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AssigneeEnergy Savings, Inc.
InventorsKent E. Crouse, Gueorgui L. Grouev, William L. Keith, Jacek Cachel
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Gas discharge lamps may conduct current from the common rail to earthen ground through a fixture containing the lamps. A transistor is coupled in series in the current path to the common rail. When the ballast is placed in a quiescent state, the transistor is rendered non-conducting, thereby solating the lamps from the common rail and preventing flicker. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the control electrode of the transistor is coupled to a source of low voltage and the transistor is rendered non-conducting when the source of low voltage is turned off. The lamps can also be isolated from the common rail by using a semiconductor switch in the rectifier section or by referencing the output of the inverter to the high voltage rail.
In an electronic ballast for gas discharge lamps, said ballast including a direct coupled output and a common rail, the improvement comprising:
An electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast comprising:
In an electronic ballast for gas discharge lamps, said ballast including a full wave rectifier bridge coupled to a power line input, a direct coupled output and a common rail, the improvement comprising:
In a method for operating an electronic ballast for gas discharge lamps, said ballast including a direct coupled output and a common rail, the improvement comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.