Abstract: An electronic ballast circuit for powering a gas discharge lamp is networked with other ballast circuits to provide large scale lighting control on a local or remote basis. The ballast has an interface connectable to a standard PC for receiving commands and obtaining query information. The ballasts can be controlled individually or in groups. The ballast control also can download lighting profiles to a microcontroller in the ballast, and can support lighting control protocols including the DALI standard.

Abstract: A cathode ray tube (CRT) has an electron gun including a cathode for emitting electron beams, a control electrode for controlling emission of the electron beams from the cathode, and a screen electrode for accelerating the flow of the electron beams passing the control electrode are arranged in series. In the CRT, during a scanning period, a voltage applied to at least one of the control electrode and the screen electrode changes in response to a voltage of a data signal applied to the cathode. The control electrode and screen electrode each include three mutually electrically insulated sections for independently controlling each of three electron beams passing through the electrodes.

Abstract: A ballast (100) includes an inverter (140,144,146) and a protection circuit that prevents excessive lamp-to-earth-ground fault current. The protection circuit includes a transformer (202,204,206,208,210) and an inverter disable circuit (300). The transformer measures a first current going out of one set of ballast output terminals (106,108) and a second current going into another set of ballast output terminals (206,208). In response to a substantial imbalance between the first current and the second current, inverter disable circuit (300) terminates inverter switching. Preferably, protection circuit further includes a restart timer circuit (400) that, following termination of inverter switching in response to a fault condition, prevents the inverter from restarting for a predetermined delay period.

Abstract: Low-pressure gas discharge lamp provided with a discharge vessel (1) enclosing a discharge space provided with a gas filling in a gastight manner, the discharge vessel (1) having tubular end portions each with a capacitive coupling element (2) made from an electrically insulating material for producing and maintaining a discharge in the discharge space. The lamp is structurally confined to prevent the occurrence of (hair) cracks in a wall of the discharge vessel as a result of piezoelectric properties of the electrically insulating material.

Abstract: A discharge lamp lighting circuit 1 has a DC-DC conversion circuit 3 for receiving DC power supply and converting the input voltage into positive and negative output voltages and a DC-AC conversion circuit 4 having a plurality of half bridges for receiving the output voltages of the DC-DC conversion circuit and outputting either positive or negative voltage. It is provided with an anomaly detection circuit 8, if the positive and negative output voltages or the output voltages of the half bridges become lower than a threshold value, for determining that a failure occurs in any of the components making up the half bridge. A command is issued for turning off the components of the half bridge wherein the failure occurs, and the operation of the DC-DC conversion circuit 3 corresponding to the voltage polarity to be output by the half bridge is stopped.

Abstract: A drive current having a peak current, for driving an organic EL display panel, is generated by generating the peak current in output side transistors of a current mirror circuit having a plurality of input side transistors by driving one of the input side transistors with a predetermined current and reducing an output current of the output side transistors from the peak current to a steady current by reducing the drive current per one input side transistor by branching the predetermined current to the other input side transistors connected in parallel to the one input side transistor.

Abstract: An inverter circuit for ballasting a gas discharge lamp having a delay circuit designed to delay regenerative control of the inverter switches until a d.c. bus has attained steady-state operating d.c. voltage. The inverter circuit includes a drive control circuit for inducing an a.c. load current. The inverter circuit includes first and second complementary switches serially connected between the bus and a reference bus. The switches are connected together at a common node through which the a.c. load current flows. A driving inductor is connected at one end to the common node and operatively connected at the remaining end to a control node. A load circuit includes a resonant inductor connected at one end to the common node, with the resonant inductor mutually coupled to the driving inductor. A resonant capacitor is serially connected between the remaining end of the resonant inductor and the reference bus. The gas discharge lamp is serially connected with a d.c.

Abstract: The main purpose of the present invention is to suppress deposition of byproducts on an inner wall of a vacuum chamber during wafer processing using plasma generated by an inductive coupling antenna and an electrostatic capacitive coupling antenna which are connected in series at a connection point. Deposition of byproducts on the inner wall of the vacuum chamber can be suppressed by grounding the connection point of the inductive coupling antenna and the electrostatic capacitive coupling antenna via a variable-impedance load and varying an impedance of the variable-impedance load, thereby controlling a ratio of plasma produced in the chamber by electrostatic capacitive coupling discharge.

Abstract: An electro-optical device is provided having a pixel portion with a novel structure, and in which display irregularities such as crosstalk, which develop due to a drop in voltage caused by the wiring resistance of electric current supply lines in an electro-optical device, are improved upon. Attention is drawn to the fact that during a period in which write in of a signal to a pixel from a signal line is not performed, a signal is not input to a source signal line and to a gate signal line, but are at a fixed electric potential. An electric current supply line and a source signal line, or an electric current supply line and a gate signal line, are connected through a switching transistor. A signal is input to a connection control line during a sustain period, and the connection transistor is made conductive. The source signal line or the gate signal line is therefore utilized as a pathway for supplying electric current to the EL element.

Abstract: An emergency ballast for a fluorescent lamp including a heater disposed adjacent the battery for maintaining the battery at a safe and effective operating temperature during the time which the lamp is powered by the normal AC power supply. Additionally, the ballast includes a charging control circuit which precludes charging of the battery when normal AC power is supplied to the ballast charging circuit during the time when the battery is below a temperature for safe and effective charging.

Abstract: A lighting system includes a fluorescent lamp 4 and a main body 1 for attaching the fluorescent lamp 4 thereto. The main body 1 is provided with a socket assembly 6 for the attachment of the fluorescent lamp 4, and an electronic ballast 7 for operating the fluorescent lamp 4 at dimmed levels (as well as at the full light level). The fluorescent lamp 4 is composed of a discharge tube formed of four U-shaped glass tubes that are connected together to form a square in plan view. Each glass tube has an inner diameter of 13.5 mm, and the discharge tube is filled with a rare gas containing neon and argon (at 50:50 ratio by volume). When operating the fluorescent lamp 4 at the full light level, the electronic ballast 7 applies the nominal lamp current of 0.43 A.

Abstract: A discharge lamp lighting device for lighting a discharge lamp includes an ignitor for applying a starting voltage to the discharge lamp at the time of starting and thus lighting the discharge lamp; a voltage detection circuit for detecting a voltage of the discharge lamp; and a current control circuit section for controlling a current supplied to the discharge lamp on the basis of the detection by the voltage detection circuit, wherein the current control circuit section, after ignition, starts controlling the current supplied to the discharge lamp on the basis of the detection result by the voltage detection circuit and continuously increases the current supplied to the discharge lamp at a predetermined rate. Thus, a discharge lamp lighting device which is inexpensive and highly reliable and enables a longer lifetime of the discharge lamp is provided.

Abstract: A small size output transformer is capable of stablely producing sine wave oscillation at high efficiency. A drive circuit including a switching circuit is connected to DC power source input units and output transformer is connected to the drive circuit. At the drive circuit, the switching circuit is turned on and off based on a feedback signal of a primary side resonance voltage induced in an input side primary winding of the output transformer. The energizing direction of the DC power source to the output transformer is changed in direction by the on and off of the switching circuit, and the power source is applied as an AC signal to the input side primary winding of the output transformer. A phase detecting circuit detects the phase of the resonance wave form at the primary side of the output transformer sand outputs the phase signal.

Abstract: An improved OLED color display device, in which a display pixel has a plurality of subpixels of different colors, wherein the areas of the subpixels are different in size based on the emission efficiency of the emissive elements and the chromaticity of a target display white point, thereby protecting the subpixels whose emission efficiency is low from prematurely deteriorating, wherein the improvement comprises the relative sizes of the subpixels being further based on the relative luminance stability over time of the subpixels, thereby further extending the useful lifetime of the display.

Abstract: In a luminescent display, when a shortcircuit between the transparent electrode 102 and the metal electrode 104 occurs and a defective pixel such as a pixel which does not luminesce or a luminescence-defective pixel is formed, repairing is performed so as to remove only a part B corresponding to the defective part, in the metal electrode 104 corresponding to the region which corresponds to the defective part, and in which the transparent electrode 102 and the metal electrode 104 intersect with each other. Therefore, a current flow between the metal electrode 104 and the transparent electrode 102 which face each other via an organic layer 103 is allowed by the metal electrode 104 in the remaining part A, thereby enabling the pixel and the subsequently scanned pixels to luminesce. The corresponding part of the metal electrode 104 is removed away by irradiating the part with a laser beam.

Abstract: A microwave oven includes a direct current (DC) power supply unit which supplies DC power to a magnetron so as to suppress noise induced in a high voltage line. The DC power supply unit includes at least one rectifying diode and a choke coil. The rectifying diode rectifies high frequency alternating current (AC) power generated by a heater coil into the DC power to suppress noise induced in the high voltage line of a high voltage transformer. The choke coil forms ripples in the DC power and effectively prevents a moding of the magnetron, which is generated where a constant DC voltage is supplied.

Abstract: A rod-core transformer for use as a starting transformer in the cap of a high-pressure discharge lamp for a motor vehicle headlight. The rod-core transformer has at least two cores (2, 3) which are in the form of rods and are arranged alongside one another, and on each of which a multilayer secondary winding (4, 5) is wound, with the respective layers (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) and (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) being connected in parallel and being arranged one above the other without any offset. Furthermore the secondary windings (4, 5) are electrically conductively connected to one another, with their total resistance being at most 2&OHgr;. The transformer is particularly highly suitable for use as a starting transformer for high-pressure discharge lamps with a low operating voltage, for example halogen metal-vapor high-pressure discharge lamps which do not contain mercury.

Abstract: A plasma display panel in which partition walls are formed to have different widths includes a front substrate and a rear substrate facing the front substrate. The front substrate includes sustain electrodes, a dielectric layer that covers the sustain electrodes, and a protective layer formed on the bottom of the dielectric layer. The rear substrate includes a address electrodes, partition walls formed parallel to the address electrodes discharge spaces therebetween, the partition walls having corresponding different widths. Red, green and blue phosphor layers are deposited on the corresponding insides of adjacent pairs of the partition walls.

Abstract: A high quality display panel using EL elements in which a limitation of drive circuit layout can be minimized while influences of variations in characteristics of circuit elements to be used and light emission operating errors (variations) of the EL elements which result from mixing of a noise into a signal supply line for supplying an image signal are reduced. A current setting system is employed as a drive system. A transistor having a large dynamic resistance characteristic with respect to a minute current is inserted between a voltage setting transistor for determining an injection current into the EL elements and a power source, thereby suppressing a variation in voltage between terminals of a capacitor which results from a noise mixed from the signal supply line.

Abstract: The piezoelectric transformer of the present invention has a piezoelectric element 109 mainly formed of a piezoelectric material, primary electrodes 101U and 101D which are formed on the piezoelectric element 109 and to which a voltage is applied, a secondary electrode 102 which is formed on the piezoelectric element 109 and from which a voltage higher than the voltage applied to the primary electrode is output, and a sensor electrode 103 which is formed on the piezoelectric element 109 and from which a voltage lower than the output voltage of the secondary electrode is output.