Rejecting noise transients while turning off a fluorescent lamp using a starter unit

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United States of America Patent

PATENT NO 8541960
APP PUB NO 20110291581A1
SERIAL NO

12802090

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Abstract

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A local minimum of a current monitoring signal is identified by a starter unit that turns off a fluorescent lamp without using a wall switch. Closing a main switch in the starter unit stops an illuminating current from flowing through a gas in the lamp. The local minimum of the current monitoring signal is reached when an increasing valid sample is identified following four valid samples. A sample is valid if it does not differ from the preceding valid sample by more than a threshold difference based on known properties of the signal. By skipping invalid samples, the local minimum is accurately determined to have been reached despite transient noise spikes in the signal that would trip any voltage threshold used to locate the local minimum. When the main switch is opened at a predetermined time after the local minimum, the illuminating current does not again flow through the gas.

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Patent Owner(s)

Patent OwnerAddress
ZILOG INC6800 SANTA TERESA BLVD SAN JOSE CA 95119

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Inventor(s)

Inventor Name Address # of filed Patents Total Citations
Ball, Roger Seattle, US 9 221
Khalsa, Kamlapati San Jose, US 9 43

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