U.S. patent application number 13/736530 was filed with the patent office on 2013-05-23 for dynamically controllable drive circuit for parallel array of light emitting diodes.
This patent application is currently assigned to BCD Semiconductor Manufacturing Limited. The applicant listed for this patent is Kun Cheng, Zutao Liu, Gang Shi, Jianbo Sun. Invention is credited to Kun Cheng, Zutao Liu, Gang Shi, Jianbo Sun.
Application Number | 20130127360 13/736530 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43027352 |
Filed Date | 2013-05-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130127360 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Liu; Zutao ; et al. |
May 23, 2013 |
DYNAMICALLY CONTROLLABLE DRIVE CIRCUIT FOR PARALLEL ARRAY OF LIGHT
EMITTING DIODES
Abstract
The present invention relates to a parallel light emitting diode
("LED") drive circuit and provides a drive circuit configured to
drive a parallel array of LEDs. The drive circuit comprises: a
switching control signal generator, a plurality of switches, a
plurality of sampling resistors, and a plurality of chopper
amplifiers. Each switch is coupled to a respective LED in the LED
array. Each chopper operational amplifier configured to receive a
reference voltage and a switching control signal generated by the
switching control signal generator and generate an input offset
voltage. Each chopper operational amplifier includes a differential
amplifier including an input transistor pair and a current mirror
transistor pair, of which the electrical positions can be reserved
when the switching control signal is switched between a first state
and a second state, wherein the offset voltage, which causes the
lightness mismatching in a parallel LED circuit, can be
cancelled.
Inventors: |
Liu; Zutao; (ZiZhu Science
Park, CN) ; Cheng; Kun; (ZiZhu Science Park, CN)
; Sun; Jianbo; (ZiZhu Science Park, CN) ; Shi;
Gang; (ZiZhu Science Park, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Liu; Zutao
Cheng; Kun
Sun; Jianbo
Shi; Gang |
ZiZhu Science Park
ZiZhu Science Park
ZiZhu Science Park
ZiZhu Science Park |
|
CN
CN
CN
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
BCD Semiconductor Manufacturing
Limited
Shanghai ZiZhu Science Park
CN
|
Family ID: |
43027352 |
Appl. No.: |
13/736530 |
Filed: |
January 8, 2013 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
12777073 |
May 10, 2010 |
8373348 |
|
|
13736530 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
315/210 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H05B 45/46 20200101;
H05B 45/10 20200101; H05B 45/37 20200101 |
Class at
Publication: |
315/210 |
International
Class: |
H05B 33/08 20060101
H05B033/08 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 8, 2010 |
CN |
201020128193.6 |
Mar 8, 2010 |
CN |
201020128299.6 |
Claims
1-17. (canceled)
18. A switching control signal generator configured to deliver a
switching control signal having a period distributed between a
first state and a second state to control an operation of a
plurality of light emitting diodes, comprising: an oscillator
configured to receive a square wave signal; a first D flip-flop
having a clock input terminal configured to receive the square wave
signal, wherein a D input terminal of the first D flip-flop is
shorted with a negative output terminal of the first D flip-flop; a
second D flip-flop having a clock input terminal connected to a
clock signal output terminal of the oscillator, wherein a D input
terminal of the second D flip-flop is shorted with a negative
output terminal of the second D flip-flop, and a logic gate having
a first input terminal connected to a positive output terminal of
the second D flip-flop, a second input terminal connected to a
positive output terminal of the first D flip-flop, and an output
terminal configured to deliver a switching control signal having a
period distributed between a first state and a second state.
19. The switching control signal generator of claim 18, wherein the
switching control signal alternates between the first state and the
second state.
20. The switching control signal generator of claim 19, wherein the
switching control signal has a duty cycle of about 50%.
21. The switching control signal generator of claim 18, wherein the
first D flip-flop is configured to perform frequency reduction of
the square wave signal.
22. The switching control signal generator of claim 21, wherein the
frequency reduction of the square wave signal is by an even
factor.
23. The switching control signal generator of claim 18, wherein the
second D flip-flop is configured to perform a frequency reduction
of the clock signal.
24. The switching control signal generator of claim 23, wherein the
frequency reduction of the clock signal is by an even factor.
25. A drive circuit configured to drive a parallel array of light
emitting diodes (LEDs), comprising: a switching control signal
generator including: a first D flip-flop having a clock input
terminal configured to receive a square wave signal, wherein a D
input terminal of the first D flip-flop is shorted with a negative
output terminal of the first D flip-flop, a second D flip-flop
having a clock input terminal configured to receive a clock signal,
wherein a D input terminal of the second D flip-flop is shorted
with a negative output terminal of the second D flip-flop, and a
logic gate having a first input terminal connected to a positive
output terminal of the second D flip-flop, a second input terminal
connected to a positive output terminal of the first D flip-flop,
and an output terminal configured to deliver a switching control
signal; a plurality of switches, each configured to be coupled to a
respective LED in a parallel array of LEDs; and a plurality of
chopper operational amplifiers, each chopper operational amplifier
configured to receive a reference voltage and the switching control
signal and generate an input offset voltage configured to control a
respective switch in the plurality of switches.
26. The drive circuit of claim 25, wherein each chopper operational
amplifier includes a differential amplifier including an input
transistor pair and a current mirror transistor pair.
27. The drive circuit of claim 26, wherein the input transistor
pair and current mirror transistor pair are mismatched, and wherein
when the switching control signal is switched between a first state
and a second state, electrical positions of the input transistor
pair switch and electrical positions of the current mirror
transistor pair switch to thereby cause a reversing of polarity of
an input offset voltage of the chopper operational amplifier.
28. The drive circuit of claim 25, wherein the switching control
signal alternates between a first state and a second state.
29. The drive circuit of claim 28, wherein the switching control
signal has a duty cycle of about 50%.
30. The drive circuit of claim 25, wherein the first D flip-flop is
configured to perform frequency reduction of the square wave
signal.
31. The drive circuit of claim 30, wherein the frequency reduction
of the square wave signal is by an even factor.
32. The drive circuit of claim 25, wherein the second D flip-flop
is configured to perform a frequency reduction of the clock
signal.
33. The drive circuit of claim 32, wherein the frequency reduction
of the clock signal is by an even factor.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Chinese utility model
patent application Serial No. ______ filed on ______, and entitled
"A Parallel Light Emitting Diode (LED) Drive Circuit."
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to a drive circuit
for a parallel array of light emitting diodes (LEDs).
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Light-Emitting Diodes ("LEDs") are semiconductor light
sources. With the development of high efficiency and high power
LEDs, LEDs have been widely used for lighting and illumination
sources. While monochrome displays can use colored light sources,
such as electroluminescent back lights or colored LEDs, color
displays still require a white LED as a light source to properly
display color.
[0004] Using LEDs for illuminations has a wide rage of
applications, such as backlighting for Liquid Crystal Display (LCD)
in handheld devices (e.g. cell phone, MP3, MP4, GPS, PDAs, digital
cameras, etc.), backlighting for notebook computer displays,
backlighting for LCD televisions, and the like.
[0005] There are two main methods for providing a white light
source: white LEDs and Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps ("CCFLs").
CCFLs have been used for years in notebook computer display and
Televisions. However, comparing the CCFL, the advantages of using
LED array as the LCD backlight source lies in, for example, high
brightness, high contract ratio, fast reaction rate, wide color
range, lower power consumption, long life-span, and reduced
environmental pollution, to name but a few. Therefore, LEDs are
becoming the preferred light source for in a variety of
applications from consumer devices to industrial lighting.
[0006] There are several methods of backlighting an LCD panel using
multiple LEDs or LED arrays, such as positioning white LED arrays
behind the LCD panel or using Edged-LED lighting. Edged-LED
lighting uses multiple white LEDs arranged around the inside frame
of the display along with a special light diffusion panel designed
to spread the light evenly behind the LCD panel.
[0007] LED light characteristics are generally described with a
function of LED working current. To control the brightness of an
LED is to control the working current of the LED. LED circuits can
be driven in series or in parallel and they both have their own
advantages and disadvantages.
[0008] In series connection, multiple LEDs can be connected in
series with a single current limiting resistor provided the source
voltage is greater than the sum of the individual LED threshold
voltages. The disadvantage of series connection is that it requires
a higher supply voltage and is not power and energy efficient.
[0009] In parallel connection, multiple LEDs can be connected in
parallel, but the LEDs must have closely matched forward voltages
in order to have equal branch currents and, therefore, generally
equal brightness. Variations in the manufacturing process can make
it difficult to obtain exactly equal forward voltages and,
therefore, equal current or equal brightness when connecting some
types of LEDs in parallel.
[0010] Therefore, it would be desirable to have a system and method
for creating an LED-based lighting system that is efficient and
provides a consistent and substantially uniform light and
brightness.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
[0011] The present invention overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks
by providing a parallel LED drive circuit that reduces variations
between drive currents for all LEDs by reducing circuitry
variability, such that the drive currents for all LEDs is
substantially determined by a sampling resistor, which can be
accurately matched throughout the drive circuit. More particularly,
the present invention provides a system and method whereby the
polarity of an input offset voltage of a chopper operational
amplifier used to control the drive circuits can be reversed using
a switching control signal to substantially reduce affects of the
input offset voltage.
[0012] In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a
drive circuit configured to drive a parallel array of LEDs is
provided. The drive circuit includes a switching control signal
generator, configured to generate a switching control signal having
a period distributed substantially equally between a first state
and a second state during the LEDs are lighting, a plurality of
transistors, each configured to be coupled to a respective LED in
the parallel array of LEDs and a plurality of sampling resistors,
each coupled to a respective transistor in the plurality of
transistors and configured to receive a drive current when the
respective transistor is in a closed state. The drive circuit also
includes a plurality of chopper operational amplifiers, each
chopper operational amplifier configured to receive a reference
voltage and the switching control signal and generate an input
offset voltage configured to control a respective transistor in the
plurality of transistors. Each chopper operational amplifier
includes a differential amplifier including an input transistor
pair and a current mirror transistor pair. The input transistor
pair and current mirror transistor pair are mismatched, such that
when the switching control signal is switched between a first state
and a second state, electrical positions of the input transistor
pair switch and electrical positions of the current mirror
transistor pair switch to thereby cause a reversing of polarity of
the input offset voltage of the chopper operational amplifier.
[0013] In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a
parallel light emitting diode (LED) lighting system is disclosed
that includes a power source configured to drive the parallel LED
lighting system and an array of LEDs coupled together in parallel,
each LED including an anode coupled to the power source to receive
a drive current (I.sub.LED) and a cathode. The parallel LED
lighting system also includes a drive circuit having a plurality of
sub-circuits each coupled to the cathode of a respective LED in the
array of LEDs. The sub-circuits include a signal generator
configured receive a light-adjusting square wave signal and convert
the light-adjusting square wave signal to a switching control
signal having a period distributed substantially equally between a
first state and a second state. The sub-circuits also include a
sampling resistor having a value R, a switch having a drain, gate,
and source, wherein the drain is connected to the respective LED
through the cathode and the source is connected to a ground through
the sampling resistor, and a chopper operational amplifier. The
copper operational amplifier includes a power terminal connected to
a chip power source, an a negative feedback output terminal coupled
to the gate of the switch, a positive feedback input terminal
connected to a reference voltage (RV), a negative feedback input
terminal connected to the source of the switch, and a control
signal input terminal connected to a switching control signal.
[0014] The foregoing and other aspects and advantages of the
invention will appear from the following description. In the
description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which
form a part hereof, and in which there is shown by way of
illustration a preferred embodiment of the invention. Such
embodiment does not necessarily represent the full scope of the
invention, however, and reference is made therefore to the claims
and herein for interpreting the scope of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a prior art drive
circuit for a parallel array of light emitting diodes (LEDs).
[0016] FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram showing a parallel light
emitting diode (LED) lighting system in accordance with the present
invention.
[0017] FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a sub-components of the
chopper operational amplifier of FIG. 2.
[0018] FIG. 4 is another circuit diagram showing a parallel light
emitting diode (LED) lighting system in accordance with the present
invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0019] FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a light emitting diode
(LED) lighting system 10 including a power source 20, an array of
LEDs 30, and a drive circuit 40. The array of LEDs 30 includes a
plurality of LEDs 50, 50a, 50i, each having respective anodes 52,
52a, 52i and cathodes 54, 54a, 54i. Though, for exemplary purposes,
the array of LEDs 30 is shown with three LEDs 50, 50a, 50i, any
number of LEDs may be included in the array of LEDs 30.
Furthermore, the notation of "i" is intended to indicate the "ith"
component and is not representative of an array containing
components "a" through "i".
[0020] Each LED 50, 50a, 50i is coupled to the power source 20
through the anode 52, 52a, 52i to receive a drive current
(I.sub.LED). Also, each LED 50, 50a, 50i is coupled to the drive
circuit 40 through the cathode 54, 54a, 54i. More particularly,
each LED 50, 50a, 50i is coupled to a respective drive module 100,
100a, 100i of the drive circuit 40. Since all drive modules 100,
100a, 100i have substantially identical structure, the drive module
100 is discussed as an example representing all drive modules 100,
100a, 100i.
[0021] The drive module 100 includes a first transistor 110, a
second transistor 120, a third transistor 130, a fourth transistor
140, and an operational amplifier 150. A cathode terminal 54 of the
LED 50 and a drain electrode 132 of the third transistor 130 are
commonly connected to the negative feedback input terminal of the
operational amplifier 150. A source electrode 114 of the first
transistor 110 is connected to a reference voltage Vdd and a gate
electrode 116 of the first transistor 110 is connected to a bias
voltage BIAS. A drain electrode 112 of the first transistor 110 and
a drain electrode 122 of the second transistor 120 are commonly
connected to the positive feedback input terminal 152 of the
operational amplifier 150. A source electrode 124 of the second
transistor 120 and a source electrode 134 of the third transistor
130 are commonly connected a ground 60. A gate electrode 126 of the
second transistor 120 and a gate electrode 136 of the third
transistor 130 are commonly connected to a output terminal 156 of
the operational amplifier 150 and a drain electrode 142 of the
fourth transistor 140. A source electrode 144 and a gate electrode
146 of the fourth transistor 140 are connected to the ground 60 and
a light-adjusting square wave signal PWM, respectively.
[0022] The fourth transistor 140 work as an on/off switch for each
drive circuit module. The light-adjusting square wave signal PWM is
connected to the fourth transistor 140 through an inverter 70. When
the light-adjusting square wave signal PWM is at a high voltage
level, the switches 140, 140a, 140i switch on and all drive modules
100, 100a, 100i are turned on; when the light-adjusting square wave
signal PWM is at a low voltage level, the switches 140, 140a, 140i
switch off and all drive modules 100, 100a, 100i are turned
off.
[0023] In FIG. 1, the drive current of LED 50, 50a, 50i can be
matched across all drive modules 100, 100a, 100i, as long as the
drain current of all first transistor 110, 110a, 110i are matched
across all drive modules 100, 100a, 100i, and the drain current of
the second transistor 120 and the drain current of the third
transistor 130 are matched in each module 100, 100a and 100i.
[0024] The operational amplifier 150 can function so as to let the
voltage at the drain electrode 122 of the second transistor 120 and
the voltage at the drain electrode 132 of the third transistor 130
be matched. Since the gate electrode 126 and 136 are connected, and
the source electrode 124 and 134 are both connected to the ground
60, the voltage at the drain, gate and source electrode of the
second transistor 120 can be all matched with the third transistor
thereof. Based on such voltage matching, the ratio of the drain
current of the second transistor 120 versus the drain current of
the third transistor 130 is only determined by the ratio of the
channel breath length ratio of the transistor 120 versus the
transistor 130 thereof. The ratio of the drive current of the ith
LED 50i versus the drain current of the ith first transistor 110i
can be expressed by equation (1)
I LED _ i I 110 _ i = I 130 _ i I 120 _ i = W 130 _ i / L 130 _ i W
120 _ i / L 120 _ i , ( 1 ) ##EQU00001##
[0025] wherein I.sub.LED.sub.--.sub.i is the drive current of the
ith LED 50i, I.sub.110.sub.--.sub.i, I.sub.120.sub.--.sub.i and
I.sub.130.sub.--.sub.i are the drain current of the ith first
transistor 110i, second transistor 120i and third transistor 130i
respectively, W.sub.120.sub.--.sub.i and W.sub.130.sub.--.sub.i are
the channel breadth of the ith second transistor 120 and the ith
third transistor 130i respectively, L.sub.120.sub.--.sub.i and
L.sub.130.sub.--.sub.i are the channel length of the ith second
transistor 120 and the ith third transistor 130i respectively.
[0026] It is shown in equation (1) that the drive current
I.sub.LED.sub.--.sub.i is determined by the drain current
I.sub.110, and the channel breath ratios
W 130 _ i / L 130 i and W 120 _ i / L 120 i . ##EQU00002##
Therefore suppose
W 130 _ i / L 130 _ i = W 120 _ i / L 120 _ i , ##EQU00003##
which means the channel breadth ratio of the ith second transistor
120 and the ith third transistor 130 are matched, the drive current
I.sub.LED.sub.--.sub.i is only determined by the drain current
I.sub.110.sub.--.sub.i,
I.sub.LED.sub.--.sub.i=I.sub.100.sub.--.sub.i. In this situation,
as long as the drain current I.sub.110.sub.--.sub.i is matched
across all modules 100, 100a, 100i, the drive current
I.sub.LED.sub.--.sub.i can therefore be matched.
[0027] The drive circuit 10, however, has some practical problems.
First, the operational amplifier 150 can have an input offset
voltage V.sub.offset, which can result in the mismatch between the
drain voltage of the second transistor 120 and the drain voltage of
the third transistor 130. Therefore, their current are not matched,
I.sub.130.sub.--.sub.i.noteq.I.sub.120.sub.--.sub.i. Secondly, the
channel breath length ratio of the third transistor 130 can be far
greater than the second transistor 120 thereof, which may result in
the fact that the current ratio of the third transistor 130 versus
the second transistor 120 is not only determined by the ratio of
their channel breadth length ratios,
I 130 _ i I 120 _ i .noteq. W 130 _ i / L 130 _ i W 120 _ i / L 120
_ i . ##EQU00004##
Third, the current of the first transistor 110 can be mismatched
across the drive modules,
I.sub.110.sub.--.sub.a.noteq.I.sub.110.sub.--.sub.i. All of these
problems can cause the mismatch of the drive current of the LEDs
across all modules,
I.sub.LED.sub.--.sub.a.noteq.I.sub.LED.sub.--.sub.i.
[0028] FIG. 2 is one configuration of a circuit diagram showing a
light emitting diode (LED) lighting system 200 including a power
source 20, a chip power source 80, an array of LEDs 30, and a drive
circuit 202. The array of LEDs 30 includes a plurality of LEDs 50,
50a, 50i each having respective anodes 54, 54a, 54i and cathodes
56, 56a, 56i. Though, for exemplary purposes, the array of LEDs 30
is shown with three LEDs 50, 50a, 50i, any number of LEDs may be
included in the array of LEDs 20. Furthermore, the notation of "i"
is intended to indicate the "ith" component and is not
representative of an array containing components "a" through "i".
Furthermore, in FIG. 2, one of the specific circuit structures of
the switching control signal generator module is illustrated in
detail, as an as an example. In other configurations of the present
invention, the switching control signal generator module can have
the structure illustrated in FIG. 4 or other structures.
[0029] Each LED 50, 50a, 50i is coupled to the power source 20
through the anode 54, 54a, 54i to receive a drive current
(I.sub.LED). Also, each LED 54, 54a, 54i is coupled to the drive
circuit 202 through the cathode 52, 52a, 52i.
[0030] The drive circuit 202 includes drive modules 210, 210a,
210i, an inverter 252, and a switching control signal generator
module 204. More particularly, in drive circuit 202, each LED 50,
50a, 50i is coupled to a respective drive module 210, 210a, 210i
and each drive module 210, 210a, 210i is coupled to the switching
control signal generator module 204 through the inverter 252. Since
all drive modules 210, 210a, 210i have substantially identical
structure, the drive module 210 is discussed as an example
representing all drive modules 210, 210a, 210i.
[0031] The drive module 210 includes a chopper operational
amplifier 220, a first switch, such as a transistor 230, a second
switch, such as a transistor 240 and a sampling resistor 290. The
cathode terminal 56 of the LED 50 is connected to a drain electrode
232 of the transistor 230. A gate electrode 236 and a source
electrode 234 of the transistor 230 are connected to an output
terminal 226 of the chopper operational amplifier 220 and the
sampling resistor 290, respectively. The sampling resistor 250 is
connected to a ground 60. A positive feedback input terminal 222 of
the chopper operational amplifier 220 is connected to a reference
voltage RV and a negative feedback input terminal 224 of
operational amplifier 220 is connected to the source electrode 234
of the transistor 230. A switching control signal terminal 227 of
the chopper operational amplifier 220 is connected to a switching
control signal. A positive power supply terminal 223 and a negative
power supply terminal 225 of the chopper operational amplifier 220
are connected to a chip power source 80 and the ground 60,
respectively. The drain electrode of the transistor 240 is
connected the output terminal 226 of the chopper operational
amplifier 220. The gate electrode 246 and the source electrode 224
of the transistor 240 are connected to an output terminal 256 of
the inverter 252 and the ground 60, respectively. An input terminal
254 of the inverter 252 is connected to a light-adjusting square
wave signal PWM.
[0032] In FIG. 2, each drive module 210, 210a, 210i is controlled
by the light-adjusting square wave signal, PWM. When PWM is at a
high voltage level, all drive modules 210, 210a, 210i work
normally; when PWM is at a low voltage level, all drive modules
210, 210a, 210i are shut off and the current for each LED 50, 50a,
50i decreases to zero.
[0033] The switching control signal generator module 204 includes
an oscillator 260, a first D filp-flop 280, a second D filp-flop
270, and a logic gate 290. The switching control signal generator
module 204 is used to convert the light-adjusting square wave
signal PWM into the switching control signal which functions as the
chopper control signal for the chopper operational amplifier 220.
In the switching control signal generator module 204, an enable
terminal 262 of the oscillator 260 is connected to the
light-adjusting square wave signal PWM. An clock signal output
terminal 264 of the oscillator 260 is connected to an clock signal
input terminal 272 of the second D flip-flop 280. An positive power
terminal 266 and an negative power terminal 268 are connected to
the chip power source 80 and the ground 60, respectively. A D input
terminal of the second D flip-flop 273 is shorted with a negative
output terminal 275 and a positive output terminal 278 is connected
to the first input terminal 292 of the logic gate 290. A positive
power terminal 274 and a negative power terminal 276 are connected
to the chip power source 80 and the ground 60, respectively.
Similarly, a D input terminal 283 of the first D flip-flop 280 is
shorted with a negative output terminal 285 and a positive output
terminal 288 is connected to the second input terminal 294 of the
logic gate 290. A positive power terminal 284 and a negative power
terminal 286 are connected to the chip power source 80 and the
ground 60, respectively. A clock signal input terminal 282 of the
first D flip-flop 280 is connected to the light-adjusting
light-adjusting square wave signal PWM. A positive power terminal
296 and a negative power terminal 299 of the logic gate 290 are
connected to the chip power source 80 and the ground 60,
respectively. An output terminal 298 of the logic gate 290 outputs
the switching control signal, which is the input of the switching
control signal terminal 227 of the chopper operational amplifier
220.
[0034] In FIG. 2, the first D flip-flop 280 is used for frequency
reduction by an even factor on the light-adjusting square wave
signal PWM to generate a PWM signal, for example, with a 50% duty
cycle. The second D flip-flop 270 is used for frequency reduction
by an even factor on the periodic signal output by the oscillator
260 to generate a periodic signal with a 50% duty cycle. In
practical applications, the D flip-flop can include one D flip-flop
or a plurality of concatenated D flip-flops. Each additional D
flip-flop in the concatenation connection will make the factor of
frequency demultiplication timed by an extra 1/2 since one D
flip-flop can divide frequency by 1/2 and the toggle frequency of
switching control signal can thereby be reduced without affecting
the circuit functions. Similarly, the second D flip-flop can also
include a plurality of D flip-flops, which can reduce the toggle
frequency of the switching control signal.
[0035] In FIG. 2, the logic gate 290 can be either an XOR or an
XNOR logic gate. The logic gate 290 functions to make the switching
control signal at high level in half of the total working period
and at low level in the other half thereof.
[0036] It should be noted that when the frequency of the
light-adjusting square wave signal PWM is high enough, its period
is shorter than the time used to build the oscillator 260. In this
situation, the toggle action of the switching control signal is
mainly controlled by the light-adjusting square wave signal PWM. On
the other hand, when the frequency of the light-adjusting square
wave signal PWM is relatively low, its period is longer than the
time used to build the oscillator 260. In this situation, the
toggle action of the switching control signal is jointly controlled
by the light-adjusting square wave signal PWM and the oscillator
260; when the duty cycle of the light-adjusting square wave signal
PWM is 100%, the toggle action of said switching control signal is
only controlled by the oscillator 260.
[0037] In FIG. 2, the chopper operational amplifier 220 is used to
take the place of the operational amplifier 120 in system 10 in
FIG. 1. As will be described in detail below, the chopper
operational amplifier 220 can include a differential amplifier
including an input transistor and a current mirror transistor pair.
In the chopper operational amplifier 220, the input transistor pair
is connected to the source electrode of respective transistor 230
and reference voltage RV, such that the input transistor pair can
function as the negative and positive feedback input terminal input
terminal of chopper operational amplifier 220, respectively. As
will be described, the aforementioned current mirror transistor
pair can function as the output tube of the first differential
amplifier of chopper operational amplifier 220.
[0038] The switching control signal can have a 50% duty cycle. For
example, within one total working period of the current of the LED
50, the switching control signal is at a first state, such as a
high level, within half of the period and at a second state, such
as a low level, within the other half thereof. In the other words,
the switching control signal can be switched once between the first
state and the second state within one working period of the current
of the LED 50. As will be described in further detail with respect
to FIG. 3, when the switching control signal is switched, the
electrical positions of the inputs are designed to switch such that
the polarity, positive or negative, of the input offset voltage of
chopper operational amplifier 220 can be reversed once when the
switching control signal is switched within one period of the
working period of the LED 50. The offset voltage, such as a
positive voltage, within the first half of the working period and
the reserved offset voltage, a negative voltage, within the other
half thereof can cancel each other and the effect of the input
offset voltage of the chopper operational amplifier 220 can be
eliminated, which result in that the drive current of each LED 50,
50a, 50i in each drive module 210, 210a, 210i is only determined by
the reference voltage RV and each sampling resistor 250, 250a,
250i.
[0039] The reference voltage RV can be the same for all drive
modules. Therefore, the drive current of each LED 50, 50a, 50i can
be only determined by the resistance value of the respective
sampling resistor 250, 250a, 250i. As long as all the physical
characteristics, such as the resistance value, of the sampling
resistors 250, 250a, 250i are accurately matched, the drive
currents of all LED in each drive module can be accurately
matched.
[0040] According to common knowledge of semiconductor processes,
resistors can have excellent matching accuracy in semiconductor
manufacturing. For example, the resistance value mismatching
between the same-sized polysilicon resistors can be controlled
under 0.1%. Therefore, a good matching of drive currents of all
LEDs 50, 50a, 50i can be obtained in the LED lighting system 200
and the matching accuracy can be close to the matching accuracy of
resistors.
[0041] It is noted that in order to avoid the LED flickering effect
to a user's eyes, in the present invention, the toggle frequency of
the switching control signal between the first state and the second
state may be higher than 50 Hz.
[0042] Specifically, FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram showing a
subcomponent 300 of the chopper operational amplifier 220 of LED
lighting system 200 of FIG. 2. The chopper operational amplifier
can be realized through a variety of specific circuit forms. In
FIG. 3, one of the specific circuit structures is described in
detail as an example. In other configurations of the present
invention, the chopper operational amplifier can have other circuit
structures. However, regardless of the specific form of the chopper
operational amplifier, the chopper operational amplifiers used by
all drive modules have substantially similar functionality.
[0043] In FIG. 3, the subcomponents 300 of the chopper operational
amplifier 220 include seven transistors 310, 320, 330, 340, 350,
360, 370, one operational amplifier 490, eight switches 410, 420,
430, 440, 450, 460, 470, 480, and a Miller compensation capacitor
380. The seven transistors include a first transistor 310, a second
transistor 320, a third transistor 330, a fourth transistor 340, a
fifth transistor 350, a sixth transistor 360 and a seventh
transistor 370. The eight switches include a first switch 410, a
second switch 420, a third switch 430, a fourth switch 440, a fifth
switch 450, a sixth switch 460, a seventh switch 470, and an eighth
switch 480.
[0044] The first transistor 310 and the second transistor 320 have
commonly connected gate electrodes 316, 326, which are both
connected to a gate electrode bias voltage BIAS. The first
transistor 310 and the second transistor 320 have commonly
connected source electrodes 314, 324, which are both connected to a
working voltage Vdd. The drain electrode 312 of the first
transistor 310 is connected to the source electrode 334 of the
third transistor 330 and the source electrode 344 of the fourth
transistor 340. The drain electrode 332 of the third transistor 330
is connected to the drain electrode 352 of the fifth transistor
350, which form NET5. The drain electrode 342 of the fourth
transistor 340 is connected to the drain electrode 362 of the sixth
transistor 360, which form NET4. The gate electrode 356 of the
fifth transistor 350 is connected to the gate electrode 366 of the
sixth transistor 360, which form NET5. The source electrode 354 of
the fifth transistor 350 and the source electrode 364 of the sixth
transistor 360 are commonly grounded. The drain electrode 322 of
the second transistor 320 is connected to the drain electrode 372
of the seventh transistor 370. The source electrode 374 of the
seventh transistor 370 is connected to a ground 60. The Miller
compensation capacitor 380 is connected between the drain electrode
372 and the gate electrode of 376 of the seventh transistor
370.
[0045] The input terminal 492 of the operational amplifier 490 is
connected to the switching control signal and the control terminal
416, 426, 436 and 446 of switch 410, 420, 430, and 440. The output
terminal 494 of the operational amplifier 490 is connected to the
control terminal 456, 466, 476, and 486 of switch 450, 460, 470,
and 480.
[0046] The first contact 412 of the first switch 410 is connected
to the first contact 452 of the fifth switch 450, and the common
terminal NET1 of the two is connected to the gate electrode 336 of
the third transistor 330. The first contact 422 of the second
switch 420 is connected to the first contact 462 of the sixth
switch 460, and the common terminal NET2 of the two is connected to
the gate electrode 346 of the fourth transistor 340. The first
contact 432 of the third switch 430 is connected to first contact
472 of the seventh switch 470, and the common terminal of the two
is connected to the common gate terminal NET5 of the fifth
transistor 350 and the sixth transistor 360. The first contact of
442 the fourth switch 440 is connected to the first contact 482 of
eighth switch 480, and the common terminal NET6 of the two is
connected to the gate electrode 376 of seventh transistor 370.
[0047] The second contact 434 of the third switch 430 is connected
to the second contact 484 of the eighth switch 480, and the common
terminal thereof is connected to the common drain terminal NET3 of
the third transistor 313 and the fifth transistor 315. The second
contact 444 of the fourth switch 440 is connected to the second
contact of 474 of the seventh switch 470, and the common terminal
thereof is connected to the common drain terminal NET4 of the
fourth transistor 340 and the sixth transistor 360.
[0048] The second contact 411 of the first switch 410 and the
second contact 464 of the sixth switch 460 is connected and both
function as the negative feedback input terminal 224 of the chopper
operational amplifier 220. The second contact 424 of the second
switch 420 and the second contact 454 of the fifth switch 450 are
connected and both function as the positive feedback input terminal
222 of the chopper operational amplifier 220. The drain electrode
372 of the seventh transistor 370 and the drain electrode 322 of
the second transistor 320 are connected and can function as the
output terminal 266 of the chopper operational amplifier 260.
[0049] In the first transistor 310 and second transistor 320 is the
bias current mirrors. The third transistor 330 and fourth
transistor 340 is the input transistor pair 304. The fifth
transistor 350 and the sixth transistor 360 is the current mirror
transistor pair 306. The seventh transistor 370 is the output
tube.
[0050] When the switching control signal is at the first state, all
of the switches 321, 322, 323 and 324 is closed and all of the
switches 325, 326, 327, and 328 is open. In this situation, NET1,
which is the gate electrode 336 of the third transistor 330, is
connected to the negative feedback terminal 224 of the chopper
operational amplifier 220, which is connected to the source
electrode 234 of transistor 230 the 250 in LED lighting system 200.
Further, NET2, which is the gate electrode of fourth transistor
314, is connected to the positive feedback terminal 222 of the
chopper operational amplifier 220, which is connected to the
reference voltage RV. Further, NET3 is connected to NET 5 and NET 4
is connected NET6, which let the sixth transistor 360 be the output
tube of the first differential amplifier 302 of the chopper
operational amplifier 220. In this situation, the input offset
voltage of the chopper operational amplifier 220 is defined as
V.sub.O1.
[0051] When the switching control signal is at the second state,
all of the switches 321, 322, 323 and 324 are open, and all of the
switches 325, 326, 327, and 328 are closed. In this situation,
NET1, which is the gate electrode 336 of the third transistor 330,
is connected to the positive feedback terminal 262 of the chopper
operational amplifier 260, which is connected to the reference
voltage RV. Further, NET2, which is the gate electrode of fourth
transistor 314, is connected to the negative feedback terminal 264
of the chopper operational amplifier 260, which is connected to the
source electrode 234 of transistor 230 in LED lighting system 200.
Further, NET4 is connected to NET5 and NET3 is connected to NET 6,
which let the fifth transistor 350 be the output tube of the first
differential amplifier 302 of the chopper operational amplifier
260. In this situation, the input offset voltage of the chopper
operational amplifier 220 is defined as V.sub.O2.
[0052] The input offset voltage of the chopper operational
amplifier 300 is mainly caused by the mismatch of the input
transistor pair 304 including the third transistor 330 and the
fourth transistor 340 and the current mirror transistor pair 306
including the fifth transistor 350 and the sixth transistor 360 of
the first differential amplifier thereof. When the switching
control signal is switched between the first state and the second
state in the drive circuit according to the present invention, the
electrical positions of the input transistor pair 304 are caused to
switch between each other and the electrical positions of the
current mirror transistor pair 306 are caused to switch between
each other. Therefore, it can be concluded that (2).
V.sub.O1=-V.sub.O2 (2).
For the ith drive module, when the switching control signal is at
the first state, the drive current I.sub.LED i of the ith LED 50i
in the ith drive module 50i in the ith drive circuit 210i can be
calculated by equation (3):
I.sub.LED.sub.--.sub.i=(RV+V.sub.O1)/R.sub.i (3);
and when the switching control signal is at low level, the drive
current on the ith drive module is:
I.sub.LED.sub.--.sub.i=(RV+V.sub.02)/Ri (4);
wherein i represents the ith drive module 210i, i=1, 2, . . . , n;
I.sub.LED.sub.--.sub.i represents the drive current of the ith LED
50i; R, represents the resistance value of the ith sampling
resistor 250i. Since the switching control signal has a 50% duty
cycle, the average drive current I.sub.LED.sub.--.sub.i(ave) of the
ith LED in the ith drive module is:
I LED i ( ave ) = .5 DS ( R V + V O 1 ) R i + .5 DS ( R V + V O 2 )
R i = R V R i . ( 5 ) ##EQU00005##
[0053] Equation (5) shows that the average drive current is only
determined by the resistance value of the sampling resistor of the
drive module and the reference voltage RV connected to the positive
feedback input terminal of the chopper operational amplifier. Since
the reference voltage RV input to all drive modules of the drive
circuit are identical, the average drive current of the LED on each
drive module is only determined by the resistance value of the
sampling resistor of each drive module. Therefore, as long as a
good matching accuracy is ensured for the sampling resistor of each
drive module during the circuit design, the matching accuracy of
the drive current of each LED in the drive circuit can be
obtained.
[0054] FIG. 4 is another configuration for a circuit diagram
showing a light emitting diode (LED) lighting system 500 including
a power source 20, an array of LEDs 30, and a drive circuit 40. The
array of LEDs 30 includes a plurality of LEDs 50, 50a, 50i each
having respective anodes 54, 54a, 54i and cathodes 56, 56a, 56i.
Though, for exemplary purposes, the array of LEDs 30 is shown with
three LEDs 50, 50a, 50i, any number of LEDs may be included in the
array of LEDs 20. Furthermore, the notation of "i" is intended to
indicate the "ith" component and is not representative of an array
containing components "a" through "i".
[0055] Each LED 50, 50a, 50i is coupled to the power source 20
through the anode 54, 54a, 54i to receive a drive current
(I.sub.LED). Also, each LED 54, 54a, 54i is coupled to the drive
circuit 202 through the cathode 52, 52a, 52i.
[0056] The drive circuit 502 includes drive modules 510, 510a,
510i, and a switching control signal generator module 504. More
particularly, in drive circuit 502, each LED 50, 50a, 50i is
coupled to a respective drive module 510, 510a, 510i and each drive
module 510, 510a, 510i is coupled to the switching control signal
generator module 504. Since all drive modules 510, 510a, 510i have
substantially identical structure, the drive module 510 is
discussed as an example representing all drive modules 510, 510a,
510i.
[0057] The drive module 510 includes a chopper operational
amplifier 220, a switch, such as a transistor 230, and a sampling
resistor 290. The cathode terminal 56 of the LED 50 is connected to
a drain electrode 232 of the transistor 230. A gate electrode 236
and a source electrode 234 of the transistor 230 are connected to
an output terminal 226 of the chopper operational amplifier 220 and
the sampling resistor 290, respectively. The sampling resistor 250
is connected to a ground 60. A positive feedback input terminal 222
of the chopper operational amplifier 220 is connected to a
reference voltage RV and a negative feedback input terminal 224 of
operational amplifier 220 is connected to the source electrode 234
of the transistor 230. A switching control signal terminal 227 of
the chopper operational amplifier 220 is connected to a switching
control signal. A positive power supply terminal 223 and a negative
power supply terminal 225 of the chopper operational amplifier 220
are connected to the light-adjusting square wave signal PWM and the
ground 60, respectively.
[0058] In the configuration of FIG. 4, the switching control signal
generator module 504 includes an oscillator 260, a first D
filp-flop 280, a second D filp-flop 270, a logic gate 290, a diode
550, and a capacitor 560. An enable terminal 262 of the oscillator
260 is connected to the light-adjusting square wave signal PWM. An
clock signal output terminal 264 of the oscillator 260 is connected
to an clock signal input terminal 272 of the second D flip-flop
280. A positive power terminal 266 and an negative power terminal
268 are connected to the light-adjusting square wave signal PWM and
the ground 60, respectively. A D input terminal of the second D
flip-flop 273 is shorted with a negative output terminal 275 and a
positive output terminal 278 is connected to the first input
terminal 292 of the logic gate 290. A positive power terminal 274
and a negative power terminal 276 are connected to the
light-adjusting square wave signal PWM and the ground 60,
respectively. Similarly, a D input terminal of the first D
flip-flop 283 is shorted with a negative output terminal 285 and a
positive output terminal 288 is connected to the second input
terminal 294 of the logic gate 290. A positive power terminal 284
is connected to a cathode electrode 552 of the diode 550. A
negative power terminal 286 is connected to the ground 60,
respectively. A clock signal input terminal 282 of the first D
flip-flop 280 is connected to the light-adjusting square wave
signal PWM. A positive power terminal 296 and a negative power
terminal 299 of the logic gate 290 are connected to the chip power
source 80 and the ground 60, respectively. An anode electrode 552
of the diode 550 is connected to the light-adjusting square wave
signal PWM. The capacitor 560 is connected between the cathode
electrode 554 of the diode 550 and the ground 60. An output
terminal 298 of the logic gate 290 outputs the switching control
signal, which is the input of the switching control signal terminal
227 of the chopper operational amplifier 220.
[0059] It is noted that the difference between the configuration in
FIG. 4 and the configuration of FIG. 2 is that there is no chip
power source 80, which is shown in FIG. 2 in this configuration and
the light-adjusting wave signal PWM herein provides power directly
to the chip. As a result, all the chips can save a power pin that
other similar products must use, which can save the chip
manufacturing cost. For a chip that could only provide 6-pin
package, such as SOT23-6, 4 drive channels could be realized by
saving a power pin.
[0060] In FIG. 4, when the light-adjusting square wave PWM is at a
high voltage level, the chopper amplifier 220 works normally; when
the light-adjusting square wave PWM is at a low voltage level, the
output of the chopper operational amplifier 220 can only be at low
level, the transistor 230 can be automatically turned off.
Therefore, in this configuration, the drive circuit 502 does not
need the transistor 240 or the inverter 252 which are shown in the
drive circuit 202 in FIG. 2.
[0061] In FIG. 4, the diode 550 and the capacitor 560 construct a
PWM rectification circuit, which rectifies the light-adjusting
square wave signal PWM and then inputs the rectified signal to the
first D flip-flop 280 to provide a working power source. The diode
550 can be a P-N junction semiconductor diode or be constructed by
connecting a MOS tube into a diode.
[0062] Other modules which have not been described in FIG. 4, have
the similar circuit structure and working principles as the drive
circuit 202 in FIG. 2 and the sub-components 300 of the chopper
operational amplifier in FIG. 3.
[0063] Detailed description is provided above for a parallel LED
drive circuit provided by the present invention. Embodiments are
used herein to describe the principles and modes of carrying out
the present invention, the above description of embodiments is only
to help understand the methods and core thinking of the present
invention; at the same time, those skilled in the art may modify
modes of carrying out and application scope of the present
invention according to the spirit thereof. In summary, the contents
of the specification may not be construed as restrictive to the
present invention.
[0064] In present invention, compared to the prior art, a chopper
operational amplifier is used to take the place of the operational
amplifier according to the prior art, and a switching control
signal is used as the chopper control signal of the chopper
operational amplifier.
[0065] The present invention provides drive current for each LED
that is only determined by the reference voltage and the sampling
resistor. When the switching control signal is switched between a
first state and a second state, the polarity, positive or negative,
of the input offset voltage of the chopper operational amplifier
can be reversed, which results in the positive and negative input
offset voltages of the chopper operational amplifier cancel each
other and the effect of the input offset voltage of the operational
amplifier eliminate.
* * * * *