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Showing posts with the label White

Buck IC Boosts Battery Voltage for White LED

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 White-light LEDs are finding their way into many markets that incandescent bulbs once served. Flashlights are among the newer applications in which reliability, ruggedness, and ability to control the power draw of the LEDs make these devices attractive. With incandescent bulbs, the power management for the device is a simple on-off switch. However, the LEDs cannot operate directly from the two cells you typically find in most flashlights, because their required voltage is 2.8 to 4V, compared with a battery voltage of 1.8 to 3V. The power management has a further complication because the light output of the LED relates to current, and the LED's characteristics are extremely nonlinear with voltage. One approach to this problem is to boost the power supply with a current limit. A number of devices for LED applications are available; however, their current ratings are typically too low for the 1 to 5W that flashlight applications need. Buck IC Boosts Battery Voltage for White LED Circ...

High Efficiency 12V White LED Driver

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DC powered LED lighting circuits can vary from trivial single LED/series resistor combos to simple analog current regulators to more complicated switching power supply circuits such as this project. There is a tradeoff between simplicity and circuit capabilities. This more complex circuit adds features such as regulated light level across a wide range of input voltages and automatic circuit shutoff on low input voltage. By using a high frequency switching regulator, the power loss associated with the current dropping resistors found in simpler circuits is reduced. This offsets the power consumed by the circuit's active parts. This circuit can power 10 white LEDs at 24mA of current with only 98mA of input supply current when running on 12V. LED intensity is fully regulated across the entire operating voltage range. High Efficiency 12V White LED Driver Circuit Diagram This circuit was inspired by F. Garcia's IR LED video illumination circuit, published in the July 2001 edition of...

Step Up Booster Powers Eight White LEDs

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Tiny white LEDs are capable of delivering ample white light without the fragility problems and costs associated with fluorescent backlights. They do pose a problem however in that their forward voltage can be as high as 4 V, precluding them being from powered directly from a single Li-Ion cell. Applications requiring more white LEDs or higher efficiency can use an LT1615 boost converter to drive a series connected array of LEDs. The high efficiency circuit (about 80%) shown here can provide a constant-current drive for up to eight LEDs. Driving eight white LEDs in series requires at least 29 V at the output and this is possible thanks to the internal 36-V, 350-mA switch in the LT1615. The constant-current design of the circuit guarantees a steady current through all LEDs, regardless of the forward voltage differences between them. Although this circuit was designed to operate from a single Li-Ion battery (2.5V to 4.5V), the LT1615 is also capable of operating from inputs as low as 1 V w...

Step Up Booster Powers Eight White LEDs

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Tiny white LEDs are capable of delivering ample white light without the fragility problems and costs associated with fluorescent backlights. They do pose a problem however in that their forward voltage can be as high as 4 V, precluding them being from powered directly from a single Li-Ion cell. Applications requiring more white LEDs or higher efficiency can use an LT1615 boost converter to drive a series connected array of LEDs. The high efficiency circuit (about 80%) shown here can provide a constant-current drive for up to eight LEDs. Driving eight white LEDs in series requires at least 29 V at the output and this is possible thanks to the internal 36-V, 350-mA switch in the LT1615. The constant-current design of the circuit guarantees a steady current through all LEDs, regardless of the forward voltage differences between them. Although this circuit was designed to operate from a single Li-Ion battery (2.5V to 4.5V), the LT1615 is also capable of operating from inputs as low as 1 V w...

Line Powered White LEDs

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Description  The LED circuit below is an example of using 25 white LEDs in series connected to the 120VAC line. It can be modified for more or less LEDs by adjusting the resistor value. The exact resistance will depend on the particular LEDs used. But working out the resistor value is a bit complicated since current will not continously flow through the resistor. In operation, the output of the bridge rectifier will be about 120 DC RMS or 170 volts peak. If we use 25 white LEDs with a forward voltage of 3 volts each, the total LED voltage will be 75 volts. The peak resistor voltage will be 170- 75 or 95 volts but the resistor voltage will not be continous since the input must rise above 75 before any current flows. This (dead time) represents about 26 degrees of the 90 degree half wave rectified cycle, (asin) 75/170 = (asin) .44 = 26 degrees. This means the resistor will conduct during 90-26 = 64 degrees, or about 71 percent of the time. Next we can work out the peak LED current to...

Build a Rechargeable Torch Based on White LED

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Rechargeable torches don’t come without problems. You need to replace the bulbs and charge the batteries frequently. The average incandescent light-emitting diode (LED) based torch, for instance, consumes around 2 watts. Here’s a rechargeable white LED-based torch that consumes just 300 mW and has 60 per cent longer service life than an average incandescent torch.  Rechargeable Torch Based on White LED Circuit Diagram Fig. 1 shows the circuit of the rechargeable white LED-based torch. The reactive impedance of capacitors C1 through C3 (rated for 250V AC) limits the current to the charger circuit. The resistor across the capacitors provides a discharge path for the capacitors after the battery is charged. The red LED1 indicates that the circuit is active for charging. The torch uses three NiMH rechargeable button cells, each of 1.2V, 225 mAH. A normal recharge will take at least 12 hours. Each full recharge will give a continuous operational time of approximately 2.5 hours. Recharge...