Patent ID: 8054003

Claim:
An electronic ballast for operating a lamp (L) with a class E converter (T 1 , L 1 ) having a switching element (T 1 ) for supplying power to the lamp (L) to be connected, an output current of the class E converter (T 1 , L 1 ), when the lamp (L) is connected and once the switching element (T 1 ) has switched off, having a first and a second half-cycle of opposite polarity, characterized in that the electronic ballast has a measurement apparatus for measuring the output current and a regulating apparatus for setting a switch-on time of the switching element (T 1 ), the measurement apparatus being designed to determine a first output current value of the first half-cycle and a second output current value of the second half-cycle, and the regulating apparatus for setting the switch-on time being supplied a controlled variable based on the discrepancy between the two output current values.