General Electric Company

Other

Laszlo Sandor Ilyes

Louis Robert Nerone

Tony Aboumrad

Deeder M Aurongzeb

Bruce Richard Roberts

Melvin C Cosby, Jr

Jason Creighton

Mircea Voskerician

James Kevin Skully

Bruce Clyde Roberts

James Domenic Mieskoski

Gordon Alexander Grigor

Melvin C Cosby

Robert S McFeely

David Joseph Tracy

Clarence J Harsa

Joseph G Elek

Jonathan Kron

Khaled I Abdel-Tawab

Himamshu Prasad

Jason D Creighton

An electrical device includes a housing and an electrically insulating base secured to the housing. A communication terminal protrudes from the base. Electrically conductive main terminals protrude from the base and are spaced apart from each other and from the communication terminal. The main terminals are arcuate shaped and form arcs of a reference ring the center of which is a rotational axis of the electrical device. The communication terminal is disposed within the reference ring. Also featured is a controller device.

Controller device

A transmitter apparatus and a ballast/driver receiver apparatus are presented for transmitting control information through a lighting system power line connection to a ballast or driver in which the transmitter selectively interrupts power delivery in select AC line power cycles to indicate data of a first binary state an uninterrupted power cycles indicate a second binary state with the receiver decoding the message data bits of different binary states based at least partially on the interruptions.

Power line communication method and apparatus for lighting control

A ballast control unit for controlling at least one light output of at least one dimmable ballast is disclosed, in which the dimmable ballast powers one or more light sources via the light output(s). The ballast control unit includes a wireless interface provisioned to receive messages from a mesh network, and to retransmit the received messages not destined for the ballast control unit. The ballast control unit further includes a control module provisioned to control the dimmable ballast(s) and the light output(s) according to commands in the received messages destined for the ballast control unit, where the commands correspond to the dimmable ballast(s) and/or the light output(s).

Wireless ballast control unit

An electrical receptacle comprises a body comprising an opening and main terminal channels that are spaced apart from each other and from the opening. Electrically conductive main connectors are disposed in the body and spaced apart from each other. The main connectors are disposed in or in alignment with the main terminal channels. A connector is disposed in the body and includes an arcuate shape in or near the opening.

Receptacle connector between controller and lighting fixture

In a scanning backlight for an LCD display, several backlights () provide a precisely positioned dimming pulse corresponding to a transition point of the LCD screen. The dimming pulse must be variable with video synchronization frequency and dimming duty cycle, which is a performance intensive calculation. One microcontroller performing this operation is limited in scope. By using several ballast controllers (), the solution is scalable, in that it is flexible if the number of backlights () changes. Additionally, by using several controllers (), added functions can be performed by the ballast controllers ().

Pulse width modulated dimming of multiple lamp LCD backlight using distributed microcontrollers

Systems and methods are disclosed that facilitate switching a lamp ballast between DALI and analog control states as a function of control state information stored prior to the ballast being powered of and control information received by an interface circuit for the ballast circuit. A depolarization circuit is coupled to the interface circuit and ensures consistent polarity across a rectifier circuit regardless of the polarity of two control wires coupled to a miswiring protection circuit in the interface circuit. In this manner, a single interface circuit provides dual 0-10V analog and DALI control for dimming a lighting device regardless of whether a wall-mounted controller coupled to the interface circuit is an analog or a DALI type controller, thereby mitigating a need to switch out a ballast circuit coupled to the lighting device when changing between DALI and analog type controllers.

Unified 0-10V and DALI dimming interface circuit

An electrical receptacle includes an exterior component and an interior component received inside the exterior component. Main electrical connectors have exterior end portions aligned with main connector openings of the interior component and have interior end portions disposed in alignment with main terminal channels of the exterior component. First and/or second central connectors each having substantially circular portions extend from an end plate of the exterior component and have exterior portions extending to a central connector opening of the interior component. Also featured is a method for electrically connecting the electrical receptacle to a controller device.

The present application discloses a method and apparatus for providing an isolated set point from an input signal. The set point can control the amount of power applied to a lamp via a lamp ballast. An AC output signal from the ballast powers a dimming circuit. The AC signal is coupled across an isolation transformer and subsequently converted into a DC signal. This DC signal is loaded by a variable resistor, which creates a voltage differential across the resistor. This voltage differential is then seen across DC input terminals of the ballast, and it is across the DC input terminals that the set point is created. By varying the value of the resistor, the ballast set point is varied ultimately changing the power that is applied to the lamp by the ballast.

Apparatus and method for providing an isolated set point from an input signal applied to a lamp ballast

The embodiment disclosed herein relates to a lighting system that includes an auxiliary lighting circuit for use with an electronic HID ballast. The lighting system comprises a power supply configured to provide power to a high intensity discharge (HID) lamp via an electronic ballast and a ballast power sensing component configured to determine the amount of power drawn by the electronic ballast and to convert this power drawn by the electronic ballast to a scaled voltage that is representative of the power drawn by an HID ballast. A lamp driver component is configured to provide power to an auxiliary lamp via the same power supply when the scaled voltage reaches a triggering threshold. A voltage regulation component is configured to regulate the power delivered to the auxiliary lamp such that the auxiliary lamp power stays within a predefined range.

Auxiliary lighting circuit for high intensity discharge system

A buck converter generates a direct current (DC) bus voltage at a buck converter output. An inverter circuit is coupled to the buck converter and configured to receive the generated DC voltage and convert the DC voltage into an alternating current (AC) voltage to drive a lamp. A power control circuit is coupled to the buck converter output and configured to provide a control voltage signal to the buck converter so that the buck converter generates the DC voltage and current of a predetermined value. A crest factor reduction circuit is coupled (a) to the buck converter output to sense a rate of change in the generated DC bus voltage, and (b) to the power control circuit to modify the control voltage signal based on the sensed rate of change in the DC bus voltage.

Crest factor reduction method for electronically ballasted lamps

A lamp ballast starting circuit and method for a gas discharge lamp is disclosed. The ballast starting circuit includes the inputs of the starting circuit connected to an inverter circuit, the starting circuit generating a pulse at the leading edge of each alternating half cycle of the inverter circuit output, the polarity of the pulse being the same as the polarity of each alternating half cycle of the inverter circuit output. The output of the starting circuit starts a gas discharge lamp.

Pulse starting circuit

Auxilary lighting circuit for high intensity discharge system

A method of assembling a coil includes forming a ferrite core having a top end, a bottom end, an inner opening extending from the top end to the bottom end, a cylindrical outer surface, and a step portion formed near the bottom end, the step portion extending past the outer surface. A first high dielectric material is applied on the outer surface of the ferrite core, then a conductive wire is wound onto the high dielectric material, whereafter a second high dielectric material is applied over the conductive wire.

Method of making a coil

A lamp securing device for securing a lamp ( ) to a housing ( ) including a retainer ( ) including a peripheral portion that bounds an opening ( ) of sufficient size for receiving a neck ( ) of the lamp ( ). The retainer ( ) includes a plurality of flanges ( ) along the opening ( ) which engage the neck ( ) of the lamp ( ) to securely attach the retainer ( ) to the lamp ( ).

Lamp securing device

A ballast circuit operable with a triac based controller circuit, the ballast circuit ( ) includes a rectifier ( ) configured for operative connection with an associated triac based circuit ( ) for converting AC current to DC current, a capacitor assembly ( ) coupled to the rectifier ( ), a first connection ( ) between the rectifier and the capacitor assembly ( ), a converter ( ) coupled to the rectifier ( ) for converting the DC current to AC current, a gate drive arrangement coupled to the converter for controlling the converter ( ), a resistance-inductance circuit ( ) coupled to the converter ( ), and a second connection ( ) between the capacitor assembly ( ) and the resistance-inductance circuit ( ). The converter ( ) induces AC current in the resistance-inductance circuit ( ).

Growing community of inventors

Richmond Heights, OH, United States of America

Laszlo Sandor Ilyes