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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Ionization tube simmer current circuit

Patent ·
OSTI ID:6626308

A highly efficient flash lamp simmer current circuit utilizes a fifty percent duty cycle square wave pulse generator to pass a current over a current limiting inductor to a full wave rectifier. The DC output of the rectifier is then passed over a voltage smoothing capacitor through a reverse current blocking diode to a flash lamp tube to sustain ionization in the tube between discharges via a small simmer current. An alternate embodiment of the circuit combines the pulse generator and inductor in the form of an FET off line square wave generator with an impedance limited step up output transformer which is then applied to the full wave rectifier as before to yield a similar simmer current. 6 figures.

DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
Assignee:
Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC (United States)
Patent Number(s):
US 5373215; A
Application Number:
PPN: US 8-087221
OSTI ID:
6626308
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English