Patent ID: 7193372

Claim:
An electronic ballast for a lamp ( 16 ) having an input circuit ( 10 ) having a connection to a voltage supply, an output circuit ( 14 ) having a connection for the lamp ( 16 ), and a voltage converter apparatus ( 12 ), which is arranged between the input and the output circuit ( 10 , 14 ), the voltage converter apparatus comprising an input capacitor (C 1 ) and an output capacitor (C 2 ), between which a switching apparatus (T 1 ) and a freewheeling diode (D 1 ) and an inductance (L 1 ) are arranged, the voltage converter apparatus ( 12 ) being designed to carry out commutation, in each case a main circuit being defined by the current flow prior to and following commutation, wherein the voltage converter apparatus in characterized by further including a series circuit comprising a damping element (L 2 ) and a trapezoidal capacitor (C 3 ), wherein the series circuit is coupled in parallel with one of: (i) the switching apparatus (T 1 ); and (ii) the freewheeling diode (D 1 ).