US 12,069,779 B2
Prediction and recovery of zero-crossing information and selective control signal pulse duration
Ankit Milan Sanghvi, Hicksville, NY (US); Abhishek D. Golwala, Northvale, NJ (US); and A. M. Sarwar Jahan, Jamaica, NY (US)
Assigned to LEVITON MANUFACTURING CO., INC., Melville, NY (US)
Filed by Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc., Melville, NY (US)
Filed on Sep. 29, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/477,646.
Application 18/477,646 is a division of application No. 17/058,876, granted, now 11,903,105, previously published as PCT/US2020/060328, filed on Nov. 13, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/028,056, filed on May 21, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2024/0032162 A1, Jan. 25, 2024
Int. Cl. H05B 45/14 (2020.01); H05B 45/325 (2020.01); H05B 47/16 (2020.01)
CPC H05B 45/14 (2020.01) [H05B 45/325 (2020.01); H05B 47/16 (2020.01)] 28 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An electrical load controller for controlling conduction of a supply of alternating current (AC) power to a load, the electrical load controller comprising:
a line input terminal and a load output terminal, the line input terminal configured to be electrically coupled to the supply of AC power, and the load output terminal configured to be electrically coupled to the load;
a switching circuit electrically coupled in series between the line input terminal and the load output terminal, the switching circuit having an ON state in which the switching circuit conducts the supply of AC power to the load, and an OFF state in which the switching circuit does not conduct the supply of AC power to the load, the switching circuit configured to be selectively controlled by varying a control signal to the switching circuit between the ON state and the OFF state; and
a controller configured to perform:
based on a desired load level setting of the electrical load controller, determining a firing angle, of an alternating current (AC) waveform, at which to fire the switching circuit of the electrical load controller to selectively control the switching circuit to conduct the supply of AC power to the load, the firing angle corresponding to a firing delay time, after zero-crossings of the AC waveform, at which to fire the switching circuit;
selecting a control signal pulse duration, the control signal pulse duration being a duration of time for the control signal to be held in the ON state to latch the switching circuit to conduct the supply of AC power to the load, wherein the selecting the control signal pulse duration comprises selecting, for the control signal pulse duration, and based on the determined firing angle, between:
(i) a fixed duration of time that begins at the firing delay time and ends after the fixed duration of time; and
(ii) a variable duration of time that begins at the firing delay time and ends at a preset unlatch time of the AC waveform; and
controlling the supply of AC power to the load based on the selected control signal pulse duration, wherein the controlling holds the control signal in the ON state for the selected control signal pulse duration in selectively controlling the switching circuit to conduct the supply of AC power to the load.