...Daniel Webster invented a "bull plow" to pull out tree stumps. It didn't catch on because it was huge and required four oxen to pull it!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7368882 | Self-contained, self-snubbed, HID dimming module that exhibits non-zero crossing detection switching A protection circuit for an HID dimming circuit is provided. A resistive component limits the initial current after a relay closes and current flows from a charged capacitor to a second capacitor. An inductive component limits the rate of change of current through t... | 05/06/2008 |
| 7358680 | Bistate HID operation Bi-state power operation of an HID lamp system. A power mode control selection determined where a high power mode and a low power mode are selectable. A modulation is determined to generate a driving signal based on the determined power mode control selection. A dri... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7355300 | Solid state turbine engine ignition exciter having elevated temperature operational capability A turbine engine ignition exciter circuit applies energy stored in the exciter tank capacitor to the load (igniter plug) through a thyristor type semiconductor switching device that minimizes leakage current at elevated operating temperatures. The semiconductor swit... | 04/08/2008 |
| 7339330 | Methods and circuits for instant hot restart of high intensity discharge lamps A lamp ballast for operating a high intensity discharge lamp includes an electronic ballast circuit to supply an operating voltage to the discharge lamp, and an igniter circuit to supply starting pulses to the discharge lamp in a cold state and to supply hot restrik... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7339178 | Device for the photometric measurement of the content of a chemical substance in an analyte A device for photometric measurement of the concentration of a chemical substance in a solution, including: a lamp, which emits electromagnetic radiation in a predetermined wavelength range; a first receiving unit in a measuring branch (MB), which receives the radia... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7315130 | Switching control for inverter startup and shutdown An electronic ballast circuit for a lamp is described, wherein the ballast comprises a power factor correction circuit coupled to an inverter circuit. The inverter circuit is further coupled to a trigger circuit, which is in turn operatively connected to a hot or ne... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7291988 | Electronic high intensity discharge lamp driver A high intensity discharge (HID) driver for a HID lamp which can be used as a HID ballast is provided. The HID driver at least includes an input processor connected to an input power for suppressing a transient and in in-rush current of the input power, a main drive... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7256548 | Electric circuit for igniting a discharge lamp, and electric component module and discharge lamp incorporating such an electric circuit An electric circuit for igniting a discharge lamp includes a voltage source, and at least one condenser electrically connected to the voltage source. Further, a series chain is provided, electrically connected in parallel with the condenser, of at least one ignition... | 08/14/2007 |
| 7245085 | Lamp fault detector The continuity of a series-wired, lamp circuit is restored after interruption caused by failure of a lamp filament by providing a control relay that is wired in parallel with each lamp. A power resistor having a resistive load substantially the same as that of a lam... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7235931 | Discharge lamp lighting apparatus for lighting multiple discharge lamps In a discharge lamp lighting apparatus to light two discharge lamps, one terminal of the secondary side of a step-up transformer is connected to one terminal of each of the two discharge lamps, the other terminal of each of the two discharge lamps is connected, via ... | 06/26/2007 |
| 7190124 | Two-wire dimmer with power supply and load protection circuit in the event of switch failure A dimmer circuit provides AC power to an inductive lighting load in series with the dimmer circuit. A bidirectional semiconductor switch has a control electrode with a control signal for determining the power provided to the load. The switch in normal operation is c... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7180251 | Electronic power circuit for gas discharge lamps An input dc-voltage, usually obtained from an AC-mains voltage through a pre-connected rectifier and Power Factor Corrector, is converted by a series connection of two power transistors to an ac-voltage, which, via an LC section is presented to a gas discharge lamp.... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7180943 | Compression of a data stream by selection among a set of compression tools A stream of raw data is compressed prior to transmission in a communication channel by a system which includes modules for choosing a current segment of the raw data stream for processing and defining a set of operators for representing data segments by a mathematic... | 02/20/2007 |
| 7141933 | Systems and methods for a transformer configuration for driving multiple gas discharge tubes in parallel An apparatus and methods for balancing current in multiple negative impedance gas discharge lamp loads. Embodiments advantageously include balancing transformer configurations that are relatively cost-effective, reliable, efficient, and good performing. Embodiments ... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7126806 | Control arrangement for mains-operated apparatuses that are supplied with a low voltage and provided with a mains activation device A control arrangement for apparatuses (1) with several functional actuators operated with a low voltage and supplied by a mains-operated transformer (2) provided with a mains activation device. A manually actuated switching unit (3) consolidated... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7122954 | Electro-optical device, method of manufacturing the same, and electronic apparatus The present invention provides an electro-optical device and a method of manufacturing the same capable of suppressing an influence due to an irregularity of a switching element or a wiring line on a functional element. An organic EL apparatus can include on a subst... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7113251 | Apparatus and exposure mask having cylindrical bending prevention member for forming a liquid crystal fence In a backlight assembly, an assembled substrate on which a spacer including a light-curable material is formed is disposed on a base body and a light supply unit disposed on the base body provides a light to the assembled substrate so as to cure the spacer. An expos... | 09/26/2006 |
| 7109665 | Three-way dimming CFL ballast A three-way dimming CFL ballast operates at a single high bus voltage while varying switching frequency to control lamp current. The ballast accepts three different light level input switch command positions and an off position to provide three different light outpu... | 09/19/2006 |
| 7081709 | Method and apparatus for lighting a discharge lamp A reliable and efficient circuit for lighting a discharge lamp is described. An inverter accepts a direct current supply voltage and outputs an alternating current lamp voltage to drive the discharge lamp at a relatively high frequency. In one embodiment, the invert... | 07/25/2006 |
| 7061183 | Zigzag topology for balancing current among paralleled gas discharge lamps An apparatus and methods for balancing current in multiple negative impedance gas discharge lamp loads. Embodiments advantageously include balancing transformer configurations that are relatively cost-effective, reliable, and efficient. Embodiments include configura... | 06/13/2006 |
| 7042204 | Voltage source and current source with capacitor In a voltage source according to the present invention, a switching transistor (Q1) is turned on when the voltage of an electrolytic capacitor (C1) exceeds a predefined positive voltage level (E1), to keep the electrolytic capacitor (C1) ... | 05/09/2006 |
| 7038390 | Lamp control system A method and apparatus are provided for reducing the stable lamp standby power to the order of 5% of nominal full power in order to reduce the effects of heat from the lamp on a substrate during production downtime. In particular, a power controller changes the oper... | 05/02/2006 |
| 6999492 | Reduced-maintenance excimer laser with oil-free solid state pulser An oil-free pulser design can be used to produce an excimer or molecular fluorine laser system that is lighter, cheaper to produce, and simpler than existing systems. Such designs allow a relatively low DC voltage to be applied to a main transformer, allowing the pu... | 02/14/2006 |
| 6940230 | Modular lamp controller Methods, apparatus, and systems are provided concerning modular lamp controllers. In one embodiment, a modular lamp controller dims a high intensity discharge lamp based upon occupancy. The lamp has a port within its fixture, and the port is coupled to a lamp capaci... | 09/06/2005 |
| 6894439 | Portable power converter pack A portable power converter comprising input means to receive low voltage DC input, voltage converter means for converting the low voltage DC input into high DC voltage output, the voltage converter means in electrical communication with the input means, output means... | 05/17/2005 |
| 6856101 | Method and apparatus for switching of parallel capacitors in an HID bi-level dimming system using voltage suppression Switching of parallel capacitors in an HID bi-level lighting control system is accomplished through use of transient voltage suppression across an electronic relay for discharge of residual charge from a switched capacitor when combined peak voltage exceeds clamping... | 02/15/2005 |
| 6833678 | Circuit arrangement for operating discharge lamps Circuit arrangement for operating discharge lamps (LP), having the following features: A power factor correction device (PFC) provides an intermediate circuit voltage; an inverter (INV), which draws its power from the intermediate circuit voltage, outputs power to d... | 12/21/2004 |
| 6590349 | Bidirectional flip-flop A bidirectional switch, including a first bidirectional switch between two power terminals of the switch, a low-voltage storage element between a first power terminal and a control terminal of the switch, and a control stage adapted to cause, upon each ha... | 07/08/2003 |
| 6518713 | Method of illuminating incandescent lamp, and circuit for illuminating the same An incandescent lamp 12 and a MOSFET 14 are connected in series with a power supply. A capacitor 164 is interposed between the gate G of the MOSFET 14 and a reference potential. Electric charges are gradually stored in the capacitor 164, thereby gradually... | 02/11/2003 |
| 6448950 | Energy efficient resonant switching electroluminescent display driver A driving circuit for powering an electroluminescent display using energy recovered from a varying panel capacitance of the display. The driving circuit comprises a source of electrical energy; and a resonant circuit using the panel capacitance for receiv... | 09/10/2002 |
| 6407507 | Personal electronic device having EL lamp and buzzer powered from a single inductor A personal electronic device includes and inverter having a single inductor for powering an EL lamp and a buzzer. The lamp and the buzzer are coupled together to the output of the inverter and are in parallel with each other or are coupled in series betwe... | 06/18/2002 |
| 6396220 | Lamp ignition with compensation for parasitic loading capacitance A ballast for powering a gaseous discharge lamp that has a required minimum ignition voltage and a permissible maximum ignition voltage. Via a cable through which ignition voltage pulses are delivered to the lamp. The ballast has a first state of operatio... | 05/28/2002 |
| 6356027 | 0-10V dimming interface protection circuit A 0-10V dimming interface protection circuit generating an indication that line voltage is applied across first and second leads of the dimming interface controlling light output by a lamp, includes a first device for limiting current serially connected b... | 03/12/2002 |
| 6225757 | Combination MH/HPS ballast A combination electronic ballast designed to operate a metal halide lamp and a high-pressure sodium gas discharge lamp is disclosed. The ballast includes a primary and secondary coil coupled to a magnetic core. The primary is adapted to be connected to an... | 05/01/2001 |
| 6198232 | Discharge lamp circuit with dual ignition coils A ballast circuit for a compact fluorescent lamp includes a down-converter for operating the lamp with a DC current during stationary operation. The ballast circuit is equipped with an additional inductor. The choke of the down-converter and the additiona... | 03/06/2001 |
| 6191538 | High-pressure discharge lamp having a base at one end and a starting device integrated in the base The invention relates to a high-pressure discharge lamp having a base at one end and whose return conductor (13) is protected with the aid of a bidirectional trigger (D) against high induced voltages of the radio interference suppression reactor (L1) conn... | 02/20/2001 |
| 6181082 | Ballast power control circuit A ballast circuit for energizing a lamp includes an inductive element coupled to an input terminal and a capacitive element coupled to the inductive element in parallel with the lamp. In one embodiment, the capacitive element includes a plurality of capac... | 01/30/2001 |
| 6151560 | Open circuit failure monitoring apparatus for controlled electrical resistance heaters An open circuit failure monitoring apparatus for controlled electrical resistance heaters is disclosed. The heater failure monitoring apparatus allows controlled electrical resistance heaters to be continuously monitored for open circuit failures without ... | 11/21/2000 |
| 6114816 | Lighting control system for discharge lamps A lighting control system for discharge lamps which comprises a ballast for supplying energy from a power source to a lamp. First and second capacitors and a first control relay and contact set control the supply of energy from the ballast to the lamp to ... | 09/05/2000 |
| 6104147 | Pulse generator and discharge lamp lighting device using same A pulse generator for a stable output pulse voltage obtains a high voltage pulse with a charge accumulated in a capacitor and discharged at a discharge gap made ON, wherein a pulse energy source and a trigger source for conduction of the discharge gap are... | 08/15/2000 |