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US 6,137,240 AGranted
Universal ballast control circuit
AssigneeLumion Corporation
InventorAlexei Bogdan
Life of this patent
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AssigneeLumion Corporation
InventorAlexei Bogdan
Estimating the term…
A universal ballast control circuit allows a universal ballast to accommodate a gas discharge lamp within a relatively wide wattage range using a low-speed microcontroller. The control circuit drives the ballast to start, run and dim a particular lamp type by providing a control voltage signal to a conventional inverter MOSFET driver to effect dynamic and selective changes in the duty cycle and the frequency of the inverter signal. In one aspect of the invention, the control circuit comprises a generator for generating a periodic analog voltage signal, a source for producing a DC voltage signal, a controller which includes a low-speed microcontroller for varying the frequency of the periodic analog voltage signal and the magnitude of the DC voltage signal, and a comparator for comparing the periodic analog voltage signal and the DC voltage signal to produce a control voltage signal. In another aspect of the invention, the control circuit comprises a generator for generating a periodic analog voltage signal, a controller for controlling the shape of the periodic analog voltage signal, and a comparator for comparing waveforms of the periodic analog voltage signal with the waveforms of two DC threshold voltages to generate a control signal. The present invention allows for the control circuit to be powered by a power supply signal either derived from an inverter half-bridge MOSFET driver, extracted from a boost inductor of the boost converter or generated by an appropriately configured dedicated miniature switch mode power supply. Finally, control circuit can be utilized to drive PFC circuity in a feedback configuration to regulate the level of boost converter output voltage signal.
A universal ballast control circuit for use with a power circuit coupled to an AC source for outputting a high frequency AC signal and a coupling circuit coupled to the power circuit for applying the AC signal to any one of a plurality of gas discharge lamp types, said control circuit comprising:
A universal ballast control circuit for use with a power circuit coupled to an AC source for outputting a high frequency AC signal and a coupling circuit coupled to the power circuit for applying the AC signal to any one of a plurality of gas discharge lamp types, said control circuit comprising:
A method of powering any one of a plurality of gas discharge lamp types, each lamp type having a predetermined set of lamp characteristics, said method comprising the steps of:
A method of powering any one of a plurality of gas discharge lamp types, each lamp type having a predetermined set of lamp characteristics, said method comprising the steps of:
A method of controlling the output voltage of a boost converter of a gas-discharge lighting ballast, said method comprising the steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.