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:
Feb. 18, 2014
Filed:
Oct. 13, 2010
Quyen Tran, Morgan Hill, CA (US);
Yefim Gluzman, San Francisco, CA (US);
Quyen Tran, Morgan Hill, CA (US);
Yefim Gluzman, San Francisco, CA (US);
Zilog, Inc., Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
A fluorescent lamp starter unit determines whether the lighting fixture into which it has been plugged is in a first or second state. The lamp is on in the first state and off in the second state. If the fixture is in the first state then the starter unit uses a first method to detect ballast type, whereas if the fixture is in the second state then the starter unit uses a second method to detect ballast type. In one example, the first method involves turning on the power switch of the starter unit at a time after a zero-crossing and then using the periodicity of a transient switch current signal to determine ballast type, whereas the second method involves turning on the power switch at the time of the zero-crossing and then using peak amplitude information of the transient switch current to determine ballast type.