Fluorescent lamp regulating system
OwnerRodney C. Hope, Gale M. Hope, executrixinventors
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Abstract
One of the low voltage output windings of a standard ballast circuit is coupled to one filament of a pair of series connected fluorescent lamps by an external current controller. The current controller acts to restrictively reduce the operating voltage applied to the filaments of one of the lamps to which it is connected, below firing value during start up operation and thereafter maintain a lower running voltage for the lamps without adversely affecting restart.
Claims11
In an electrical system energized by an AC source, including at least two gaseous discharge lamps within which plasma induced current ignition occurs during a starting operation, two pairs of filaments respectively disposed within said lamps, a ballast transformer coupled to the AC source, a starting capacitor shunting one of the pairs of filaments within one of the lamps, means interconnecting one of the filaments in each of the lamps with each other for effecting said ignition of both of the lamps in response to a firing potential applied across said one of the pairs of filaments and means coupling the transformer to the filaments for applying said firing potential, the improvement comprising a regulating capacitor series connecting the transformer to another of the filaments within the other of the lamps independently of the starting capacitor and coupling means connected in interacting circuit relation to the regulating capacitor and said other of the filaments for restricting the firing potential to said one of the pairs of filaments during the starting operation.
In an electrical system energized by an AC source, including at least two gaseous discharge lamps within which plasma induced current ignition occurs during a starting operation, two pairs of filaments respectively disposed within said lamps, a ballast transformer coupled to the AC source, means interconnecting one of the filaments in each of the lamps with each other for effecting said ignition of both of the lamps in response to a firing potential applied across said one of the pairs of filaments, means coupling the transformer to the filaments for applying said firing potential and current controller means separately series connecting the transformer to another of the filaments of the other of the pairs of filaments, said current controller means restricting the firing potential to said one of the pairs of filaments during the starting operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.