Multiple-input electronic ballast with processor
First Claim
1. An electronic ballast for driving a gas discharge lamp, comprising:
- an inverter for producing a high frequency drive voltage for driving a lamp current in said gas discharge lamp, said drive voltage having an operating frequency and an operating duty cycle;
a microprocessor electrically connected to said inverter for directly controlling said inverter to control said lamp current, said microprocessor operable to provide an output signal to said inverter, such that said operating frequency and said operating duty cycle of said drive voltage are substantially the same as a frequency and a duty cycle of said output signal; and
a port in electrical communication with said microprocessor for sending a first message from said microprocessor comprising at least one command and for sending a second message from said microprocessor comprising at least one ballast configuration onto a communication link operable to connect said electronic ballast to at least one other electronic ballast connected to said communication link, wherein;
said microprocessor is operable to send the first message to said at least one other electronic ballast to control the operation of said at least one other electronic ballast, and to send the second message to said at least one other electronic ballast to inform said at least one other electronic ballast of its configuration to enable said at least one other electronic ballast to use said ballast configuration message to adjust its operation.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Reexamination
Accused Products
Abstract
A ballast having a microprocessor embedded therein is controlled via four inputs. The ballast includes a high-voltage phase-controlled signal provided by a dimmer and an infrared (IR) receiver through which the ballast can receive data signals from an IR transmitter. The ballast can also receive commands from other ballasts or a master control on the serial digital communication link, such as a DALI protocol link. The fourth input is an analog signal, which is simply a DC signal that linearly ranges in value from a predetermined lower limit to a predetermined upper limit, corresponding to the 0% to 100% dimming range of the load. The output stage of the ballast includes one or more FETs, which are used to control the current flow to the lamp. Based on these inputs, the microprocessor makes a decision on the intensity levels of the load and directly drives the FETs in the output stage.
168 Citations
30 Claims
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1. An electronic ballast for driving a gas discharge lamp, comprising:
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an inverter for producing a high frequency drive voltage for driving a lamp current in said gas discharge lamp, said drive voltage having an operating frequency and an operating duty cycle; a microprocessor electrically connected to said inverter for directly controlling said inverter to control said lamp current, said microprocessor operable to provide an output signal to said inverter, such that said operating frequency and said operating duty cycle of said drive voltage are substantially the same as a frequency and a duty cycle of said output signal; and a port in electrical communication with said microprocessor for sending a first message from said microprocessor comprising at least one command and for sending a second message from said microprocessor comprising at least one ballast configuration onto a communication link operable to connect said electronic ballast to at least one other electronic ballast connected to said communication link, wherein; said microprocessor is operable to send the first message to said at least one other electronic ballast to control the operation of said at least one other electronic ballast, and to send the second message to said at least one other electronic ballast to inform said at least one other electronic ballast of its configuration to enable said at least one other electronic ballast to use said ballast configuration message to adjust its operation. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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2. An electronic ballast for driving at least one gas discharge lamp, comprising:
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an inverter circuit producing a high frequency drive voltage for driving a lamp current in said at least one gas discharge lamp, said drive voltage having an operating frequency and an operating duty cycle; a microprocessor connected to said inverter, said microprocessor directly controlling said inverter to control said lamp current to a desired level, said microprocessor operable to provide an output signal to said inverter, such that said operating frequency and said operating duty cycle of said drive voltage are substantially the same as a frequency and a duty cycle of said output signal; and at least two ports connected to said microprocessor, each of said ports being capable of at least one of sending and receiving messages comprising at least one of a command and a ballast configuration, at least two ports connected to said microprocessor, wherein; a first one of said at least two ports is adapted to be coupled to a digital communication link, said digital communication link operable to connect said electronic ballast to at least one other electronic ballast, said first port transmitting on to said digital communication link a ballast configuration message to inform said at least one other electronic ballast of the ballast configuration of said electronic ballast to enable said at least one other electronic ballast to adjust its operation based on said ballast configuration; a second one of said at least two ports is adapted to receive a ballast control signal from a remote transmitter or a sensor to control operation of said electronic ballast, said microprocessor receiving said ballast control signal; and said microprocessor is operable to send a command over said digital communication link to said at least one other electronic ballast to control the operation of said at least one other electronic ballast in response to receiving said ballast control signal. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification