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AssigneeEnergy Savings, Inc.
InventorsKent E. Crouse, Ronald J. Bezdon, Michael W. Bandel, Patrick J. Keegan, Boyko Boykov, Peter W. Shackle, William L. Keith
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An electronic ballast includes an AC to DC converter for power factor correction, a bulk capacitor for storing energy from the converter, and a microprocessor controlled, half-bridge inverter including a series resonant, direct coupled output. Input ports of the microprocessor are coupled to several locations within the ballast to monitor the operation of the ballast or the operation of a gas discharge lamp coupled to the ballast. An analog voltage limiter overrides the microprocessor to limit output voltage under fault conditions. A storage capacitor, connected in series with the bulk capacitor, stores energy at low voltage for powering the microprocessor. The microprocessor is programmed to provide lamp protection features, lumen maintenance, and a warm-up period for a lamp. The microprocessor is also programmed to meet the operating requirements of world markets and of different lamp types.
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp having filaments at each end of the lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for changing alternating current at low voltage to high voltage direct current on a power rail, an inverter coupled to said converter, and a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, said inverter including a resonant output and a half bridge capacitor coupled to said output, said microprocessor including a first input port coupled to said half bridge capacitor for measuring the DC voltage on said half bridge capacitor, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp having filaments at each end of the lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for changing alternating current at low voltage to direct current at high voltage, an inverter coupled to said converter, and a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, said inverter including a resonant output and a half bridge capacitor coupled to said output, said microprocessor including a first input port coupled to said half bridge capacitor for measuring the DC voltage on said half bridge capacitor, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for producing direct current at high voltage, a half-bridge output circuit coupled to said converter and including series connected alternately conducting transistors, a drive circuit for controlling said transistors, a microprocessor coupled to at least said drive circuit and providing high frequency pulses to said drive circuit;
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for producing direct current at high voltage, a bulk capacitor for storing energy from said converter, an inverter powered from said bulk capacitor, and a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for changing alternating current at power line voltage to direct current, an inverter coupled to said converter and adapted to be coupled to said lamp for producing a first voltage for said lamp, a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, said microprocessor including an input port, and a detector coupled to said input port for sensing a second voltage, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for changing alternating current at power line voltage to direct current, an inverter coupled to said converter and adapted to be coupled to said lamp, a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, said microprocessor including an input port, and a detector coupled to converter for sensing said power line voltage, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for changing alternating current to direct current, an inverter coupled to said converter, a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, said microprocessor including an output port, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for producing direct current at high voltage from a source of input power, a bulk capacitor for storing energy from said converter, an inverter powered from said bulk capacitor, and a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for changing alternating current to direct current, an inverter coupled to said converter and adapted to be coupled to said lamp for producing a first voltage for said lamp, a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, said microprocessor including an input port, and a detector coupled to said input port for sensing said first voltage, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for producing direct current at high voltage, a bulk capacitor for storing energy from said converter, an inverter powered from said bulk capacitor, and a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for producing direct current at high voltage from a source of input power, a bulk capacitor for storing energy from said converter, an inverter powered from said bulk capacitor, and a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for producing direct current at high voltage from a source of input power, a bulk capacitor for storing energy from said converter, an inverter powered from said bulk capacitor, and a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for producing direct current at high voltage from a source of input power, a bulk capacitor for storing energy from said converter, an inverter powered from said bulk capacitor, and a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, said microprocessor including an input port and detectors coupled to a node within said ballast, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an half-bridge inverter for producing an output voltage at a series resonant, direct coupled output, a half-bridge capacitor coupled to said output, and a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, said microprocessor including an input port coupled to said half-bridge capacitor for monitoring the voltage on said half-bridge capacitor, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp, said ballast including an AC to DC converter for producing direct current at high voltage from a source of input power, a bulk capacitor for storing energy from said converter, an inverter powered from said bulk capacitor, and a microprocessor in said inverter for controlling said inverter, said inverter including a series resonant, direct coupled output, the improvement comprising:
In an electronic ballast for a gas discharge lamp having at least one filament, said ballast including a DC blocking capacitor coupled to said filament and an inverter for powering said lamp, said microprocessor including a first input port coupled to said capacitor for measuring the DC voltage on said capacitor, the improvement comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.