The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 10, 1995
Filed:
Mar. 10, 1994
Applicant:
Inventors:
Hubie Notohamiprodjo, Vernon Hills, IL (US);
John M Wong, Buffalo Grove, IL (US);
Dennis L Stephens, Niles, IL (US);
Assignee:
Motorola, Inc., Schaumburg, IL (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H05B / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
315219 ; 315291 ; 315D / ;
Abstract
A ballast circuit uses an optocoupler to provide electrical isolation of the dimming control from the remainder of the ballast. The optocoupler is operated in the linear range to provide continuous dimming of the lamps. The circuit further uses a combination of diodes and a diode bridge to steer current from the current sensor during lamp out conditions so that the inverter will maintain operation at a low frequency, thereby maximizing the output voltage. A clamp winding is used to insure that the voltage does not exceed the DC rail voltage.