Circuit for quickly energizing electronic ballast
US5586016A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 5, 1994 |
| Grant date | Dec 17, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 5, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH05B41/2828
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An electronic ballast having a boot strap capacitor 22 that becomes initially charged at a first rate and a high voltage storage capacitor 23 that becomes charged at a second, faster rate, wherein the boot strap capacitor 22, becoming initially fully charged initiates operation of a PWM driver 18 that in turn causes a power factor corrector and inverter 16 to energize corresponding gas discharge lamps 11. Upon activation of the PWM driver 18 and the corresponding activation of the power factor corrector and inverter 16, a voltage clamp 19 responds to these events by establishing a conductive path 20 between the high voltage storage capacitor 23 and the boot strap capacitor 22, such that continued operation of the PWM driver 18 is ensured. So configured, a relatively small valued capacitor can be utilized for the boot strap capacitor 22, thereby ensuring rapid activation of the lamps 11 without risking subsequent sporadic energization or other operational difficulties.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.