Patent ID: 6472827
Filing Date: 2002-10-29
Classification: H03K,H05B,Y02B,Y10S

Abstract:
An arrangement comprising:an ordinary electric utility AC power line operable to provide an AC power line voltage at a pair of AC power line terminals; a voltage conditioning circuit having a set of AC input terminals drawing an AC input current and being operative to provide a DC supply voltage at a pair of DC supply terminals; the magnitude of the DC supply voltage being substantially constant; an inverter circuit having a pair of DC input terminals and a pair of AC output terminals; the inverter circuit being characterized in that its pair of DC input terminals draws a DC current and its AC output terminals supplies an AC output voltage; the AC output voltage being of a frequency substantially higher than that of the AC power line voltage and having a waveform consisting of sinusoidally-shaped half-cycles of voltage of alternating polarity; the waveform having a repetition period and being substantially sinusoidal except for a distinct discontinuity occurring over a brief period during each repetition period at or near each point-in-time where the instantaneous magnitude of the AC output voltage changes polarity; said brief period being substantially shorter than half of the duration of one of said half-cycles; the inverter circuit being further characterized by including two periodically conducting transistors, one of which is always conducting; a gas discharge lamp; the equivalent of an inductive impedance; and the equivalent of a reactive impedance; the arrangement being inter-connected such that: (1) the AC input terminals are connected with the AC power line terminals; (2) the DC input terminals are connected with the DC output terminals by way of said equivalent of an inductive impedance; and (3) the lamp and said equivalent of a reactive impedance are series-connected across the AC output terminals.