LED (light-emitting diode) string derived controller power supply

摘要

An LED lighting device includes an auxiliary power supply that supplies power to a control circuit of the LED lighting device that receives an input from a terminal of a light-emitting diode (LED) string of the lighting device that has a substantially lower voltage than the line voltage to which the lighting device is connected. The terminal may be within the LED string, or may be an end of the string. A linear regulator may be operated from the voltage drop across a number of the LEDs in the string so that the energy wasted by the auxiliary power supply is minimized. In other designs, the auxiliary power supply may be intermittently connected in series with the LED string only when needed. The intermittent connection can be used to forward bias a portion of the LED string when the voltage supplied to the LED string is low, increasing overall brightness.

主权项

1. A lighting circuit, comprising:
a plurality of series-connected light-emitting diodes, wherein the series-connected light-emitting diodes are coupled between an input voltage source and an input voltage return associated with the input voltage source; a switching power converter having a magnetic storage element and a switching element for controlling a current supplied through the plurality of series-connected light-emitting diodes; a control circuit for controlling the switching element of the switching power converter, wherein a power supply input of the control circuit is provided by a power supply voltage generated from a terminal of the plurality of series-connected light-emitting diodes having a voltage substantially less than a voltage of the input voltage source; a switching circuit coupled in series with the plurality of series-connected light-emitting diodes and the input voltage source, wherein the switching circuit alternatively couples the terminal of the plurality of series-connected light-emitting diodes to the input voltage return in a first switching state and to the power supply input of the control circuit in a second switching state; and a second plurality of series-connected light-emitting diodes coupled between the switching circuit and the input voltage return, wherein the switching circuit alternatively supplies current to the second plurality of series-connected light-emitting diodes and to the power supply input.