112 is further configured to: the relative proportion of the operating time that three LED arrays are all turned on to the operating time that some LED arrays are individually turned on (e.g., two LED arrays) is coordinated, and sequentially decremented or incremented through a plurality of pulsing periods.

To facilitate understanding of the operation principle, an analogy can be made with the fifteen embodiments, by the action of the output signal of the integrating unit in the present embodiment, one input terminal of the first comparator can be made to receive a variable amount such as a ramp signal, which corresponds to making the first threshold value, which is a constant amount in the fifteen embodiments, variable over time, the first comparator 116 in the present embodiment corresponds to the comparator in the fifteen embodiments, the signal processing unit 112 in the present embodiment corresponds to the timing logic circuit 06A in the fifteen embodiments, and the output signal of the first electric signal and the integrated signal after comparison by the first comparator 116 in the present embodiment corresponds to the comparison signal in the fifteen embodiments. Based on the description of some embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that this embodiment changes the time that the driving circuit 100 operates in different loops or the ratio of the time that it operates in different loops through the change of the integral signal until the gradual transition process is completed.

It will be appreciated that the LED array emitting light is different during different time intervals in each pulsing period during the ramp switching process, however, since the duration/duration of the ramp switching is short, the driving circuit will remain in a fixed loop until the next ramp switching process is started after the ramp switching is completed or reversed/disengaged/exited, at which time the LED array is turned on with a constant current or alternately at a first predetermined frequency during each pulsing period, so that no low frequency flash is present.

It should be noted that, the smaller the amount of change in light per unit time during gradation conversion, the less likely the human eye will perceive an abrupt change in light, and thus, it is desirable that the amount of change in the current loop current and the target loop current per unit time during gradation conversion be as small as possible, in other words, assuming that the amount of change in the current loop current and the target loop current per unit time are both constant or approximately constant during gradation conversion, setting a longer gradation conversion time may achieve a smaller amount of change in the current loop current and the target loop current per unit time, for example, setting the gradation conversion time to be greater than 0.2 seconds.

In other words, the mutual gradation conversion between different circuits can be achieved with the current of the target circuit being increased by equal or unequal amounts at fixed intervals (or non-fixed intervals) synchronous or asynchronous to the pulsation period and the current of the circuit being decreased by equal or unequal amounts at fixed intervals (or non-fixed intervals) synchronous or asynchronous to the pulsation period, one of the targets being that the amount of change in light per unit time is controlled not to be easily perceived by the human eye during gradation conversion. It should be further noted that, in the practical application scenario, due to the fluctuation of the mains supply, it may happen that: the driving circuit 100 enters the gradation conversion process during a certain period of time when the second electric signal is smaller than the first threshold value, however, during another period of time when the gradation conversion is not completed, the second electric signal is larger than the first threshold value, and at this time, the manner one, that is, the above, may be adopted: according to the fluctuation of the mains voltage, the change direction of the integral signal is adjusted in real time, and the gradual change conversion direction is adjusted in real time); it is also possible to use the second mode to lock the direction of change of the integral signal, i.e. lock the current gradual change direction, no longer respond to the second comparison signal and no change of gradual change direction until the gradual change process is completed, or respond to the second comparison signal and determine whether to change the operating loop according to the type of the second comparison signal within a period of time after the gradual change process is completed, specifically, the above functions can be realized by setting a device with hysteresis function, such as a hysteresis comparator, or by a trigger circuit with set reset function, or by a circuit with latch/unlock function, since the above device with hysteresis function, the trigger circuit with set reset function, and the circuit with latch/unlock function can all be realized by known techniques in the art, which will not be specifically described in this specification.

In addition, in order to avoid that in some extreme cases, the mains voltage fluctuates repeatedly, which causes the driving circuit 100 to switch repeatedly in the gradual switching process or between different loops, the control unit 110 may be configured to make the mains voltage corresponding to the gradual switching of the driving circuit 100 to the main loop slightly higher than the mains voltage corresponding to the gradual switching to the bypass loop, so as to form a hysteresis window, for example, by setting the second comparator 113 in the electrical signal measuring unit 111 as a hysteresis comparator. In this embodiment, the mutual gradual transition between different circuits allows the driving circuit 100 to gradually transition from the current circuit to the target circuit due to the voltage fluctuation of the mains supply, so that the light emission of the LED array is not abrupt, which is beneficial to reducing or eliminating or improving the visual instant brightness fluctuation perceived by human eyes, and the driving circuit 100 continuously operates in a fixed circuit or a combination of circuits after the gradual transition is completed, thereby reducing or eliminating the low-frequency strobe.

Taking n=2 and m=1 as an example, an operation waveform diagram of the driving circuit 2 shown in fig. 11 is shown in fig. 43, in which the horizontal axis is a time axis, the vertical axis VDC (T) corresponds to a pulsating dc voltage after rectification of the ac power, the vertical axis ILED2 (T) corresponds to a current of the second LED array LED2 which can be bypassed by the switching unit Q1, the vertical axis ILED1 (T) corresponds to a current of the first LED array LED1, the vertical axis IQ1 (T) corresponds to a current of the switching unit Q1, and the vertical axis IQ0 (T) corresponds to a current of the current limiter Q0. Before time T001, the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage VDC (T) is continuously sufficient to drive both LED arrays, the switching unit Q1 is turned off (or turned off), and the currents of the first LED array LED1 and the second LED array LED2 are controlled by the current limiting device Q0.

As shown in fig. 11, x=0, m=1, n=2, q=1, p=2, y=0. When the control circuit 1 is used/applied to two LED arrays, the positive polarity end of the pulsating direct voltage, the first LED array LED1, the second LED array LED2 are connected in order to constitute a series loop. The switching unit Q1 is bridged between the following 1) and 2): 1) The junction of the first LED array LED1 and the second LED array LED2, and 2) the negative polarity end of the pulsating dc voltage. Thus, in response to at least one electrical signal indicating that the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falls below the conduction threshold, the control switch unit Q1 of the control unit D1 remains on for the full period of the pulsating direct current voltage, whereby the first LED array LED1 is individually illuminated and the second LED array LED2 is not illuminated for the full period of each of the following pulsating periods of the pulsating direct current voltage. Depending on the number of on-voltage drops, circuit connection configuration, etc. of the individual LED arrays, the on-threshold may comprise a number of specific values, such as a full-bright threshold in this embodiment. Here, the state in which the first LED array LED1 is individually turned on may be continued for at least one pulsation period, for example, several pulsation periods corresponding to the period T002-T003, until the minimum value of the pulsation voltage occurs again, for example, around the time T003, a certain degree of up-down change crosses some of the on threshold values or the voltage intervals again.

In addition, in some embodiments, as shown in fig. 21, the n LED arrays driven by the control circuit 8 further include a third LED array D23 connected in series in a series loop formed by the first LED array D21, the second LED array D22, and the dc power supply 07. The m switching units further include a first switching unit SW21. When the control circuit is applied to the first LED array, the second LED array and the third LED array in the series loop, the first switching unit will correspond to the first LED array and be connected in parallel with the first LED array D21. Thus, in response to at least one electrical signal indicating that the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage 07 falls below the full-lighting threshold (e.g., insufficient to simultaneously turn on either of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22, but sufficient to separately turn on either), the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22 are alternately illuminated at a first predetermined frequency by temporally complementary control signals alternately output by the timing logic circuit 5 to the control terminals of the first LED array D21 and the second LED array D22, respectively. In addition, since the third LED array D23 is not bypassed by any switching unit, it may be in a normally bright state.

At time T001, the control unit D1 detects or predicts that the value of the pulsating direct current voltage VDC (T) is insufficient to drive the two LED arrays at least at one time or time interval, and enters a gradual transition process: the average value and brightness of the current of the second LED array LED2 are gradually reduced by the same amount or different amounts of time for which the switching unit Q1 is turned on (i.e., the time for which the bypass loop operates) or the ratio of the on time of the switching unit Q1 to the off time of the switching unit Q1, with or without synchronization to the fixed interval time (or the non-fixed interval time) of the pulsation period, until the time T002, the switching unit Q1 is continuously turned on, and the second LED array LED2 is bypassed to be turned off.

Specifically, taking the integration unit 114 as an example configured by a bidirectional counter and a digital-to-analog converter, the value of the pulsating direct current voltage VDC (T) is insufficient to drive the two LED arrays at least in one time or time interval, the bidirectional counter receives the rising edge/falling edge of the second comparison signal, the output end of the bidirectional counter outputs a variable (e.g. increasing) count signal, the digital-to-analog converter outputs an integration signal corresponding to the count signal to the first comparator 116, the first comparator 116 outputs the comparison signal according to the comparison result of the integration signal and the first electrical signal, the signal processing unit 112 responds to the output of the first comparator 116, and increases the on time of the switching unit Q1 until the time T002, and the gradual transition is completed.

In the time interval between T002-1 and T003-1, the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage VDC (T) is continuously insufficient to drive the two LED arrays, the switching unit Q1 is turned on, the current of the second LED array LED2 is continuously zero, and the current of the first LED array LED1 is continuously regulated by the switching unit Q1.

During at least one pulsing period before time T003, the control unit D1 detects that the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage VDC (T) is sufficient to drive both LED arrays, entering a gradual transition process: the time of the on-state of the switching unit Q1 or the duty ratio of the on-state time of the switching unit Q1 with respect to the pulsation period is reduced by equal or unequal amounts at a fixed interval time (or an irregular interval time) synchronized or not synchronized with the pulsation period, the average value of the current and the brightness of the second LED array LED2 are gradually increased until the time T004, or a period of time after T004, the switching unit Q1 is continuously turned off, the second LED array LED2 is continuously turned on, and the currents of the first LED array LED1 and the second LED array LED2 are controlled by the current limiting device Q0.

After time T004, the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage VDC (T) is continuously sufficient to drive the two LED arrays in series, the switching unit Q1 is continuously turned off (or turned off), and the currents of the first LED array LED1 and the second LED array LED2 are controlled by the current limiting device Q0.

The current flowing through the main loop or the bypass loop is configured to be the same during and after the gradual transition described above, which is advantageous for the power supply system, for example, when the value of the pulsating direct voltage VDC (T) is at a critical point just triggering the transition of the different loops, since the value of the current drawn from the direct current source by the different loops is substantially unchanged before and after the transition, and thus the power drawn from the pulsating direct current source is also substantially unchanged. However, in some cases, it may be more desirable to stabilize the brightness of the lighting device, and accordingly, the current of the first LED array LED1 when the switching unit Q1 is turned on may be set to be greater than the current of the first LED array LED1 and the second LED array LED2 adjusted by the current limiting device Q0 when the switching unit Q1 is turned off, by controlling the sum of the powers of the LED arrays to be approximately constant so as to reduce the variation of the amount of light emission, which has been described in detail in other embodiments of the present invention and will not be repeated herein.

Alternatively, the current of the LED array 1 when the switching unit Q1 is turned on may be set to be smaller than the currents of the LED2 array 1 and the LED array 2 adjusted by the current limiting device Q0 when the switching unit Q1 is turned off, so that the light emitting brightness of the LED array decreases as the pulsating direct current voltage VDC (T) decreases, simulating the light emitting characteristics of the incandescent lamp.

Alternatively, in connection with the gradual conversion process of fig. 11, it may also be achieved by gradually converting the currents in the main loop and the bypass loop, for example, by directly adjusting the currents of the current limiter and the switching unit by integrating the signals, the corresponding waveforms are shown in fig. 44, the horizontal axis is a time axis, the vertical axis VDC (T) corresponds to the pulsating direct current voltage after rectification of the alternating current, the vertical axis ILED2 (T) corresponds to the current of the second LED array LED2 which can be bypassed by the switching unit Q1, the vertical axis ILED1 (T) corresponds to the current of the first LED array LED1, the vertical axis IQ1 (T) corresponds to the current of the switching unit Q1, and the vertical axis IQ0 (T) corresponds to the current of the current limiter Q0. Specifically, implementation details and action waveforms are not described in detail.

When n=3, m=2, in combination with the driving circuit 100 shown in fig. 45, fig. 46 shows an action waveform in which the amplitude of the hatched portion corresponds to the current at the time of alternating on/off, and since the average value of the current at the time of alternating on/off is smaller than that at the time of continuous on, it is also shown that the difference is made in fig. 46 with a relatively smaller amplitude.

The vertical axis VREC (T) corresponds to the pulsating dc voltage after ac rectification, the vertical axis IB2 (T) corresponds to the current of the LED array B2 which can be bypassed by the switching unit ASW1, the vertical axis IB1 (T) corresponds to the current of the LED array B1 which can be bypassed by the switching unit A1, the vertical axis IB3 (T) corresponds to the current of the LED array B3 without the corresponding switching unit, the vertical axis IASW (T) corresponds to the current of the switching unit ASW1, the vertical axis IA1 (T) corresponds to the current of the switching unit A1, the vertical axis IA2 (T) corresponds to the current of the current limiting device A2, the vertical axis VB123 (T) corresponds to the sum of the on-voltage drops of the LED arrays B1, B2 and B3, and the vertical axis VB3 (T) corresponds to the on-voltage drop of the LED array B3. And it is assumed that the LED array B1 and the LED array B2 are identical.

Before time T001, the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) is continuously sufficient to drive the three LED arrays, and both the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common-ground switch unit are turned off (or turned off).

At time T001, the control unit X2 detects or predicts that the pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) is insufficient to drive the three LED arrays at least for one time or time interval, and enters a slow conversion process: the on-time of the two bypass loops formed by alternately turning on/off the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common-ground switch unit A1 is increased by equal or unequal amounts at a fixed interval time (or an irregular interval time) synchronized or unsynchronized with the pulsation period, and the on-time of the main loop is decreased at the same pace until the time T002, the two bypass loops formed by alternately turning on/off the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common-ground switch unit A1 are continuously operated.

In the time interval between T002-1 and T003-1, the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) is continuously insufficient to drive the three LED arrays, and the two bypass loops formed by alternately turning on/off the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common-ground switch unit A1 are continuously operated.

During at least one pulsing period before time T003, the control unit X2 detects that the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage VREC (T) is continuously sufficient to drive three LED arrays, entering a gradual transition process: the time of conduction of the two bypass loops formed by alternately turning on/off the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common-ground switch unit A1 is reduced by equal or unequal amounts at fixed intervals (or non-fixed intervals) synchronized or not synchronized with the pulsation period, and the time of conduction of the main loop is increased at the same pace until the time T004, and the operation in the main loop is continued.

After time T004, the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage VREC (T) is continuously sufficient to drive the three LED arrays, and both the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common-ground switch unit A1 are turned off (or turned off), continuously operating in the main loop.

Fig. 47 shows a corresponding operation waveform when the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) is further reduced, in conjunction with fig. 45.

The vertical axis VREC (T) corresponds to the pulsating dc voltage after ac rectification, the vertical axis IB2 (T) corresponds to the current of the LED array B2 which can be bypassed by the switching unit ASW1, the vertical axis IB1 (T) corresponds to the current of the LED array B1 which can be bypassed by the switching unit A1, the vertical axis IB3 (T) corresponds to the current of the LED array B3 without the corresponding switching unit, the vertical axis IASW (T) corresponds to the current of the switching unit ASW1, the vertical axis IA1 (T) corresponds to the current of the switching unit A1, the vertical axis IA2 (T) corresponds to the current of the current limiting device A2, the vertical axis VB123 (T) corresponds to the sum of the on-voltage drops of the LED arrays B1, B2 and B3, and the vertical axis VB3 (T) corresponds to the on-voltage drop of the LED array B3.

Before time T001, the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) is insufficient to drive three LED arrays, but is sufficient to drive the LED arrays of two bypass loops formed by alternately turning on/off the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common-ground switch unit A1, and the two bypass loops formed by alternately turning on/off the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common-ground switch unit A1 are continuously operated.

At time T001, the control unit X2 detects or predicts that the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) is insufficient to drive the LED array of the two bypass loops formed by alternately turning on/off the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common ground switch unit A1 at least at one time or time interval, and enters the gradual transition process: the time of conduction of the bypass circuit constituted by the dc power supply U, LED array B3, the floating switch unit ASW1, the common-ground switch unit A1 is increased by equal or unequal amounts at fixed intervals (or non-fixed intervals) synchronized or not synchronized with the pulsation period, and the conduction time of the two bypass circuits constituted by the alternating conduction/cut-off of the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common-ground switch unit A1 is reduced at the same pace until the time T002, the bypass circuit constituted by the dc power supply U, LED array B3, the floating switch unit ASW1, the common-ground switch unit A1 is continuously operated.

In the time interval between T002-1 and T003-1, the minimum value of the pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) is continuously insufficient to drive the LED array of the two bypass circuits formed by alternately turning on/off the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common switch unit A1, and the driving circuit 100 continuously operates in the bypass circuit formed by the dc power supply U, LED array B3, the floating switch unit ASW1, and the common switch unit A1.

During at least one pulsing period before time T003, the control unit X2 detects that the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) is continuously sufficient to drive the LED array of the two bypass loops formed by alternately turning on/off the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common ground switch unit A1, into a gradual transition process: the driving circuit 100 continuously operates in the two bypass loops formed by alternately turning on/off the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common switch unit A1 until time T004 by decreasing the on time of the bypass loop formed by the pulsating direct current power supply, the LED array B3, the floating switch unit ASW1, the common switch unit A1 by equal or unequal amounts at a fixed interval time (or an irregular interval time) synchronized or not synchronized with the pulsating period and increasing the on time of the two bypass loops formed by alternately turning on/off the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common switch unit A1 by the same steps.

After time T004, the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) is continuously sufficient to drive the LED array of the two bypass loops formed by the alternate on/off of the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common-ground switch unit A1, continuously operating in the two bypass loops formed by the alternate on/off of the floating switch unit ASW1 and the common-ground switch unit A1.

Constant power/high frequency alternating field lighting LED

Fig. 27 is a functional block diagram of a driving circuit and a lighting device capable of operating the control method in other embodiments of the present invention in another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the plurality of light-emitting loads n_leds includes: the light emitting loads led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, led_n5 are connected in series, and each light emitting load has a positive polarity terminal connected to a negative polarity terminal of an adjacent light emitting load. The 5 series-connected light-emitting loads are supplied by a direct-current power supply volt_1.

Fig. 27 a-27 c are schematic diagrams of variations of a lighting load or LED array of fig. 27 and other embodiments of the present invention. Wherein each lighting load, solid state lighting load, or LED array may include a plurality of LED units in series, a plurality of LED units in parallel, and a plurality of LED units in a series-parallel combination. For example, led_n3 is illustrated as an example, and may be implemented as a plurality of LED units led_n3' connected in series as shown in fig. 27a, or may be implemented as a plurality of LED units led_n3″ connected in parallel as shown in fig. 27b, or as a plurality of LED units led_n3″ combined in series and parallel as shown in fig. 27 c. It should be appreciated that various variations of lighting loads, solid state lighting loads, or LED arrays, including those illustrated in fig. 27 a-27 c, are applicable to all relevant embodiments of the present invention. And may not be described in detail elsewhere.

Fig. 34 is a schematic diagram of different levels of voltage and corresponding regulated currents in a light-emitting load provided by a dc power supply for supplying power to the light-emitting load and a driving circuit thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A control method of a lighting load provided in an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 27 and 34, in which an exemplary description is based on a lighting load of an LED type but it should be understood by those skilled in the art: the method may also be applicable to some other type of lighting load than a light emitting diode.

As shown in fig. 27, the dc power volt_1 may alternatively be a rectifying unit, an input terminal (not shown) of which is connected to an external power grid, and an output terminal of which is coupled to the above 5 light emitting loads to provide a rectified pulsating dc voltage. Alternatively, the dc power source volt_1 may be a battery, such as a storage battery, a dry cell, or the like, which has a dc voltage regulated, and may be regarded as a constant voltage, or a dc voltage having a slightly fluctuating amplitude (e.g., ±0.5% or ±0.05%, etc.).

Alternatively, the light emitting load may be an array of light emitting diodes or the like. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that: the above-described 5 LED type light emitting loads require the dc power volt_1 to have a certain operation voltage volt_norm so as to be all normally lighted/turned on. It is assumed that, ideally, the output voltage of the direct-current power supply volt_1 may fall entirely on the n light-emitting loads n_leds, and no other voltage dividing device is present. When all the n light emitting loads n_led are turned on, the on voltage drop is the voltage volt_norm, and the current flowing through the n light emitting loads n_led is iled_norm.

In some application scenarios, the dc power voltage volt_1 may be lower than the operation voltage volt_norm. This results in that the 5 light-emitting loads cannot be all lit up due to insufficient voltage. As shown in fig. 34, for example, the output voltage of the dc power supply volt_1 is maintained only at the level of volt_low1, and therefore, only 4 light-emitting loads of the plurality of light-emitting loads n_leds can be turned on/off, and therefore, in this embodiment, a subset of the 5 light-emitting loads, or a part (but not all) of the 5 light-emitting loads are dynamically combined to form a new LED series circuit by the control unit coupled with the plurality of light-emitting loads in such a manner as to bypass the light-emitting loads led_n1, light-emitting load led_n2, light-emitting load led_n3, light-emitting load led_n4, and light-emitting load led_n5. The LED series circuit has fewer light emitting loads and thus requires a lower voltage to be turned on.

The embodiment also provides a control method of the LED array, which comprises the following steps: at a driving circuit for driving n LED arrays coupled to each other, which are supplied with power from a dc power source, three LED arrays are divided into two groups in combination with fig. 7 and table 2, wherein in the first group, the number of LED arrays is two, and the first group includes three partial LED arrays, which are respectively the first partial LED arrays: a first LED array LED1 and a second LED array LED2. A second portion LED array: a first LED array LED1 and a third LED array LED3. Third-portion LED array: a second LED array LED2 and a third LED array LED3.

In the second group, the number of the LED arrays is one, and the second group includes three partial LED arrays, which are the first partial LED arrays respectively: a first LED array LED1. A second portion LED array: a second LED array LED2. A third portion LED array: and a third LED array LED3.

The control method of the LED array described above includes steps SA-1) and SA-2), wherein:

SA-1): driving to illuminate i) all three LED arrays, or ii) one of a first set of at least one partial LED array of the three LED arrays, in response to/if the output voltage of the dc power supply U is higher than or equal to the turn-on threshold;

SA-2): in response to/if the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is below the on threshold, driving illuminates one of the second set of at least one partial LED array of the n LED arrays.

Optionally, in some embodiments, one of the second set of at least one partial LED array has a maximum/multiple number or maximum/multiple on-voltage drop in the second set of at least one partial LED array, e.g. when the on-voltage drops of the first to third LED arrays are each unequal, assuming V1 > V2 > V3, then at least one partial LED array of the second set has a maximum on-voltage drop v1+v2, i.e. the first partial LED array: a first LED array LED1 and a second LED array LED2. Or the second group of at least a portion of the LED arrays has a second largest on-voltage drop v1+v3, i.e. the second portion of the LED arrays: a first LED array LED1 and a third LED array LED3.

By the arrangement, the driving circuit can still operate in a bypass loop or a bypass loop combination with higher energy conversion efficiency when the output voltage of the direct current power supply U is insufficient.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the turn-on threshold may take different specific values, such as threshold a (70 volts), threshold B (180 volts), etc., depending on different operating states of the drive circuit, different configurations of the dc power supply, etc. The turn-on threshold may include a full-bright threshold (e.g., 215 volts), and an output voltage of the dc power supply U above Quan Liang thresholds is sufficient to turn on all n LED arrays.

In the application scenario that the direct current power supply supplies power to the driving circuits of n series-connected LED arrays, the invention provides a control method of a luminous load, which comprises the following two steps: step SA-1) driving the n light emitting loads to be lit when the voltage of the dc power supply is higher than the voltage volt_norm of Yu Quanliang threshold to sufficiently turn on the n light emitting loads.

Step SA-2) driving the n light emitting loads to be partially lit when the dc power supply has a voltage volt_low1 below the full-lighting threshold that is insufficient to turn on the n light emitting loads.

When the dc power supply Vlot _1 has a voltage volt_norm exceeding the full-lighting threshold value, all of the n light-emitting loads n_led are turned on, and the current iled_norm flowing through the n light-emitting loads n_led. At this time, the power of the n light emitting loads n_leds is defined as a first power value, and the specific value of the first power value may be different according to the specific application scenario and the electrical characteristics of the driving circuit/lighting device.

When the dc power voltage volt_1 has a voltage volt_low1 lower than the full-lighting threshold, only the first partial LED array of the n light-emitting loads n_leds is turned on in step SA-2. Thereby, the light-emitting state of the n light-emitting loads n_led as a whole can be maintained without being completely extinguished due to insufficient voltage.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, step SA-2) may further include a substep SA-2-1): the current through the n light-emitting loads n_leds is regulated in substantially inverse/negative relation to the on-voltage drop of the n light-emitting loads n_leds such that the power of the n light-emitting loads is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value. Here, only the first partial LED array of the N light-emitting loads n_led is turned on, and the LED array led_n5 is bypassed/turned off. The conduction voltage drop of the n light emitting loads n_led is that of the first part of LED array, which is smaller than the conduction voltage drop when all the n light emitting loads n_led are turned on.

Optionally, the LED array control method of some embodiments of the present invention or the step SA-2-1-1) thereof may further include the sub-steps of: in response to a portion of the LED array being individually illuminated, current in the portion of the LED array is raised to be greater than current flowing when the n light emitting loads n_leds are all on to maintain the power of the n light emitting loads n_leds within the neighborhood of the first power value. For example, the current in the LED array of the first part of the conduction is (actively) regulated by the control unit to be larger than the current iled_norm when all the n light emitting loads n_leds are turned on, thereby compensating to some extent for the power drop due to the insufficient voltage with respect to when all the n light emitting loads n_leds are turned on.

Optionally, the LED array control method of some embodiments of the present invention or step SA-2-1) therein or similar steps may further comprise the substep SA-2-1-1) of coordinating i) the current flowing when the N light emitting loads n_leds are all turned on, and ii) the current when part of the LED array is individually turned on, such that the power when the N light emitting loads n_leds are all turned on and the power of the individually turned on part of the LED array led_n4 are both kept within a neighborhood of the first power value. In other words, the power of the n Light-emitting loads n_led is kept substantially the same in both states in which the n Light-emitting loads are all turned on and only some of the LEDs are turned on in the lighting device light_1.

Specifically, the n light emitting loads are 5 LED arrays, and the first part of the light emitting loads includes the first part of the LED arrays. The LED array control method of some embodiments of the present invention or step SA-2-1-1) or similar steps therein may further comprise sub-steps I) and II). In sub-step I), when the dc power source has a voltage volt_norm above the Quan Liang threshold, if the output voltage of the dc power source volt_1 is floating, the current iled_norm in the 5 LED arrays n_leds is raised as the output voltage of the dc power source volt_1 decreases. The current iled_norm in the 5 LED arrays n_leds decreases as the voltage of the dc power volt_1 increases. And, in sub-step II), when the first partial LED array is turned on alone or the voltage of the direct current power volt_1 is below the full-lighting threshold, increasing the current in the first partial LED array with a decrease in the on-voltage drop of the first partial LED array; the current in the first partial LED array is reduced as the on-voltage drop of the first partial LED array increases. Of course, if the on-voltage drop of the first partial LED array remains substantially unchanged, the current in the first partial LED array may be adjusted by the control circuit Contro _1 to remain substantially unchanged. Thus, during the variation of the voltage of the direct current power supply volt_1, the power of the whole of 5 LED arrays is kept within the neighborhood of the first power value, and correspondingly, the total/luminous flux of the 5 LED arrays is also kept substantially constant.

For example, in inverse proportion to the on-voltage drop of the n light-emitting loads n_led, i.e. iled_1. Thus, the power of the n light emitting loads is kept within the neighborhood of the first power value. Since the n light emitting loads n_leds also have the first power value when all are turned on, the power (overall) of the n light emitting loads n_leds and thus the luminous flux formed can be kept (substantially) constant, although the voltage of the direct current power supply Vlot _1 drops.

Of course, it is understood that: the voltage volt_low1 at the dc power supply volt_1, although lower, may be sufficient to turn on the first partial LED array alone, as well as the second partial LED array alone.

Optionally, the LED array control method of some embodiments of the present invention or step SA-2) or similar steps therein, and sub-steps of these steps may further include the steps of: when the voltage of the dc power volt_1 is maintained at the voltage level volt_low1 (below the full-lighting threshold), it is sufficient to alternately turn on/light the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array (or the third partial LED array as well) alone. Except for the short switching transition of the first and second LED arrays, only a portion of the LED arrays are turned on at any time, which can accommodate the low voltage level volt_low1 of the dc power supply volt_1. Meanwhile, as the first part of LED arrays and the second part of LED arrays are all lighted along with time, no frequently-extinguished LED arrays exist in the 5 LED arrays, and the electric energy obtained from the DC power Volt_1 is distributed to the 5 LED arrays, so that the distribution effect of luminous flux is improved.

In other scenarios, the dc power source volt_1 may be a rectifying unit, with its input (not shown) connected to an external power grid and its output coupled to the 5 lighting loads to provide a rectified pulsating dc voltage. The pulsating direct current voltage has obvious variation amplitude, a plurality of different voltage intervals can occur in the floating process, one voltage interval can be positioned above the full-brightness threshold value, and other voltage intervals are optionally lower than the full-brightness threshold value, so that the voltage intervals are insufficient for conducting all 5 LED arrays.

Fig. 35 is a schematic waveform diagram illustrating alternate conduction of the two-part LED array in the first voltage interval according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description of the scenario where the dc power volt_1 supplies a periodically varying voltage, such as a pulsating dc voltage, to the 5 LED arrays with reference to fig. 35, a first voltage interval Interv _1 occurs in the output voltage V21 (T) of the dc power volt_1, which is below the full-lighting threshold, in the periods T1-T2 and T3-T4, and T1'-T2' and T3'-T4' of fig. 35, which is insufficient to turn on all n LED arrays. Correspondingly, under such pulsating dc voltage supply as shown in fig. 22, the LED array control method of some embodiments of the present invention or step SA-2) or similar steps therein, and sub-steps of these steps may further include any of the following 4 sub-steps, including the alternative (alternative) two sub-steps 1), 2) in step SA-2-a), or the alternative (alternative) two sub-steps 3), 4) in step SA-2-b):

SA-2-a) -substep 1) in response to the voltage V21 (T) of the direct current power Volt_1 being within the first voltage interval, cyclically turning on/off a plurality of subsets/portions of the n LED arrays corresponding to the first voltage interval, e.g., a first portion of the LED array, a second portion of the LED array, for the duration of the first voltage interval. When the voltage of the dc power volt_1 is within any voltage sub-interval or at any voltage level in the first voltage interval, the first part of the LED arrays and the second part of the LED arrays can be alternately turned on (for example, at a high frequency of several tens of k). It should be noted that, in the above embodiment and other related embodiments of the present invention, the voltage V21 (T) of the dc power volt_1 is located at any voltage level in the first voltage interval Interv _1 by the driving of the control unit cont_1, and the first portion of the LED array and the second portion of the LED array can be alternately turned on (e.g. at a high frequency of several tens of k). In other words, the alternate conduction between the second part LED array and the first part LED array in some embodiments of the present invention may be actively initiated by the control unit contr_1 at any time of the first voltage interval; the first voltage interval may also be arbitrarily small, or the range of the first voltage interval may also be smaller than the conduction voltage drop of any one LED array of the n LED arrays, which means that when the output voltage of the direct current voltage volt_1 drops from the upper limit voltage level of the first voltage interval to the lower limit voltage level thereof, the number of LED arrays that can be conducted in the n LED arrays is unchanged, but in the driving circuit/control method of some embodiments of the present invention, the control unit may still actively initiate the alternate conduction or the alternate conduction of a plurality of subsets/parts of LEDs (a plurality of subsets/portions of LED array) in the n LED arrays. The alternate/rotation conduction in this embodiment is different from the following case: the voltage level of the dc power source spans different low voltage intervals, resulting in a passively responsive alternating conduction in the first partial LED array, the second partial LED array or more LED arrays, for example: and conducting the first part of LED arrays in a first low voltage range, conducting the fourth part of LED arrays in a second voltage range, conducting the fifth part of LED arrays in a third voltage range, … …, and the like, wherein the voltages in the first voltage range, the second voltage range and the third voltage range are sequentially reduced, the conducting voltage drops of the corresponding conducted first part of LED arrays, the fourth part of LED arrays and the fifth part of LED arrays are also sequentially reduced, and the number of the LED arrays is possibly also sequentially reduced. The descriptions herein also apply to the apparatus, methods and steps thereof of other related embodiments.

SA-2-a) -substep 2) alternately turns on/off a plurality of subsets of the n arrays corresponding to the first voltage intervals, e.g., a first partial LED array, a second partial LED array, for the duration of each of the plurality of first voltage intervals (e.g., 4 as shown in fig. 35). Here and other related embodiments of the apparatus, method and steps thereof, the on states state_n4 and state_n5 of the first and second LED arrays are also complementary to each other as shown in fig. 35, and each have a certain duty cycle in the time domain, for example 50%, respectively. And the first voltage interval has a voltage range below the full bright threshold.

SA-2-b) -substep 3) periodically generating a first voltage interval Interv _1 in response to a change in the voltage V21 (T) of the direct current power Volt_1, cycling through a plurality of subsets of the n arrays corresponding to the first voltage interval, e.g., a first portion of the LED arrays, a second portion of the LED arrays. The frequency of alternate conduction is greater than, less than, or equal to the frequency of voltage variation of the dc power supply, and fig. 35 shows a case where the frequency of alternate conduction is greater than the frequency of voltage variation of the dc power supply volt_1: in one ripple cycle, the first voltage interval occurs twice, while more than three alternate turns on for the duration of one voltage interval, as shown. By this higher frequency alternating/cyclic conduction, the power of the n LED arrays can be more evenly distributed over time (over time) spatially, further reducing strobe.

Substep 4) alternately illuminating a plurality of subsets of the n arrays corresponding to the first voltage interval Interv _1, a first portion of the LED arrays, and a second portion of the LED arrays, for the duration of the plurality of first voltage intervals Interv _1. Wherein one of the plurality of first voltage intervals Interv _1, or two or more consecutive ones, corresponds to only one of the plurality of subsets. In other words, only one of the subsets is illuminated in 1 of the first voltage intervals, or in 2-5 consecutive voltage intervals. That is, for example, only the first partial LED array is turned on for the duration of the first 2 of the 4 first voltage intervals Interv _1 in fig. 35, and the second partial LED array is turned on by switching to the first partial LED array (not shown in the figure) for the duration of the second 2 first voltage intervals Interv _1. Of course, the first voltage interval has a voltage range below the full bright threshold.

In addition, cyclic conduction, or alternate lighting means: the LED arrays of the plurality of subsets, e.g. the second and first partial LED arrays described above, will be repeatedly lit in sequence, i.e. sub-step 4 etc. will be cycled/repeated with repeated occurrences of the first voltage interval Interv _1. Of course, it should be understood that the two are referred to as alternating conduction, and the three are referred to as cyclic conduction. Thus, optionally, there may also be a third partial LED array (e.g. LED array led_n4), and the first partial LED array, the second partial LED array, the third partial LED array may be cycled on.

In addition, it is worth noting that: an alternately conducting two-part LED array can be understood as: each comprising only one LED array, i.e. the second partial LED array comprises only led_n5 and the first partial LED array comprises only led_n4. In addition, if the switching is cycled between two LED arrays, in particular between LED arrays of three subsets of the first, second and third LED arrays, then the cycling between the LED arrays of the multiple portions can also be understood as: there may be intersections. For example, 3 subsets of n LED arrays may be configured such that: the first part of the LED array comprises only 4 LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, the second part of the LED array comprises only 4 LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5, and the third part of the LED array comprises only 4 LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n4, led_n5. The control methods or apparatus described herein are also applicable to any of the other related embodiments of the present invention.

The first part LED array and the second part LED array are proper subsets of n LED arrays, and no intersection exists between the first part LED array and the second part LED array. Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, if the first portion LED array and the second portion LED array have no intersection, the control method further includes the steps of: the third partial LED array of the N light-emitting loads n_leds is kept normally on, for example, for the first voltage interval Interv _1, the third partial LED array may be any one or more of the light-emitting loads led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, wherein the light-emitting loads led_n1, led_n2 or led_n3 do not belong to the first partial LED array nor to the second partial LED array led_n5. The third part of the LED array is connected in series with the other LED arrays and remains normally on, which increases the efficiency of the dc power volt_1 to power the n lighting loads n_leds. Preferably, the third partial LED array has all the light-emitting loads except the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array among the n light-emitting loads, or the third partial LED array has the maximum number of light-emitting loads that can be lighted except the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array among the n light-emitting loads. Optionally, the third partial LED array is free of intersections with any of the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array.

Optionally, the corresponding plurality of subsets of the first voltage interval in the n LED arrays n_leds are: a first partial LED array and a second partial LED array. In some embodiments of the present invention, the step SA-2-a) further includes the substep SA-2-a-1): the first and second partial LED arrays are alternately turned on for the duration of the first voltage interval. Step SA-2-b) further comprises sub-step SA-2-b-1): in a cyclic manner, the first and second partial LED arrays are respectively turned on in two first voltage intervals occurring adjacently. For example, in the first ripple period of fig. 35, where the dc power supply outputs a pulsating dc voltage, first voltage intervals a and b (not labeled in the figure) are sequentially present two times, and are located at two sides of the peak of the first ripple wave, only the first part of the LED array is turned on in the first voltage interval a, and the second part of the LED array is separately turned on in the first voltage interval b. In a subsequent pulsing period, the first and second partial LED arrays are cycled on in this manner. In this case, the period/frequency of the cyclic conduction of the first and second partial LED arrays may be regarded as the same as the period/frequency of the pulsating direct voltage of the direct current power supply.

Of course, alternatively, in the two different first voltage intervals a and b occurring in succession in the first pulse period described above, only the first partial LED array may be turned on, whereas in the two first voltage intervals occurring in the second pulse period that follows, only the second partial LED array may be turned on, in which case the frequency of the cyclic conduction of the first partial and second partial LEDs may be regarded as being smaller than the frequency of the pulsating direct voltage V21 (T) of the direct current power supply. Further alternatively, in the first voltage interval a, the first LED array and the second LED array may be alternately turned on repeatedly (for example, several hundred times) in a single first pulse period, and the alternating frequency is greater than the frequency of the pulsating dc voltage of the dc power supply. The greater frequency of alternate/rotating turn-on can more evenly distribute power/light flux over n lighting loads over time, or each lighting load shares (share) the overall light flux more frequency-division, which reduces strobe, and also brings better user experience due to persistence of vision principle.

Alternatively, in the two different first voltage intervals a and b appearing in succession in the first ripple period described above, only the second partial LED array may be turned on, and in the two first voltage intervals appearing in the second ripple period that follows, only the second partial LED array may be turned on, in which case the frequency of alternate conduction of the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array may be regarded as a frequency smaller than the ripple dc voltage of the dc power supply. Further alternatively, in the first voltage interval a, the first LED array and the second LED array may be alternately turned on repeatedly (for example, several hundred times) in a single first pulse period, and the alternating frequency is greater than the frequency of the pulsating dc voltage of the dc power supply.

Optionally, the number of LED arrays in the union of the first and second partial LED arrays that are cyclically/alternately turned on is greater than the maximum number of LED arrays that the first voltage interval is sufficient to illuminate in the n LED arrays. For example, the n LED arrays include 5 LED arrays: led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, led_n5. Wherein the LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n5 belong to the first partial LED array, and the LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 belong to the second partial LED array. And since the first voltage interval is below the predetermined voltage threshold, it is not sufficient to turn on all 5 LED arrays but only led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4. In addition, the on voltage of led_n5 is lower than the sum of the on voltage drops of led_n3 and led_n4, so the first voltage interval is also sufficient to turn on the first partial LED array. During the rotation, the union of the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n5 and the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 covers led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, led_n5. That is, if the rotation frequency is proper, all 5 LED arrays may have luminous flux generated in the first voltage interval. In other words, when the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n5 and the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 are turned on alternately, the LED array that can emit light in the 5 LED arrays is the union of the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n5 or the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, and therefore, in the sense, the light-emitting area of the N LED arrays is larger than the light-emitting area when the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n5 or the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 are turned on individually.

Alternatively, in the LED array control method of some embodiments of the present invention, in step SA-2-a-1) or the like, the alternating frequency of the rotation/alternating conduction is any one value of [0.5khz,1000khz ].

Alternatively, the control method/circuit structure related to the control method of the present application herein and other embodiments of the present application can be seen from the relevant description including the summary of the application under the heading "float/common bypass".

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 are alternately turned on with the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, where all of the 5-free LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, led_n5 cover/cover all or N-1 (sub-large number) of the N LED arrays, so that when the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 and the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 are alternately turned on, especially at a high frequency, the (light source) light emitting area can be kept (substantially) the same as when all of the N LED arrays are turned on by a sufficient dc power supply voltage, and the strobe is greatly reduced.

Optionally, the number of the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 and the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 is the maximum number of LED arrays that can be lighted in the N LED arrays, that is, 4, in the first voltage interval.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the number of the first partial LED arrays is the maximum number/next largest number of LED arrays that can be lit in the n LED arrays for the first voltage interval, and in this embodiment, the number of the second partial LED arrays is the next largest number/largest number of LED arrays that can be lit in the n LED arrays for the first voltage interval. In the present embodiment, the maximum number of LED arrays that can be lit in 5 LED arrays at the first voltage interval is 4 and the next largest number is 3. For example, the n LED arrays include 5 LED arrays: led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, and led_n5. Wherein the arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n5 belong to a first partial LED array, and the arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 belong to a second partial LED array. Since the first voltage interval is below the predetermined voltage threshold, it is not sufficient to turn on all 5 Led arrays but only 4 Led arrays: for example, led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4. In addition, the on voltage of led_n5 is lower than the sum of the on voltage drops of led_n3 and led_n4, so the first voltage interval is also sufficient to turn on the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, and led_n5. During the rotation, the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n5 have a first voltage interval of a next largest number of LED arrays that can be lit in 5 LED arrays: 3. The second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 have the maximum number of LED arrays that the first voltage interval can illuminate in 5 LED arrays: 4. The more LED arrays in the LED arrays of the part/subset being rotated, or the larger the on-voltage drop, the higher the efficiency, the power is spread over more LED arrays by rotation, such that the larger the (light source) light emitting area, if the power is maintained substantially constant. Optionally, the number of the first partial LED arrays is the same as the number of the second partial LED arrays. For example, in the above embodiment, for example, the n LED arrays include 5 LED arrays: led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, led_n5. Wherein, led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 belong to the first partial LED array, and led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 belong to the second partial LED array. Also, since the power of the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 and the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 are kept substantially the same, the same power is always dispersed over the same number of LEDs when the two partial LED arrays are turned on by rotation, especially by high frequency rotation, and thus bright/dark flicker due to the same energy being repeatedly concentrated/dispersed is avoided.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the dc power volt_1 outputs a rectified pulsating dc voltage, the first portion LED array and the second portion LED array have no intersection therebetween and have the same conduction voltage drop, correspondingly, in the alternating conduction process, the current flowing in the first portion LED array and the second portion LED array is controlled by the switching unit to be a square wave with complementary shapes or a square wave similar to a trapezoid with smoother rising and falling edges, and the magnitudes are substantially the same, and the duty ratios are respectively 50%, so that brightness uniformity is more facilitated, and the light emitting effect is improved. Of course, it will be appreciated that if the on-voltage drops of the first and second partial LED arrays are different, the current waveforms flowing in the first and second partial LED arrays may remain complementary in shape, but the amplitude is alternatively inversely proportional to the voltage, the duty cycle may no longer be 50% but 4:6 or other ratio. One of the purposes is to adjust the power and luminous flux of the first LED array and the second LED array in the alternating conduction process, and to not generate difference or stroboscopic effect on illumination effect for the alternating conduction to the outside, wherein the values of duty ratio, current amplitude and the like can be adjusted according to the needs, and are not limited to the exemplary values given above.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the plurality of first voltage intervals periodically occur with the pulsating dc voltage. The plurality of first voltage intervals occur in time (over time) within the same voltage ripple period or are distributed in a succession of ripple periods.

Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, the step SA-2-a-1) or SA-2-b-1) or similar steps may further include: SA-2-ab-1) without an intersection between the second partial LED array and the first partial LED array, then the currents in the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array are coordinated during the alternating conduction so that the power of the n LED arrays is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value. Alternatively, in case the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 and the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 have an intersection between them, the currents in the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 and the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 are coordinated during the cyclic/commutating on process such that the power of all 5 LED arrays is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value.

The current in the first partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 and the second partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 is adjusted according to the on-voltage drop of the first partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 and the second partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5, respectively, such that the relative rate of change of the power during the cycling of the first partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 and the second partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 is smaller than a predetermined percentage of a small value, wherein the predetermined percentage is a value of less than 10%, less than 0.5%, 2% or 5%. Thereby, the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 and the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 are maintained with a substantially constant overall luminous flux of the N LED arrays during the cycling of the alternating conduction. Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, step SA-2-ab-1) or similar steps may further include: step SA-2-ab-1-1) and step SA-2-ab-1-2)

In step SA-2-ab-1-1), during the switching from the first partial LED array to the second partial LED array, the current in the first partial LED array is dynamically controlled to decrease synchronously with the current in the second partial LED array so that the drop in power or luminous flux of the first partial LED array is compensated/counteracted by the increase in power of the second partial LED array and the overall power of the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array during the switching is kept substantially the same as the total power of the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array before and after the switching process.

Similarly, in step SA-2-ab-1-2), during the switching from the second partial LED array to the first partial LED array, the current in the second partial LED array is dynamically controlled to decrease synchronously with the current in the first partial LED array so that the power or luminous flux drop of the second partial LED array is compensated/counteracted by the power increase of the first partial LED array and the overall power of the second partial LED array during the switching to the first partial LED array is kept substantially the same as the total power of both before and after the switching process.

Fig. 17 is a current waveform diagram of a switching unit or a corresponding LED array in a transition state of switching in another embodiment of the present invention. Optionally, in the LED array control method according to some embodiments of the present invention, step SA-2-ab-1-2) or similar steps may further include: as shown in fig. 17, in the transition process of switching from the second part LED array to the first part LED array, the current in the first part LED array is controlled to increase synchronously before the decreasing amplitude of the current in the second part LED array exceeds the preset amplitude; and step SA-2-ab-1-1) further comprises: in the transition process of switching from the first part of LED array to the second part of LED array, the current in the second part of LED array is controlled to synchronously increase before the decreasing amplitude of the current in the first part of LED array exceeds the preset amplitude. Wherein the preset amplitude is optionally an arbitrary value between 0 and 5%. Thereby, the second part of LED array and the first part of LED array are dynamically controlled to have small overall power fluctuation in the transition process of mutual switching. The strobe is further reduced.

As the pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) fluctuates, the LED array group having different on-voltage drops can be controlled to be lit up corresponding to different values of the pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) at different phases of one pulsation period, so that the efficiency of the light emitting load can be improved, as can be seen from table 2 in other embodiments. But when switching between different LED array combinations, a (low frequency) strobe is brought about.

As shown in fig. 48, after studying the cause of such a strobe, the inventors have proposed several concepts of overcoming/reducing the strobe, one of which is to switch to light different groups of LED arrays no longer with the fluctuation of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T), but to light some of N LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, led_n5 according to the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) in the pulsating period. For example, if the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) is lower than the full-lighting threshold all_on and higher than the ON-voltage drop of the LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 and also higher than the ON-voltage drop of the LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5, only the LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 or the LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 are turned ON during the full-pulsation period. Even if the pulsating direct voltage VREC (T) rises back to the highest value and its neighborhood enough to turn on all N LED arrays, the same part of the N LED arrays, e.g. LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 or LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5, remains on.

Of course, for ease of illustration, it is assumed that LED arrays led_n5 and LED array led_n4 have the same conduction voltage drop, i.e., the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 and the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 have the same conduction voltage drop. Further alternatively, only the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 may be turned on and the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 may not be turned on during the full ripple period. The first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 and the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 may also be turned on alternately in a pulsing period at a first predetermined frequency. Since the first predetermined frequency may be generated by a timer or the like and set to be higher than the power frequency, such rotation does not cause a low-frequency strobe, but may cause other beneficial effects, which will not be described in detail herein, referring to the related embodiments.

With continued reference to fig. 48, the horizontal axis is a time axis, and the vertical axis VREC (T) corresponds to the pulsating dc voltage after ac rectification; the vertical axis ALL_ON corresponds to the sum of conduction voltage drops when ALL of the LEDs of LED_N1, LED_N2, LED_N3, LED_N4 and LED_N5 are ON, namely the full-brightness threshold; the vertical axis IB1 (T) corresponds to the current when the first partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4 are individually on; the vertical axis IB2 (T) corresponds to the current when the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 are individually on; the vertical axis IB (T) corresponds to the current when all N LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, led_n5 are on, wherein the width of each hatched portion along the vertical axis represents the time during which the first and/or second partial LED arrays are operated in the corresponding pulsation period. For convenience of explanation, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the on-voltage drops of the first portion LED array and the second portion LED array are the same.

In addition, the pulsating direct voltage VREC (T) comes from the mains, which varies between a higher level and a lower level, but the frequency of this variation is not high and the sustain time at both the higher level and the lower level is also relatively long, for example 1-2 hours. The above-mentioned case where the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) cannot turn on all of the N LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, and led_n5 at the minimum value in the pulsating period thereof generally occurs when the pulsating direct current voltage decreases to a lower level with the fluctuation of the utility power. If the mains supply is raised back to a higher level, the pulsating direct voltage VREC (T) also has a higher level as a whole, and at this time, the pulsating direct voltage VREC (T) can also turn on all N LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, led_n5 at the minimum value in its pulsating period. In the case of such a high pulsating dc voltage VREC (T), the state in which all of the N LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, and led_n5 are lit can be restored, and only a part thereof is not turned on any more. But for the switching process between the N LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, led_n5 and the partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, this abrupt complete exchange/switching is, if not controlled by a control unit (e.g. with an integrator), but only by means of a simple circuit's response to a change in the direct voltage, e.g.: the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) is detected to be higher than the Yu Quanliang threshold value all_on in the previous period, and the first period is switched from the state that the first part of the LED arrays are turned ON to the state that ALL the n LED arrays are turned ON immediately in the latter period, so that abrupt change of light can be generated.

In this regard, another idea proposed by the inventors, at least with the aim of reducing the strobe, is to: the switching process between a part of the LED array and all n LED arrays is actively controlled by a control unit comprising an integrator or the like, so that the process is stepwise, gradually completed across (transition) multiple pulsation periods instead of being completed in tandem or in the same pulsation period. This further avoids strobing during switching between n LED arrays and part of the LED arrays.

As described above, the inventors have proposed several technical ideas for one aspect of the present invention: progressive switching between n LED arrays and a portion of the LED arrays, locking the LED arrays of the lit portion at low voltage level instead of switching on all, portions/subsets of the n LED arrays at low voltage level. Here, it should be noted that: these concepts may each be independently applied to the methods of or implemented in the apparatuses of some embodiments of the invention. In order to provide a simplified and representative description, in some embodiments of the invention, a combination of these concepts will be illustrated.

In a method according to another embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided an LED array control method including steps SA-1) and SA-2), in which n LED arrays are driven to be ALL lighted when the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) is high by Yu Quanliang threshold all_on enough to turn ON the n LED arrays, for example, between T003 to T004 in fig. 48, in step SA-1) of the method. In step SA-2) of the method of the present embodiment, in response to the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) being lower than the full-lighting threshold all_on, only a part of the LED arrays of the N LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, led_n5 (hereinafter referred to as led_n1-5) is driven to be lighted.

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, the dc power supply outputs a rectified pulsating dc voltage, and step SA-2) further comprises the steps of SA-2-NO): in response to the lowest value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) falling below the full-lighting threshold all_on, only a portion of the n LED arrays is driven to be lit in each of at least one pulsating period of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T).

Optionally, in some embodiments of the present invention, a portion of the LED arrays are the first portion of the N LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, and led_n4 (hereinafter referred to as led_n1-4), and may be turned on/lighted by the minimum voltage of the pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) in each pulsating period.

Alternatively, in some embodiments of the present invention, a portion of the LED arrays are a plurality of N LED arrays led_n1-5, which may be turned on/off by the minimum voltage of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) in each pulsating period, respectively.

Alternatively, some embodiments of the present invention wherein the first portion of the LED arrays LED_N1-4 has the largest or next largest number of ripple cycles of the ripple DC voltage VREC (T) that the lowest voltage can conduct in the N LED arrays LED_N1-5. Or the plurality of partial LED arrays have the largest or next largest number of possible conduction of the lowest value voltage in the ripple period of the ripple direct current voltage VREC (T) among the N LED arrays led_n1-5, respectively.

Specifically, in step SA-2-NO, in response to the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) falling below the full-lighting threshold ALL_ON, the LED arrays of the first portion LED array LED_N1-4, the second portion LED array, and so forth of the N LED arrays are actively controlled to be cycled ON/off at a first predetermined frequency within each of the at least one pulsation period (or across one or more of the at least one pulsation period). Alternatively, in step SA-2-NO, a first portion of the N LED arrays LED_N1-4 is actively controlled to be individually turned ON/lit within each of (or across one or more of) at least one pulsing period in response to the minimum value of the pulsing DC voltage VREC (T) falling below the full-lighting threshold ALL_ON. Since the two ways of "the first LED array is individually turned on" and "the LED arrays of the plurality of portions are circularly turned on" in step SA-2-NO) are similar, for the sake of not providing too much redundancy, in some related embodiments, only "the LED arrays of the plurality of portions are circularly turned on in each pulsation period" is described as an example, but it is not excluded that "the LED arrays of the first portion are only turned on in each pulsation period" also belongs to another angular implementation of the present invention.

More preferably, in step SA-2), one or more of the first partial LED arrays led_n1-4, e.g. led_n4, may also be actively controlled to be alternately or alternately turned on/off at a first predetermined frequency (e.g. 40kHz, etc.) with a second partial LED array of N LED arrays led_n1-5, e.g. led_n5, being turned on/off at a much higher frequency than the power frequency, where it is to be understood: through these steps and embodiments thereof, only a portion, but not all, of the N arrays of leds_n1-5 are lit at any/any time during the pulsing period of the low voltage horizontal dc power supply. In this way, the state in which the first partial LED array led_n1-4 is turned on in the pulse period is locked, and switching of the low-frequency LED array with the pulse period does not occur, that is, switching from the state in which the first partial LED array led_n1-4 is turned on back (passively) to the state in which all N LED arrays led_n1-5 are turned on, as the value of the dc voltage is no longer increased from below the full-on threshold to above the full-on threshold. Of course, as the pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) continues to fluctuate to a lower level, it is insufficient to turn on the first partial LED array led_n1-4 at the minimum value of the pulsating dc voltage VREC (T), and then the state in which the first partial LED array led_n1-4 is turned on may be switched to the LED array combination corresponding to the lower pulsating dc voltage VREC (T), for example, the fourth partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, and the fifth partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, and led_n4. If the pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) is kept at this level (e.g. the effective value or average value thereof is unchanged), then in the respective pulsating period, only the LED array combination of the lowest conduction voltage drop corresponding to this level of the pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) is turned on, e.g. one of the fourth partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, the fifth partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n4, or the above-mentioned first predetermined frequency higher than the power frequency, the fourth partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n3 and the fifth partial LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n4 are turned on alternately, whereby the LED array (maximum) combination of the smallest value of the locking pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) that is sometimes subject to a certain fluctuation of the pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) is turned on, and the difference in the conduction voltage drop of the LED arrays of the N LEDs (v) with the switching of the pulsating dc voltage VREC is reduced in some different processes than the LED array combinations of the above-mentioned first predetermined frequency.

Of course, from another perspective it can be appreciated that: the first and second partial LED arrays led_n1-4, led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 may be considered to remain normally on during the switching on at the first predetermined frequency, while the high frequency rotation occurs only between LED arrays led_n4 and LED arrays led_n5. Alternatively, the LED array led_n4 and the LED array led_n5 have the same on-voltage drop.

Wherein the number of LED arrays in the first partial LED array is 4, alternatively the first partial LED array led_n1-4 may be selectively (dynamically) configured from N LEDs such that this number 4, also the maximum or next largest number of pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) can be conducted in N LED arrays led_n1-5 at its lowest value. This adapts (adaptedfor) the dc voltage with maximum efficiency, takes full advantage of the dc voltage, and allows the n LED arrays to obtain a larger light emitting area with a lower level of pulsating dc voltage VREC (T).

Preferably, the union of the rotated LED arrays of the plurality of parts, e.g. the first part LED array led_n1-4, the second part LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5, contains all 5 or 4 of the N LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n4, led_n5. Further, since all of the n or n-1 arrays are actively turned on at the first predetermined frequency or are always on, the light emission effect and the strobe performance are equivalent to those of all of the n LED arrays being turned on at the visual angle of the user's naked eyes, and although only 4 LED arrays are turned on at each instant, the light emission area of the n LED arrays as a whole remains unchanged and is influenced wholly or partially by the fluctuation of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T).

Preferably, the steps SA-1) and SA-2) further comprise a step of mutually switching/transitioning for the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays. In some embodiments of the present invention, the switching process allocation between "N LED arrays led_n1-5 are all lit" and "LED arrays led_n1-4 and LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 are turned on alternately" is done stepwise/gradually over a plurality of pulsing periods. Specifically, for the above-described switching process from "n LED array full-on" to "partial LED array turn-on" or from "partial LED array turn-on" to "n LED array full-on", the method of the related embodiment may further include the step of gradually adjusting (e.g., incrementally or decrementally) the relative ratio between the duration of "partial LED array turn-on" and the duration of "n LED array full-on" or the duty ratio/value/average of the current corresponding to "partial LED array turn-on" and the current corresponding to "n LED array full-on" in each pulsing period, e.g., one gradually increasing and the other gradually decreasing, through a plurality of consecutive pulsing periods.

In general, in some commercial power applications, the dc voltage is a pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) output after rectifying a commercial power input, and the fluctuation of the commercial power is generally regular, rather than completely random and disordered, for example, the frequency of the change is not high although the commercial power is changed between a higher level and a lower level, and the maintenance time at both a high level and a low level is relatively long, for example, 1 hour. Sometimes, the dc voltage, although at a low level as a whole, is still at a maximum value in its ripple period that is greater than the full-lighting threshold, i.e. sufficient to illuminate all n LED arrays. The method of some embodiments of the present invention will be further described herein by taking this case as an example, but it should be understood that: the method of the related embodiment of the present invention is not limited to such a case where the dc voltage fluctuates with respect to the full-bright threshold, but is also applicable to a case where the dc voltage drops to a lower level, for example, where the maximum value of the dc voltage in its ripple period also drops below the full-bright threshold (not shown in the figure), that is, the dc (ripple) voltage fluctuates with respect to other lower voltage thresholds or spans a lower voltage interval. The applicant reserves the right to divide, continuation-in-the-application, and part-continuation-in-application for these more various variants.

As described above, the maximum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) in the pulsating period and a certain neighborhood thereof are still larger than the full-lighting threshold all_on, and therefore, in the process of switching between the two states of "ALL-lighting of n LED arrays" and "alternate-lighting of partial LED arrays", ALL n LED arrays are lighted by the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) in the pulsating period larger than the full-lighting threshold all_on (for example, the larger direct current voltage may be located in the neighborhood of the maximum value of each pulsating period); and (3) alternately illuminating part of the LED arrays at a time except when all of the n LED arrays are illuminated. And i) coordinating the duty cycle/value/average of the currents of the alternately lit portions of the LED arrays in each of the plurality of ripple cycles to be decremented, and simultaneously, the duty cycle/value/average of the currents of all n LED arrays lit up in each of the plurality of ripple cycles to be incremented; or ii) the duty cycle/value/average of the currents of the LED arrays of the coordinated rotation lighting section in each of the plurality of pulsation periods is increased, and the duty cycle/value/average of the currents of all n LED arrays in each of the plurality of pulsation periods is decreased in synchronization. Alternatively, the method in some embodiments of the invention may further comprise the steps of: a) In a plurality of pulsation cycles, duty ratio/average value/amplitude of current pulses for turning on part of the LED arrays are decreased in a coordinated rotation manner, and duty ratio/average value/amplitude of current pulses for turning on all n LED arrays are increased in a synchronized manner; or b) coordinating the duty cycle/average/amplitude of the current pulses for alternately illuminating the partial LED arrays to be increased in a plurality of pulsing periods, and synchronously, the duty cycle/average/amplitude of the current pulses for illuminating all n LED arrays to be decreased.

Referring to fig. 48, before time T001, the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage VREC (T) is greater than the full-lighting threshold all_on.

At time T001, the minimum value of the pulsating dc voltage VREC (T) is smaller than Yu Quanliang threshold value all_on, and the self-operation is "ALL-ON of N LED arrays led_n1-5" gradually switching operation is "LED arrays led_n1-4 and LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 are turned ON in turn", specifically, the switching process allocation is gradually/gradually completed in a plurality of pulsation periods until time T002, and is completely operated in "LED arrays led_n1-4 and LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 are turned ON in turn.

In the time interval between T002-1 and T003-1, the minimum value of the pulsating DC voltage VREC (T) is smaller than Yu Quanliang threshold ALL_ON, and the LED arrays LED_N1-4 and LED arrays LED_N1, LED_N2, LED_N3 and LED_N5 are continuously operated to be lighted alternately.

In at least one pulse period before the time T003, the minimum value of the pulse dc voltage VREC (T) is greater than the full-lighting threshold all_on, and the operation state of the "LED array led_n1-4 and LED array led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5 being alternately lighted" or the "LED array led_n4 and LED array led_n5 being alternately lighted" is gradually switched to operate in the "N LED array led_n1-5 being ALL lighted", specifically, the switching process is distributed to be gradually/gradually completed in a plurality of pulse periods until the time T004, and continuously operating in the "N LED array led_n1-5 being ALL lighted".

After time T004, continuously operating on all of the N LED arrays LED_N1-5 "

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 48, I) the current pulses for alternately lighting the first partial LED arrays led_n1-4, the second partial LED arrays led_n1, led_n2, led_n3, led_n5, i.e., IB1 (T) and IB2 (T), are time-domain complementary to ii) the current pulses for lighting all N LED arrays (in consecutive multiple pulsing periods), i.e., IB (T), so that the N LED arrays have only the two mutually switched states described above, without the presence of a totally extinguished state and the resulting strobe.

With continued reference to fig. 48, at least one of the pulse periods mentioned above may be understood as the pulse period comprised between time T002 and time T003. The above-mentioned plural pulsation periods are understood to be pulsation periods included from time T001 to time T002 or from time T003 to time T004.

It should be understood that: the components/units/modules in the driving circuit/device and the lighting circuit/device can be realized as corresponding entity devices in hardware modes such as a comparator, an integrator, a timer or a delay circuit, a trigger and the like, and can also be understood as functional modules which are required to be established for realizing the steps of the related program flow or the steps of the method. Thus, in some embodiments of the present invention, the method may be implemented mainly by a computer program/method described in the specification, and in other embodiments, the method may be implemented by hardware as a related entity apparatus.

In addition to the several embodiments of the driving method of the lighting load provided for the present application, the present application also provides embodiments of a driving/controlling device of the lighting load based on the same/similar ideas. The driving/controlling device of the light-emitting load in these embodiments includes one or more physical or virtual devices/modules, which are respectively operable (operational to) to execute steps and sub-steps in the driving method of the light-emitting load of some corresponding embodiments. For example, fig. 36a and 36b are functional block diagrams of two hardware circuits of a driving circuit/lighting device according to another embodiment of the present application. The driving circuit/lighting device 115 shown in fig. 36a includes a full LED lighting unit 1151 and a partial LED cut-off unit 1152. The driving circuit/lighting device 215 shown in fig. 36b includes a voltage detection unit 2152 and an LED selection on unit 2151.

A full LED lighting unit 1151 operable to drive the n LED arrays to be fully lit when the voltage of the dc power volt_1 is high Yu Quanliang threshold enough to turn on the n LED arrays;

The partial LED off unit 1152 is operable to drive the n LED arrays to be partially lit when the voltage of the direct current power volt_1 is lower than the full lighting threshold value but insufficient to turn on the n LED arrays.

A voltage detection unit 2152 operable to detect a voltage of the dc power volt_1; the voltage of the direct current power supply with the high Yu Quanliang threshold is enough to conduct n LED arrays n_LEDs, and the voltage of the direct current power supply with the low total brightness threshold is insufficient to conduct all n LED arrays n_LEDs;

The LED selection conductive unit 2151 is operable to individually light some or all of the n LED arrays in response to/as the voltage of the dc power supply changes with respect to the full-lighting threshold, in other words, to drive the n LED arrays to be fully lit when the voltage of the dc power supply volt_1 is higher than the full-lighting threshold, and to drive the n LED arrays to be partially lit to extinguish another portion when the voltage of the dc power supply volt_1 is lower than the full-lighting threshold.

Of course, not limited to the circuit configuration shown in fig. 36a/b described above, other variations of the relevant circuit configuration are also disclosed in other embodiments of the present invention. And the circuit function block diagrams shown in fig. 36a/b may also include other modules/sub-modules configured/operable to perform the control methods/control methods of some embodiments of the present invention or corresponding steps, sub-steps therein.

The physical modules in the driver circuit/lighting device may be implemented by a circuit structure of hardware, or may be implemented by one or more software programs executable by a processor. The circuit modules or the program modules may correspond to the driving methods of the light-emitting load according to several embodiments of the present invention, and are not described herein.

In another embodiment of the invention, there is also provided a lighting device comprising a control unit configured to perform the method of driving method/control method etc. of any of the embodiments of the invention, or some steps, sub-steps of the method.

In another embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a driving circuit or a control circuit, including a control unit configured to perform the driving method/control method etc. method of any of the embodiments of the present invention, or some steps, sub-steps of the method.

In the control method/driving method of the above embodiment, a control method/driving method realized based on a driving circuit, a control circuit of some other embodiments of the present application, which is a control method/driving method independent of a specific circuit configuration, is described. Although some explanation is made in connection with the driving circuits, control circuits and related electric signal waveforms of some other embodiments of the present application in the driving method of the embodiment of the present application, it should be clear to those of ordinary skill in the art that this does not constitute a limitation of the present application nor of the application and implementation of the method of the present embodiment. Furthermore, it should be clear to a person skilled in the art that a driving circuit, a control circuit, etc. modified according to the technical concept of the driving/control circuit according to some embodiments of the present application may still be used to implement the control/driving method according to some embodiments of the present application, so the present application is intended to include the relevant control/driving method as well as all hardware circuits or software programs capable of implementing such methods, and media or electronic devices etc. storing such software programs, and the scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims.

Alternative embodiments

The present invention also provides a number of alternative embodiments in order to facilitate a full appreciation of the spirit of the invention by those skilled in the art.

1. The control circuit is used for controlling an electric loop which comprises n LED groups and a direct current power supply which are connected in series, and is characterized by comprising a control unit and m sub-switch units; n is more than or equal to 2, m is more than or equal to 1, m is less than or equal to n, and m and n are integers;

The control unit is respectively connected with the m sub-switch units and controls the on or off of the sub-switch units; when the separation switch unit is turned on, the corresponding LED group is bypassed, and when the separation switch unit is turned off, the corresponding LED group is turned on;

When the output voltage of the direct current power supply is smaller than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, the control unit conducts at least one split switching unit and cuts off the rest split switching units to form a split loop comprising at least one split switching unit which is conducted, the conducted LED groups and the direct current power supply, and the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the conducted LED groups is smaller than the output voltage of the direct current power supply.

2. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 1, wherein the current flowing through the main loop is a main loop current, the current flowing through the sub-loop is a sub-loop current, and the control unit controls the sub-loop current to be greater than the main loop current.

3. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 1, wherein the control unit turns on at least one of the split switching units and turns off the remaining split switching units, forming a split loop including the turned-on split switching unit, the turned-on LED group, and the dc power supply, comprising:

4. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 3 wherein said groups of LEDs that are on in said at least two different sub-loops comprise all n groups of LEDs.

5. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 3 wherein all sub-loops are ordered from high to low as the sum of the voltage drops of the LED groups on and the output voltage of the dc power supply to first, second, and up to more priority loops, respectively;

6. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 1, wherein the m separate switching units are respectively connected in parallel to two ends of the corresponding m LED groups.

7. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 6 further comprising at least one current limiting device coupled in series with the electrical circuit; the impedance of the current limiting device sets a main loop current flowing through the main loop and a sub-loop current flowing through the sub-loop.

8. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 1 further comprising at least one current limiting device coupled in series with the electrical circuit; the impedance of the current limiting device sets the main loop current flowing through the main loop.

9. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 8 wherein the current limiting device, at least one LED group adjacent to the current limiting device, form at least one series branch; x of the m sub-switch units are respectively connected in parallel at two ends of the serial branch, and the rest m-x sub-switch units are respectively connected in parallel at two ends of the corresponding LED group; x is greater than or equal to 1 and less than or equal to m, x being an integer.

10. The control circuit according to alternative embodiment 9, wherein when at least one of the x sub-switching units connected in parallel across the series branch is turned on, the control unit sets a sub-loop current flowing through the sub-loop by controlling an on-resistance of the turned-on sub-switching unit;

If the x split switch units connected in parallel at two ends of the series branch are all cut off, the impedance of the current limiting device sets the split loop current flowing through the split loop.

11. The control circuit according to alternative embodiment 2, wherein the control unit controls the sub-loop current and/or the main loop current so that a variation range of the output power of the dc power supply does not exceed a first preset threshold;

and/or the number of the groups of groups,

12. The control circuit of alternative embodiments 7 or 8, wherein the current limiting device comprises at least one resistor.

13. The control circuit according to alternative embodiment 7 or 8, wherein the current limiting device includes a field effect transistor and/or a triode, and the impedance of the current limiting device is achieved by controlling the conduction degree of the field effect transistor and/or the triode by the control unit.

14. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 1 wherein the split switching unit comprises a field effect transistor and/or a triode.

15. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 3 wherein when the dc power source is a pulsating dc power source, the rotation frequency is greater than a pulsating frequency of a pulsating dc voltage output by the pulsating dc power source.

16. The control circuit of any of alternative embodiments 1-11, 14, 15, wherein at least a portion of the control circuit is integrated in one or more integrated circuits.

17. A control circuit comprising a control circuit as in any of the alternative embodiments 1-16, further comprising an electrical loop comprising a dc power source and n LED groups in series.

18. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 17 wherein the dc power source comprises a regulated dc power source or a pulsed dc power source.

19. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 18 wherein the pulsating direct current power supply comprises a rectifier and an energy storage capacitor, the rectifier having an input connected to the alternating current and an output connected in parallel with the energy storage capacitor.

20. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 19 wherein at least a portion of the control circuit and at least a portion of the rectifier are integrated in one or more integrated circuits.

21. A control method implemented with the control circuit of any of the alternative embodiments 17-20, the control method comprising the steps of:

In response to the output voltage of the direct current power supply being greater than or equal to the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, cutting off m separation switch units in the control circuit to form a main loop comprising the n LED groups and the direct current power supply;

In response to the output voltage of the direct current power supply being less than the sum of the conduction voltage drops of the n LED groups, turning on at least one sub-switching unit and turning off the remaining sub-switching units, forming a sub-loop including the turned-on sub-switching unit, the turned-on LED groups and the direct current power supply; the sum of the voltage drops of the conducted LED groups is smaller than the output voltage of the direct current power supply.

22. The control method according to alternative embodiment 21, wherein the current flowing through the main loop is a main loop current, the current flowing through the sub-loop is a sub-loop current, and the sub-loop current is greater than the main loop current.

23. The control method according to alternative embodiment 21, wherein the turning on at least one of the divided switching units and turning off the remaining divided switching units forms a sub-loop including the turned-on divided switching unit, the turned-on LED group, and the direct current power supply, includes:

When the number of the sub-loops is greater than or equal to two, the control circuit is controlled to alternately operate at least two different sub-loops selected from all the sub-loops at an alternate frequency.

24. The control method of alternative embodiment 23 wherein said groups of LEDs that are on in said at least two different sub-loops comprise all n groups of LEDs.

25. The control method according to alternative embodiment 23, wherein all sub-loops are respectively ordered from high to low into first-level, second-level, and up to more-level priority loops according to the proximity of the sum of the voltage drops of the turned-on LED groups to the output voltage of the dc power supply; the at least two different sub-circuits include at least a first level priority sub-circuit and a second level priority sub-circuit.

26. The control method according to alternative embodiment 21, wherein when the m separate switching units are connected in parallel to two ends of the corresponding m LED groups, respectively, and the electrical circuit is further connected in series with at least one current limiting device:

The control method sets a main loop current flowing through the main loop and a sub-loop current flowing through the sub-loop through the impedance of the current limiting device.

27. The control method according to alternative embodiment 21, wherein the electrical circuit is further connected in series with at least one current limiting device, the current limiting device, at least one LED group adjacent to the current limiting device, forming at least one series branch; the control method sets a main loop current flowing through the main loop through an impedance of the current limiting device.

28. The control method according to alternative embodiment 27, wherein when x of the m switching units are respectively connected in parallel to two ends of the serial branch, and the remaining m-x switching units are respectively connected in parallel to two ends of the corresponding LED group:

The control method also sets the sub-loop current flowing through the sub-loop by controlling the conduction resistance of the conducted sub-switching units when at least one of the x sub-switching units connected in parallel at the two ends of the serial branch is conducted;

29. The control method according to alternative embodiment 21, characterized in that the sub-loop current and/or the main loop current are controlled so that the variation range of the output power of the dc power supply does not exceed a first preset threshold;

and/or the number of the groups of groups,

30. The control method according to alternative embodiment 23, wherein when the dc power supply is a pulsating dc power supply, the rotation frequency is greater than a pulsation frequency of a pulsating dc voltage outputted from the pulsating dc power supply.

31. A control method according to any of the alternative embodiments 26-28, characterized in that when the current limiting device comprises a field effect transistor and/or a triode, the impedance of the current limiting device is realized by controlling the degree of conduction of the field effect transistor and/or the triode.

32. A lighting device as defined in any one of claims 17-20, wherein the lighting device is fabricated using the control circuit. 33. A control circuit for driving at least partially serially connected n LED arrays supplied by a DC power supply,

The control circuit includes:

A control unit;

m switch units configured to be respectively and correspondingly coupled with m LED arrays of the n LED arrays when the control circuit drives/is applied to the n LED arrays, wherein control ends of the m switch units are respectively connected to the control units and controlled by the control units to bypass the corresponding LED arrays;

34. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 33 wherein the m switching elements bypass the corresponding one or more LED arrays by selective conduction controlled by the control element.

35. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 34 wherein x of said m switch cells are correspondingly connected in parallel with x of said m LED arrays, the remaining m-x switch cells being respectively connected in parallel between one end of the remaining m-x LED arrays and said dc power output, said m-x switch cells being respectively operable/conductive to allow for recirculation of said dc power from the corresponding end of each of said m-x LED arrays, wherein x is an integer, m is greater than or equal to 2, m is greater than or equal to x is greater than or equal to 0.

36. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 34 further comprising a current limiting device coupled in said control circuit such that when said control circuit drives said n LED arrays, a series loop is formed with said n LED arrays and said dc power source.

37. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 35 wherein the current limiting device and at least a portion of the m switching cells are configured to independently or jointly regulate current flow through at least a portion of the n LED arrays. 38. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 37 wherein the current limiting device has a control terminal connected to the control unit, the current limiting device and/or at least a portion of the m switching units being operable to regulate the respective currents in accordance with control signals of the respective control terminals.

39. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 37, wherein the m switch units are N-type devices, the LED arrays corresponding to/coupled with the m switch units and the current limiting devices are sequentially arranged along the current direction, wherein two ends of the x switch units are connected to the upstream of the current limiting devices, two ends of the remaining m-x switch units are respectively connected to the upstream and downstream of the current limiting devices, wherein x is an integer, m is greater than or equal to 2, and m is greater than or equal to x is greater than or equal to 0.

40 The control circuit according to alternative embodiment 37, wherein the m switch units are P-type devices, the current limiting devices and the LED arrays corresponding to/coupled with the m switch units are sequentially arranged along the current direction, wherein two ends of the x switch units are connected to the downstream of the current limiting devices, two ends of the remaining m-x switch units are connected to the upstream and downstream of the current limiting devices respectively, wherein x is an integer, m is greater than or equal to 2, and m is greater than or equal to x is greater than or equal to 0.

41. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 39, wherein the m switch units are respectively controlled by the control unit and are switched to at least an on, an adjusted or an off state.

42. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 41, wherein the m switching units are N-type devices, and the current input terminals/anodes of the m-x LED arrays are respectively coupled to the negative polarity terminal of the dc power supply through corresponding switching units; or alternatively

The m switch units are P-type devices, and the current output ends/cathodes of the m-x LED arrays are respectively coupled to the positive polarity end of the direct current power supply through the corresponding switch units.

43. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 42 wherein said m switching cells are N-type devices, at least some of said x switching cells and said m-x switching cells being serially connected in sequence along a current direction.

44. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 43 wherein 2+.m+.1, n=2; the control circuit includes:

a first pin configured to couple the positive polarity output of the DC power source to the outside,

a third pin configured to couple the negative polarity end of a second LED array of the n LED arrays;

A fourth pin configured to couple to a negative polarity output of the dc power source; and

The positive polarity terminal of a first switching unit of the m switching units is connected to the second pin, and the negative polarity terminal of the first switching unit is coupled to the fourth pin.

45. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 44 wherein the positive polarity terminal of the current limiting device is connected to the third pin; a negative terminal connected to the fourth pin, and

The negative polarity terminal of the first switching unit is directly connected to the fourth pin or connected to the third pin, and is coupled to the fourth pin through the current limiting device.

46. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 45, the positive polarity terminal of a second switching unit of the m switching units is connected to the first pin; the negative polarity terminal of the second switching unit is connected to the second pin.

47. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 46, comprising: a first carrier and a second carrier isolated from each other, the second carrier being configured to carry the second switching unit, the first carrier being configured to carry the first switching unit.

48. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 47 wherein said current limiting device and at least a portion of said controller are disposed on said first carrier.

49. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 44 further comprising a current programming interface disposed in either the first switching unit or the current limiting device configured to receive a first resistor connected in series from the periphery to set a current of an LED array of the n LED arrays that is on.

50. The control circuit of any of alternative embodiments 33-49, wherein the dc power supply outputs a pulsating dc voltage; the control unit is configured to: the current in the at least one switching unit that is turned on is regulated to vary inversely with the pulsating direct voltage/the voltage experienced by the n LED arrays.

51. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 50, the control unit further configured to: decreasing the current in the LED arrays that are turned on in the n LED arrays with an increase in the pulsating direct voltage/the voltage that the n LED arrays are subjected to, or increasing the current in the LED arrays that are turned on in the n LED arrays with a decrease in the pulsating direct voltage/the voltage that the n LED arrays are subjected to;

thus, the power of the n LED arrays is adjusted to remain within the neighborhood of the first power value.

52. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 51 wherein the control unit comprises an electrical signal measurement unit coupled to the control circuit to obtain a first electrical signal reflecting/representing the pulsating direct voltage or the voltage experienced by the n LED arrays or having a positive/negative correlation with the pulsating direct voltage or the voltage experienced by the n LED arrays; and

The control unit is further configured to: 1) Controlling at least one of the M switching units to turn on to establish a bypass in response to the first electrical signal being less than a first threshold; 2) Controlling all of the M switch units to be turned off in response to the first electrical signal being greater than or equal to the first threshold; or alternatively

I) Controlling at least one of the M switching units to turn on to establish a bypass in response to the first electrical signal being greater than a first threshold; ii) controlling all of the M switching units to be turned off in response to the first electrical signal being less than or equal to the first threshold.

53. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 52 wherein the first threshold corresponds to one of: i) A value of the first electrical signal reflecting a minimum voltage of a direct current power supply sufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays, ii) a reference voltage value whose difference from the minimum voltage value is a constant positive value, iii) a voltage value of the direct current power supply that can bring on current/luminous flux of the n LED arrays to a predetermined value; iv) a minimum voltage of the dc power supply sufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays, v) a value of the first electrical signal reflecting a voltage value of the dc power supply that causes luminous fluxes of the LEDs in the n LED arrays to reach a predetermined value; VI) a value of a first electrical signal reflecting a minimum voltage of the direct current power supply when luminous flux generated by the voltage/current/power on the n LED arrays reaches a predetermined value; VII) a dc voltage value just sufficient to render all n LED arrays conductive. Optionally, when at least one of the n LED arrays is bypassed, the current flowing through the n LED arrays or the current flowing through the bypass/sub-loop is regulated by the control unit to be greater than the current of the main loop when the n LED arrays are all on; and

The control unit is further configured to: and regulating a first bypass current in the turned-on at least one switch unit to be larger than a current value flowing through the n LED arrays when all the M switch units are turned off according to the at least first electric signal, so that the product of the voltage born by the n LED arrays and the first bypass current is kept in a neighborhood of a first power value.

The control circuit of any of the alternative embodiments 33-48 or 50-53, wherein x = 0, the control unit is further configured to switch the m switch units to establish and/or cancel a bypass loop in response to fluctuations of the first electrical signal relative to the first threshold.

54. The control circuit of any of alternative embodiments 33-49 or 51-53, wherein m > x is ≡1, m is ≡2, the control unit further configured to a) in response to the first electrical signal falling below the first threshold, turn off a plurality of the m switch units at a first predetermined frequency to turn on a corresponding plurality of LED arrays; or b) in response to the first electrical signal falling below the first threshold, alternately turning on a plurality of switching elements including at least one of the x switching elements and at least one of the m-x switching elements at a first predetermined frequency, thereby establishing a plurality of bypass loops alternately turned on; and

The first preset frequency is larger than the power frequency or the pulsation frequency of the direct current voltage.

55. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 54 wherein the control unit is further configured to: coordinating currents in the plurality of switching cells being switched such that power of the n LED arrays remains substantially constant before and after switching, all within a neighborhood of the first power value, when the first electrical signal that is positively correlated with the pulsating direct current voltage is less than the first threshold; or alternatively

The currents in the plurality of bypass loops are coordinated by the plurality of switching units such that the power of the LED arrays in the plurality of bypass loops is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value.

56. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 55 wherein the plurality of bypass loops includes a first bypass loop and a second bypass loop, the control unit further configured to, if an LED array of the n LED arrays located in the first bypass loop has a greater on-voltage drop than an LED array of the second bypass loop: adjusting the current in the second bypass loop to be greater than the current in the first bypass loop so that the relative rate of change of the power of the LED array in the second bypass loop and the LED array in the first bypass loop is less than a first predetermined percentage, the first predetermined percentage being a value less than 2%; or alternatively

The control unit is further configured to, if the LED array on-voltage drop in the first bypass loop is substantially equal to the LED array in the second bypass loop: adjusting the rate of change of the current in the second bypass loop relative to the current in the first bypass loop to be no more than a first predetermined percentage such that the rate of change of the LED array power in the second bypass loop relative to the LED array power in the first bypass loop is less than the first predetermined percentage, the first predetermined percentage being a value less than 2%; and

The number of LED arrays in the union of the LED arrays in the first bypass loop and the LED arrays in the second bypass loop is greater than the maximum number of n LED arrays that can be turned on by the dc power supply when the first electrical signal is less than the first threshold.

57. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 53' or 54 wherein the control unit is further configured to: if m > x is equal to or greater than 1, coordinating the current in the current limiting device and the current in the plurality of switched switching units during fluctuation of the first electrical signal relative to the first threshold value, so that the power of the n LED arrays is kept within a neighborhood of the first power value in a state in which the plurality of switching units are all turned off and at least partially turned on; or alternatively

As x=0, during fluctuations of the first electrical signal relative to the first threshold, the current in the current limiting device and the current in the m switching units are coordinated such that the power of the n LED arrays remains within the neighborhood of the first power value in a state in which the m switching units are all turned off and at least partially turned on.

58. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 55 wherein the control unit is further configured to: during the transition in which the plurality of switching units are switched,

Ii) synchronously controlling the current in a first part of the plurality of switching units to increase as the current in a second part of the plurality of switching units decreases, so that the power drop of the LED array corresponding to the second part of switching units is compensated/counteracted by the power increase of the LED array corresponding to the first part of switching units.

59. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 56, wherein the control unit is further configured to: in a transition of switching between the first bypass loop and the second bypass loop, i) synchronously controlling the current in the first bypass loop to decrease as the second bypass loop current increases, such that the power drop of the LED array in the first bypass loop is compensated/counteracted by the power increase of the LED array in the second bypass loop; and

60. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 58 wherein the control unit is further configured to: in the transition process of switching on from the second part of switch units to the first part of switch units, before the current in the second part of switch units exceeds a preset amplitude relative to the amplitude of the decrease before the transition process starts, controlling the current in the first part of switch units to synchronously increase; and/or in the transition of the switching conduction from the first partial switching unit to the second partial switching unit, controlling the current in the second partial switching unit to increase synchronously before the current in the first partial switching unit exceeds the preset amplitude relative to the amplitude of the decrease before the transition starts; wherein the preset amplitude is an arbitrary value less than 5%.

61. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 55 wherein a union of LED arrays in each of said plurality of bypass loops contains a cap or comprises all of said n LED arrays; or alternatively

The union of the plurality of LED arrays that are turned on in a rotation includes all of the n LED arrays; or alternatively

The union of the non-bypassed n-m LED arrays of the n LED arrays and the rotated-on plurality of LED arrays includes all of the n LED arrays.

62. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 57 wherein any one of the following: i) An LED array turned on by each of the plurality of switching units being switched, ii) a union of the n-m LED arrays and the LED array turned on by each of the plurality of switching units being switched, or iii) an LED array in each of the plurality of bypass loops, corresponding to a maximum or next-largest number of LED arrays in which an output of the dc power supply is capable of lighting; or alternatively

The plurality of switching units or the m switching units are configured with a first switching group, and an LED array that can be lighted among the n LED arrays is corresponding to the output of the direct current power supply of the maximum number or the next largest number.

63. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 62 wherein a union of LED arrays in each of said plurality of bypass loops corresponds to all of said n LED arrays; or the plurality of bypass loops, including cover/overlay/include all of the n LED arrays; and

The switch unit is a field effect transistor, a triode, a transistor, a power tube or a MOS tube.

63-1 The control circuit of any of the alternative embodiments 33-54, the electrical signal measurement unit coupled to the control circuit to obtain at least one electrical signal reflecting the pulsating direct voltage characteristic;

The electric signal measuring units are respectively coupled with the m switch units; and

The electrical signal measurement unit is configured to judge whether the output voltage of the direct current power supply is enough to conduct the n LED arrays according to the at least one electrical signal;

The control unit is configured to selectively turn on the m switching units to keep only a first portion of the LED arrays adapted to the output voltage illuminated in response to the at least one electrical signal reflecting that the output voltage of the dc power supply is insufficient to turn on the n LED arrays.

63-2 The control circuit of alternative embodiment 63-1 wherein the at least one electrical signal includes a second electrical signal reflecting a minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage or a voltage value of a valley portion; and

The electric signal measuring unit further comprises a second comparator, and the output ends of the second comparator are respectively coupled with the m switch units; the second comparator is configured to receive the second electrical signal and a first threshold.

63-3. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 63-2 wherein the dc power supply outputs a pulsating voltage, the control unit being configured to gradually switch i) the n LEDs to be fully on to ii) keep the first partial LED array to be fully on through a plurality of pulsation cycles in response to the second electrical signal reflecting that a valley portion of the pulsating voltage is insufficient to turn on the n LED arrays.

63-4. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 63-3 wherein the electrical signal measurement unit further comprises an integration unit coupled between the second comparator and the m switching units;

The integration unit is operable to coordinate the duty cycle of the current in the first portion of the LED array and the duty cycle of the current in the n LED arrays, respectively, to increase and decrease from cycle to cycle, in accordance with the output of the second comparator, over the plurality of ripple cycles.

63-5 The control circuit of alternative embodiment 63-4 wherein the electrical signal measurement unit further comprises a first comparator connected between the integration unit and the m switch units;

The control unit further comprises a signal processing unit, and the first comparators are respectively coupled to the m switch units through the signal processing unit;

The at least one electrical signal further comprises a first electrical signal reflecting the pulsating direct voltage or the voltage experienced by the n LED arrays; the first comparator is configured to receive the first electrical signal and an output of the integrating unit.

63-6 The control circuit of alternative embodiment 63-5 wherein the signal processing unit comprises timing logic coupled to the m switching units, respectively, the timing logic configured to: and cyclically outputting a control signal complementary in time to at least a portion of the m switch cells at a first predetermined frequency in response to an output of the first comparator characterizing that an output amplitude of the integrating cell is greater than the first electrical signal.

64. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 62, said control unit further comprising: a timer and a trigger; the electric signal measuring unit, the timer and the trigger are connected in sequence; the output end of the trigger is connected to the control end of at least one of the x switch units;

Wherein the electrical signal measurement unit is configured to output a comparison signal to an input terminal of the timer and a control terminal of at least one of the m-x switch units according to a magnitude relation of the first electrical signal and the first threshold.

65. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 54, the control unit further comprising a timer, an output of the electrical signal measurement unit coupled to an input of the timer, the timer coupled to the control terminals of the plurality of switch units, respectively, the electrical signal measurement unit configured to: if the first electric signal positively correlated with the pulsating DC voltage is detected to be smaller than the first threshold value, outputting a first comparison signal to the timer, and

The timer is configured to: in response to the first comparison signal, controlling/coordinating a commutating conduction of the plurality of switching units or the plurality of bypass loops at the first predetermined frequency.

66. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 54, the control unit further comprising a timing logic circuit, the output of the electrical signal measurement unit being coupled to an input of the timing logic circuit, the respective control terminals of the plurality of switch units being respectively coupled to the output of the timing logic circuit, whereby a first comparison signal is output to the timing logic circuit in response to the first electrical signal being less than the first threshold value;

The timing logic circuit is configured to cyclically output a plurality of control signals complementary in time at a first predetermined frequency in response to a first comparison signal;

The switch units are respectively controlled by the control signals and are turned on in a rotating way at the first preset frequency;

Wherein the first electrical signal is positively correlated with the pulsating direct voltage.

67. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 66 wherein the control unit further comprises a second comparator, an integration unit, a first comparator, the output of the first comparator being coupled to the control terminals of the plurality of switching units, connected in sequence;

The second comparator is configured to receive a second electric signal and a first threshold value and output a comparison result to the integration unit;

The first comparator is configured to compare the first electrical signal with an output of the integrating unit;

The plurality of switching units are controlled by a) the plurality of control signals and b) the output of the first comparator, respectively i) turned on alternately at the first predetermined frequency, or ii) turned on alternately at the first predetermined frequency with decreasing/increasing duty cycle;

Wherein the second electrical signal reflects a minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage, the second electrical signal being acquired based on the first electrical signal.

68. The control circuit of any of the alternative embodiments 33-49 or 51-54, 55, 56, an input of the electrical signal measurement unit being coupled to the control circuit to obtain at least one electrical signal reflecting characteristics of the pulsating direct voltage, an output of the electrical signal measurement unit being coupled to a control of the m switching units such that z switching units of the m switching units remain on for a full period of the pulsating direct voltage in response to the at least one electrical signal indicating that a minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage falls below a turn-on threshold.

69. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 68 wherein z of said m switch cells are held on such that a minimum value of said pulsating direct current voltage is sufficient to illuminate q of said n LED arrays, q being a maximum number of LED arrays that can be illuminated by a minimum value of said pulsating direct current voltage below said turn-on threshold; and

When the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage is higher than the conducting threshold value, the pulsating direct current voltage is enough to conduct p LED arrays in the n LED arrays in a full period; y switch units in the m switch units are kept on; q is less than or equal to p and less than or equal to n.

The control circuit of alternative embodiment 69 wherein, when the control circuit is used for the n LED arrays, the positive polarity end of the pulsating dc voltage, a first LED array of the n LED arrays, a second LED array are connected in sequence to form the series loop; the second switch unit of the m switch units is connected across: 1) A connection point between the first LED array and the second LED array, and 2) a negative polarity end of the pulsating direct current voltage; thus, in response to the at least one electrical signal indicating that the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falls below a conduction threshold, the second switching element remains on for the full period of the pulsating direct current voltage.

70. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 69 wherein the control unit further comprises an integration unit; the electrical signal measurement unit, the integration unit, and the m switching units are coupled in sequence such that y switching units are maintained on to z switching units are maintained on stepwise over a plurality of pulse cycles in response to the at least one electrical signal indicating that a minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falls below the on threshold.

71. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 70 wherein gradually switching the y switch cells to the z switch cells remaining on through a plurality of ripple cycles comprises:

Coordinating i) the current in the z switching units or the average thereof increases over the plurality of cycles, and ii) the current in the y switching units or the average thereof decreases synchronously over the plurality of ripple cycles.

The control circuit of alternative embodiment 71 wherein coordinating i) the current in the z switch cells or the average thereof to increment through the plurality of cycles, and ii) the current in the y switch cells or the average thereof to decrement synchronously through the plurality of ripple cycles further comprises:

the duty cycle/amplitude of the on-current in the y switch cells is adjusted in a cycle-by-cycle decreasing manner and the duty cycle/amplitude of the on-current in the z switch cells is adjusted in a cycle-by-cycle increasing manner in synchronization within the plurality of ripple cycles.

The control circuit of any of alternative embodiments 68-71, wherein the control unit further comprises timing logic; the electrical signal measurement unit, the timing logic circuit, and the m switching units are coupled in sequence such that the z switching units are selectively turned on among the m switching units in response to the at least one electrical signal indicating that the minimum value of the pulsating direct current voltage falls below the turn-on threshold, the complementary control signals in time being cyclically output at a first predetermined frequency by the timing logic circuit.

The control circuit of alternative embodiment 73, wherein the n LED arrays further comprise a third LED array connected in series in the series loop; the m switch units further comprise first switch units; the first switching unit is configured to couple the first LED array in parallel when the control circuit is used for the first LED array, the second LED array, and the third LED array; thus, in response to the at least one electrical signal indicating that the minimum value of the pulsating direct voltage falls below the turn-on threshold, temporally complementary control signals are alternately output by the timing logic circuit to the first and second LED arrays, respectively, at a first predetermined frequency.

74. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 68 wherein the at least one electrical signal comprises a second electrical signal reflecting at least one of i) a maximum value, ii) a minimum value, iii) an average value, or iii) an effective value of the pulsating direct current voltage; the z switching units are at least partially selected from the x switching units; and

The z switching units include at least one of the x switching units, and at least one of the m-x switching units.

75. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 54, the control unit further comprising a timer, an output of the electrical signal measurement unit coupled to an input of the timer, the timer coupled to the control terminals of the plurality of switch units, respectively, the electrical signal measurement unit configured to: if the first electric signal inversely related to the pulsating direct voltage is detected to be larger than the first threshold value, outputting a first comparison signal to the timer, and

The timer is configured to: and in response to the first comparison signal, controlling/coordinating the switching off of the switching units or the bypass loops at the first preset frequency, so that corresponding LED arrays in the n LED arrays are switched on.

76. The control circuit of any of alternative embodiments 65 or 66, the control unit further comprising a flip-flop, an output of the timer being connected to an input of the flip-flop, an output of the flip-flop being connected to a control of the plurality of switching units.

77. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 54 wherein the control unit is further configured to:

Switching between the series loop and the plurality of bypass loops is performed stepwise over successive pulse cycles of the first electrical signal in response to a change/rise in a minimum value of the first electrical signal relative to the first threshold value; or alternatively

Switching between the series loop and the plurality of bypass loops is accomplished stepwise through a succession of multiple pulse cycles of the first electrical signal in response to a change in a minimum value of the first electrical signal across the first threshold.

78. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 77 wherein the control unit is further configured to:

Gradually adjusting, by the plurality of pulsation cycles, a relative proportion of i) a duration of the plurality of bypass loops in rotation to ii) a duration of the series loop in switching between the series loop and the plurality of bypass loops in rotation; or alternatively

In switching between the series circuit and the plurality of bypass circuits in turn-on, the current in a) the plurality of bypass circuits in turn-on and b) the current in the series circuit are gradually adjusted, the duty cycle/value/average in each pulsing period.

79. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 78 wherein the first electrical signal is positively correlated with the pulsating direct current voltage; and, the control unit is further configured to: switching on the series circuit in the maximum value of the first electric signal or in the neighborhood thereof in the pulse periods; when the series circuit is cut off, the bypass circuits are turned on in a rotating way; wherein i) the current in the series loop is complementary to ii) the current in the plurality of bypass loops in time domain or pulse shape.

80. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 78 wherein the control unit is further configured to:

i) Coordinating the decreasing duty cycle/value/average of the current in the plurality of bypass loops over each of the plurality of ripple cycles, synchronously increasing the duty cycle/value/average of the current in the series loop over each of the plurality of ripple cycles; or alternatively

Ii) coordinating the increasing duty cycle/value/average of the current in the plurality of bypass loops over each of the plurality of ripple cycles, in synchronization with the decreasing duty cycle/value/average of the current in the series loop over each of the plurality of ripple cycles; or alternatively

Iii) Coordinating the decreasing duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the plurality of bypass loops over the plurality of pulsation cycles, synchronously increasing the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the series loops; or alternatively

Iii) coordinating the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the plurality of bypass loops to increment in the plurality of pulsation cycles, synchronously, the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the series loops to decrement.

81. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 78 wherein the LED arrays in the plurality of bypass loops have or have no intersections and have the same on-voltage drop.

82. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 81 wherein the plurality of bypass loops are respectively configured to have a maximum or next-largest number of the n LED arrays that the pulsating direct current voltage corresponding to the lowest value of the first electrical signal can conduct;

the union of the LED arrays in the bypass loops which are turned on in a rotating way comprises n or n-1 of the n LED arrays; and

The plurality of pulsation periods includes any number of pulsation periods in the range of 3-1000, or the plurality of pulsation periods lasts 1ms to 1000ms.

83. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 78 wherein the control unit further comprises: a timer and an integrating unit coupled to each other;

The control unit is further configured to: adjusting, by an integration unit, the full-bright threshold/first threshold to increment/decrement over the plurality of pulse periods based at least in part on a timing signal from the timer, an

Switching between the series loop and the plurality of bypass loops is triggered based at least in part on the increasing/decreasing full bright threshold/first threshold.

84. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 83 wherein the control unit further comprises a comparator coupled to the integration unit; the comparator triggers i) switching between the series loop and the plurality of bypass loops, or ii) switching on or off of the m-x switching units and the current limiting device, according to the input of the integrating unit and the first electrical signal.

85. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 77 wherein the control unit is further configured to:

86. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 53 wherein said control unit is further configured to: switching between the series loop and the bypass loop is performed stepwise over successive pulse cycles of the first electrical signal in response to fluctuations/increases in the lowest value of the first electrical signal relative to the first threshold; or alternatively

Switching between the series loop and the bypass loop is accomplished stepwise through a succession of multiple pulse cycles of the first electrical signal in response to a change in a minimum value of the first electrical signal across the first threshold.

87. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 86 wherein the control unit is further configured to:

In switching between the series circuit and the bypass circuit, gradually adjusting, through the plurality of pulsation cycles, a relative proportion of i) a duration of the bypass circuit that is turned on alternately to ii) the duration of the series circuit; or alternatively

In switching between the series circuit and the bypass circuit in the switching-on, the current in a) the bypass circuit in the switching-on and b) the current in the series circuit are gradually adjusted, the duty ratio/value/average value in each pulsation period.

88. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 87 wherein the first electrical signal is positively correlated with the pulsating direct current voltage; and, the control unit is further configured to: switching on the series circuit in the maximum value of the first electric signal or in the neighborhood thereof in the pulse periods; when the series circuit is cut off, the bypass circuit is conducted; wherein i) the current in the series loop is complementary to ii) the current in the bypass loop in time domain or in pulse shape.

89. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 88 wherein the control unit is further configured to:

i) Coordinating the decreasing duty cycle/value/average of the current in the bypass loop over each of the plurality of ripple cycles, in synchronization with the increasing duty cycle/value/average of the current in the series loop over each of the plurality of ripple cycles; or alternatively

Ii) coordinating the increasing duty cycle/value/average of the current in the bypass loop over each of the plurality of pulsation cycles, in synchronism with the decreasing duty cycle/value/average of the current in the series loop over each of the plurality of pulsation cycles; or alternatively

Iii) Coordinating the decreasing duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the bypass loop over the plurality of pulsation cycles, synchronously increasing the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the series loop; or alternatively

Iii) coordinating the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the bypass loop to increment in the plurality of pulsation cycles, synchronously, the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses in the series loop to decrement.

90. The control circuit of alternative embodiment 89 wherein said bypass loop is configured to have a maximum or next-largest number of said n LED arrays that said pulsating direct current voltage corresponding to a lowest value of said first electrical signal is capable of conducting.

91. A drive circuit comprising the control circuit of any of alternative embodiments 33-49 or 51-53, integrated as a chip or integrated circuit; and the n LED arrays coupled from the periphery to the chip or integrated circuit.

92. The drive circuit of alternative embodiment 91 further comprising the first resistor being connected in series from the chip or integrated circuit periphery to a branch where the first switching unit is located through the current programming interface.

93. The drive circuit of alternative embodiment 92, further comprising the dc power supply including a rectifying circuit configured to receive input power and rectify the input power for output to the n LED arrays; and

The electric signal measuring unit comprises a voltage detecting circuit which is connected in parallel with the output of the rectifying circuit or the n LED arrays to detect the first electric signal through corresponding voltage signals; or the electrical signal measuring unit is connected in series with at least part of the n LED arrays and/or the m switching units to detect the first electrical signal through corresponding current signals.

94. The drive circuit of alternative embodiment 91, wherein at least one of the m switching cells and/or the current limiting device is configured as part of a voltage detection circuit.

95. The drive circuit of alternative embodiment 91, an output of the dc power source being connected across an electrolytic capacitor.

96. The drive circuit of alternative embodiment 91, wherein n is equal to or greater than 2, and at least two of the n LED arrays have the same conduction voltage drop, and are alternately turned on by corresponding switch units of the m switch units.

97. The drive circuit of alternative embodiment 91, wherein at least a portion of the n-m LED arrays that are not coupled to the m switching cells are connected in series before/upstream of the m LED arrays in the current direction; or alternatively

At least part of the n-m LED arrays are connected to the output end of the direct current power supply; or alternatively

At least part of the n-m LED arrays are connected to the m LED arrays to remain normally on; or alternatively

At least part of the n-m LED arrays are connected in series between at least two of the m LED arrays to remain normally on; or alternatively

At least part of the n-m LED arrays are connected in series among the x LED arrays in a staggered way or between the x LED arrays and the m-x LED arrays so as to keep always bright; or alternatively

At least part of the n-m LED arrays may not be bypassed by the m switching units.

98. The drive circuit of alternative embodiment 91, wherein the LED array that is bypassed by the first partial switching unit and the LED array that is bypassed by the second partial switching unit have the same conduction voltage drop.

99. The drive circuit of alternative embodiment 91, wherein n-m LED arrays that are not coupled to the m switch cells are connected in series with the dc power source such that the n-m LED arrays thereof are at least partially prevented from being bypassed by the m switch cells or the m-x switch cells; or alternatively

The n-m LED arrays are located in the series loop between the DC power supply and the m-x switching units.

100. A control method of an LED array for driving n LED arrays supplied with power from a direct current power source, comprising:

Selectively bypassing the n LED arrays to adapt/adapt the dc power supply when the dc power supply is low enough to turn on the n LED arrays;

101. The control method of alternative embodiment 100 wherein said step of selectively bypassing said n LED arrays to accommodate said dc power source further comprises:

establishing a bypass for a first part of the n LED arrays, the bypass being respectively connected across each of the first part of the LED arrays; and/or

And establishing a bypass which is connected with the second part of LED arrays in a bridging way for the second part of LED arrays so as to bypass the second part of LED arrays and loop back the direct current power supply.

102. The control method of alternative embodiment 101 wherein the step of selectively bypassing the n LED arrays to accommodate the dc power source further comprises:

In the first loop, individually bypassing a first part of the n LED arrays; and/or

A second portion of the LED arrays located on one side of the n LED arrays in series is bypassed entirely to loop back to the dc power supply.

103. The control method of alternative embodiment 101 or 102, further comprising the step of: the currents flowing through at least part of the n LED arrays are coordinated such that the power values of the n LED arrays remain in the neighborhood of the first power value.

104. The control method of alternative embodiment 103 wherein said step of coordinating current further comprises: the current in the first loop and the current in at least one bypass loop formed by the selective bypass are regulated in association or in synergy such that i) the power of the n LED arrays remains in a neighborhood of the first power value or ii) the power values of the first loop and the at least one bypass loop both remain in a neighborhood of the first power value during the selective bypass.

105. The control method of alternative embodiment 104 wherein the dc power source outputs a pulsating dc voltage, the step of regulating the current further comprising:

i) Adjusting the current in the first loop to change in negative correlation with the average value of the pulsating direct current voltage; and/or the number of the groups of groups,

Ii) adjusting the current in each of the at least one bypass loop and the on-voltage drop of the LED array in that bypass loop, respectively, to vary inversely proportionally.

106. The control method of alternative embodiment 105 wherein said current regulating step further comprises: i) Decreasing the current in the at least one bypass loop with an increase in the pulsating direct voltage/the voltage experienced by the n LED arrays or increasing the current in the at least one bypass loop with a decrease in the pulsating direct voltage/the voltage experienced by the n LED arrays when the pulsating direct voltage is below Quan Liang threshold; or alternatively

Ii) decreasing the current in the first loop with increasing voltage seen by the pulsating direct voltage/the n LED arrays or increasing the current in the first loop with decreasing voltage seen by the pulsating direct voltage/the n LED arrays when the pulsating direct voltage is above the full bright threshold;

Thus, the power of the n LED arrays is kept within a neighborhood of the first power value.

107. The control method of alternative embodiment 106 wherein said pulsating dc voltage is above said full brightness threshold sufficient to turn on all of said n LED arrays.

108. The control method of any of alternative embodiments 103-107, further comprising:

S-1) switching between the first loop and the at least one bypass loop in response to an output voltage of the DC power supply fluctuating around a full-bright threshold;

S-2) coordinating the current of the first loop and the current of the at least one bypass loop such that the power of the n LED arrays remains within a neighborhood of a first power value; and, the step S-2) further comprises:

S-2-1) in response to the first loop switching to a first type of bypass loop in the at least one bypass loop, adjusting the current in the first type of bypass loop to be greater than the current of the first loop such that the power of the n LED arrays remains within a neighborhood of the first power value before, during, and after the switching of the first loop to the first type of bypass loop; wherein the first type bypass loop corresponds to the first portion of the LED array; or (b)

S-2-2) in response to the first loop switching to a second type of bypass loop in the at least one bypass loop, adjusting the current in the second type of bypass loop to be greater than the current of the first loop such that the power of the n LED arrays remains within a neighborhood of the first power value before, during, and after the switching of the first loop to the second type of bypass loop; wherein the second type bypass loop corresponds to the second partial LED array; or (b)

S-2-3) in response to the first loop switching to a third type of bypass loop of the at least one bypass loop, adjusting the current in the third type of bypass loop to be greater than the current of the first loop such that the power of the n LED arrays remains within a neighborhood of the first power value before, during, and after the switching of the first loop to the third type of bypass loop; wherein the third type bypass loop corresponds to the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array; and

The step S-1) further comprises:

In response to the voltage of the dc power source being below the full-lighting threshold, the at least one bypass loop is turned on in the first loop to illuminate the LED array of the n LED arrays that is capable of being illuminated by the maximum or next-largest number of voltages of the dc power source.

109. The control method of alternative embodiment 108, further comprising the steps of:

In response to the first loop switching to one of the first type bypass loop, the second type bypass loop or the third type bypass loop, alternately switching on at least two of the first type bypass loop, the second type bypass loop and the third type bypass loop; or alternatively

When the voltage of the direct current power supply is lower than the full-brightness threshold value, alternately conducting at least two of the first type bypass loop, the second type bypass loop and the third type bypass loop;

Wherein the alternating frequency is larger than the pulsating frequency of the pulsating direct voltage and is any value of [2kHz,50kHz ].

110. The control method of alternative embodiment 108, further comprising the steps of:

alternately switching on a plurality of the first type bypass loops in response to the first loop switching to the first type bypass loop; or alternatively

Alternately switching on a plurality of the second type bypass loops in response to the first loop switching to the second type bypass loop; or alternatively

Alternately switching on a plurality of the third type bypass loops in response to the first loop switching to the third type bypass loop;

the frequency of the alternate conduction is larger than the pulse frequency of the pulse direct-current voltage and is any value of [2kHz,50kHz ].

111. The control method as in alternative embodiments 109 or 110, wherein the step of alternately turning on further comprises any one of: i) Coordinating the current of at least two of the first type bypass loop, the second type bypass loop, and the third type bypass loop such that during the alternating conduction, the power of n LED arrays is maintained within a neighborhood of the first power value; or alternatively

Ii) coordinating the currents of any one of a) the plurality of first type bypass loops, b) the plurality of second type bypass loops, c) the plurality of third type bypass loops, such that during the alternating conduction, the power of n LED arrays is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value.

112. The control method of alternative embodiment 111 wherein the step of current coordination further comprises:

Dynamically controlling the current in the first type bypass loop to decrease synchronously with increasing current in the second type bypass loop during switching from the first type bypass loop to the second type bypass loop such that the decrease in power in the first type bypass loop is compensated for/offset by the increase in power in the second type bypass loop, and

During a switch from the second type bypass loop to the first type bypass loop, the current in the second type bypass loop is dynamically controlled to decrease synchronously with increasing current in the first type bypass loop such that a decrease in power in the second type bypass loop is compensated for/counteracted by an increase in power in the first type bypass loop.

113. The control method of alternative embodiment 112, further comprising:

In the transition process of switching from the second type bypass loop to the first type bypass loop, controlling the current in the first type bypass loop to synchronously increase before the decreasing amplitude of the current in the second type bypass loop exceeds a preset amplitude; and/or

In the transition process of switching from the first type bypass loop to the second type bypass loop, controlling the current in the second type bypass loop to synchronously increase before the decreasing amplitude of the current in the first type bypass loop exceeds the preset amplitude;

Wherein the preset amplitude is any value between 0.1% and 5%.

114. The control method of alternative embodiment 109 wherein said alternately conducting step further comprises:

alternately switching on the first type bypass loop and the second type bypass loop, so that luminous fluxes of the n LED arrays are distributed on the largest luminous area; or alternatively

Alternately switching on the first type bypass loop and the second type bypass loop to light all of the n LED arrays in a single period of the alternating conduction.

115. A driving method of an LED array, comprising: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays powered by a dc power supply:

SA-1): detecting the voltage of the direct current power supply; wherein the voltage of the direct current power supply with a high Yu Quanliang threshold is enough to conduct the n LED arrays, and the voltage of the direct current power supply with a lower than the full-lighting threshold is insufficient to conduct all the n LED arrays;

SA-2) alternately illuminating a first part and all of the n LED arrays in response to/as a function of the voltage of the DC power source relative to the full-illumination threshold.

116. A driving method of an LED array, comprising: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays in series:

SA-1): supplying power to the n LED arrays through a direct current power supply;

SA-2) alternately illuminating a first portion and all of the n LED arrays in response to fluctuations in the DC power supply relative to a full-illumination threshold.

117. A driving method of an LED array, comprising: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays coupled to each other powered by a dc power supply:

SA-1): driving to illuminate one of i) all of the n LED arrays, or ii) a first set of at least one partial LED array of the n LED arrays, in response to/if the output voltage of the dc power supply is greater than or equal to a turn-on threshold;

SA-2): in response to/if the output voltage of the direct current power supply is below the turn-on threshold, only one of the second set of at least one partial LED array of the n LED arrays is driven to light.

118. A driving method of an LED array, comprising: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays coupled to each other powered by a dc power supply:

SA-2): and driving to light one of a second group of at least one partial LED array of the n LED arrays in response to/if the output voltage of the direct current power supply is lower than the on threshold.

119. The driving method of alternative embodiment 117 or 118 wherein the number of LED arrays in each/any portion of the first set of at least one partial LED array is greater than/equal to the number of LED arrays in each/any portion of the second set of at least one partial LED array; or alternatively

The on-voltage drop of the LED arrays in each/any part of the first set of at least one partial LED array is greater than/equal to the on-voltage drop of the LED arrays in each/any part of the second set of at least one partial LED array.

120. The method of alternate embodiment 119 wherein one of the second set of at least one partial LED arrays has a maximum/sub-multiple number or maximum/sub-large on-voltage drop in the second set of at least one partial LED array.

121. The method of claim 119 wherein the turn-on threshold comprises a full-on threshold above which the output voltage of the dc power supply is sufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays.

122. A driving method of an LED array, comprising: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays powered by a dc power supply:

SA-1): driving to light p LED arrays in the n LED arrays in response to/if the output voltage of the direct current power supply is higher than or equal to a conduction threshold;

SA-2): and responding to/if the output voltage of the direct current power supply is lower than the conduction threshold value, driving and lighting q LED arrays in the n LED arrays, wherein p and q are integers, and q is less than or equal to p and less than or equal to n.

123. The method of alternate embodiment 122 wherein q < p; and/or the conduction voltage drop of the p LED arrays is larger than the conduction voltage drop of the q LED arrays.

124. The method of alternative embodiment 123 wherein said q LED arrays have a maximum/next largest number of said n LED arrays that can be turned on by an output voltage of said dc power supply below said turn-on threshold.

125. The method of alternate embodiment 124 wherein the turn-on threshold comprises a full-on threshold, the output voltage of the dc power source being above the full-on threshold sufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays.

126. A driving method of an LED array, comprising: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays coupled to each other powered by a dc power supply:

SA-1): driving illumination of i) all of the n LED arrays, or ii) a larger portion of the n LED arrays, in response to/if the output voltage of the dc power supply is greater than or equal to a turn-on threshold;

SA-2): and driving to light fewer LED arrays in the n LED arrays in response to/if the output voltage of the direct current power supply is lower than the on threshold.

127. A driving method of an LED array, comprising: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays coupled to each other powered by a dc power supply:

128. A driving method of an LED array, comprising: at a drive circuit for driving n LED arrays powered by a dc power supply:

SA-1): driving the n LED arrays to be lit in response to/if the output voltage of the dc power supply is above Quan Liang threshold values sufficient to turn on the n LED arrays;

SA-2): in response to/if the output voltage of the direct current power supply is below the full-lighting threshold but insufficient to turn on all of the n LED arrays, only the LED arrays driving part of the n LED arrays are lighted.

129. The method of alternative embodiment 128, said step SA-2) further comprising the sub-steps of:

SA-2-1) adjusting the current through the n LED arrays in inverse/negative relation to the conduction voltage drop of the n LED arrays to keep the power of the n LED arrays within a neighborhood of a first power value; or alternatively

The current flowing through the LED array of the section is adjusted in inverse/negative relation to the on-voltage drop of the LED array of the section so that the power of the LED array of the section is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value.

130. The method of alternate embodiment 129 wherein step SA-2-1) wherein the portion of the LED array is a first portion of the LED array further comprises the sub-steps of:

SA-2-1-1. Coordinating i) the current flowing when the n LED arrays are all turned on, and ii) the current when the first partial LED arrays are individually turned on, such that the power of the all-on n LED arrays and the power of the first partial LED arrays that are individually turned on remain within the neighborhood of the first power value.

131. The driving method according to alternative embodiment 130, wherein said step SA-2-1-1) further comprises the sub-steps of:

in response to a first portion of the LED arrays being individually illuminated, current in the first portion of the LED arrays is raised to be greater than current flowing when the n LED arrays are all on to maintain power of the n LED arrays within a neighborhood of the first power value.

132. The driving method according to alternative embodiment 130, wherein said step SA-2-1-1) further comprises the sub-steps of:

I) When the voltage of the direct current power supply is higher than the full-brightness threshold value, the current in the n LED arrays is increased along with the reduction of the conduction voltage drop of the n LED arrays; decreasing current in the n LED arrays as the on-voltage drop of the n LED arrays increases; and

II) when the voltage of the direct current power supply is lower than the full-brightness threshold value, the current in the first part of LED arrays is increased along with the reduction of the conduction voltage drop of the first part of LED arrays; reducing current in the first partial LED array as the on-voltage drop of the first partial LED array increases;

Thus, during the change of the voltage of the direct current power supply, the power of the n LED arrays is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value.

133. The drive method of any one of alternative embodiments 121, 125, 128, wherein the dc power source outputs a rectified pulsating voltage, and wherein step SA-2) further comprises step SA-2-NO):

In response to the lowest value of the pulsating voltage falling below the full-bright threshold, driving only a portion of the LED array to be illuminated in each of at least one pulsating period of the pulsating voltage; or alternatively

In response to the lowest value of the pulsating voltage falling below the full-lighting threshold, driving a portion of the LED array to be lit for a full period of at least one pulsating period of the pulsating voltage; or alternatively

In response to the minimum value of the pulsating voltage falling below the full-illumination threshold, driving a portion of the LED array to be illuminated full-periodically during at least one pulsating period of the pulsating voltage.

134. The method of alternate embodiment 133 wherein the partial LED array is a first partial LED array of the n LED arrays and the ripple voltage has a minimum voltage during each ripple period sufficient to turn on/illuminate the first partial LED array.

135. The method of alternative embodiment 134 wherein the partial LED arrays are a plurality of the n LED arrays that are individually turned on/off by a minimum voltage of the ripple voltage in each ripple period.

136. The method of alternative embodiments 134 or 135 wherein the first portion of LED arrays has a maximum or next largest number of ripple cycles of the ripple voltage that a lowest voltage can conduct among the n LED arrays; or alternatively

The plurality of partial LED arrays have a maximum or next-largest number of the n LED arrays that can be turned on by a lowest value voltage in a ripple period of the ripple voltage, respectively.

137. The method of driving as in alternative embodiment 136 wherein the number of LED arrays in the union of the plurality of partial LED arrays is n or n-1.

138. The method of driving as recited in alternative embodiment 136, further comprising the step of: coordinating i) the current when the n LED arrays are all on, and ii) the current when the first partial LED arrays are individually on, such that the total power of the n LED arrays remains within a neighborhood of a first power value.

139. The drive method of alternative embodiment 135, wherein said step SA-2-NO) further comprises step SA-2-NO-c): the plurality of partial LED arrays are controlled to be cycled on/off at the first predetermined frequency within or across one or more of each of the at least one pulsing period in response to the minimum value of the pulsing voltage falling below the full-bright threshold.

140. The driving method according to alternative embodiment 133, wherein said step SA-2-NO) further comprises step SA-2-NO-c): in response to the minimum value of the ripple voltage falling below the full-illumination threshold, controlling LED arrays of portions of the n LED arrays to be cycled on/off at the first predetermined frequency within or across one or more of each of the at least one ripple period.

141. The method of driving as in alternative embodiment 140 wherein the plurality of partial LED arrays further comprises a first partial LED array and a second partial LED array, and wherein step SA-2-NO-c) further comprises the steps of:

Controlling the first and second partial LED arrays to alternately or alternately turn on/off at the first predetermined frequency within or across one or more of the at least one pulsing period in response to the lowest value of the pulsing voltage falling below the full-lighting threshold.

142. The drive method of any of alternative embodiments 128-132, 134-135, 137-140, further comprising the step of SA-3-NO): switching illumination between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays is performed by a continuous plurality of pulsing periods in response to a change in the minimum value of the pulsing voltage across the full-illumination threshold; or alternatively

Each switching between the n LED arrays and the portion of LED arrays is performed stepwise over successive multiple pulsing periods in response to a change in the minimum value of the pulsing voltage across the full-bright threshold; or alternatively

Each switching between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays is accomplished step-wise through a continuous plurality of pulsing periods in response to a change in the minimum value of the pulsing voltage across the full-bright threshold.

143. The driving method according to alternative embodiment 142, wherein said step SA-3-NO) further includes step SA-3-NO-1):

Coordinating an average value of currents in the n LED arrays that are all turned on and an average value of currents in the partial LED arrays that are individually turned on during switching between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays, respectively decreasing and increasing in the plurality of ripple periods; or alternatively

Coordinating the average value of the currents in the n LED arrays which are all conducted and the average value of the currents in the part of the LED arrays which are conducted independently, and respectively increasing and decreasing in the pulsation periods; or alternatively

And coordinating the currents or average values thereof in the n LED arrays which are all conducted with the currents or average values thereof in the part of the LED arrays which are independently conducted, and respectively showing an overall rising trend and an overall falling trend in the plurality of pulsation periods.

144. The driving method according to alternative embodiment 142, wherein said step SA-3-NO) further includes step SA-3-NO-1):

coordinating a relative proportion of an on-time during which the n LED arrays are all turned on to an on-time during which the partial LED arrays are individually turned on during switching between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays, decreasing or increasing over the plurality of ripple cycles; or alternatively

Coordinating the time duration for which the n LED arrays are all turned on to be incremented/decremented from cycle to cycle and, correspondingly, the time duration for which the portions of the LED arrays are individually turned on to be decremented/incremented from cycle to cycle in the plurality of pulsing cycles;

wherein the individually turned-on partial LED array is the first partial LED array or each of the plurality of partial LED arrays that are turned-on alternately.

145. The drive method of alternative embodiment 143 wherein said step SA-3-NO-1) further comprises any one of the following sub-steps:

SA-3-NO-1 a) in response to the minimum value of the pulsating voltage falling below the full-bright threshold, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully-on state of the n LED arrays cycle by cycle incrementally over the plurality of pulsating cycles, and, synchronously, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the individually-on state of the first portion of LED arrays cycle by cycle incrementally; or alternatively

SA-3-NO-1 b) in response to the minimum value of the pulsating voltage rising above the full-bright threshold, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully on state of the n LED arrays cycle by cycle during the plurality of pulsating cycles, and, synchronously, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the individually on state of the first portion of LED arrays cycle by cycle;

SA-3-NO-1 c) in response to the minimum value of the pulsating voltage falling below the full-brightness threshold, adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully-on state of the n LED arrays in a cycle-by-cycle decreasing manner over the plurality of pulsating cycles, and adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the rotated-on state of the plurality of partial LED arrays in a cycle-by-cycle increasing manner in synchronization; or alternatively

SA-3-NO-1 d) in response to the minimum value of the pulsating voltage rising above the full-brightness threshold, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the fully-on state of the n LED arrays cycle by cycle during the plurality of pulsating cycles, and, synchronously, incrementally adjusting the duty cycle/amplitude of the current in the commutating-on process of the plurality of partial LED arrays cycle by cycle;

Wherein the plurality of ripple periods are adjacent/corresponding in time domain to the at least one ripple period, and wherein the current in the all-on state of the n LED arrays and the current in the individual on state of the first partial LED array are complementary in time/waveform, or the current in the all-on state of the n LED arrays and the current in the alternating on process of the plurality of partial LED arrays are complementary in time/waveform.

146. The drive method of alternate embodiment 145 wherein the first predetermined frequency is provided at least in part from a timer/frequency generator, the steps SA-3-NO-1 a), SA-3-NO-1 b), SA-3-NO-1 c), or SA-3-NO-1 d) further comprising the steps of:

the full brightness threshold is incrementally/decrementally adjusted by an integration unit with the period of the pulsating voltage according to the input from the timer.

147. The drive method of alternate embodiment 142 wherein the plurality of pulse periods includes any number of pulse periods in the range of 5-1000 or the plurality of pulse periods last from 1ms to 1000ms.

148. The method of alternate embodiment 128 wherein step SA-2) further includes step SA-2-F) controlling i) at least one of a first portion of the n LED arrays to be turned on/off alternately or alternately at a first predetermined frequency with ii) a second portion of the n LED arrays and/or a third portion of the n LED arrays.

149. The driving method of alternative embodiment 148, wherein said step SA-2) further comprises step SA-2-F): the LED arrays of a plurality of portions of the n LED arrays are controlled to alternately/alternately light up at a first predetermined frequency.

150. The drive method of alternative embodiment 149, wherein the drive method further comprises steps SA-2-F1): at least one of the n arrays other than the rotated LED arrays of the plurality of portions is kept normally on.

151. The drive method of alternative embodiments 149 or 150, wherein each of the plurality of partial LED arrays is configured to have a maximum or next-largest number of the n LED arrays that can be turned on with a lowest value of the ripple voltage;

I) A union of the LED arrays of the plurality of portions and the at least one LED array that is normally on, or II) a union of the LED arrays of the plurality of portions, containing n or n-1 of the n LED arrays; and the LED arrays of the plurality of sections have the same on-voltage drop.

152. The drive method of alternative embodiment 151, further comprising steps SA-2-F2): switching lighting between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays is performed stepwise through a continuous plurality of pulsation cycles in response to a change/rise of a lowest value of the pulsation voltage with respect to the full-lighting threshold; or alternatively

Switching on between the n LED arrays and the partial LED arrays is accomplished stepwise through successive multiple pulsing periods in response to a change in the minimum value of the pulsing voltage across the full-bright threshold.

153. The drive method of alternative embodiment 152 wherein said step SA-2-F2) further comprises step SA-2-F25):

Gradually adjusting, through the plurality of pulsing periods, a relative proportion of i) the duration of the partial LED array being alternately illuminated to ii) the duration of the n LED arrays being fully illuminated; or alternatively

Gradually adjusting a) the current to turn on the partial LED arrays and b) the current to turn on all the n LED arrays, duty cycle/value/average in each pulsing period.

154. The drive method of alternative embodiment 153, wherein said step SA-2-F25) further comprises: illuminating all n LED arrays by direct current voltages in the pulse periods greater than a full-illumination threshold; alternately lighting a part of the LED arrays at a time other than when the n LED arrays are all lighted; wherein i) the current to alternately illuminate part of the LED arrays is complementary to ii) the current to illuminate all n LED arrays in time domain or pulse waveform.

155. The drive method of alternative embodiment 153 wherein said step SA-2-F25) further comprises at least one of the sub-steps of:

i) The duty ratio/value/average value of the current for turning on the partial LED arrays in each of the plurality of pulsation periods is decreased in a coordinated rotation manner, and the duty ratio/value/average value of the current for turning on all the n LED arrays in each of the plurality of pulsation periods is increased in a synchronous manner; or alternatively

Ii) the duty cycle/value/average of the currents for turning on the partial LED arrays in each of the plurality of ripple periods is increased in coordination with the duty cycle/value/average of the currents for turning on all of the n LED arrays in each of the plurality of ripple periods being decreased in synchronization;

iii) In the multiple pulsation periods, the duty ratio/average value/amplitude of the current pulses for turning on the partial LED arrays is reduced in a coordinated rotation manner, and the duty ratio/average value/amplitude of the current pulses for turning on all the n LED arrays is increased in a synchronous manner;

iii) coordinating the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses for alternately lighting the partial LED arrays to be increased in the plurality of pulsation periods, and synchronously, the duty cycle/average value/amplitude of the current pulses for lighting all of the n LED arrays to be decreased.

156. The drive method of any of alternative embodiments 128-132, wherein step SA-2) and sub-steps thereof further comprise:

SA-2-a) controlling a plurality of partial cyclic ON/OFF of the n arrays corresponding to a first voltage interval within a duration of the first voltage interval in response to a voltage of the DC power source being located in the first voltage interval; or alternatively

Controlling a plurality of partial cyclic turn-on/turn-on of the n arrays corresponding to the first voltage interval for a duration of each of a plurality of first voltage intervals;

wherein the first voltage interval has a voltage range below the full brightness threshold; the parts of the n LED arrays corresponding to the first voltage interval are circularly conducted in any voltage sub-interval or any voltage level in the first voltage interval.

157. The drive method of any of alternative embodiments 128-132, wherein step SA-2) and sub-steps thereof further comprise:

SA-2-b) controlling a plurality of parts of the n arrays corresponding to a first voltage interval to be circularly conducted in response to the voltage of the direct current power supply falling into the first voltage interval; the frequency of the cyclic conduction is larger than, smaller than or equal to the frequency of the first voltage interval along with the voltage change of the direct current power supply; or alternatively

Controlling a plurality of parts corresponding to the first voltage intervals in the n arrays to be lighted alternately in the duration of the first voltage intervals; wherein one of the plurality of first voltage intervals, or two or more consecutive ones, corresponds to only one of the plurality of portions;

the first voltage interval has a voltage range below the full bright threshold.

158. The driving method of alternative embodiment 59 or 60, wherein the corresponding plurality of portions of the first voltage interval in the n LED arrays includes the first partial LED array and a second partial LED array;

the step SA-2-a) further comprises the sub-steps of:

SA-2-a-1) alternately switching on the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array for the duration of the first voltage interval;

said step SA-2-b) further comprises the sub-steps of:

SA-2-b-1) respectively conducting the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array in two adjacent first voltage intervals in a cyclic manner;

Thus, the power of the n LED arrays in the neighborhood of the first power value is distributed/allocated to the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array, and the number of LED arrays in the union of the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array is larger than the maximum number of LED arrays that the first voltage interval is enough to light up in the n LED arrays.

159. The drive method of alternative embodiment 158, wherein in step SA-2-a-1), the alternating frequency of alternating conduction is any one of [0.1khz,1000khz ].

160. The method of alternate embodiment 158 wherein the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array are each a proper subset of the n LED arrays, the first partial LED array having no intersection with the second partial LED array.

161. The method of driving as recited in alternative embodiment 160, further comprising the step of: keeping the third part of the LED array normally on;

Wherein the third partial LED array has no intersection with either of the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array, and has a maximum/next largest number of LED arrays of the n LED arrays other than the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array that the first voltage interval is sufficient to be conductive.

162. The method of alternate embodiment 158 wherein the first portion of LED arrays and the second portion of LED arrays each include one or more of the n LED arrays or one or more of the other LEDs of the n LED arrays in series except for at least one of the tail to accommodate the first voltage interval.

163. The method of driving of any of the alternative embodiments 158-162, wherein a union of the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array covers/covers all or n-1 of the n LED arrays; or alternatively

The number of the first part of LED arrays and the number of the second part of LED arrays are the maximum number/the next largest number of the LED arrays which can be lightened in the n LED arrays in the first voltage interval.

164. The method of alternative embodiment 163 wherein the dc power source outputs a rectified pulsating voltage, the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array having the same on-voltage drop; the alternating conduction is 50% for each of the first portion LED array and the second portion LED array.

165. The drive method of alternative embodiment 164 wherein the pulsating voltage falls within the first voltage interval multiple times within the same pulsating period or in successive pulsating periods, respectively.

166. The drive method of alternative embodiment 164 wherein a plurality of said first voltage intervals occur periodically with said pulsating voltage;

The plurality of first voltage intervals occur in time within the same voltage ripple period or are distributed in a continuous plurality of ripple periods.

167. The drive method of alternative embodiment 158 wherein the steps SA-2-a-1) or SA-2-b-1) further comprise: step SA-2-ab-1) coordinates the currents in the first and second partial LED arrays in alternating on cycles such that the power of the n LED arrays is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value.

168. The drive method of alternative embodiment 167 wherein said step SA-2-ab-1) further comprises:

Synergistically adjusting the currents in the first and second partial LED arrays according to the on-voltage drops of the first and second partial LED arrays, respectively, such that the relative rate of change of the power of the first and second partial LED arrays during alternating on-cycles is less than a predetermined percentage;

Wherein the predetermined percentage is 0.5%, 2%, or 5%.

169. The method of alternate embodiment 168 wherein step SA-2-ab-1) further includes:

SA-2-ab-1-1), the current in the first partial LED array being adjusted in synchronization with the current in the second partial LED array being increased in a cooperative manner before, after and during switching from the first partial LED array to the second partial LED array such that the decrease in luminous flux of the first partial LED array is compensated/offset by the increase in luminous flux of the second partial LED array, and

SA-2-ab-1-2), the current in the second partial LED array is dynamically controlled to decrease synchronously with increasing current in the first partial LED array during and before switching from the second partial LED array to the first partial LED array, such that the decrease in luminous flux of the second partial LED array is compensated/counteracted by the increase in luminous flux of the first partial LED array.

170. The method of alternative embodiment 169, wherein,

The step SA-2-ab-1-1) further comprises: in the transition process of switching from the second part of LED array to the first part of LED array, controlling the current in the first part of LED array to synchronously increase before the decreasing amplitude of the current in the second part of LED array exceeds a preset amplitude; and

The step SA-2-ab-1-2) further comprises: in the transition process of switching from the first part of LED array to the second part of LED array, controlling the current in the second part of LED array to synchronously increase before the decreasing amplitude of the current in the first part of LED array exceeds the preset amplitude;

wherein the preset amplitude is any value between 0 and 5 percent.

171. An LED driving device for use in a lighting device, comprising a control unit configured to perform any one of the methods or steps thereof according to alternative embodiments 97-166.

172. An LED driving device for use in a lighting device, comprising: means/modules for performing any one of the methods or steps therein according to alternative embodiments 97-166.

173. A driving circuit for use in a lighting device, comprising: a circuit module for performing any one of the methods or steps therein according to alternative embodiments 97-166.

174. A computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor/control unit, cause the processor/control unit to perform any one of the methods of alternative embodiments 97-166, or steps thereof.

175. A driving circuit for use in a lighting device, comprising: the storage medium of alternative embodiment 170, and said processor/control unit.

176. A lighting device, comprising: the drive circuit or drive arrangement as in any one of claims 168-171 and the n LED arrays coupled to and controlled by the drive circuit.

177. The lighting device of alternative embodiment 173, further comprising an electrical signal measurement unit and the dc power supply comprising a rectifying circuit configured to receive ac input power and rectify the ac input power for output to the n LED arrays; and the electric signal measuring unit is coupled in the lighting device and is configured to measure the output of the rectifying circuit in a voltage or current mode.

178. The lighting device of alternate embodiment 177 wherein an output of said dc power source is connected across an electrolytic capacitor.

179. The lighting device of alternative embodiment 178, wherein n is ≡2, the conduction voltage drops of at least two of said n LED arrays are the same, connected to said first type bypass loop and second type bypass loop, respectively, that are alternately turned on.

180. The lighting device of alternative embodiment 179, wherein the LED array in the first type bypass loop and the LED array in the second type bypass loop have the same on-voltage drop.

181. The lighting device of any of the alternative embodiments 92-99 or 176-180, comprising a substrate configured to carry the LED array/the first portion of LEDs in the first bypass loop and the LED array/the second portion of LEDs in the second bypass loop;

The plurality of LEDs of the first bypass loop/first portion of LEDs are at least partially staggered with the one or more LEDs of the second bypass loop/second portion of LEDs, or the plurality of LEDs of the first bypass loop/first portion of LEDs at least partially overlap with the contoured area of the one or more LEDs of the second bypass loop/second portion of LEDs.

182. The lighting device of alternate embodiment 181 wherein one or more LEDs of the second bypass loop/the second portion of LEDs are at least partially interspersed within an outline area of a plurality of LEDs of the first bypass loop/the first portion of LEDs; or alternatively

One or more LEDs of the second load are distributed and at least partially surrounded by the first bypass loop/the plurality of LEDs in the first portion of LEDs.

183. The lighting device of alternative embodiment 182, wherein one or more LEDs of the second bypass loop/second portion LEDs are at least partially interspersed within an outline area of a plurality of LEDs of the first bypass loop/first portion LEDs.

184. The lighting device of alternative embodiment 183, wherein the second bypass loop/the contoured region of one or more LEDs of the second portion of LEDs has 60% -100% overlap with the contoured region of the first bypass loop/the plurality of LEDs of the first portion of LEDs.

185. The lighting device of alternate embodiment 184 wherein the second bypass loop/the contoured area of one or more of the second portion of LEDs is smaller than the contoured area of the first bypass loop/the plurality of LEDs of the first portion of LEDs by a proportion of at least 10% to 40%.

186. The lighting device of any one of the alternative embodiments 181-185, wherein one or more LEDs of the second bypass loop/second portion LEDs and a plurality of LEDs of the first bypass loop/first portion LEDs are substantially symmetrically distributed around a center of an overall outline area of the LED array in the first bypass loop/first portion LEDs and the LED array in the second bypass loop/second portion LED array.

187. The lighting device of any one of the alternative embodiments 181-185, wherein one or more LEDs of the second bypass loop/second portion of LEDs and a plurality of LEDs of the first bypass loop/first portion of LEDs are each routed centrosymmetrically; and the center of symmetry of one or more of the second bypass loop/the second portion of LEDs is substantially coincident with the center of symmetry of a plurality of the first bypass loop/the first portion of LEDs.

188. The lighting device of alternate embodiment 187 wherein one of the second bypass loop/the second portion LEDs is disposed substantially at a center of symmetry of the plurality of first bypass loop/the first portion LEDs or the plurality of second bypass loop/the second portion LEDs and/or the plurality of first bypass loop/the first portion LEDs are arranged in a rectangular, circular, annular, curved/rectilinear, symmetrical or asymmetrical radial pattern.

189. The lighting device of claim 188, wherein the plurality of LEDs of the first bypass loop/first portion of LEDs are distributed over a rectangular, circular, annular, curved/rectilinear, symmetrical or asymmetrical radial area on the substrate, and one or more LEDs of the second bypass loop/second portion of LEDs are disposed within the plurality of LEDs of the first bypass loop/first portion of LEDs.

190. The lighting device of alternative embodiment 189, wherein one or more LEDs of said second bypass loop/said second portion of LEDs are distributed as a rectangle, circle, ring, curve/straight, symmetrical or asymmetrical radial; and, in area, one or more LED outline areas of the second bypass loop/the second portion of LEDs are comparable to, or at least less than, the outline areas of the first bypass loop/the plurality of LEDs in the first portion of LEDs by a proportion of 10%.

191. The lighting device of alternative embodiment 181, wherein one or more LEDs of said second bypass loop/said second portion of LEDs and one or more LEDs of said first bypass loop/said first portion of LEDs are disposed adjacent to each other, either correspondingly or in pairs.

192. A control circuit for use in a lighting device, comprising: a control unit configured to: the method or steps thereof according to any of the alternative embodiments 101-170 are performed when the control circuit is run or in operation.

193. In a lighting device, comprising: the drive circuit of alternative embodiment 192.

194. At a lighting device, configured to: the method or steps thereof according to any of the alternative embodiments 101-170 are performed when the lighting device is operated or in an operational state.

195. A lighting device comprising one or more circuit modules configured to: the method or steps thereof according to any of the alternative embodiments 101-170 are performed when the lighting device is operated or in an operational state.

In the 90 s of the 20 th century, improvements to one technology could clearly be distinguished as improvements in hardware (e.g., improvements to circuit structures such as diodes, transistors, switches, etc.) or software (improvements to the process flow). However, with the development of technology, many improvements of the current method flows can be regarded as direct improvements of hardware circuit structures. Designers almost always obtain corresponding hardware circuit structures by programming improved method flows into hardware circuits. Therefore, an improvement of a method flow cannot be said to be realized by a hardware entity module. For example, a programmable logic device (ProgrammableLogic Device, PLD) (e.g., field programmable gate array (Field Programmable GATE ARRAY, FPGA)) is an integrated circuit whose logic functions are determined by user programming of the device. A designer programs to "integrate" a digital system onto a PLD without requiring the chip manufacturer to design and fabricate application-specific integrated circuit chips. Moreover, nowadays, instead of manually manufacturing integrated circuit chips, such programming is mostly implemented with "logic compiler (logic compiler)" software, which is similar to the software compiler used in program development and writing, and the original code before being compiled is also written in a specific programming language, which is called hardware description language (Hardware Description Language, HDL), but HDL is not just one, but a plurality of kinds, such as ABEL(Advanced Boolean Expression Language)、AHDL(Altera Hardware Descr iption Language)、Confluence、CUPL(Cornell University Programming Language)、HDCal、JHDL(Java Hardware Description Language)、Lava、Lola、MyHDL、PALASM、RHDL(Ruby Hardware Description Language), and VHDL (Very-High-SPEED INTEGRATED Circuit Hardware Description Language) and Verilog are currently most commonly used. It will also be apparent to those skilled in the art that a hardware circuit implementing the logic method flow can be readily obtained by merely slightly programming the method flow into an integrated circuit using several of the hardware description languages described above.

The control unit may be implemented in any suitable way, e.g. the control unit may take the form of a computer readable medium, e.g. a microprocessor or processor and a computer readable medium storing computer readable program code executable by the (micro) processor, e.g. software or firmware, logic gates, switches, application SPECIFIC INTEGRATED Circuits (ASIC), programmable logic control units and embedded micro control units, examples of which include but are not limited to the following micro control units: ARC 625D, atmel AT91SAM, microchip PIC18F26K20, and Silicone Labs C8051F320, the memory control unit may also be implemented as part of the control logic of the memory. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that, in addition to implementing the control units in a pure computer readable program code, it is entirely possible to make the control units implement the same functions in the form of logic gates, timers, flip-flops, switches, application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic control units, embedded micro control units, etc. by logically programming the method steps. Such a control unit may thus be regarded as a kind of hardware component, and means for performing various functions included therein may also be regarded as structures within the hardware component. Or even means for achieving the various functions may be regarded as either software modules implementing the methods or structures within hardware components.

The system, apparatus, module or unit set forth in the above embodiments may be implemented in particular by a computer chip or entity, or by a product having a certain function. One typical implementation is a computer. In particular, the computer may be, for example, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a cellular telephone, a camera phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a media player, a navigation device, an email device, a game console, a tablet computer, a wearable device, or a combination of any of these devices.

For convenience of description, the above devices are described as being functionally divided into various units, respectively. Of course, the functions of each element may be implemented in the same piece or pieces of software and/or hardware when implementing the present application.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

In one typical configuration, a computing device includes one or more processors (CPUs), input/output interfaces, network interfaces, and memory.

The memory may include volatile memory in a computer-readable medium, random Access Memory (RAM) and/or nonvolatile memory, such as Read Only Memory (ROM) or flash memory (flash RAM). Memory is an example of computer-readable media.

Computer readable media, including both non-transitory and non-transitory, removable and non-removable media, may implement information storage by any method or technology. The information may be computer readable instructions, data structures, modules of a program, or other data. Examples of storage media for a computer include, but are not limited to, phase change memory (PRAM), static Random Access Memory (SRAM), dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), other types of Random Access Memory (RAM), read Only Memory (ROM), electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), digital Versatile Discs (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transmission medium, which can be used to store information that can be accessed by a computing device. Computer-readable media, as defined herein, does not include transitory computer-readable media (transmission media), such as modulated data signals and carrier waves.

It should also be noted that the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one … …" does not exclude the presence of other like elements in a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises an element.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that embodiments of the present application may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present application may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present application may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The application may be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular transactions or implement particular abstract data types. The application may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where transactions are performed by remote processing devices that are connected through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.

All embodiments in the specification are described in a progressive manner, all the same and similar parts of all the embodiments are mutually referred to, all the optional technical features can be combined with other embodiments in any reasonable manner, and any reasonable combination of contents among all the embodiments and under all the titles can also occur. Each embodiment focuses on differences from the other embodiments. In particular, for system embodiments, since they are substantially similar to method embodiments, the description is relatively simple, as relevant to see a section of the description of method embodiments.

The terminology used in the embodiments of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used in this application and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the "plurality" generally includes at least two. It should be understood that the term "and/or" as used herein is merely one relationship describing the association of the associated objects, meaning that there may be three relationships, e.g., a and/or B, may represent: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the front and rear associated objects are an "or" relationship.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that this is by way of example only, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims. Various changes and modifications to these embodiments may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, but such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A control circuit for driving at least partially serially connected n LED arrays powered by a dc power source, the control circuit comprising: a control unit; m switch units configured to respectively and correspondingly couple m LED arrays of the n LED arrays when the control circuit drives the n LED arrays, wherein control ends of the m switch units are respectively connected to the control units and controlled by the control units to bypass the corresponding LED arrays; wherein, m and n are integers, n is more than or equal to 2, m is more than or equal to 1, and m is less than or equal to n; the control unit comprises an electric signal measuring unit and a timing logic circuit, wherein the input end of the electric signal measuring unit is coupled with the positive electrode of the direct current power supply to obtain a first electric signal which can represent the direct current pulsating voltage output by the direct current power supply, the output end of the electric signal measuring unit is connected with the input end of the timing logic circuit, the output end of the timing logic circuit is connected with the control ends of the m switch units, and the m switch units can be selectively conducted based on the first electric signal to control the part corresponding to a first voltage interval in the n LED arrays to be lighted alternately so as to enable the n LED arrays to continuously operate in a main loop, a fixed bypass loop or a fixed bypass loop combination in at least one pulsating period;

The first voltage interval corresponds to the first electric signal, and the interval maximum voltage value is lower than the voltage interval which is enough to conduct all n LED arrays.

2. The control circuit of claim 1 wherein a union of portions of the n LED arrays corresponding to the first voltage interval is all of the n LEDs, and each portion is free of intersections.

3. The control circuit of claim 1, wherein the turn-on frequencies of the portions of the n LED arrays corresponding to a first voltage interval correspond to switching frequencies of a plurality of voltage sub-intervals of the first voltage interval.

4. A control circuit according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the plurality of parts of the n LED arrays corresponding to the first voltage interval comprise a first part LED array and a second part LED array, the timing logic circuit comprises a timer and a trigger, the electrical signal measuring unit, the timer and the trigger are sequentially connected, and an output end of the trigger is connected with a control end of the m switch units; the timer is used for responding to the first electric signal of which the voltage representing the direct-current voltage is located in a first voltage interval, generating two timing signals, and the trigger is used for generating two alternating time signals corresponding to a first preset frequency according to the two timing signals so as to control the first part of LED arrays and the second part of LED arrays to be respectively and alternately conducted with the duration time corresponding to the two time signals.

5. A control method of an LED array, applying the control circuit of any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising the steps of:

Controlling a plurality of parts of the n arrays corresponding to the first voltage interval to be circularly conducted in response to the voltage of the direct current power supply falling into the first voltage interval; the frequency of the cyclic conduction is smaller than or equal to the frequency of the first voltage interval along with the voltage change of the direct current power supply.

6. A control method of an LED array, applying the control circuit of any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising the steps of:

The first voltage interval has a voltage range below a full bright threshold.

7. A method of controlling an LED array using the control circuit of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the plurality of portions of the n LED arrays corresponding to the first voltage interval comprise a first portion LED array and a second portion LED array, the method comprising the steps of:

Respectively conducting the first part of LED arrays and the second part of LED arrays in a circulating mode to two adjacent first voltage intervals; thus, the power of the n LED arrays in the neighborhood of the first power value is distributed/allocated to the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array, and the number of LED arrays in the union of the first partial LED array and the second partial LED array is larger than the maximum number of LED arrays that the first voltage interval is enough to light up in the n LED arrays.

8. The control method of claim 7, wherein the currents in the first and second partial LED arrays are coordinated in alternating on cycles such that the power of the n LED arrays is maintained within the neighborhood of the first power value.

9. The control method of claim 8, wherein the dc power supply outputs a rectified pulsating voltage, the first portion of the LED array having substantially the same on-voltage drop as the second portion of the LED array; the alternating conduction is 50% for each of the first portion LED array and the second portion LED array.

10. A lighting device, characterized in that the control circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 5 is configured or the control method of the LED array according to any one of claims 6 to 9 is performed.