Multiple ballast and lamp control system
AssigneeHubbell Incorporated
InventorIsaac L. Flory IV
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A control device and signaling are provided to operate selected numbers of the ballasts in a multi-ballast, multi-lamp luminaire. The luminaire has a control input for receiving a control signal from a wall switch, for example. The number of ballasts operated by the luminaire increases or decreases sequentially in response to one of consecutive pulses, signal level transitions or interrupts in the control signal. The control device can be programmable or hard-wired to the relays (e.g., a counter and decoder) to allow for a more economical implementation. Different subsets of the ballasts can be selected via the programmable integrated circuit to distribute the burn times of the lamps.
Claims19
A luminaire having a plurality of ballasts connected to a plurality of lamps and further comprising:
- a plurality of relays connected to respective ones of the plurality of ballasts;
- a control device connected to each of said plurality of relays;
- and
- a control input for providing a control signal to said control device, said control device comprising a counter for counting and generating an output signal in response to said control signal and a decoder configured to receive said output signal and sequentially select which of said plurality of relays to actuate and thereby operate the corresponding ones of the plurality of ballasts in response to said output signal;
- wherein said control signal is a DC signal comprising pulses, said counter being operable to increment said output signal in response to each pulse, said decoder being configured to implement a truth table whereby all of the plurality of ballasts are powered on in response to a first one of said pulses, and then one or more subsets of the plurality of ballasts are powered down in response to subsequent ones of said pulses until all of the plurality of ballasts are powered down.
A luminaire having a plurality of ballasts connected to a plurality of lamps and further comprising:
- a plurality of relays connected to respective ones of the plurality of ballasts;
- a control device connected to each of said plurality of relays;
- and
- a control input for providing a control signal to said control device, said control device comprising a counter for counting and generating an output signal in response to said control signal and a decoder configured to receive said output signal and sequentially select which of said plurality of relays to actuate and thereby operate the corresponding ones of the plurality of ballasts in response to said output signal;
- wherein said control signal is a DC signal comprising pulses, said counter being operable to increment said output signal in response to each pulse, said decoder being configured to implement a truth table whereby all of the plurality of ballasts are powered down in response to a first one of said pulses, and then one or more subsets of the plurality of ballasts are powered on in response to subsequent ones of said pulses until all of the plurality of ballasts are powered on.
A luminaire having a plurality of ballasts connected to a plurality of lamps and further comprising:
- a plurality of relays connected to respective ones of the plurality of ballasts;
- a control device connected to each of said plurality of relays;
- and
- a control input for providing a control signal to said control device, said control device comprising a programmable controller that is programmed to sequentially select which of said plurality of relays to actuate and thereby operate the corresponding ones of the plurality of ballasts in response to said control signal, said programmable controller being operable to select which of the plurality of ballasts to operate to distribute the burn times of said plurality of lamps.
A method of selectively operating a plurality of ballasts connected to a plurality of lamps, the method comprising the steps of generating a control signal to provide control information for operating each of said plurality of ballasts, each of said plurality of ballasts being connected to at least one lamp from said plurality of lamps to control power provided to said at least one lamp;
- and
- providing said control signal to a control device connected to each of a plurality of relays that are connected to respective ones of said plurality of ballasts, said plurality of relays being operable to open or close in response to said control device to selectively power up and power down corresponding ones of said plurality of ballasts, said control device being operable to provide for power up of all, none and subsets of said plurality of lamps over a period time;
- and
- determining which of said plurality of ballasts to operate to distribute the burn times of said plurality of lamps.
An apparatus for operating a plurality of ballasts connected to a plurality of lamps comprising:
- a plurality of relays connected to corresponding ones of said plurality of ballasts;
- a control device connected to said plurality of relays and being operable to generate a control signal to control each of said plurality of relays, said ballasts being connected to at least one lamp from said plurality of lamps to control power provided to said at least one lamp, said plurality of relays being operable to open or close in accordance with said control signal to render selected ones of said plurality of ballasts operational and nonopetational;
- wherein said control signal can provide for power up of all, none and subsets of said plurality of lamps over a period time, and said control device is operable to determine which of said plurality of ballasts to operate to distribute said burn times among said plurality of lamps.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.