Fluorescent device having a fluorescent starter which precisely controls heating time and absolute synchronism of fire point

• US 5,583,395 A
• Filed: 10/11/1994
• Issued: 12/10/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Starmen Enterprise Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Chao-Cheng Lu
• Inventors: Lu, Chao-Cheng
• Primary Examiner(s): Pascal, Robert
• Assistant Examiner(s): Philogene, Haissa
• Application Number:
  US08/320,536
• Time in Patent Office: 791 Days
• Field of Search: 315/94, 315/97, 315/101, 315/105, 315/106, 315/308, 315/DIG. 2, 315/DIG. 5, 315/200 R, 315/207, 315/208, 315/239
• US Class Current: 315/94
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 41/046 using controlled semiconductor devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 315/05 Starting and operating circuit for fluorescent lamp

Abstract

A new fluorescent device including an electronic fluorescent starter, a phase leading capacitor, a ballast, a bridge rectifier, a fluorescent lamp, a brightness compensation circuit, and a control circuit, the electronic fluorescent starter consisting of a master switch circuit, an ignition circuit and a time control circuit, wherein the electronic fluorescent starter matches with the ballast to turn on the fluorescent lamp; the control circuit turns the electronic fluorescent starter to the open circuit state when the fluorescent lamp is turned on; the brightness compensation circuit improves the intensity of light from the fluorescent lamp.

Claims

1. A fluorescent device comprising an electronic fluorescent starter, a phase leading capacitor, a ballast, a bridge rectifier circuit, a fluorescent lamp, a brightness compensation circuit, and a control circuit, wherein said electronic fluorescent starter comprises a time control circuit, a master switch circuit, and an ignition circuit connected in parallel to two opposite ends of said fluorescent lamp and operated to control the ignition and heating operations of said fluorescent lamp, said time control circuit being directly coupled to said ignition circuit, the ON and OFF controls between said ignition circuit and said master switch circuit being operated through a direct coupling, an ignition time being synchronized with the peak value of a heating current, said time control circuit being directly coupled to a voltage reset circuit having a zener diode, and said time control circuit being controlled by the zener voltage of said zener diode.

2. A fluorescent device comprising an electronic fluorescent starter, a phase leading capacitor, a ballast, a bridge rectifier circuit, a fluorescent lamp, a brightness compensation circuit, and a control circuit, wherein said control circuit comprises a time constant resistor, a time constant capacitor and a voltage reset circuit, said voltage reset circuit comprising a transistor and two shunt resistors, said time constant resistor and said time constant capacitor being connected in series, a node between said time constant resistor and said time constant capacitor being connected to the collector of said transistor, the emitter of said transistor being connected to the negative terminal of the power supply, the base of said transistor being connected to a node between said shunt resisters, and P and N junctions of the zener diode being respectively connected to an A point positive voltage terminal and one end of said shunt resistors, the zener diode being connected in series to said shunt resistors, the transistor of said voltage reset circuit being a NPN type transistor.

3. A fluorescent device comprising an electronic fluorescent starter, a phase leading capacitor, a ballast, a bridge rectifier circuit, a fluorescent lamp, a brightness compensation circuit, and a control circuit, wherein said electronic fluorescent starter includes a master switch circuit which is a normally closed switch circuit comprising a darlington circuit having its base connected to a resistor and having a connection between the emitter of a transistor and a plurality of diodes, the two opposite ends of said darlington circuit being respectively connected to A and B connecting terminals of said fluorescent lamp, the forward voltage of the A connecting terminal of said fluorescent lamp being the saturation voltage of said darlington circuit plus the saturation voltage of the diodes.

4. A fluorescent device comprising an electronic fluorescent starter, a phase leading capacitor, a ballast, a bridge rectifier circuit, a fluorescent lamp, a brightness compensation circuit, and a control circuit, wherein said electronic fluorescent starter includes an ignition circuit comprising a diode, a zener diode, and a transistor, the collector of said transistor being directly coupled to the base of a darlington circuit of a master switch circuit of the electronic fluorescent starter, the emitter of said transistor being directly coupled to a negative terminal of a power supply, the base of said transistor being directly coupled to the N junction of said diode, the P junction of said diode being directly coupled to the P junction of said zener diode, the N junction of said zener diode being directly coupled to a node between a time constant resistor and a time constant capacitor.

5. A fluorescent device comprising an electronic fluorescent starter, a phase leading capacitor, a ballast, a bridge rectifier circuit, a fluorescent lamp, a brightness compensation circuit, and a control circuit, wherein said control circuit comprises a first OP AMP IC for determining if an AC voltage reaches a pre-set voltage value, the AC voltage being transmitted through a half wave rectifier diode to two shunt resistors, the voltage value of the first OP AMP IC being obtained from a node between said two shunt resistors, said node between said two shunt resistors being connected with a first filter capacitor, which turns AC voltage into DC voltage permitting DC voltage to be sent to the positive input terminal of said first OP AMP IC;

the negative input terminal of said first OP AMP IC being directly coupled to a node between two other shunt resistors to obtain a reference voltage from the output terminal of a three-terminal voltage regulator, an output terminal of said three-terminal voltage regulator being directly coupled with a second filter capacitor;

the output terminal of said first OP AMP IC being directly coupled with a voltage drop resistor and the input side of a photo thyristor coupler, said voltage drop resistor and said photo thyristor coupler being directly coupled in series;

the positive and negative input terminals of a second OP AMP IC being indirectly connected to the output terminal of said three-terminal voltage regulator to obtain a power supply, the positive terminal of said second OP AMP IC obtaining a reference voltage from the node between an additional two shunt resistors electrically connected between the output terminal of said three-terminal voltage regulator and ground, the voltage at the negative input terminal of said second OP AMP IC being obtained from a resistor which is electrically connected between the negative input terminal of said second OP AMP IC and said output terminal of the three-terminal voltage regulator;

the output side of said second OP AMP IC being directly coupled with a P junction of a diode, whose N-junction is connected to one end of two further shunt resistors, a node between said two further shunt resistors being connected to the gate of a silicon controlled rectifier, the positive terminal of said silicon controlled rectifier being connected to the positive input terminal of said first OP AMP IC and the negative terminal of said silicon controlled rectifier being connected to ground;

the output side of the photo thyristor coupler which has an input connected to said first OP AMP IC being directly coupled to a node between an A terminal of said fluorescent starter and the collectors of a said darlington circuit;

the input side of another photo coupler connected to the negative input terminal of said second OP AMP IC being directly coupled to two opposite ends of a time constant capacitor of said fluorescent lamp, said time constant capacitor being directly coupled in series to a voltage drop resistor.

6. A fluorescent device comprising an electronic fluorescent starter, a phase leading capacitor, a ballast, a bridge rectifier circuit, a fluorescent lamp, a brightness compensation circuit, and a control circuit, wherein the two AC terminals of said bridge rectifier circuit are connected to an output terminal of said ballast, the positive terminal of said bridge rectifier circuit being directly coupled to a first end of said fluorescent lamp, the negative terminal of said bridge rectifier circuit being directly coupled to a second end of said fluorescent lamp.

7. A fluorescent device comprising an electronic fluorescent starter, a phase leading capacitor, a ballast, a bridge rectifier circuit, a fluorescent lamp, a brightness compensation circuit, and a control circuit, wherein said brightness compensation circuit comprises a high voltage capacitor, a relay, and a voltage capacitor circuit comprising an OP AMP IC, said high voltage capacitor being a pulse voltage capacitor connected in series to the normally open contact point of said relay and then connected to the first and second terminals of said fluorescent lamp, the capacitance of said high voltage capacitor being dependent upon the desired intensity of light from said fluorescent lamp, said relay comprising at least one normally open contact point;

said OP AMP IC of said voltage comparator circuit comprising an output terminal, a positive input terminal and a negative input terminal, the positive input terminal of said voltage comparator circuit being directly coupled to a node between two shunt resistors having one end connected to the output terminal of a three-terminal voltage regulator and an opposite end directly coupled ground, the negative terminal of said OP AMP IC of said voltage comparator circuit being directly coupled to a node between two other shunt resistors having one end directly coupled to the N junction of a half wave rectifier diode and an opposite end directly coupled to ground, the output terminal of said OP AMP IC of said voltage comparator circuit being directly coupled to one end of two additional shunt resistors, a node between said two additional shunt resistors being directly coupled to the base of a transistor and an opposite end of said two additional shunt resistors being directly coupled to ground, the collector and emitter of said transistor being respectively and directly coupled to a coil of said rely and ground.

8. A fluorescent device comprising an electronic fluorescent starter, a phase leading capacitor, a ballast, a fluorescent lamp, a brightness compensation circuit, and a control circuit, wherein said brightness compensation circuit includes a high voltage capacitor, one end of said high voltage capacitor being connected to one end of an output terminal of said ballast, an opposite end of said high voltage capacitor being connected to one end of a normally open contact of a relay, the opposite end of the normally open contact of said relay being connected to the opposite end of the output terminal of said ballast permitting said high voltage capacitor and the normally open contact of said relay to be connected into a series circuit having two opposite ends connected to the two ends of the output terminal of said ballast, the high voltage capacitor and the normally open contact of said relay being connected into a series circuit having two opposite ends connected to two opposite ends of said fluorescent lamp, said electronic fluorescent starter comprising a bridge rectifier.

9. A fluorescent device comprising an electronic fluorescent starter, a phase leading capacitor, a ballast, a bridge rectifier circuit, a fluorescent lamp, a brightness compensation circuit, and a control circuit, wherein the brightness compensation circuit comprises a time constant resistor, a time constant capacitor, a first zener diode, a base resistor, a transistor, a relay, a second zener diode, a filter capacitor, and a high voltage capacitor, said time constant resistor having one end directly coupled to a positive terminal of a power supply and an opposite end directly coupled to the positive terminal of said time constant capacitor and the N junction of said first zener diode, the negative terminal of said time constant capacitor being directly coupled to a negative terminal of the power supply, the P junction of said first zener diode being directly coupled to the base of said transistor and one end of said base resistor, the opposite end of said base resistor being directly coupled to the negative terminal of the power supply, the emitter of said transistor being directly coupled to the negative terminal of said power supply, the collector of said transistor being directly coupled to one end of a coil of said relay, the opposite end of the coil of said relay being directly coupled to the N junction of said second zener diode, the positive terminal of said filter capacitor and one end of a voltage drop resistor, the P junction of said second zener diode and the negative terminal of said filter capacitor being directly coupled to the negative terminal of said power supply, an opposite end of said voltage drop resistor being directly coupled to the positive terminal of the power supply, a normally open contact of said relay having one end directly coupled to one end of a tungsten filament of said fluorescent lamp and an opposite end directly coupled to one end of said high voltage capacitor, the opposite end of said high voltage capacitor being directly coupled to an opposite end of the tungsten filament of said fluorescent lamp.

10. A fluorescent brightness compensation device comprising a voltage reset circuit including shunt resistors, a zener diode and a transistor;

a time constant resistor;

a time constant capacitor;

a brightness compensation circuit; and

a mechanical fluorescent starter, said voltage reset circuit and said time constant resistor and said time constant capacitor being directly coupled together, said time constant resistor and said time constant capacitor and said brightness compensation circuit being directly coupled together, a contact of a relay of said brightness compensation circuit having one end directly coupled to one end of a tungsten filament of a fluorescent lamp, an opposite contact of said relay being directly coupled to one end of said high voltage capacitor, the opposite end of said high voltage capacitor being directly coupled to an opposite end of the tungsten filament of said fluorescent lamp, the mechanical fluorescent starter having one end directly coupled to said high voltage capacitor and an opposite end directly coupled to another opposite contact of said relay, said high voltage capacitor and said relay being connected in parallel when a coil of said relay is triggered, the contact of said relay being a C type contact, said mechanical fluorescent starter being connected through the contacts of said relay in parallel to the two opposite ends of the tungsten filaments of said fluorescent lamp during the heating and ignition process of said fluorescent lamp, said high voltage capacitor being connected through the contacts of said relay in parallel to the two opposite ends of the tungsten filaments after completion of the ignition process of said fluorescent lamp, said shunt resistors being connected into a series circuit having one end connected to the N junction of a half wave rectifier diode, a node between said shunt resistors being directly coupled to the N junction of said zener diode, and an opposite end of said shunt resistors directly coupled to the negative terminal of a power supply, the P junction of said zener diode being directly coupled to the base of the transistor of said voltage reset circuit.

11. An electronic fluorescent starter comprising a voltage reset circuit, an ignition circuit, and a master switch circuit, said ignition circuit comprising a time constant resistor, a time constant capacitor, a one-way diode and a first transistor, said master switch circuit comprising a gate resistor, a POWER MOSFET or IGBT and a diode, said voltage reset circuit comprising a zener diode, a shunt circuit formed of two resistors, a π

type filter circuit, and a second transistor, said zener diode being connected in series to said resistors of the shunt circuit, the output terminal of said π

type filter circuit being connected across the base and emitter of said second transistor, the collector of said second transistor being directly coupled to a node between the time constant resistor and the time constant capacitor of said ignition circuit, said time constant resistor and said time constant capacitor being connected in series so that said node between said time constant capacitor and said time a constant resistor is coupled to the collector of said second transistor and the P junction of said one-way diode, the N junction of said one-way diode being directly coupled to the base of said first transistor, the emitter of said first transistor being directly coupled to the negative terminal of a power supply, the collector of said first transistor being directly coupled to the gate of the POWER MOSFET of said master switch circuit, one end of said gate resistor and the drain of said POWER MOSFET being directly coupled to a positive terminal of said power supply, the opposite end of said gate resistor being directly coupled to the gate terminal of said POWER MOSFET and the collector of the first transistor, the source of said POWER MOSFET being directly coupled to the P junction of said diode of the master switch circuit, the N junction of said diode of the master switch circuit being directly coupled to the negative terminal of the power supply, the π

type filter circuit being arranged so as to convert rectified AC power into a DC power supply.