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:
May. 09, 2006
Filed:
Feb. 28, 2005
John G. Konopka, Deer Park, IL (US);
John G. Konopka, Deer Park, IL (US);
Osram Sylvania, Inc., Danvers, MA (US);
Abstract
FA ballast () for powering a gas discharge lamp () comprises an inverter () and an arc protection circuit (). Arc protection circuit () monitors an electrical signal within the ballast. In response to occurrence of a disturbance in the signal, such as what occurs during output arcing, arc protection circuit () disables the inverter () for a timed shutdown period. Arc protection circuit () provides a timed starting period for igniting the lamp, during which time any disturbance in the electrical signal is essentially ignored and inverter () is allowed to continue to operate. Arc protection circuit () also provides a restart function for periodically attempting to ignite and operate the lamp. Arc protection circuit () is preferably realized using a timer integrated circuit (U) with associated discrete circuitry, and may be adapted for use with ballasts having self-oscillating or driven type inverters.