Gas discharge lamp power supply

• US 7,876,543 B2
• Filed: 10/20/2006
• Issued: 01/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/28/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: France/
• Original Assignee: France/
• Inventors: Banks, Anthony W., Towe, Robert L., Hopkins, William T., Smith, Alan M., Pickvet, Louis B., Schlemm, Charles A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo; Tuyet Thi
• Application Number:
  US11/551,481
• Publication Number:
  US 20070041202A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,558 Days
• Field of Search: 361/38, 361/42, 361/35, 361 54- 57, 361 63- 67, 361/88, 361/90, 361/91.1, 361/91.4, 361/91.5
• US Class Current: 361/88
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 41/00 Circuit arrangements or apparatus for igniting or operating discharge lamps structurally associated with the discharge lamps H01J61/54, H01J61/56

Abstract

A gas discharge lamp power supply having a base, a pair of opposed side walls extending from the base, and opposed first and second end walls extending from the base between the opposed side walls. The first end wall has a sloped wall extending angularly between the side walls, and two input terminals are mounted on the sloped wall. In another embodiment, the power supply has a control with a nonvolatile memory for storing an error code in response to a detected fault condition, thereby permitting the error code to be displayed upon power being removed from and then, subsequently reapplied.

Claims

1. A gas discharge lamp power supply comprising:

a transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding;

input terminals connectable to the primary winding and adapted to be connected to a source of electrical power;

output terminals connected to the secondary winding and adapted to be connected to a gas discharge lamp;

a fault detection circuit providing an error signal in response to detecting a fault condition, wherein the fault detection circuit is connected to a chassis and the error signal is produced in response to detecting a current flow in the chassis;

a control comprising a nonvolatile memory, the control storing an error code in the nonvolatile memory in response to the error signal, and

an error indicator connected to the control and being activated by the control in response to the error signal.

2. The power supply of claim 1 wherein the control disconnects the source of electrical power from the primary winding in response to the error signal.

3. The power supply of claim 1 wherein the fault detection circuit comprises a ground fault detection circuit connected to the secondary winding and the error signal represents a secondary ground fault interrupt.