Philips Electronics North America Corporation

Philips Electronics North America Corporatin

Wen-Jian Gu

Rui Liu

Gregory T DiVincenzo

Ihor T Wacyk

Stephen L Wong

Pawel M Gradzki

Howard B Pein

Paulo P Caldeira

Paulo Caldiera

A ballast including an inverter and a circuit having a resonant frequency coupled to the output of the inverter. In one embodiment of the invention, the only discrete type of element substantially affecting the resonant frequency is substantially inductive in electrical character. In this embodiment of the invention, there is also no discrete ballasting element in series with the lamp load. The reduction in discrete elements reduces both power consumption and costs associated with the ballast.

High efficiency dimmable cold cathode fluorescent lamp ballast

An AC-AC ballast system for a discharge lamp (e.g., a fluorescent lamp), which includes a PFC converter which incorporates an isolation transformer, and a DC-AC inverter provided on the secondary side of the isolation transformer. Because the AC line input is isolated from the lamp load by the transformer in the PFC converter, the switching frequency of the PFC converter can be advantageously significantly higher than the lamp current frequency (and the switching frequency of the DC-AC inverter), to thereby enable a significant reduction in the size and weight of the ballast system, without an increase in the emission of EMI radiation from the lamp. In this regard, the ballast system of the present invention can be thought of as a two-frequency ballast system having an isolated PFC converter.

Two-frequency electronic ballast system having an isolated PFC converter

Current is sensed by a circuit which provides a high frequency reversing voltage to a sensing winding on a current transformer, for driving the transformer into its linear region at least once per high frequency cycle. Current through the sensing winding is sampled while the transformer is in that linear region. Preferably, the current is sampled approximately at the instants of reversal of the voltage being applied to the sensing winding, and the sample having the lower absolute value is selected as a sample proportional to the line current.

DC and AC current sensor having a minor-loop operated current transformer

A DC-DC ZVS PWM converter circuit which utilizes the leakage inductance of an output transformer and a three-step operation cycle so as to reduce the voltage stress on the converter power switching transistors and to reduce the EMI noise emissions of the circuit.

Half-bridge zero-voltage-switched PWM flyback DC/DC converter

Digital processing of current signals allows close matching of arbitrary time delay curves for a circuit breaker. An analog signal proportional to the current is sampled and digitized. Digital samples, with or without further processing, are used to select increment values from a look-up table for accumulation in a counter. The counter is decremented periodically to simulate cooling of the circuit being protected. The values in the look-up table are determined according to the desired time delay curve. Processing of the digital samples may include squaring samples, accumulating the squared values to form a subtotal which is compared with an instantaneous trip threshold, accumulating the subtotals for a time period equal to half a cycle of AC line voltage, taking the square root of the accumulated subtotals, and using that square root as the address for looking up the increment value.

Electronic processing unit, and circuit breaker including such a unit

A high frequency AC/AC converter apparatus with power factor correction includes an AC/DC converter circuit part to provide power factor correction and a DC/AC inverter circuit part to produce a high frequency AC signal for operation of a load, for example, a discharge lamp. The AC/DC converter circuit part includes a diode and an inductor. The converter apparatus utilizes first and second semiconductor controlled switching devices, one of which is common to each part of the overall converter apparatus. A single control circuit controls both parts of the converter apparatus by controlling the switching of the first and second semiconductor switching devices. There are two possible control techniques, constant duty ratio control or duty ratio sweeping control. A voltage clamp circuit inhibits undesired oscillation of the diode voltage.

High frequency AC/AC converter with PF correction

Current in a line is measured by passing it through a coil, having at least one turn, linking a small high permeability core; passing a measuring current through a bucking winding around the same core; and controlling the measuring current to buck the magnetomotive force of the line current so that the core flux stays below the saturation level. The measuring current may flow through a precision resistor so that a voltage across the resistor is an accurate measure of the line current. The measuring current is obtained from a high frequency switching circuit which senses the change of flux in the core. In normal operation the circuit switches when the core flux has risen to a predetermined value, such as 60% or 80% of the saturation value. If drift or extreme transients cause the flux to reach the saturation level, a sensing and correction circuit re-establishes operation between the desired points.

Isolated current sensor for DC to high frequency applications

A single stage high frequency push-pull converter with input power factor correction. The boost converter for input power factor correction and the high-frequency push-pull DC/AC inverter are combined into a single stage converter thereby reducing the number of circuit components while at the same time reducing the voltage stress on the high frequency switching transistors of the converter.

High frequency push-pull converter with input power factor correction

A miniature electronic ballast with low radio frequency interference (RFI) for operating a discharge lamp by amplitude modulation and two frequency operation. A high frequency operating voltage (approximately 1-2 MHz) is generated and is amplitude modulated at a relatively lower frequency (approximately 20-50 KHz). This operating voltage is demodulated to suppress the high frequency carrier voltage (1-2 MHz) and the low frequency modulating signal (20-50 KHz) itself is applied to the discharge lamp to energize same. The use of the high frequency operating voltage makes it possible to reduce the size of the magnetic components in the electronic ballast, whereas the low frequency voltage actually applied to the discharge lamp avoids problems of RFI that otherwise would occur if the high frequency carrier voltage itself was applied to the discharge lamp.

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Croton-on-Hudson, NY, United States of America

Wen-Jian Gu