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:
Nov. 21, 2000
Filed:
Sep. 21, 1999
Etienne N Eberson, Eindhoven, NL;
Antonius A Marinus, Eindhoven, NL;
U.S. Philips Corporation, New York, NY (US);
Abstract
A ballast for a compact fluorescent lamp includes a down-converter for operating the lamp with a DC current during stable operation and a charge pump for igniting the lamp. The converter includes an inductor and a first series circuit of a first diodie and a first switching element. An output capacitor shunts the lap terminals. The charge pump includes a second series circuit of second diodie and a second switching element coupled to the lamp terminals with the second diode polarized to prevent the discharge of the output capacitor when the second switching element is conductive. The inductor cooperates with the first and second diodes and the second switching element to build up the voltage across the outpout capacitor to the ignition voltage level of the lamp.