The Angle Detect circuit and its filter produce a DC level which
corresponds to the duty cycle (relative on-time) of the TRIAC
dimmer. As a result, the LM3448 will work equally well with
50Hz or 60Hz line voltages.
BLEEDER
While the BLDR pin is below the 7.21V threshold, the internal
bleeder MOSFET is on to place a small load (230Ω) on the
series pass regulator. This additional load is necessary to
complete the circuit through the TRIAC dimmer so that the
dimmer delay circuit can operate correctly. Above 7.21V, the
bleeder resistor is removed to increase efficiency.
FLTR1 PIN
The FLTR1 pin has two functions. Normally it is fed by ASNS
through filter components R1 and C3 and drives the dim de-
coder. However if the FLTR1 pin is tied above 4.9V ( e.g., to
VCC) the ramp comparator is at TRI-STATE disabling the dim
decoder.
DIM DECODER
The ramp generator produces a 5.85 kHz saw tooth wave with
a minimum of 1.0V and a maximum of 3.0V. The filtered ASNS
signal enters pin FLTR1 where it is compared against the
output of the Ramp Generator. The output of the ramp com-
parator will have an on-time which is inversely proportional to
the average voltage level at pin FLTR1. However since the
FLTR1 signal can vary between 0V and 4.0V (the limits of the
ASNS pin), and the ramp generator signal only varies be-
tween 1.0V and 3.0V, the output of the ramp comparator will
be on continuously for VFLTR1 < 1.0V and off continuously for
VFLTR1 > 3.0V. This allows a decoding range from 45° to 135°
to provide a 0 – 100% dimming range.
The output of the ramp comparator drives both a common
source N-channel MOSFET through a Schmitt trigger and the
DIM pin. The MOSFET drain is pulled up to 750 mV by a
50kΩ resistor.
Since the MOSFET inverts the output of the ramp comparator,
the drain voltage of the MOSFET is proportional to the duty
cycle of the line voltage that comes through the TRIAC dim-
mer. The amplitude of the ramp generator causes this pro-
portionality to "hard limit" for duty cycles above 75% and
below 25%.
FLTR2
The MOSFET drain signal next passes through an RC filter
comprised of an internal 370kΩ resistor and an external ca-
pacitor on pin FLTR2. This forms a second low pass filter to
further reduce the ripple in this signal which is used as a ref-
erence by the PWM comparator. This RC filter is generally set
to 10Hz.
The net effect is that the output of the dim decoder is a DC
voltage whose amplitude varies from near 0V to 750 mV as
the duty cycle of the dimmer varies from 25% to 75%. This
corresponds to conduction angles of 45° to 135°.
The output voltage of the dim decoder directly controls the
peak current that will be delivered by the internal SW FET.
As the TRIAC fires beyond 135°, the DIM decoder no longer
controls the dimming. At this point the LEDs will dim gradually
for one of two reasons:
•The voltage at VBUCK decreases and the buck converter
runs out of headroom and causes LED current to decrease
as VBUCK decreases.
•Minimum on-time is reached which fixes the duty-cycle
and therefore reduces the voltage at VBUCK.
The transition from dimming with the DIM decoder to head-
room or minimum on-time dimming is seamless. LED currents
from full load to as low as 0.5mA can be easily achieved.
COFF AND CONSTANT OFF-TIME CONTROL OVERVIEW
The LM3448 is a buck regulator that uses a proprietary con-
stant off-time method to maintain constant current through a
string of LEDs as shown in Figure 6.
30125823
FIGURE 6. Simplified Buck Regulation Circuit
Constant off-time control architecture operates by simply
defining the off-time and allowing the on-time, and therefore
the switching frequency, to vary as either VIN or VO changes.
The output voltage is equal to the LED string voltage (VLED),
and should not change significantly for a given application.
The input voltage or VBUCK in this analysis will vary as the
input line varies. The length of the on-time is determined by
the sensed inductor current through a resistor to a voltage
reference at a comparator. During the on-time denoted by
tON, the SW FET is on causing the inductor current to increase
(see Figure 7). During the on-time, current flows from VBUCK
through the LEDs, L2, the LM3448's internal SW FET and
finally through R3 to ground. At some point in time the inductor
current reaches a maximum (IL2-PK) determined by the voltage
at the ISNS pin. This sensed voltage across R3 is compared
against the dim decoder voltage on FLTR2 at which point the
SW FET is turned off by the regulator. During the off-period
denoted by tOFF, the current through L2 continues to flow
through the LEDs via D10. Capacitor C12 eliminates most of
the ripple current seen in the inductor. Resistor R4, capacitor
9 www.ti.com
LM3448