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US 8,167,676 B2Granted
Fluorescent lighting system
AssigneeVAXO Technologies, LLC
InventorsJohn T. Martin, Lucien Tournie, Douglas Gene Lockie
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus for providing a Fluorescent Lighting System are disclosed. In one embodiment, the present invention may be used as a fluorescent lamp ballast which is controlled using a non-resonant circuit that allows the ballast to lower to fifty percent the light output of the lamp while providing a corresponding fifty percent reduction in energy used.
Claims38
A method comprising the steps of:
- supplying a sealed enclosure for providing illumination;
- said enclosure containing a plurality of molecules of a gas;
- said enclosure having an interior surface;
- said interior surface being at least partially coated with a light emitting substance;
- said enclosure including a first and a second electrode;
- applying a first electrical signal across said first and said second electrodes to excite some of said plurality of molecules of a gas and to produce an ionized cloud within said enclosure;
- and
- applying a second electrical signal across said first and said second electrodes along with said first electrical signal to maintain said ionized cloud within a set of predetermined limits to optimize the production of visible light from said light emitting substance on said interior surface of said enclosure and
- said second electrical signal including a series of direct current pulses to maintain said ionized cloud which was initiated by said first electrical signal;
- said second electrical signal is provided by a low impedance source.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.