France/scott Fetzer Company

France/a Scott Fetzer Company

Alan M Smith

William Thomas Hopkins

Anthony William Banks

Robert L Towe

Charles A Schlemm

Louis B Pickvet

Thomas A McMillan

Carl A Brooks

Terry J Trainor

Mary J Springer

A gas discharge lamp power supply having a base, a pair of opposed side walls extending from the base, and opposed first and second end walls extending from the base between the opposed side walls. The first end wall has a sloped wall extending angularly between the side walls, and two input terminals are mounted on the sloped wall. In another embodiment, the power supply has a control with a nonvolatile memory for storing an error code in response to a detected fault condition, thereby permitting the error code to be displayed upon power being removed from and then, subsequently reapplied.

Gas discharge lamp power supply

An enclosure for an electrical connection between two high-voltage cables that includes an electrically nonconductive separator integral with a mounting base for receiving the high-voltage cables. An electrically nonconductive tubular cover extends over the electrical connection and the high-voltage cables and is releasably attached to the base. The separator has at least two resiliently mounted fingers, and the electrically nonconductive cover extends over the fingers to depress and move the fingers into contact with the high-voltage cables, thereby securing the high-voltage cables in the mounting base. The high-voltage cables are extended beyond the mounting base a distance equal to a desired spacing separating the electrical connection between the high-voltage cables and an electrical conductor associated with the mounting base. The tubular cover is transparent so that the electrical connection joining the high-voltage cables can be visually inspected through the cover.

High-voltage connection enclosure and method

A transformer control circuit which includes a ground fault detection circuit that detects ground fault currents in the transformer secondary and delivers a ground fault detection signal to the primary circuit. This circuit derives power from the secondary winding and transmits the ground fault detection signal through an optical isolation barrier, thus avoiding the use of an auxiliary transformer. The ground fault detection circuit further includes safety features for detecting whether AC power is being supplied without earth ground being connected, and/or whether there is an undesired electrical connection between a transformer output connection and earth ground, which would defeat the ground fault detection circuit.

Safety-enhanced transformer circuit

A ballast for driving a gas discharge tube light with overvoltage protection and dimming. A clamp winding coupled to the internal DC power source prevents overvoltage of the secondary terminals by permitting induced current flow in the clamp winding if the clamp winding voltage exceeds that of the internal DC power source. The transformer core includes a shunt leg which supports a dimmer control winding. When the dimmer control winding is open-circuited, magnetic flux is shunted away from the secondary winding, reducing the light intensity; when the dimmer control winding is short-circuited, currents induce in the dimmer control winding prevent substantial of magnetic flux density and increase the light intensity.

Electronic dimmable gas tube power supply with overvoltage protection

A resonant inverter is current mode-controlled with a transistor supplying current through a primary winding of a transformer. The cycle of operation includes conducting, resonating, and clamping portions of the cycle, with the transistor being turned on for the conducting portion. The resonating portion includes a storage capacitor connected to the primary winding and commences when current-responsive means of the transistor or first semiconductor turns on a second semiconductor, which in turn turns off the first semiconductor. During this resonating stage, the current in the primary winding reverses and stores energy in a storage capacitor. A clamping portion of the cycle includes a unidirectional conducting means or diode which conducts for a time for the excess energy stored in the tank circuit to return to the input and be stored in a filter capacitor.

Growing community of inventors

Dickson, TN, United States of America

Alan M Smith