FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970
(39 OF 1970)
AND
THE PATENT RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See section 10 and rule 13)
“THERMAL REGULATION MODULE FOR LUMINAIRE”
We, Bajaj Electricals Limited, an Indian National, of 45/47, Veer Nariman Road, Fort Mumbai- 400001, India.
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to the field of lighting, in particular, luminaires comprising one or more LEDs, and more particularly, thermal regulation of LEDs.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
LED luminaires have become popular for various lighting applications due to their energy efficiency and longevity. However, LED performance can be affected by temperature variations. For example, excessive heat can reduce LED lifespan and efficiency, also leading to premature LED failure. Existing solutions often involve separate thermal management systems or fixed power settings, which may not provide the optimal balance between temperature control and energy efficiency.
For example, existing solutions may include complex thermal management systems, including fans, heat sinks, or passive cooling methods. While these approaches can be effective, they may add to the overall cost, size, and complexity of the LED luminaire. Moreover, they may not provide dynamic control over temperature variations, leading to potential inefficiencies.
In an example, conventional solutions propose use of Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) sensors as a fundamental component of the thermal regulation system. NTC sensors are required to be interfaced with analog dimmable/Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) dimmable LED drivers. While traditional LED drivers operate LEDs at a fixed output, analog dimmable/PWM dimmable LED drivers provide the flexibility to adjust LED output power. This feature is crucial for achieving dynamic temperature control and optimizing LED operation. However, the NTC sensors can be interfaced only with specific analog dimmable/PWM dimmable LED drivers, which offer the necessary control interfaces for dynamic temperature regulation. Notably, the NTC sensors are not compatible with all LED drivers, and its effectiveness relies on the integration of the specified driver.

In light of the above, there is a need in the art for a thermal regulation module compatible with all LED drivers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This summary is not intended to identify the essential features of the invention nor is it intended for use in determining or limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal regulation module for a luminaire, comprising: a thermal feedback module to monitor the temperature of one or more Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) of the luminaire and obtain at least a first temperature value; a comparison module to compare at least the first temperature value with a reference temperature value to obtain at least a first output value; and a dimmer module to reduce the power supply to the one or more LEDs based on at least the first output value.
In an aspect of the present invention, in the thermal regulation module, the reference temperature value is sum of threshold value and hysteresis value.
In an aspect of the present invention, in the thermal regulation module, the power supply to the one or more LEDs of the luminaire is reduced from a first value to a second value when at least the first output value exceeds the reference temperature value.
In an aspect of the present invention, in the thermal regulation module, the second value is at least 20% less than the first value.

In an aspect of the present invention, in the thermal regulation module, the power supply to the one or more LEDs of the luminaire is maintained at a first value when the first output value is less than the reference temperature value.
In an aspect of the present invention, in the thermal regulation module, the at least a first temperature value is based on at least a voltage signal received from at least a temperature sensor.
In an aspect of the present invention, in the thermal regulation module, at least the temperature sensor is placed in proximity of the one or more LEDs of the luminaire.
In an aspect of the present invention, the thermal regulation module comprises a memory module to store the reference temperature value.
In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal regulation system for a Light Emitting Diode (LED) luminaire, the thermal regulation system comprising: an LED driver; one or more LEDs; and a thermal regulation module comprising: a thermal feedback module to monitor the temperature of one or more Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) of the luminaire and obtain at least a first temperature value; a comparison module to compare at least the first temperature value with a reference temperature value to obtain at least a first output value; and a dimmer module to reduce the power supply to the one or more LEDs based on at least the first output value. The thermal regulation module is electronically connected with the LED driver and the one or more LEDs.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for performing thermal regulation in a luminaire, the method comprising: interfacing a thermal regulation module with a LED driver and one or more LEDs of a luminaire; monitoring by a thermal feedback module to obtain a first temperature value of the one or more LEDs; comparing by a comparison module the first temperature value with a reference temperature value to obtain at least a first output value; and reducing by a dimmer module the power supply to the one or more LEDs based on

at least the first output value. The thermal regulator module comprising: a thermal feedback module to monitor the temperature of one or more Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) of the luminaire and obtain at least a first temperature value; a comparison module to compare at least the first temperature value with a reference temperature value to obtain at least a first output value; and a dimmer module to reduce the power supply to the one or more LEDs based on at least the first output value.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES
The following drawings form part of the present specification and are included to further illustrate aspects of the present disclosure. The disclosure may be better understood by reference to the drawings in combination with the detailed description of the specific embodiments presented herein.
Figure 1 is an exemplary block diagram of a thermal regulation system for a LED luminaire, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is an exemplary flow chart of a method for implementation of a thermal regulation module for the LED luminaire, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Those skilled in the art will be aware that the invention described herein is subject to variations and modifications other than those specifically described. It is to be understood that the invention described herein includes all such variations and modifications. The invention also includes all such features referred to or indicated in this specification, individually or collectively, and any and all combinations of any two or more of said features.

For convenience, before further description of the present invention, certain terms employed in the specification, examples are collected here. These definitions should be read in light of the remainder of the disclosure and understood as by a person of skill in the art. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art. The terms used throughout this specification are defined as follows, unless otherwise limited in specific instances.
As used in the specification and the claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
The present disclosure is not to be limited in scope by the specific embodiments described herein, which are intended for the purposes of exemplification only.
The present invention provides a thermal regulation module 102 for a luminaire, comprising: a thermal feedback module 104 to monitor the temperature of one or more Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) 106 of the luminaire and obtain at least a first temperature value (T); a comparison module 108 to compare at least the first temperature value (T) with a reference temperature value (Y) to obtain at least a first output value (O); and a dimmer module 110 to reduce the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 based on at least the first output value (O).
In an example, the luminaire is a street light. In another example, the luminaire is a flood light. In yet another example, the luminaire is a high bay light. In yet another example, the luminaire is an industrial luminaire
The reference temperature value (Y) is the sum of a threshold value (X) and a hysteresis value (H). The hysteresis value (H) may represent a temperature difference between a turn-on temperature of the LEDs 106 and a turn-off temperature of the LEDs 106. Further, the turn-on temperature of the LEDs 106 may represent a temperature value at which the LEDs 106 start operating when the luminaire is turned on. Furthermore, the turn-off temperature of the LEDs 106 may

represent a temperature value at which the LEDs 106 turn off or start changing their behaviour. In an embodiment, the threshold value (X) is static. In another embodiment, the threshold value (X) is dynamic. In an embodiment, the hysteresis value (H) is static. In another embodiment, the hysteresis value (H) is dynamic.
In one preferred embodiment, the dimmer module 110 is configured to reduce the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 of the luminaire from a first value to a second value when at least the first output value (O) exceeds the reference temperature value (Y).
In one preferred embodiment, the second value is at least 20% less than the first value. The power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 of the luminaire is maintained at the first value when the first output value (O) is less than the reference temperature value (Y). In one embodiment, at least the first temperature value (T) is based on at least a voltage signal received from at least a temperature sensor 112.
In one preferred embodiment, at least the temperature sensor 112 is placed in proximity of the one or more LEDs 106 of the luminaire. The thermal regulation module 100 further comprises a memory module 110 to store the reference temperature value (Y).
Figure 1 is an exemplary block diagram 100 of a thermal regulation system 100 for a light emitting diode (LED) luminaire, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The thermal regulation system 100 comprises the LED driver 114; the one or more LEDs 106; and the thermal regulation module 102 electronically connected with the LED driver 114 and the one or more LEDs 106.
In one implementation, the thermal regulation module 102 is compatible with any type of the LED driver 114. In one implementation, the thermal regulation module 102 is a stand-alone unit.

The thermal regulation module 102 comprises the thermal feedback module 104, the comparison module 108, and the dimmer module 110. The thermal feedback module 104 is configured to monitor the temperature of the one or more LEDs 106 of the luminaire and obtain at least a first temperature value (T).
In one preferred embodiment, at least the temperature sensor 112 is placed in proximity of the one or more LEDs 106 of the luminaire. In an embodiment, the first temperature value (T) is continuously obtained in real-time. For example, the first temperature value (T) is instantaneous value of the temperature of the one or more LEDs 106 i.e., the first temperature value (T) represents the temperature at a single point in time, and it can change rapidly as the LEDs 106 heat up or cool down. In one embodiment, at least the first temperature value (T) is based on at least a voltage signal received from at least the temperature sensor 112. Generally, temperature sensors work by detecting changes in voltage that are correlated with changes in temperature.
The comparison module 108 is further configured to compare at least the first temperature value (T) with a reference temperature value (Y) to obtain at least a first output value (O). The reference temperature value (Y) is stored in the memory module 110. In one embodiment, the reference temperature value (Y) can be set as per the requirement.
In one preferred embodiment, the reference temperature value (Y) is a sum of a threshold value (X) and a hysteresis value (H). In an embodiment, the threshold value (X) can be set as per the requirement. In one implementation, both the threshold value (X) and the hysteresis value (H) represents temperature values.
In an example, the threshold value (X) can be set as per the optimal operating temperature range of the luminaire with which the thermal regulation module 102 is to be electronically connected. In another example, the threshold value (X) can

be set as per the operating specification of the luminaire with which the thermal regulation module 102 is to be electronically connected.
In yet another example, the threshold value (X) can be set as per application specific factors of the luminaire. For example, the threshold value (X) set for indoor luminaires can differ from the threshold value (X) set for outdoor luminaires.
The dimmer module 110 is configured to reduce the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 based on at least the first output value (O). In particular, the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 of the luminaire is reduced from a first value to a second value when at least the first output value (O) exceeds the reference temperature value (Y).
In one preferred embodiment, the second value is at least 20% less than the first value. In an example, the second value is 30% less than the first value. In another example, the second value is 50% less than the first value. In yet another example, the second value is 75% less than the first value.
Moreover, the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 of the luminaire is maintained at the first value when the first output value (O) is less than the reference temperature value (Y).
The present disclosure also encompasses a method for performing thermal regulation in the luminaire. The method comprises interfacing the thermal regulation module 102 with the LED driver 114 and the one or more LEDs 106 of the luminaire. The method further comprises monitoring, by the thermal feedback module 104, the temperature of the one or more LEDs 106 to obtain at least the first temperature value (T). In particular, the instantaneous temperature of the one or more LEDs 106 is monitored to obtain at least the first temperature value (T). Therefore, at least the first temperature value (T) also represents the instantaneous temperature value.

Furthermore, the method comprises comparing, by the comparison module 108, at least the first temperature value (T) with the reference temperature value (Y) to obtain at least the first output value (O). The reference temperature value (Y) is a sum of the threshold value (X) and the hysteresis value (H). The explanation of the threshold value (X) and the hysteresis value (H) has been provided above in the explanation of Figure 1; and therefore, it is not reiterated for the sake of brevity.
Moreover, the method comprises reducing, by the dimmer module 110, the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 based on at least the first output value (O).
For example, the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 of the luminaire is reduced from the first value (e.g., 100%) to the second value (e.g., 75%) when at least the first output value (O) exceeds the reference temperature value (Y). Moreover, the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 of the luminaire is maintained at the first value (e.g., 100%) again when the first output value (O) is less than the reference temperature value (Y).
In one preferred embodiment, the method is carried out continuously in real-time. For example, the thermal feedback module 104 is configured to continuously monitor the temperature of the one or more LEDs 106 to continuously obtain at least the first temperature value (T).
Additionally, the comparison module 108 is configured to continuously compare at least the first temperature value (T) with the reference temperature value (Y) to obtain at least the first output value (O). When at least the first output value (O) exceeds the reference temperature value (Y), the dimmer module 110 is configured to reduce the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 from the first value to the second value. In one preferred embodiment, the second value is at least 20% less than the first value.

Conversely, when at least the first output value (O) goes below the reference temperature value (Y), the dimmer module 110 is configured to increase the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 from the second value to the first value.
Figure 2 is an exemplary flow chart 200 of a method for implementation of the thermal regulation module 102 for the LED luminaire, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The flow chart initiates at step 202.
In an implementation, the thermal regulation module 102 derives power from the LED driver 114. For example, let us consider that the operational current is less than 10mA. In addition, at least the temperature sensor 112 is installed inside the luminaire in proximity of the one or more LEDs 106. In addition, at least the temperature sensor 112 is configured to monitor the temperature of the one or more LEDs 106. In particular, the temperature of the one or more LEDs 106 is monitored to obtain at least the first temperature value (T).
Based on at least the first temperature value (T) and the output of the comparison module 108, the dimmer module 110 is configured to either reduce the power supply or increase the power supply (in case the power supply is already reduced). In one embodiment, hysteresis value (H) is maintained for flicker free operation of the luminaire.
Once the luminaire is switched on, at least the temperature sensor 112 continuously monitors the temperature of the one or more LEDs 106 and obtains at least the first temperature value (T).
At step 204, the thermal regulation module 102 checks whether at least the temperature value (T) is less than or equal to the threshold value (X). In case at least the temperature value (T) is less than or equal to the threshold value (X), at step 206, the thermal regulation module 102 maintains the output of the one or more LEDs 106 as 100% (i.e., full illumination).

Conversely, in case at least the temperature value (T) is not less than or equal to the threshold value (X), at step 208, the thermal regulator module 102 checks whether at least the temperature value (T) exceeds the reference value (Y).
In case at least the temperature value (T) exceeds the reference value (Y), at step 210, the thermal regulation module 102 is configured to reduce the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 from the first value to the second value. With reference to Figure 2, the second value is 75% of the first value. Thus, the one or more LEDs 106 produce 75% illumination as compared to the previous 100% illumination produced at step 206.
Conversely, in case at least the temperature value (T) does not exceed the reference value (Y), the thermal regulation module 102 is configured to perform step 208 again in a loop.
At step 212, the thermal regulation module 102 is configured to check whether at least the temperature value (T) is less than a difference of the threshold value (X) and the hysteresis value (H). In case at least the temperature value (T) is less than the difference of the threshold value (X) and the hysteresis value (H), the thermal regulation module 102 is configured to again perform step 204.
In case at least the temperature value (T) is not less than the difference of the threshold value (X) and the hysteresis value (H), the thermal regulation module 102 is configured to maintain the power supply to the one or more LEDs 106 at the second value (i.e., 75%).
The flow chart 200 terminates at step 214.
ADVANTAGES OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The thermal regulator module of the present invention increases the life of the LED driver and the LED load electronically connected to the thermal regulator module. In addition, implementation and maintenance cost of the thermal regulator module is low. The thermal regulator module is a reliable intermediary device between the LED driver and the LED load that facilitates energy saving. Moreover, the thermal regulation module can work on both AC and DC input.
LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS
100 – Thermal regulation system 102 – Thermal regulation module 104 – Thermal feedback module 106 – Light emitting diode 108 – Comparison module 110 – Dimmer module 112 – Temperature sensor 114 – LED driver

I/We Claim:
1. A thermal regulation module (102) for a luminaire, comprising:
- a thermal feedback module (104) to monitor the temperature of one or more Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) (106) of the luminaire and obtain at least a first temperature value (T);
- a comparison module (108) to compare at least the first temperature value (T) with a reference temperature value (Y) to obtain at least a first output value (O); and
- a dimmer module (110) to reduce the power supply to the one or more LEDs (106) based on at least the first output value (O).

2. The thermal regulation module (102) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reference temperature value (Y) is sum of threshold value (X) and hysteresis value (H).
3. The thermal regulation module (102) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power supply to the one or more LEDs (106) of the luminaire is reduced from a first value to a second value when at least the first output value (O) exceeds the reference temperature value (Y).
4. The thermal regulation module (102) as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second value is at least 20% less than the first value.
5. The thermal regulation module (102) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the power supply to the one or more LEDs (106) of the luminaire is maintained at a first value when the first output value (O) is less than the reference temperature value (Y).
6. The thermal regulation module (102) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least a first temperature value (T) is based on at least a voltage signal received from at least a temperature sensor (112).

7. The thermal regulation module (102) as claimed in claim 6, wherein at least the temperature sensor (112) is placed in proximity of the one or more LEDs (106) of the luminaire.
8. The thermal regulation module (102) as claimed in claim 1, comprising a memory module (110) to store the reference temperature value (Y).
9. A thermal regulation system (100) for a Light Emitting Diode (LED) luminaire, comprising:

- an LED driver (114);
- one or more LEDs (106); and
- a thermal regulation module (102) as claimed in claim 1 electronically connected with the LED driver (114) and the one or more LEDs (106).
10. A method for performing thermal regulation in a luminaire, comprising:
- interfacing a thermal regulation module (102) as claimed in claim 1 with a LED driver (114) and one or more LEDs (106) of a luminaire;
- monitoring, by a thermal feedback module (104), the temperature of one or more LEDs (106) to obtain at least a first temperature value (T);
- comparing, by a comparison module (108), at least the first temperature value (T) with a reference temperature value (Y) to obtain at least a first output value (O); and
- reducing, by a dimmer module (110), the power supply to the one or more LEDs (106) based on at least the first output value (O).