Electric lamp and discharge devices: systems – Current and/or voltage regulation – Automatic regulation
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-20
2001-07-10
Philogene, Haissa (Department: 2821)
Electric lamp and discharge devices: systems
Current and/or voltage regulation
Automatic regulation
C315S291000, C315S224000, C315S247000, C315SDIG002, C315SDIG004, C315SDIG007
Reexamination Certificate
active
06259215
ABSTRACT:
DESCRIPTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to an electronic ballast and in particular relates to an electronic high intensity discharge ballast.
2. Background Art
Ballasts are an integral part of many gas discharged systems such as fluorescent or high intensity density discharge (HID) lighting. Ballast's regulate the flow of electrical current to the lamp to maintain its operation.
Compact fluorescent is commonly used in office lighting as well as in homes. HID lighting systems on the other hand are lights used in large retail stores, industrial buildings, shopping malls and studios. HID lighting's most common use is for parking lots and street lighting. High intensity discharge systems can consist of metal halide lighting systems as well as high pressure sodium lighting systems (HPS).
Many compact fluorescent incorporate electromagnetic adaptors or ballast to power the lamp. Moreover, standard electromagnetic HID ballast operate with a basic core/coil transformer, a capacitor and in the case of high pressure sodium lighting systems an added igniter. These components simply start and maintain the lamp operating functions.
However, electromagnetic ballast's exhibit a number of disadvantages such as:
(a)
not energy efficient;
(b)
are susceptible to incoming voltage fluctuations;
(c)
have an hard initial start up which degrade the life expectancy of the
lamp;
(d)
generally can not be dimmed;
(e)
physically heavy making them difficult to instal in aerial situations;
(f)
have many wires to interconnect which complicates their installation;
(g)
noisy with age;
(h)
operated at relatively high temperatures;
(i)
can be damaged by power surges.
Various ballast and systems have heretofore been designed to overcome some of these disadvantages.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,836 relates to an oscillator circuit which generates a frequency modulated square wave output signal to vary the frequency of the power supplied to a circuit.
Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 5,493,182 relates to a dimmer operation of a fluorescent lamp.
Yet another arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,767 which relates to gas discharge system controlled in intensity and in the length along a tube that is illuminated by providing digital control signals to an analog drive circuit connected to the high voltage energization device for the tube.
Yet another arrangement is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,146 which relates to a method of operating a high intensity discharge lamp having a pair of electrodes hermetically sealed with an arc tube the method comprising frequency modulation of a carrier wave form in the kilohertz range to provide a variable frequency AC output and applying the AC output across the electrodes of the lamp to thereby operate the lamp in a manner which minimizes or avoids the acoustic resonance effect within the arced tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,680,015 relates to a low power, high pressure discharge lamp.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,597 relates to a circuit and method for driving a load such as a gas discharge illumination device from an AC main supply with a high power factor. The circuit includes a pair of electronic switches arranged in the half bridge configuration and self-oscillating driver circuit having two outputs for driving respective ones of the electronic switches, the electronic switches being coupled across an AC bus voltage and having a switched output coupled to the load.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved electronic high intensity discharge ballast.
One aspect of this invention relates to a circuit for driving a gas discharge illumination device comprising; a microprocessor controlling circuitry to generate a square wave form having variable frequency for dimming said gas discharge illumination device.
It is another aspect of this invention relate to an electronic high intensity discharge ballast for an illumination devices comprising rectifying circuitry for rectifying an alternating current to a direct current; power factor correction circuitry for boosting the voltage to be supplied to said illumination device; a pair of MOSFET's for generating a square wave form with a frequency for powering said illumination device; microprocessor means for monitoring and controlling said power factor circuitry and said MOSFET's.
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Philogene Haissa
Romlight International, Inc.
Rudoler Stuart D.
Wolf Block Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP
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