Electronic ballast for discharge lamps

An electronic ballast for operating a discharge lamp, the electronic ballast comprising:

• a filter circuit for removing noise from an electrical power signal provided by a source of electrical power, producing a filtered power signal;
• a power factor correction circuit for adjusting the power factor of the filtered power signal to produce a corrected power signal, said power factor correction circuit including a first programmable inductor circuit having a plurality of selectable inductance values for varying the amount of power factor adjustment;
• a power supply circuit for converting electrical power received from the filtered power signal to a power level sufficient to operate the electronic ballast;
• an output circuit for receiving the corrected power signal and producing an electrical signal to ignite and operate the discharge lamp, said output circuit including:
• an ignition circuit for producing an oscillating voltage signal for igniting the discharge lamp, said ignition circuit including a second programmable inductor circuit having a plurality of programmable inductance values for supporting operation of a plurality of different types of discharge lamps;
• and
• an operating circuit for producing an oscillating current signal to operate the discharge lamp after ignition;
• and
• a control circuit for controlling operation of the electronic ballast.

An electronic ballast for operating a discharge lamp, the electronic ballast comprising:

• a filter circuit for removing noise from an electrical power signal provided by a source of electrical power, producing a filtered power signal;
• a power factor correction circuit for adjusting the power factor of the filtered power signal to produce a corrected power signal, said power factor correction circuit including a first programmable inductor circuit having a plurality of selectable inductance values for varying the amount of power factor adjustment;
• a power supply circuit for converting electrical power received from the filtered power signal to a power level sufficient to operate the electronic ballast;
• an output circuit for receiving the corrected power signal and producing an electrical signal to ignite and operate the discharge lamp, said output circuit including:
• an ignition circuit for producing an oscillating voltage signal for igniting the discharge lamp, said ignition circuit including a second programmable inductor circuit having a plurality of selectable inductance values for oscillating the voltage signal at different frequencies;
• and
• an operating circuit for producing an oscillating current signal to operate the discharge lamp after ignition, said operating circuit including a programmable resistor circuit having a plurality of programmable resistance values for supporting operation of a plurality of different types of discharge lamps;
• and
• a control circuit for controlling operation of the electronic ballast.