Electronic ballast

• Main Authors: SPIRA, JOEL, TAIPALE, MARK, TRAVAGLINI, DOMINICK, DEJONGE, STUART, NEWMAN, ROBERT C. JUNIOR
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 21.09.2011
• Subjects: APPARATUS FOR CONVERSION BETWEEN AC AND AC, BETWEEN AC AND DC,OR BETWEEN DC AND DC, AND FOR USE WITH MAINS OR SIMILAR POWERSUPPLY SYSTEMS; CONTROL OR REGULATION THEREOF; CONVERSION OF DC OR AC INPUT POWER INTO SURGE OUTPUTPOWER; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER; ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHTING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; GENERATION

An electronic ballast for driving a gas discharge lamp includes a rectifier, a valley-fill circuit, an inverter having first and second series-connected controllably conductive device having complementary duty cycles, a control circuit for controlling the controllably conductive device, and an independent cat ear power supply to provide power to the ballast control circuits. The result is a ballast having substantially improved THD, and current crest factor. In a preferred embodiment, the valley-fill circuit includes an energy storage device that stores energy in response to a controllably conductive device. In an especially preferred embodiment, the controllably conductive device of the valley-fill circuit is also one of the controllably conductive devices of the inverter.