CN110278632B

CN110278632B - Cascaded LED light string with low power consumption

Info

Publication number: CN110278632B
Application number: CN201910520934.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 彭文琦
Original assignee: Semisilicon Technology Corp
Current assignee: Semisilicon Technology Corp
Priority date: 2019-06-17
Filing date: 2019-06-17
Publication date: 2021-04-20
Anticipated expiration: 2039-06-17
Also published as: CN110278632A

Abstract

The present invention provides a low-power cascaded LED light string, comprising a mother light string and at least one sub-light string. The mother light string receives a carrier light signal to control a light emitting diode module to emit light. The sub-light string is cascaded to the mother light string. A signal enhancer of the sub-light string enhances the carrier light signal to drive the light emitting diode module to emit light. When the voltage of the carrier light signal is less than a low-level voltage, the light emitting diode module enters a low-power mode.

Description

Low-power-consumption cascade light-emitting diode lamp string

Technical Field

The invention relates to a light emitting diode lamp string, in particular to a cascade light emitting diode lamp string with low power consumption.

Background

Because light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have the advantages of high light-emitting efficiency, low power consumption, long lifetime, fast response speed, high reliability, etc., they are widely used in lighting lamps or decorative lighting, such as christmas tree lights, special lighting effects of sports shoes, etc., in the form of series, parallel or series-parallel connection of light bars (light bars) or light strings (light strings).

Taking festive lighting as an example, a complete led lamp basically comprises a led string (having a plurality of lamps) and a driving unit for driving the lamps. The driving unit is electrically connected with the lamp string and controls the lamp in a point control mode or a synchronous mode by providing required electric power for the lamp and a control signal with light-emitting data, so that diversified light output effects and changes of the light-emitting diode lamp are realized. With the progress of the technology, the control signal with the light emitting data can be carried on the power line by means of the carrier wave, so that the function of providing power and data transmission by the same circuit architecture can be realized, the wiring design is simplified, the circuit volume is reduced, and the design of the control circuit is facilitated.

However, when a plurality of light strings (strings) are cascaded, the signal attenuation is easily caused when the data signal of the front stage is transmitted to the rear stage due to the long circuit of the light string of the rear stage, and the data signal received by the light string of the rear stage cannot be identified or determined as noise, so that the light string of the rear stage cannot correctly present the light emitting behavior (manner), such as color change, light-on/off (dark) manner, and light-on/off frequency.

Furthermore, in order to ensure that the voltage level of the light-emitting control signal can be correctly identified as the low level voltage, the light-emitting control signal is controlled to rapidly decrease the voltage level through a fast discharge circuit, or the light-emitting diode string with a small total parasitic capacitance of the circuit is easy to rapidly decrease the voltage level of the light-emitting control signal. When the light-emitting control signal is quickly reduced, the light-emitting control signal is easily reduced to be lower than the recognizable low-level voltage, and then is continuously and quickly reduced, so that the light-emitting control signal touches the reset voltage, and the circuit generates unnecessary reset false operation, thereby causing abnormal judgment and false operation of the light-emitting diode module.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide a low-power-consumption cascade type light-emitting diode lamp string, which solves the problems.

In order to achieve the above object, the low power consumption cascade led string provided in the present invention comprises a main string and at least one sub-string. The master light string comprises a light-emitting diode light string, an output control switch and a controller. The LED lamp string is provided with a plurality of LED modules. The output control switch is coupled with the LED lamp string. The controller is coupled with the output control switch, receives the carrier wave light-emitting signal and drives the light-emitting diode module to emit light by controlling the output control switch. The sub-lamp string is connected with the mother lamp string in series. The sub-string comprises a light emitting diode string, an output control switch and a signal intensifier. The LED lamp string is provided with a plurality of LED modules. The output control switch is coupled with the LED lamp string. The signal intensifier is coupled with the output control switch, receives the carrier light-emitting signal, enhances the carrier light-emitting signal, and drives the light-emitting diode module to emit light by controlling the output control switch. When the voltage of the carrier light-emitting signal is less than the low level voltage, the light-emitting diode module enters a low power consumption mode.

In one embodiment, the mother light string further comprises an output connector. The output connector has a positive voltage terminal, a negative voltage terminal, and a data terminal. The sub-string of lights also includes an input connector. The input connector has a power pin and a data pin. The power pins are coupled to the positive voltage terminal and the negative voltage terminal, respectively, and the data pins are coupled to the data terminals.

In one embodiment, the sub-string further includes an output connector coupled to an input connector of another sub-string.

In one embodiment, the signal enhancer includes a control switch and a power converter. The power converter is coupled to the control switch. When the control switch is turned on, the power converter receives the carrier wave light-emitting signal and enhances the carrier wave light-emitting signal.

In one embodiment, the data terminal is coupled between the last two of the light emitting diode modules.

In one embodiment, the light emitting diode module comprises a voltage comparison unit. When the voltage of the carrier light-emitting signal is less than the low-level voltage, the voltage comparison unit outputs a control signal to control the light-emitting diode module to enter a low-power-consumption mode of a dormant state.

In one embodiment, the light emitting diode module comprises a current detection unit. When the voltage of the carrier light-emitting signal is less than the low-level voltage, the current detection unit outputs a control signal to control the light-emitting diode module to enter a low-power-consumption mode in an energy-saving state.

In one embodiment, the led module performs signal detection and identification operations during a time interval after entering the low power consumption mode of the energy saving state; after the time interval is finished, the control signal controls the light emitting diode module to enter a low power consumption mode of a dormant state.

In one embodiment, the led module further includes an oscillator, and in the low power consumption mode of the power saving state, the oscillator receives the control signal and is controlled by the control signal to perform an oscillating operation at a low power.

In one embodiment, the led module further comprises a latch unit and an oscillator, wherein in the low power consumption mode of the power saving state, the latch unit and the oscillator receive the control signal, the oscillator is controlled by the control signal to stop the oscillation, and the latch unit is controlled by the control signal to provide the timing operation.

In one embodiment, the latch unit is a charge/discharge circuit including a resistor and a capacitor.

In one embodiment, the latch unit is a timing circuit.

The problem that data signals received by a lamp string at the later stage cannot be identified or judged as noise due to attenuation caused by a long-distance lamp string in the signal transmission process is solved through the low-power-consumption cascade type light-emitting diode lamp string, and the control switch can be driven by enough control voltage without being influenced by the attenuation of the line length voltage by shortening the wiring distance from the data terminal to the light-emitting diode lamp string, so that the control switch can be normally switched on and off, and the signal intensifier can normally act.

For a further understanding of the technology, means, and efficacy of the invention to be achieved, reference should be made to the following detailed description of the invention and accompanying drawings which are believed to be in full and illustrative of the objects, features, and characteristics of the invention, and to the accompanying drawings which are provided for reference and illustration purposes only and are not intended to be limiting of the invention.

Drawings

FIG. 1: the invention is a circuit schematic diagram of a mother lamp string of a cascade light-emitting diode lamp string with low power consumption.

FIG. 2: the invention is a detailed circuit schematic diagram of a mother lamp string of a cascade type light-emitting diode lamp string.

FIG. 3: the invention is a detailed circuit schematic diagram of a sub-string of a cascaded LED string.

FIG. 4: the invention is a schematic diagram of the cascade connection mode of the mother lamp string and the daughter lamp string.

FIG. 5: a circuit block diagram of a first embodiment of the led module of the present invention is shown.

FIG. 6: a circuit block diagram of a second embodiment of the led module of the present invention is shown.

FIG. 7: is a circuit diagram of the voltage comparison unit of the present invention.

FIG. 8: is a waveform diagram of the light-emitting driving signal according to the present invention.

FIG. 9: a circuit block diagram of a third embodiment of the light emitting diode module of the present invention is shown.

FIG. 10: a circuit block diagram of a fourth embodiment of the light emitting diode module of the present invention is shown.

FIG. 11: is a waveform diagram of the light-emitting driving signal according to the present invention.

FIG. 12: is a circuit schematic diagram of the oscillator of the present invention.

FIG. 13: is a waveform diagram illustrating the operation of the latch unit of the present invention.

In the figure:

100 a controller; 10 power conversion circuit; 20 a control circuit; 30 light-emitting diode lamp strings;

31,32, …,3n LED module; sec light emission control data; 311 a light emission control unit;

312 address signal processing units; 313 address burning unit; 41 a voltage regulator; 42 an oscillator;

43 address and data identifier; 44 a logic controller; 45 shift registers; 46 an output buffer register;

47 a drive circuit; 48 address registers; 49 an address comparator; a 50 address memory;

51 an address burning controller; 52 a burning signal detector; 53 a signal filter; 54 discharge cells; a 55 current detector;

56 a voltage comparison unit; 57 a latch unit; 60 power capacitance; 70 an output connector; 71 an input connector;

80 a signal enhancer; 81 a power converter; 90 mother lamp string; 91 sub-string lights; FUSE FUSEs; a VAR varistor;

r10 input resistance; c11 input capacitance; D11-D14 diodes; a CONR control unit;

a Qsw output control switch; r22, R23 resistance; a C21 capacitance; a Dz zener diode; p1, P2 junction;

a V + positive voltage terminal; a V-negative voltage terminal; a Do data terminal; a Sc control signal; ro resistance; a Co capacitor;

r31, R32, R33, R34 resistors; in 11-In 22 inverters; a low level voltage of Vlow; vreset reset voltage;

vd light emission drive signal; a Vth reference voltage value; vdis discharge voltage; vlatch latch voltage;

slatch latches the judgement signal; vac AC power supply; a Vdc direct current power supply; cv1 first waveform; cv2 second waveform;

time points t 11-t 14 and t 21-t 23; time points t 1-t 3; and T time interval.

Detailed Description

The technical contents and the detailed description of the present invention are described below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of a mother lamp string of a low-power-consumption cascaded led lamp string according to the present invention. The main string 90 of the cascaded led string (hereinafter referred to as the main string 90) mainly includes a controller 100, an output control switch Qsw, an led string 30, and an output connector 70.

The controller 100 is coupled to the ac power source Vac and the output control switch Qsw for converting the ac power source Vac to provide power sufficient to drive the led string 30 and control the output control switch Qsw to turn on or off.

The output connector 70 has a positive voltage terminal V +, a negative voltage terminal V-, and a data terminal Do. The positive voltage terminal V + and the negative voltage terminal V-are respectively coupled to the positive voltage and the negative voltage of the dc power converted and outputted by the controller 100. The data terminal Do receives the carrier light-emitting signal (including light-emitting data and address data) for controlling the light output effect and variation of each

LED module

31,32, …,3 n. Therefore, the function of providing power and data transmission by the same circuit architecture can be realized, the wiring design is simplified, the circuit volume is reduced, and the design of a control circuit is facilitated.

Fig. 2 is a detailed circuit diagram of a mother lamp string of the cascaded led lamp string according to the present invention, and specifically, fig. 2 is a detailed circuit diagram of the controller 100. The power conversion circuit 10 and the control circuit 20 may be integrated into the controller 100, and specifically, it may be implemented by a physical circuit control box including the power conversion circuit 10 and the control circuit 20. The power conversion circuit 10 receives an ac power source Vac and converts the ac power source Vac into a dc power source Vdc, wherein the dc power source Vdc may be generated on an output capacitor connected across the output terminals of the power conversion circuit 10.

The control circuit 20 receives the dc power Vdc to provide the dc power supply for the control circuit 20 and the led string 30. The controller 100 is coupled to the ac power source Vac and the led string 30 via power lines. The led string 30 includes a plurality of led modules (or led lamps) 31,32, …,3n, wherein the led

modules

31,32, …,3n are connected in series and electrically coupled to the output control switch Qsw. In this embodiment, the led string 30 is a string with a burning function, so each led

module

31,32, …,3n has a digital and analog circuit for burning the lighting data and address data.

Fig. 3 is a detailed circuit diagram of the sub-string of the cascaded led string according to the present invention. The sub-string 91 of the cascaded led string (hereinafter referred to as sub-string 91) mainly includes an input connector 71, a signal enhancer 80, an output control switch Qsw, an led string 30, and an output connector 70. The operations and actions of the output control switch Qsw, the led string 30 and the output connector 70 are the same as those of the mother string 90, and are not described herein again. The input connector 71 has three pins corresponding to the positive voltage terminal V +, the negative voltage terminal V-and the data terminal Do of the output connector 70 of the mother lamp string 90 (or the previous sub-lamp string 91), so that when the sub-lamp string 91 is plugged into the mother lamp string 90 (or the previous sub-lamp string 91), the positive voltage terminal V +, the negative voltage terminal V-and the data terminal Do can be connected correspondingly to transmit the power and data to the sub-lamp string 91.

The signal enhancer 80 comprises two voltage-dividing resistor networks, a control switch Qc and a power converter 81. The two voltage-dividing resistor networks are respectively composed of resistors R31 and R32 and resistors R33 and R34, wherein the resistors R31 and R32 are coupled to a control terminal (e.g., gate) of the control switch Qc, and the resistors R33 and R34 are coupled to a power terminal (e.g., drain) of the control switch Qc, so as to provide voltage-dividing processing. Further, by controlling the on-state of the switch Qc, the driving power converter 81 can strengthen (enhance) the data signal transmitted by the previous stage, thereby solving the problem that the data signal received by the light string at the subsequent stage cannot be identified or determined as noise due to the attenuation caused by the long-distance light string during the signal transmission process.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a cascading manner of the mother light string and the daughter light string according to the present invention. As shown in fig. 4, a mother light string 90 is cascaded with a plurality of sub light strings 91, that is, a cascaded led light string can be obtained by plugging the input connector 71 of a first sub light string 91 into the output connector 70 of the mother light string 90, plugging the input connector 71 of a second sub light string 91 into the output connector 70 of the first sub light string 91, and so on. Furthermore, the signal enhancer 80 of each sub-string 91 can enhance the data signal transmitted from the previous stage, so that the data signal received by the sub-string 91 of the next stage can be correctly identified. It should be noted that, referring to fig. 1 (mother light string 90) or fig. 3 (sub light string 91), and taking the mother light string 90 cascaded with the sub light string 91 as an example, in order to enable the control switch Qc of the signal enhancer 80 of the sub light string 91 to be driven by a sufficiently large control voltage, in addition to the resistance values of the resistors R31 and R32, the data terminal Do may be coupled to the junction P1 between the last led module 3n and the penultimate led module 3n-1, or the data terminal Do may be coupled to the junction P2 between the penultimate led module 3n-1 and the penultimate led module 3n-2, so as to shorten the wiring distance from the data terminal Do to the led light string 30, so that the control switch Qc can be driven by a sufficiently large control voltage without being affected by the attenuation of the line length, the control switch Qc can be normally turned on and off, and the signal booster 80 can normally operate.

Fig. 5 is a circuit block diagram of a light emitting diode module according to a first embodiment of the invention. As mentioned above, the led string 30 is a string with burning function, so each led

module

31,32, …,3n has a digital and analog circuit for burning the lighting data and address data, such as the lighting control unit 311 responsible for lighting control, the address signal processing unit 312 responsible for address signal processing, and the address burning unit 313 responsible for address burning. As shown in fig. 5, the led module 31 with a burning function is taken as an example (the other led modules 32, …,3n have the same circuit blocks, which are not described herein), and the led module 31 (i.e. the led lamp) includes a voltage regulator 41, an oscillator 42, an address and data identifier 43, a logic controller 44, a shift register 45, an output buffer register 46, a driving circuit 47, an address register 48, an address comparator 49, an address memory 50, an address burning controller 51, a burning signal detector 52, a signal filter 53, a discharging unit 54, a current detector 55, and a voltage comparing unit 56.

The led modules shown in fig. 5 are connected in series, so that the voltage regulator 41 is required for voltage regulation and voltage regulation. Furthermore, the led module shown in fig. 5 adopts a point control operation mode, so that the led module has an address signal processing unit 312 and an address burning unit 313 for processing address data (including determining, memorizing, burning, etc.), which includes an address register 48, an address comparator 49, an address memory 50, an address burning controller 51 and a burning signal detector 52. In other words, if the led modules are operated synchronously, the address signal processing unit 312 and the address burning unit 313 can be omitted, and only the light emitting control unit 311 for processing the light emitting data is required.

In the above circuit, the difference of signal characteristics can be divided into an analog circuit (analog circuit) part and a digital circuit (digital circuit) part. The voltage regulator 41, the oscillator 42, the address burning controller 51, the burning signal detector 52 and the discharge unit 54 belong to an analog circuit part, and the others can be classified as a digital circuit part. However, in various embodiments, the address burning controller 51 and the burning signal detector 52 can be implemented by both analog circuit and digital circuit. Compared to the low power consumption of digital circuits, analog circuits (such as the voltage regulator 41, the oscillator 42, the light-emitting control unit 311, the address signal processing unit 312, the address programming unit 313 and the discharging unit 54) are the circuit elements consuming more power in the led module 31.

Fig. 6 is a circuit block diagram of a light emitting diode module according to a second embodiment of the invention. As mentioned above, since the led modules shown in fig. 6 are connected in parallel, the main difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment shown in fig. 5 is that the former (i.e. the second embodiment) does not need to use a voltage regulator 41 for voltage regulation and voltage regulation. The operation principle and operation of the rest of the circuits are the same as those described in fig. 5, and therefore, the details are not repeated herein.

As mentioned above, in order to effectively reduce the power consumption of the analog circuit and maintain the normal operation of the led module 31, the led module 31 further includes a comparing unit, which is used as a voltage comparing unit 56 for comparing the voltages. Taking the light-emitting driving signal as an example of a voltage signal, the voltage comparing unit 56 receives the light-emitting driving signal Vd and a preset reference voltage value Vth. As shown in fig. 7, in the present embodiment, the voltage comparing unit 56 can use an operational amplifier circuit as a comparator, wherein the received light emitting driving signal Vd is input to a non-inverting input terminal of the comparator, and the reference voltage value Vth is input to an inverting input terminal of the comparator. Comparing the light-emitting driving signal Vd with a reference voltage value Vth, and outputting a high-level control signal Sc when the light-emitting driving signal Vd is greater than the reference voltage value Vth; on the contrary, when the light emitting driving signal Vd is smaller than the reference voltage value Vth, the low level control signal Sc is output. However, without being limited thereto, the light-emitting driving signal Vd and the reference voltage Vth may be respectively input to the inverting input terminal and the non-inverting input terminal of the comparator, and after comparison, the control signal Sc with the above level opposite can be obtained, and the determination of the light-emitting driving signal Vd can be achieved. In addition, the judgment of the light emission driving signal Vd is not limited to be implemented by using an operational amplifier circuit, and any circuit that can be used for voltage comparison is included in the scope of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram showing waveforms of the light-emitting driving signal according to the present invention. As mentioned above, when the control unit CONR controls the output control switch Qsw to be turned off, the led string 30 reduces the voltage in a discharging manner to provide the low level voltage of the light emitting driving signal Vd for driving each of the led

modules

31,32, …,3n of the led string 30. Alternatively, the voltage generated by the light-emitting signal voltage generating circuit is rapidly reduced by controlling the fast discharging circuit in each led

module

31,32, …,3n to provide the low level voltage of the light-emitting driving signal Vd for driving each led

module

31,32, …,3n of the led string 30. Moreover, by comparing the emission driving signal Vd with the reference voltage Vth by the voltage comparing unit 56, the problem that the emission driving signal Vd rapidly decreases due to the fast discharging operation and reaches the reset voltage Vreset, so that the circuit has unnecessary reset malfunction, which causes the abnormal judgment and malfunction of the led module 31 can be solved.

Specifically, as shown by the second waveform Cv2, at a time point t1, the control unit CONR controls the output control switch Qsw to be off, at which time the light emission driving signal Vd rapidly decreases. At time t2, when the reference voltage Vth is reached, the light-emitting driving signal Vd is smaller than (or equal to) the reference voltage Vth, so the voltage comparing unit 56 shown in fig. 7 compares the two voltages and outputs the low-level control signal Sc. At this time, in order to prevent the light emitting driving signal Vd from being further rapidly decreased due to the rapid discharge, the control signal Sc generated by the voltage comparing unit 56 controls the circuit consuming more power in the light emitting diode module 31, for example, but not limited to an analog circuit, such as the voltage regulator 41, the oscillator 42, the light emitting control unit 311, the address signal processing unit 312, the address burning unit 313 and the discharging unit 54 shown in fig. 5 to enter a sleep mode (sleep mode) or an energy saving mode (eco mode), so as to greatly reduce the power consumption of the light emitting diode module 31, thereby rapidly decreasing the speed of decreasing the light emitting driving signal Vd. Incidentally, for the sake of simplicity, fig. 5 and fig. 6 show the schematic diagrams, in which the control signal Sc input to the voltage regulator 41, the oscillator 42, the address programming controller 51, the programming signal detector 52 and the discharge unit 54 is actually shown as the voltage comparison unit 56 respectively coupled to the voltage regulator 41, the oscillator 42, the address programming controller 51, the programming signal detector 52 and the discharge unit 54, and providing the output control signal Sc to the plurality of circuit units.

After the time point t2 shown in fig. 8, when the light-emitting driving signal Vd is smaller than the reference voltage Vth, the decay rate of the light-emitting driving signal Vd is slowed down to avoid reaching the reset voltage Vreset because the analog circuits enter the sleep mode. Incidentally, the low level voltage of the emission driving signal Vd can be identified as the reference voltage value Vth or a voltage value slightly smaller than the reference voltage value Vth but larger than the reset voltage Vreset by design, so that the rapid discharge detection is achieved, the power consumption is effectively reduced, and the low level voltage of the emission driving signal Vd is correctly determined (identified), so that the light emitting diode module 31 can be normally driven to operate. For example, the reset voltage Vreset may be designed to be 0.7 v, the reference voltage Vth may be designed to be 1.1 v, and the low level voltage of the light-emitting driving signal Vd may be designed to be 1.1 v, or slightly smaller 0.8-1.0 v, which may be appropriately designed and adjusted according to the overall circuit response or operation requirement.

Until time t3, the control unit CONR turns on the output control switch Qsw to recover (increase) the output voltage to the led string 30, and generates a light-emitting driving signal according to the received light-emitting control data Sec, so that the led string 30 performs a light-emitting mode operation according to the light-emitting driving signal. Therefore, since the light-emitting driving signal Vd is greater than the reference voltage value Vth, the control signal Sc generated by the voltage comparing unit 56 is converted from the low level to the high level, so that the control signal Sc controls the voltage regulator 41, the oscillator 42, the light-emitting control unit 311, the address signal processing unit 312, the address burning unit 313 and the discharging unit 54 to leave the sleep mode, so as to resume the normal operation of the plurality of circuit units. Similarly, the remaining led modules 32, …,3n are controlled by the subsequent period of the emission driving signal Vd, and the same operation is not described in detail herein. Therefore, the driving and light emitting control of all the led

modules

31,32, …,3n of the led string 30 is completed.

Fig. 9 is a circuit block diagram of a light emitting diode module according to a third embodiment of the invention. Compared to fig. 5, the control signal Sc originally generated by the voltage comparing unit 56 is generated by the current detector 55, so the third embodiment does not require the voltage comparing unit 56. As shown in fig. 11, when the control unit CONR controls the output control switch Qsw to be turned off, the led string 30 reduces the voltage in a discharging manner to provide a low level voltage of the light emitting driving signal Vd for driving each of the led

modules

module

31,32, …,3n of the led string 30. It should be noted that the present invention adopts three modes for controlling the led

modules

31,32, …,3 n: the first is an operating mode, the second is an energy saving mode (eco mode), and the third is a sleep mode (sleep mode), so that each of the led

modules

31,32, …,3n can operate normally and also have a low power consumption requirement.

The operation mode means that the internal circuits (including analog circuits and digital circuits) of each led

module

31,32, …,3n are in normal operation. When the purpose of low power consumption is achieved, the energy-saving mode is adopted firstly, and then the sleep mode is adopted. The energy-saving mode is mainly used for turning off the analog circuit which consumes more power firstly, and considering the close cooperation of the oscillator and the digital circuit, the energy-saving mode can greatly reduce the source of the more power consumption by turning off the analog circuit except the oscillator or the analog circuit comprising the oscillator firstly, and maintain the normal operation of the digital circuit, so that the signal detection and the identification can normally operate. In the power-saving mode, the oscillator may operate with low power without being turned off. Then, after the signal detection and identification are completed, the oscillator is turned off, and the sleep mode is entered. Therefore, the problem that the light-emitting driving signal Vd is rapidly reduced due to the rapid discharge operation to touch the reset voltage Vreset, so that the circuit generates unnecessary reset false operation, and the abnormal judgment and false operation of the light-emitting diode module 31 are caused can be solved.

Specifically, as shown in the waveform shown in fig. 11, before the time point t11, the control unit CONR controls the output control switch Qsw to be turned on, and thus, each of the light emitting

diode modules

31,32, …,3n is operated in the operating mode. At time t11, the control unit CONR controls the output control switch Qsw to be off, and at this time, the light emission drive signal Vd rapidly decreases. At time t12, the light emission driving signal Vd reaches the low level voltage Vlow, and the light emission driving signal Vd is identified as a driving signal for controlling the plurality of light emitting

diode modules

31,32, …,3n (hereinafter, one light emitting diode module 31). However, in order to avoid the light-emitting driving signal Vd from gradually decreasing to reach the reset voltage Vreset in the process of driving the light-emitting diode module 31, which causes an unnecessary reset malfunction of the circuit and causes an abnormal judgment and malfunction of the light-emitting diode module 31, at the time point t12, the power-saving mode is entered, and the analog circuit except for the oscillator or the analog circuit including the oscillator is turned off first, thereby greatly reducing the power consumption source. Moreover, in order to maintain the normal operation of the digital circuit and the oscillator, the signal detection and identification operations are completed within a time interval T, and then the sleep mode is entered at a time point T13, so as to greatly reduce the power consumption of the led module 31. The time interval T is a time interval from the time point T12 to the time point T13, and is not limited to a time length of several (3 to 4) clock cycles. Therefore, after the time point t13, the power consumption of the led module 31 can be minimized by completely turning off the oscillator, so that not only the optimal effect of reducing the power consumption can be achieved, but also the abnormal condition caused by the reduction of the emission driving signal Vd and the contact of the reset voltage Vreset can be avoided. At time t14, the control unit CONR controls the output control switch Qsw to be on, so that the voltage level of the emission drive signal Vd is restored. Since the voltage level of the emission driving signal Vd is greater than the low level voltage Vlow, the operation in the sleep mode is left (released), the operation in the next cycle is entered, and the operation in the operating mode is resumed again.

Fig. 11 additionally illustrates the light emission driving signal Vd for a relatively narrow time (for example, 1 μ sec, but not limited thereto). Similar to the light-emitting driving signal Vd with a wider time (for example, 3 microseconds, but not limited thereto) indicated from the time point T11 to the time point T14, the difference between the two is that before the light-emitting driving signal Vd with the narrower time is not ended in the time interval T, i.e., before the sleep mode is not entered, the voltage level of the light-emitting driving signal Vd is restored and the operation of the operating mode is resumed because the control unit CONR controls the output control switch Qsw to be turned on. In this case, it is also possible to prevent the light emission driving signal Vd from falling to reach the abnormal condition caused by the reset voltage Vreset.

Therefore, the present embodiment focuses on effectively reducing the power consumption of the analog circuits in the power saving mode and the sleep mode, and also maintains the normal driving operation of the led module 31, and the detailed circuit operation can be combined with fig. 5, which is not described herein again.

Fig. 10 is a circuit block diagram of a light emitting diode module according to a fourth embodiment of the invention. Compared to the third embodiment shown in fig. 9, the led module further includes a latch unit 57, and the remaining circuit units are the same as those in fig. 9. The latch unit 57 is coupled between the input side and the output side of the led module 31, and is used to replace the oscillator 42 when the led module 31 is in the sleep mode, so that the led module 31 can continuously perform signal detection and identification. In one embodiment, the latch unit 57 may be a charge/discharge analog circuit having a resistor and a capacitor and having charge and discharge functions.

Hereinafter, how to achieve the technical means of reducing power consumption and saving energy according to the present invention will be described. Referring to fig. 11, when detecting that the light emission driving signal Vd reaches the low level voltage Vlow (for example, at time t12 or time t22 shown in fig. 11), the current detector 55 generates the control signal Sc, and at this time, the power-consuming analog circuits in the led module 31, such as the voltage regulator 41, the oscillator 42, the address programming controller 51, the programming signal detector 52, and the discharge unit 54, enter the energy saving mode through the control of the control signal Sc, so as to reduce the main power consumption source, and the energy saving mode can be regarded as the first stage control mode for reducing the power consumption. Since the control of the digital circuit is related to the oscillator 42, the second stage control mode is considered to reduce power consumption when the oscillator 42 controlling the analog circuit enters the sleep mode to ensure the digital circuit can complete its necessary operations. Specifically, the present invention proposes two solutions to achieve the control of the low power consumption of the oscillator 42 in the energy saving mode: the first scheme is as follows: oscillation that causes oscillator 42 to operate at low power; the second scheme is as follows: the oscillating operation of the oscillator 42 is replaced with a charge and discharge circuit.

Fig. 12 is a schematic circuit diagram of an oscillator according to the present invention, and is shown in fig. 9. The control method using the oscillator 42 as a clock reference is the most preferable method in terms of the accuracy of control. In order to meet the requirements of both accurate control and low power consumption, the first solution is to provide a specific design for the oscillator 42 to implement low-power oscillation operation. The oscillator 42 shown In fig. 12 has a plurality of inverters In11 to In22, a resistor Ro and a capacitor Co, and the circuit connection is only for illustration and not for limiting the present invention, and an oscillator circuit capable of generating a clock is included In the scope of the present invention. The inverters In 11-In 22 are CMOS transistor inverters, and can be designed with different transistor sizes and can be controlled by enabling and disabling to achieve accurate control and low power consumption. For example, but not limited thereto, the transistor sizes of the inverter In12 and the inverter In22 are designed to be smaller than those of the inverter In11 and the inverter In21, respectively, and the inverter In11 and the inverter In21 are controlled by the control signal Sc.

When the oscillator 42 is In normal operation, i.e., the led module 31 is In the working mode (before the time point t12 shown In fig. 11), the inverters In 11-In 22 are all enabled, so that the oscillator 42 can operate at full power to provide a clock signal. When detecting that the light-emitting driving signal Vd reaches the low level voltage Vlow (as shown In fig. 11 at time t12), the control signal Sc generated by the current detector 55 controls the inverter In11 and the inverter In21 to be disabled (at this time, the inverter In12 and the inverter In22 are still enabled), however, without being limited thereto, the inverter In12 and the inverter In22 can be controlled to be disabled, the inverter In11 and the inverter In21 are enabled, so that the oscillator 42 can still operate at low power, provide clock signals to maintain the digital circuit to complete its necessary operations, and simultaneously, the low power consumption operation of the oscillator 42 is achieved, until the led module 31 completes the signal detection and identification operation within the time interval T from the time point T12 to the time point T13 shown in fig. 11, the oscillator 42 can be completely turned off, and the sleep mode after the time point T13 is entered. However, the connection, number, size and control method of the control signal of the inverters are only illustrative and not intended to limit the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a waveform diagram illustrating the operation of the latch unit according to the present invention, and is combined with FIG. 10. In order to respond to the light emission driving signal Vd for a wider time (for example, 6-8 μ s, but not limited thereto), for example, a latch signal (latch signal) is correctly operated to terminate the recognition, so as to avoid the malfunction due to the disorder of the digital circuit caused by the early stop of the operation of the oscillator 42. However, in order to turn off the oscillator 42 which consumes relatively much power as soon as possible to meet the demand of low power consumption, as shown in fig. 10, a latch unit 57 having a charge/discharge function is added, and implemented by, for example, a resistor-capacitor charge/discharge circuit, instead of the timer function of the oscillator 42. As described above, since the emission driving signal Vd having a time width of 3 microseconds or 1 microsecond (the signal of the first two cycles shown in fig. 13) is not the latch signal, the latch determination signal Slatch is at the low level due to the discharging operation (not limited thereto, but also the charging operation) of the capacitor of the latch unit 57 and the discharging voltage Vdis higher than the predetermined latch voltage Vlatch. In this state, the oscillator 42 can realize the power saving operation with low power consumption by the aforementioned manner of low power oscillation in the power saving mode and by turning off the oscillation operation in the sleep mode.

When the emission driving signal Vd is a latch signal with a time width of 6-8 μ sec (as shown in fig. 13, the third period signal), the discharge time of the capacitor of the latch unit 57 is longer, so that at the time point t1, the discharge voltage Vdis is equal to or lower than the latch voltage Vlatch, and the latch determination signal Slatch transits from the low level to the high level. In addition, the capacitor of the latch unit 57 is continuously discharged to ensure that the emission driving signal Vd can be maintained to be the normal detection and control of the latch signal after the oscillator 42 is turned off. Until time t2, the control unit CONR controls the output control switch Qsw to be on, so that the voltage level of the emission drive signal Vd is restored. Since the voltage level of the emission driving signal Vd is greater than the low level voltage Vlow, the latch determination signal Slatch transitions from the high level to the low level, leaves (releases) the operation of the sleep mode, enters the operation of the next period, and resumes the operation of the operating mode again.

However, the normal detection and control of the latch signal are not limited by the comparison between the discharging voltage Vdis and the latch voltage Vlatch, and the latch operation of the latch unit 57 can be performed for a predetermined time period, for example, the latch unit 57 can be implemented by a timing circuit, so that when the predetermined time period is reached or exceeded, the latch operation of the latch unit 57 is started, and the requirement of low power consumption can be met.

In summary, the present invention has the following features and advantages:

1. the data signal transmitted by the previous stage can be enhanced (strengthened) through the driving power converter, so that the problem that the data signal received by the lamp string at the later stage cannot be identified or judged as noise due to attenuation caused by the long-distance lamp string in the signal transmission process can be solved.

2. The wiring distance from the data terminal to the LED light string can be shortened, so that the control switch can be driven by a large enough control voltage without being influenced by the length of a line and can be normally switched on and off, and the signal enhancer can normally act.

3. The LED lamp string can transmit the light-emitting driving signal and the power supply to the LED lamp string under the same circuit architecture.

4. The fast discharge circuit of each LED module can provide fast discharge control light-emitting driving signals to fast reduce the voltage level of the light-emitting driving signals, so that all the LEDs connected in series can be completely controlled to emit light.

5. The application circuit is simplified, and the problems of abnormal judgment and misoperation of the light-emitting diode module caused by the fact that the voltage of the light-emitting control signal is rapidly reduced to touch the reset voltage are solved.

6. The power consumption of the analog circuits in the light-emitting diode module is effectively reduced, and the normal driving operation of the light-emitting diode module is maintained.

7. The LED module can adopt a point control operation mode and a synchronous operation mode, so that the flexibility and the convenience of the design of a control circuit can be improved, and the diversified light output effect and the diversified light output change of the LED lamp can be realized.

8. By the specific design of the oscillator circuit, the oscillator provides a clock signal with low-power oscillation before entering the sleep mode, thereby maintaining the digital circuit to complete the necessary operation and achieving the low-power consumption operation of the oscillator.

9. The normal identification and detection of the light-emitting driving signal as the latch signal can be still maintained after the oscillator is turned off through the charge and discharge time design or the preset time design of the latch unit, and the low-power-consumption operation of the oscillator is achieved.

The above-mentioned embodiments are merely preferred embodiments for fully illustrating the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. The equivalent substitution or change made by the technical personnel in the technical field on the basis of the invention is all within the protection scope of the invention. The protection scope of the invention is subject to the claims.

Claims

1. A low-power-consumption cascade type light-emitting diode lamp string is characterized by comprising: a mother light string and at least one daughter light string;

this female lamp cluster contains:

the LED lamp string is provided with a plurality of LED modules;

an output control switch coupled to the LED string; and

a controller coupled to the output control switch for receiving a carrier light-emitting signal and controlling the output control switch to drive the plurality of light-emitting diode modules to emit light;

the at least one sub-lamp string is cascaded with the main lamp string, and each sub-lamp string comprises:

the LED lamp string is provided with a plurality of LED modules;

an output control switch coupled to the LED string; and

a signal intensifier is coupled with the output control switch, receives the carrier light-emitting signal, intensifies the carrier light-emitting signal, and drives the plurality of light-emitting diode modules to emit light by controlling the output control switch;

when the voltage of the carrier light-emitting signal is less than a low level voltage, each light-emitting diode module enters a low power consumption mode.

2. The low power consuming cascaded led light string of claim 1, wherein:

the mother lamp string further includes an output connector having a positive voltage terminal, a negative voltage terminal and a data terminal; and

the sub-light string also comprises an input connector, wherein the input connector is provided with two power supply pins and a data pin;

the two power pins are respectively coupled to the positive voltage terminal and the negative voltage terminal, and the data pin is coupled to the data terminal.

3. The low-power consumption cascaded led light string of claim 2, wherein the sub-light string further comprises an output connector coupled to the input connector of another sub-light string.

4. The low power consumption cascaded led light string of claim 1, wherein the signal enhancer comprises:

a control switch; and

a power converter coupled to the control switch;

when the control switch is switched on, the power converter receives the carrier light-emitting signal and enhances the carrier light-emitting signal.

5. The low-power-consumption cascaded LED light string of claim 2, wherein the data terminal is coupled between the last two of the LED modules.

6. The low power consumption cascaded led light string of claim 1, wherein each led module comprises a voltage comparing unit;

when the voltage of the carrier light-emitting signal is less than the low-level voltage, the voltage comparison unit outputs a control signal to control each light-emitting diode module to enter the low-power-consumption mode of the dormant state.

7. The low power consumption cascaded led light string of claim 1, wherein each led module comprises a current detection unit;

when the voltage of the carrier light-emitting signal is less than the low level voltage, the current detection unit outputs a control signal to control each light-emitting diode module to enter the low power consumption mode in the energy-saving state.

8. The series of cascaded led lamps with low power consumption of claim 7, wherein each led module performs signal detection and identification operations during a time interval after entering the low power consumption mode of the power saving state; after the time interval is finished, the control signal controls each light emitting diode module to enter the low power consumption mode of the dormant state.

9. The series of cascaded led lamps with low power consumption as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of the led modules further comprises an oscillator, the oscillator receives the control signal in the low power consumption mode of the power saving state, and the oscillator is controlled by the control signal to perform oscillation operation with low power.

10. The series of cascaded light-emitting diode lamps with low power consumption as claimed in claim 7, wherein each of the light-emitting diode modules further comprises a latch unit and an oscillator, the latch unit and the oscillator receive the control signal and the oscillator stops oscillating under the control of the control signal in the low power consumption mode of the power-saving state, and the latch unit provides a timing operation under the control of the control signal.

11. The series of cascaded light-emitting diodes with low power consumption of claim 10, wherein the latch unit is a charge/discharge circuit comprising a resistor and a capacitor.

12. The series of cascaded light-emitting diodes with reduced power consumption of claim 10, wherein the latch unit is a timing circuit.