ANNEXUREI

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

TITLE:

Simple Switch-operated Dimmable LED Lights

1) PRODUCT NAME:

Simple Switch-operated Dimmable LED Lights

2) OWNER OF PRODUCT AND ADDRESS:

Owner:

MIC Electronics Limited A Public Limited Company

Address:

A - 4/II, Electronic Complex, Kushaiguda, Hyderabad - 500 062 INDIA.
Email: info@mic.co.in

Tel:+91 40 27122222 Fax:+91 40 27133333

Field of research:

Dimmable LED lights for indoor lighting

3) OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION:

The proposed invention presents a method of dimming the light output of a variety of LED indoor lights by means of a simple switch for use with High Brightness LEDs.

The scheme finds extensive use in residential, commercial and office applications.

Dimming extends the life of the LED light sources while effecting significant savings on the power consumption. A simple process with a three step brightness control is adopted.

For MIC Electronics Limited

4) BACKGROUND ART or PRIOR ART:

LED light sources are energy efficient and eco-friendly. A large number of lighting applications are being reviewed for deploying LED light sources in place of the conventional lights for the technological merits of LED - long life, low power consumption, highly directed lighting with no pollution, no harmful emissions, no noise or flicker or burnout, minimal maintenance etc.

The following co-pending patent applications by the inventor presented these product ideas in respect of indoor lighting:

LED Bulb 849/KOL/2010 dt 2.08.2010

LED Troeffer Light 921/CHE/2010 dt 30.08,2010

LED Tube Light 282/CHE/2011 ; dt 31.01.2011

LED Down Light 443/CHE/2011 dt 15.02.2011

Other salient features of LED lights are they are amenable to sensor based control for auto ON/OFF or programmed dimming, digital control including remote control, embedded intelligence and networking. These features have been exhaustively deployed in several embodiments of outdoor lighting fixtures like street lights and billboard lights. In these lights, a clock generated triggers cause the reduction or restoration of the light output to pre-defined set values. The following co-pending patent applications by the inventor have detailed these processes:

Intelligent and interactive LED Street lights for outdoors 2219/CHE/2009

dt 14.09.2009

Intelligent LED Lighting for illuminating Billboards and the like 2774/CHE/2009
dt 11.11.2009

In respect of indoor lighting, few Dimming techniques have been disclosed in the following prior art patent / publications:

Method and Apparatus for LED dimming Patent No. US 8018172 B2 dt 13.09.2011

Dimmable LED Bulb Application No.US 2011/0037387 Al dt 17.02.2011

The models discussed in the above patents are based on the 'timing of the AC signal' rather than its power output to accurately determine the level of light a user desires. This method dispenses with the need to calibrate the dimming to specific power levels. The driver provides accurate full range dimming, detecting the 'period of the AC signal'. In few embodiments, the driver compares the pulse width of a dimmed AC signal to the period of the AC signal to determine the desired light level.

The present invention depicts a feature enhancement on the range of LED indoor lighting products of the inventor viz bulb, tubelight, area light and down light to optionally reduce the brightness of the LED light sources from full level to two discrete preset lower levels by means of successive ON/OFF switch operations.

5) SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:

This invention is aimed at providing a simple dimming feature by turning on/off the wall mounted switch. The light level is reduced from 100% to 60% and to 40% in three discrete steps. Values can be changed as desired.

6) DESCRIPTION:

A typical block schematic of the Dimmable LED lighting application is shown below:

The AC voltage is applied at the input through an on / off switch 1 . This is converted to DC in the rectifier block 2 and presented to the dimmable LED Driver 3 which generates the control signal to the LED light sources 4.

When the DC voltage at the LED Driver 3 crosses a certain threshold for the first time, the driver 3 maintains the intensity of the LED light source 4 at the fullest level of brightness. On removal and re-application of AC at the input for the next time, by means of an ON/OFF operation of the switch 1, the light output falls down to a discrete lower level 1 (60%); repeating the switch operation once more, the light output falls down to another discrete lower level2 (40%), offering the user a choice to dim the lights choosing one among the three options. The values can be set to 100%, 60% and 40% etc typically or as desired. Continuing the ON/OFF AC signal will repeat the brightness level settings as described above. The re-application needs to be done within a meaningful time interval before the dimming circuitry gets deactivated.

No separate dimmer control is necessary as the ON/OFF operations on the input AC switch cause the brightness to vary from one level to the other. Also no changes are needed in the existing wiring to incorporate this feature. The devices are provided with several protection features to safe guard from Over Voltage, Short Circuit and Over temperature.

7) CLAIMS:

We claim

1. A facility for dimming the brightness of LED lights used for indoor applications in a 3 discrete step process from 100% to 60% and then to 40% by successive ON/OFF operations on the wall mounted ON/OFF switch.

2. The facility of claim 1, wherein, on successive applications and removal of AC, the preset dimming levels are achieved.

3. The facility of claim 1, wherein, no modifications need to be done to incorporate this feature in the existing wiring arrangements.

4. The facility of claim 1, wherein, no external dimming control signal in the form of an AC dimmer or regulator or a slider is needed for the 3 step dimming; the switch itself serves this function.

5. The facility of claim 1, wherein, the replacement of the lighting application is simplified.

6. The facility of claim 1, supports the universal input of 85 - 265 V AC input for the lighting applications.

7. The facility of claim 1, wherein, the dimming feature allows reduction of the brightness of the LED light sources from the highest to the lowest in three steps.

8. The facility of claim 1, wherein, the lower levels for dimming are optional and predefined. The values can be changed as desired.

9. The facility of claim 1, has in-built protection features viz Output over-voltage protection, LED short circuit protection and internal over-temperature protection.

10. The facility of claim 1, describes the dimmable LED lighting products for indoor applications.