Abstract: The invention features an electronic dimming ballast for use with a gas-discharge lamp. The ballast is adapted to receive a wide variety of control signals, both from sensors near the ballast or from sensors and/or controllers located away from the ballast. The ballast is constructed on a main circuit board which contains an interface into which a wide variety of daughter circuit boards may be attached so that the ballast may be customized for a particular application or system. Typical dimming input "commands" may be from light level sensors, proximity sensors, portable, hand-held remote controllers, building energy management systems, etc. Unique interface and/or control circuitry to adapt the basic dimming ballast to these inputs is generally contained on the pluggable daughter cards.

Abstract: The present invention features an integrated, electronic fluorescent ballast fixture which includes an electronic ballast packaged with a set of fluorescent lamp connectors into an integral fixture. The fixture has a circuit board that selectably supports up to four fluorescent lamps. The housing of the fixture id configured to receive a number of lamp connectors. The connectors are electrically, connected to the circuit board use wire and poke-in type connectors. When used with conventional, straight fluorescent lamps, a second set of sockets at the far end of the lamps are also connected to the circuit board using wires received in poke-in connector on the circuit board. The integrated ballast package also works with U-shaped lamps. The housing of the fixture is shaped to accommodate projecting electronic ballast components attached to the circuit board. The transformers and transistors of the circuit board may be thermally sinked, so that their heat is carried to the housing by thermally conductive means.