Appeal No. 96-0447
Application No. 08/145,731
This is a decision on appeal from the final rejection of
claims 3, 5 and 9 through 18, all of the claims remaining in
the application.
The invention pertains to an electronic ballast circuit
for starting and operating high intensity discharge (HID)
lamps and is best illustrated by reference to independent
claim 12, reproduced as follows:
12. An electronic ballast circuit including a starting
circuit and an operator circuit for starting and operating a
high intensity discharge lamp from a low voltage AC power
source, said operating circuit comprising:
first circuit means for storing a first voltage at a
first energy level wherein said first circuit means provides
an output to a high intensity discharge lamp and wherein said
first voltage at said first energy level functions to lower an
impedance of said lamp;
second circuit means including a second means for storing
a second voltage at second energy level and providing an
output pulse at said second energy level to said lamp in order
to operate said lamp; and
diode matrixing means connected between said first and
second circuit means for causing said second energy level
pulse to bypass said first circuit means during a half-cycle
operation of said source and immediately following the
lowering of said lamp impedance during said half-cycle,
wherein said first circuit means for storing said first
voltage and said second circuit means for storing said second
voltage are selected so that a value of said first energy
level is of the same order of magnitude as a value of said
second energy level.
The examiner relies on the following references:
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Last modified: November 3, 2007