DEVICE AND METHOD OF OPERATING GAS-DISCHARGE LAMPS Russian patent published in 2010 - IPC H05B41/392 

FIELD: physics.

SUBSTANCE: device consists of a half-bridge circuit which has upper and lower electronic switches which are connected in series, each having a control terminal and form a middle point at their point of connection which is connected to a load circuit. The load circuit has a reactive loop with resonance frequency to which the lamp is connected. The load circuit such parametres that, in normal mode for connecting the lamp after opening one electronic switch across the other electronic switch after recharge time becomes zero. The device has a feedback circuit which links the feedback quantity from the load circuit to the control terminals of the electronic switches such that they are switched alternately. The device has a break point unit which is connected to the control terminals of the electronic switches and has an input to which the stop signal is applied, where the breakpoint unit prevents the electron switches to switch on until the stop signal is in off state. The device has a timer which is connected to the input of the breakpoint unit and outputs a stop signal which can assume the on state and the off state. The device has a trigger unit which can output a trigger signal on a timer respectively at the end of recharging time, but not later than a time moment when the load current becomes zero. The timer includes a stop signal in on state if is receives a trigger signal and stores the on state for a long switching time. Owing to duration of switching time, frequency of oscillation of the said half-bridge inverter can be tuned. That way it is possible to control operating parametres of the lamp.

EFFECT: control of the half-bridge inverter is only possible during switching using the break point unit.

14 cl, 4 dwg