Abstract: A method for operating a fluorescent lamp which is connected to a series resonant circuit with a resonant circuit inductance and a resonant circuit capacitance. The method includes applying an excitation AC voltage at an excitation frequency to the series resonant circuit using a half bridge circuit, which has an output to which the series resonant circuit is coupled, and which has a first and a second switch which are alternately switched on and off on the basis of a frequency signal. A current flowing through the resonant circuit is monitored for the presence of a critical operating state. The switched-on times of the first and second switches are shortened in comparison to switched-on times which are predetermined by the frequency signal, upon detection of a critical operating state.

Abstract: A method for operating a fluorescent lamp which is connected to a series resonant circuit with a resonant circuit inductance and a resonant circuit capacitance. The method includes applying an excitation AC voltage at an excitation frequency to the series resonant circuit using a half bridge circuit, which has an output to which the series resonant circuit is coupled, and which has a first and a second switch which are alternately switched on and off on the basis of a frequency signal. A current flowing through the resonant circuit is monitored for the presence of a critical operating state. The switched-on times of the first and second switches are shortened in comparison to switched-on times which are predetermined by the frequency signal, upon detection of a critical operating state.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for diagnosing a half-bridge having a first and a second switching element. The method includes providing a half-bridge that has a first and a second switching element connected in series with each other. The first and the second switching element are driven on and off cyclically, with the switching elements during one drive cycle being alternatingly driven on and off such that they are alternatingly subject to a load current flowing therethrough. A current measuring signal is provided, representing a current flow through one of the switching elements. A first reference signal is provided. A first diagnostic signal is generated that is dependent on an integral of the measuring signal over a first integration period, and on an integral of a first reference signal over a second integration period.

Abstract: A switch-mode converter. One embodiment provides an inductive energy storage element. A rectifier arrangement is coupled to the inductive energy storage element for providing an output voltage. A switching arrangement regulates the inductive energy storage element on the basis of a control signal. A controller arrangement is configured to generate the control signal on the basis of the output voltage. The controller arrangement has a discrete-time band rejection filter and a frequency measuring arrangement.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for diagnosing a half-bridge having a first and a second switching element. The method includes providing a half-bridge that has a first and a second switching element connected in series with each other. The first and the second switching element are driven on and off cyclically, with the switching elements during one drive cycle being alternatingly driven on and off such that they are alternatingly subject to a load current flowing therethrough. A current measuring signal is provided, representing a current flow through one of the switching elements. A first reference signal is provided. A first diagnostic signal is generated that is dependent on an integral of the measuring signal over a first integration period, and on an integral of a first reference signal over a second integration period.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a device for controlling gas discharge lamps using a direct current/alternating current inverter (DC/AC inverter) that is operated at a predetermined frequency and that generates an AC output voltage U for operating the gas discharge lamps from a DC input voltage which has a residual ripple. According to the invention, the DC/AC inverter is operated in zero voltage switching (ZVS) mode, wherein the DC input voltage is used as the control variable for the lamp current IL, wherein fluctuations in the lamp current IL caused by the residual ripple of the DC input voltage are compensated by a variation in the switch-on times and/or switch-off times of the switching elements QH, QL of the DC/AC inverter.

Abstract: Disclosed is a circuit arrangement for determining a temporal change of an output voltage of a half-bridge circuit during a dead time. In one embodiment, the circuit arrangement includes a first input for applying the output voltage. A capacitive network is provided having a first and a second circuit node capacitively coupled to the input, and having a terminal for a reference potential. A recharging circuit is configured, during the switched-on phase of one of a first and second switching elements, to adjust electrical potentials of the first and second nodes, the electrical potentials each being different from the reference potential. A comparator arrangement is provided that is configured during the dead time to determine a time difference between such times at which the electrical potentials at the first and second node each assume a given potential value, the time difference being a measure for the change with time of the output voltage.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing electrical current to a lamp, detecting a power supply voltage outage, detecting a return of the power supply voltage, determining how long the power supply voltage outage lasted, and preheating the lamp responsive to determining that the power supply voltage outage lasted greater than a threshold amount of time.

Abstract: Disclosed is a signal transmitter including a primary winding, a first and at least one second secondary winding which are arranged at a distance from the primary winding in a first direction and are in each case inductively coupled to the primary winding, and each of which has at least two series-connected winding sections, with the at least two winding sections of each of the first and second secondary windings being arranged in at least two different winding levels, and a signal transmission apparatus having a signal transmitter such as this.

Abstract: For monitoring the operation of a gas discharge lamp operated with an AC voltage, a lamp voltage signal is generated which is dependent on the voltage dropped across the gas discharge lamp during operation. The lamp voltage signal is filtered with an attenuation that is different for a DC component and for a component having the frequency of the AC voltage, whereupon a positive and negative peak value of the filtered lamp voltage signal are determined. For monitoring the gas discharge lamp, an average value of the two peak values is determined and compared with a limit value, and a difference value between the two peak values is determined and compared with a limit value.

Abstract: A method is disclosed herein for transmitting data via a transmission path with at least two inductive transformers which respectively have a primary winding with a time constant and a secondary winding. The method comprises actuating the primary winding in order to transmit an information event by means of actuating signals such that the sum of the actuating signals follows an envelope with an envelope time. The envelope is chosen such that its time profile rises within a rise time from an initial value to a maximum value and falls within a fall time from the maximum value back to the initial value. The time profile of the actuating signals is dependent on the information to be transmitted and is chosen such that there is at least one steep edge present whose edge time is shorter than the time constants of the primary windings.

Abstract: A switching converter for power factor correction which has-input terminals, an inductive storage element coupled to the input terminals, a rectifier arrangement, a control arrangement, and a damping circuit. The rectifier arrangement is connected to the inductive storage element and has output terminals for providing an output voltage. The control arrangement is configured to control a current drawn by the inductive storage element. The control arrangement is also configured to magnetize the inductive storage element during an actuation period for a magnetization time, demagnetize it for a demagnetization time, and wait a waiting time before a subsequent magnetization time. The damping circuit is coupled to the inductive storage element, and is configured to be activated and deactivated dependent at least in part on a magnetization state of the inductive storage element.

Abstract: The invention relates to a drive circuit for providing a drive signal (S3) for a switch in a switching converter in a manner dependent on a control signal (S2), the drive circuit comprising at least two groups (22, 30) of circuit components, each group having at least one circuit component, and the circuit components being coupled to one another and designed to provide the drive signal (S3) from the control signal (S2). In this case, voltage is supplied to the circuit components of the first group by means of the control signal, while voltage is supplied to the circuit components of the second group (30) by means of a supply voltage at a supply terminal (K2).

Abstract: The document describes a method and an actuating circuit for actuating a switch regulating the power consumption in a power factor correction circuit which has input terminals for applying an input voltage and output terminals for providing an output voltage. In this case, the switch is cyclically turned on for an on-time and turned off for an off-time, respectively, with the on-time having a first on-time period and a second on-time period which is directly adjacent to the first on-time period. A length for the first on-time period is in this case dependent on the control signal, and a length for the second on-time period is proportional, at least for a prescribed range of values for an instantaneous value of the input voltage, to a quotient with a first first-degree function for this instantaneous value in the denominator and a second first-degree function for the instantaneous value in the numerator, with function values for the first function increasing as the instantaneous value rises.

Abstract: A method for driving a fluorescent lamp and lamp ballast is disclosed. In one embodiment, an excitation AC voltage having an excitation frequency is applied to the series resonant circuit using a half-bridge circuit, having an output, to which the series resonant circuit is coupled, and having a first and a second switch, which are driven in the on state and in the off state with a fundamental frequency predetermined by a frequency signal or with an increased frequency. The switches are driven with the fundamental frequency or with the increased frequency with respect to the fundamental frequency in a manner dependent on a temporal change in the resonant circuit current between two temporally spaced-apart evaluation instants lying within a switched-on duration of one of the switches.

Abstract: System and method for adaptively altering a power supply's dead time. A method comprises detecting a start of a dead time, detecting an ending condition of the dead time, and ending the dead time. The detecting of the ending condition is based on a first current flowing through a lower portion of the power supply or a second current flowing through a gate driver of a lower switching element in the power supply.

Abstract: A method detects a non-zero-voltage switching operation of a lamp ballast, the lamp ballast including a half-bridge circuit with a first and a second semiconductor switching element, a resonant circuit connected to the half-bridge circuit, and a snubber capacitance connected in parallel with one of the semiconductor switching elements. The method includes obtaining a voltage measurement signal representative of a voltage at an output of the half-bridge circuit. The method also includes providing a comparison signal representative of a comparison of the voltage measurement signal with a reference value. The method further includes evaluating the comparison signal in each case before the first semiconductor element is switched on and in each case before the second semiconductor element is switched on, and detecting one of a first and second non-zero-switching operations based on these evaluations.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention relate to a proximity switch device, a system, and methods for operating and manufacturing a proximity switch device. According to an aspect, an inductive proximity switch device includes a plurality of inductive elements.

Abstract: Semiconductor component comprising at least two semiconductor regions are disclosed. In one embodiment the semiconductor regions of the semiconductor component are electrically isolated from one another by an insulator, and a deposited, patterned, metallic layer extends over the semiconductor regions and over the insulator.

Abstract: A signal transmission arrangement includes a transformer and a receiver circuit. The transformer has at least one primary winding and at least one secondary winding, each having first and second connections. The receiver circuit is connected to the secondary winding, and has an input and at least one output. The receiver circuit also has a differential input resistance approximating a short circuit. The receiver circuit is configured to convert a current pulse received at the input via the secondary winding to a voltage provided at the at least one output.