(12) United States Patent
`Kuennen et al.
`
`(54)
`
`INDUCTI VELY COUPLED BALIAST
`CIRCUIT
`
`(75)
`
`Inven tors: Roy W. Kuennen, Caledonia, Ml (US);
`Scott A. Mollema , Grand Rapids, Mf
`(US); David W. Baarman , Fennville,
`MI (US); Ronald C . Markham, Grand
`Rapids, Ml (US); Dennis J. Denen ,
`Westerville, OH (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: Access Business Grou p [nternatio na l
`LLC, Ada, Ml (US)
`
`( *) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 156 days.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 10/246,155
`
`(22) Filed:
`
`(65)
`
`Sep. 18, 2002
`Prior Publication Data
`
`US 2003/0015479 Al Jao. 23, 2003
`
`Related U.S. Application Data
`
`(63)
`
`(60)
`
`Continuation-in-part of application No. 10/'175,095, filed on
`Jun. 18, 2002, now Pal. No. 6,673,250, which is a continu-
`ation-in-part of application No. 09/592,194, filed on Jun. 12.
`2000. oow Pal. No. 6,436,299.
`Provisional application No. 60/140,159, filed on Jun. 21,
`1999, and provisional application No. 60/ 140,090, filed on
`Jun. 21, 1999.
`(51) Int. Cl.7
`................................................ H058 37/02
`(52) U.S. CJ . .... ................... 315/224; 315/276; 315/283;
`315/291
`(58) Field of Search ..................... 315/209 R, 219- 220,
`315/224-225, 244, 291, 302, 307, DIG. 7,
`57, 62,248,276,283
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`I 1111111111111111 11111 lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll lllll 111111111111111111
`
`US006825620B2
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`843,534 A
`1, 137,333 A
`1,604,870 A
`1,803,571 A
`
`2/1907 Hewitt ....................... 315/248
`4/ 1915 Klorer ......................... 403/57
`10/ 1926 Asman ....................... 403/396
`5/ 1931 Ulman ........................ 362/92
`
`(List continued on □ext page.)
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`AT
`AU
`DE
`DE
`DE
`
`370929
`A-61741/86
`2029468
`4100272
`9012505
`
`5/1983
`2/ 1988
`12/1971
`7/1991
`8/ 1991
`
`(List continued on next page.)
`
`OTHER PUBLICXl'IONS
`
`" Best of Show", Fortune, Feb. 17, 2003.
`
`(List continued on □ext page.)
`
`Primary Examiner- Thuy Vi□b Tran
`(74) Allorney, Agent, or Firm-Warner Norcross & Judd
`LLP
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A ballast circuit is disclosed for inductively providing power
`to a load. The ballast circuit includes a□ oscillator, a driver,
`a switching circ uit, a resonant tank circuit and a current
`sensing circuit. The current sensing circuit provides a cur(cid:173)
`rent feedback signal to the oscillator that is representative of
`the current in the resonant tank circuit. Tbe current feedback
`signal drives the frequency of the ballast circuit causing the
`ballast circuit to seek resonance. The ballast circuit prefer(cid:173)
`ably includes a current limit circuit that is inductively
`coupled to the resonant tank circuit. The current limit circuit
`disables the ballast circuit when the current in the ballast
`circuit exceeds a predetermined threshold or [alls outside a
`predetermined range.
`
`602,966 A
`
`4/ 1898 Wallach ...................... 362/219
`
`59 Claims, 15 Drawing Sheets
`
`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 1 of 33
`
`

`

`US 6,825,620 B2
`Page 2
`
`U.S. PIXJ'ENT DOCUMENTS
`
`1,852,740 A
`2,199,107 A
`2,265,475 A
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`3,047,765 A
`3,292,579 A
`3,550,682 A
`3,551,091 A
`3,628,086 A
`3,641,336 A
`3,743,989 A
`3,746,906 A
`3,867,661 A
`3,885,185 A
`3,885,211 A
`3,923,663 A
`3,938,018 A
`4,005,330 A
`4,010,400 A
`4,017,764 A
`4,038,625 A
`4,093,893 A
`4,101,777 A
`4,117,378 A
`4,282,563 A
`4,300,073 A
`4,389,595 A
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`4,615,799 A
`4,637,434 A
`4,675,573 A
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`
`4/ 1932 Doane ........................ 362/304
`4/1940 Kibbe ........................ 359/801
`12/194 l Fodor .. . ...... .. . .. . .. ... . .. . .. 3 l 5/76
`7/ 1944 Olis ............................ 40/406
`8/1954 Williams ..... , .............. 362/231
`12/1955 Barner ........................ 239/ 18
`1/ 1956 Callard ............... ...... .. 362(257
`7/ 1962 Vichi II ................ ... 313/318.08
`12/1966 Buchanan ........... ... ..... 119/245
`12/1970 Fowler ............... ........ 166/338
`12/1970 Veloz ................. ........ 210/251
`12/1971 Nuckolls ..................... 315/80
`2/1972 Boin ..................... ..... 362/ 183
`7/ 1973 Nicolas cl al. ................. 336/5
`7/ 1973 Ca rdwell, Jr ........... 313/318.04
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`5/ 1975 Tilley ................. ... 313/318.03
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`12/1975 Re id
`.................. ........ 210/151
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`3/ 1977 Hollister ...................... 315/57
`4/ 1977 Anderson ................... 315/248
`7/ 1977 Tompkins et al. ............ 336/83
`6/1978 Anderson ........... ......... 315/48
`7 /1978 Re id
`.................. ........ 250/436
`9/1978 Glascock, Jr.
`.. ............ 315/248
`8/1981 Ohta cl al. .................. 362/216
`11/ 1981 Skwirut el al. ....... ........ 315/53
`6/ I 983 Kamei el al. ......... ........ 315/57
`11/1983 Young ................ ......... 315/51
`10/ 1986 Mortensen .......... ........ 210/177
`1/ 1987 Moen .................... 137/625.66
`6/1987 Miram et al. ............ ..... 315/94
`6/1987 Szabo ......................... 336/83
`6/1988 Bodenstein ......... ........ 210/476
`8/1988 Snowball .................... 210/192
`9/1988 Wood ......................... 362/287
`1/1989 Bolger cl a I. . . .. . . . .. . .. . .. 320/106
`3/1989 Anderson ........... ........ 313/ 153
`3/1989 Sorensen .................... 362/448
`4/ 1989 Mongeon et al. ........... 235/440
`6/1989 Dodier ....................... 439/ 138
`8/1989 Lowe .......................... 84/404
`8/1989 Joklik ................ ........ 210/695
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`9/1990 Wood et al. .................. 315/39
`9/1990 Sorensen el al. ........... 362/360
`11/ 1990 Noll et al. .................. 210/748
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`11/ 1990 Witting ...................... 313/638
`12/1990 Be rgervoet et al. ......... 315/248
`7/ 1991 El-Iiamamsy cl al. .. 315/200 R
`8/1991 Farrall ...................... .. 313/160
`8/1991 Sullivan el a l. ............. 315/176
`12/1991 Ishii el al. ..................... 320/2
`3/1992 Hsia ........................... 362/401
`6/ 1992 !toga et al. ................. 323/347
`8/1992 Huang ........................ 362/413
`9/1992 Piejak el al. ................ 315/248
`10/ 1992 Huang ........................ 362/4 14
`• 12/1992 Sullivan el al. ............. 315/276
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`7/ 1993 Hough ....................... 307/ 104
`12/1993 Farin el al. ................... 606/38
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`2/1994 Godyak et al. ............. 136/244
`4/ 1994 God yak el a.I. ............... 315/39
`4/ 1994 Klontz el al. ...... , .......... 363/37
`
`•
`•
`
`•
`
`•
`
`5,311,028 A
`5,339,233 A
`5,416,388 A
`5,422,519 A
`5,450,305 A
`5,455,466 A
`5,455,467 A
`5,465,025 A
`5,506,560 A
`5,536,979 A
`5,550,452 A
`5,594,304 A
`5,611,918 A
`5,619,182 A
`5,653,531 A
`5,675,677 A
`5,680,028 A
`5,716,126 A
`5,747,894 A
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`5,796,216 A
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`5,834,905 A
`5,905,343 A
`5,914,572 A
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`5,951,155 A
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`5,980,056 A
`5,990,611 A
`6,005,304 A
`6,020,682 A
`6,027,225 A
`6,028,413 A
`6,075,433 A
`6,118,249 A
`6,160,371 A
`6,161,032 A
`6,166,494 A
`6,188,179 Bl
`6,194,828 Bl
`6,218,785 Bl
`6,241,359 Bl
`6,263,247 Bl
`6,275,143 Bl
`6,280,066 Bl
`6,291,936 Bl
`6,301,128 Bl
`6,307,316 Bl
`6,322,226 Bl
`6,326,739 Bl
`6,339,296 Bl
`6,345,203 Bl
`6,436,299 Bl
`6,462,432 Bl
`6,597,076 82
`
`5/ 1994 Glavis h ................... 250/497.l
`8/1994 Yang ................. , ........ 362/402
`5/ 1995 Shackle ...................... 315/219
`6/1995 Russell ....................... 307/104
`9/1995 Boys et al. ................... 363/24
`10/1995 Parks et al. ................. 307/104
`10/1995 Young cl al. ............... 307/104
`11/ 1995 Hendrickson .......... 313/318.09
`4/ 1996 Takeuchi el al. .............. 336/83
`7/ 1996 McEachero el al. .. ...... 307/104
`8/1996 Shirai el al. .. ... ... ... .. ... ... 320/2
`1/ 1997 Graber .. .............. .. ...... 315/85
`3/1997 Markham .................... 210/87
`4/ 1997 Robb ......................... 340/479
`8/1997 Yang .......................... 362/352
`10/1997 Davenport cl al. ........... 385/31
`10/1997 McEachern .................... 320/2
`2/1998 Meyer ........................ 362/287
`5/1998 Hira i et al. ................. 307/104
`5/ 1998 Ranganalh .................. 315/224
`8/ 1998 Beasley ...................... 315/307
`9/1998 Esser el al. .............. ... 307/104
`11/ 1998 Nishizawa .................. 307/ 104
`11/ 1998 Jennings .................. 340/392.4
`11/1998 God yak el al. ............. 315/248
`5/ 1999 McCamanl .................. 315/57
`6/1999 Qian el al. ............... ... 315/307
`7/1999 Urano ......................... 363/22
`................. 315/224
`7/ 1999 Zeng el al.
`7/1999 lnakagata el al. ............. 210/91
`7/ 1999 Nakama et al. ............. 320/ I07
`9/1999 Tamura et al. .............. 307/ 107
`9/1999 Lanser .............. , ........ 362/490
`9/1999 VanLersergbe ............ , 320/108
`11/1999 West ..... ... ................... 362/86
`11/1999 Lee ............................ 313/493
`12/1999 Seelig ........................ 307/ 104
`2/2000 Holzer ....................... 313/493
`2/2000 Marlin el al. ............... 362/183
`2/2000 Brockmann ................. 320/108
`6/2000 Ono et al. .................. 336/212
`9/2000 Brockmann el al. ........ 320/108
`12/2000 Tacbikawa ............. 318/568.11
`12/2000 Acker ........................ 600/424
`12/2000 Green .................... 315/209 R
`2/2001 Boys el al. ................. 315/244
`2/2001 Kohne et al. ............... 313/493
`4/2001
`lncerli .................... 315/ 185 S
`6/2001 Lin ....... .............. ........ 362/96
`7/2001 Mueller el al. ............... 607/60
`8/2001 Stobbe .................... 340/10.34
`8/2001 Dolan ........................ 362/414
`9/2001 MacLeooao cl al. .......... 315/39
`10/2001 Jang el al. .................... 363/ 17
`10/2001 Holzer ....................... 313/493
`11/2001 Dickson .................... .. 362/33
`12/2001 Maclennan el al. ........ 3 15/248
`1/2002 Goral .......................... 315/86
`2/2002 Mueller et al. .......... ..... 607/60
`8/2002 Baarman et al. ............ 210/748
`10/2002 Seelig et al. . .. . .... .. . ... .. 307 /133
`7/2003 Scheible el al. ......... ... 307/ 104
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`DE
`DE
`DE
`DE
`EP
`EP
`GB
`
`4238388
`4421253
`4412957
`19540854
`0 433 752 Al •
`0825577
`1349788
`
`5/ 1994
`3/ 1995
`10/ 1995
`5/1997
`6/ 1991
`2/1998
`4/ 1974
`
`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 2 of 33
`
`

`

`US 6,825,620 B2
`Page 3
`
`GB
`GB
`J P
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`WO
`
`2388715 A
`2388716 A
`8-31585
`WO 97/ 17761
`WO 97/26705
`WO 00/22892
`WO 00/32298
`WO 01/26427
`WO 01/26431
`
`11/2003
`11/2003
`2/1996
`5/1997
`7/1997
`4/2000
`6/2000
`4/2001
`4/2001
`
`WO
`WO
`
`WO 03/096361
`WO 03/ 105311
`
`11/2003
`12/2003
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`"Splasbpower", www.splashpower.com, Feb. 11, 2003.
`"Mobilewise", www.mobilewise.com, Feb. 11, 2003.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 3 of 33
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`Sheet 1 of 15
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
`
`16
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`
`25
`
`12
`
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`
`FIG. I
`
`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 4 of 33
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`Sheet 2 of 15
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
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`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 5 of 33
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`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 6 of 33
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`Sheet 4 of 15
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
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`APPLE INC. / Page 7 of 33
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`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 8 of 33
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`Sheet 6 of 15
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
`
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`
`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 9 of 33
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`Sheet 7 of 15
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
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`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 10 of 33
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`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 11 of 33
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`Sheet 9 of 15
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
`
`102
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`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 12 of 33
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`Sheet 10 of 15
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
`
`110
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`
`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 13 of 33
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`Sheet 11 of 15
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
`
`115
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`!
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`
`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 14 of 33
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`Sheet 12 of 15
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
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`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 15 of 33
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`Sheet 13 of 15
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
`
`FIG. 15
`
`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 16 of 33
`
`

`

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`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 17 of 33
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 30, 2004
`
`Sheet 15 of 15
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
`
`232
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`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 18 of 33
`
`

`

`US 6,825,620 B2
`
`1
`INDUCTIVELY COUPLED BALLAST
`CIRCUIT
`
`This applicatioo is a cootinuatioo-io-part of U.S. patent
`application Ser. No. 10/175,095 entitled Fluid Treatmeol 5
`System, wbich was filed on Jun. 18, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No.
`6,673,250, wbicb is a cootinuatioo-in-parl of U.S. patent
`applicatioo Ser. No. 09/592,194 eotitled Fluid Treatmeot
`System, wbicb was filed oo Jun. 12, 2000 now U.S. Pal. No.
`6,436,299, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/592,194 10
`claims the beoefit uoder 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. provi(cid:173)
`sional patent application Ser. No. 60/140,159 entitled Water
`Treatment System with an Inductively Coupled Ballast,
`whicb was filed on J un. 21, 1999, and U.S. provisional
`patent application Ser. No. 60/140,090 entitled Port-of-Use 15
`Water Treatment System, wbicb was filed on Jun. 21, 1999.
`T his application hereby iocorporates by reference U.S.
`patent application Ser. No. 09/596,416 entitled Point-of-Use
`Water Treatment System, w hich was filed on Jun. 12, 2000,
`and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/133,860 eotilled 20
`Inductively Powered Lamp Assembly, wbicb was filed on
`Apr. 26, 2002.
`
`2
`provide a significant level of isolation between the ballast
`and the load. This isolation can protect one componeot from
`power surges and otber potentially damagiog abnormalities
`io the otber compooeot.
`Unfortunately, conventional inductively coupled ballasts
`suffer from a number of problems a'SSOciated primarily with
`efficiency. To provide maximum efficiency, it is desirable for
`tbe circuit to operate at resonance. Conventional ballasts arc
`designed to operate al resonance by carefully selecting tbc
`compooenls of the ballast in view of the precise character(cid:173)
`istics of the load. Any variation in the load can move the
`circuit dramatically out of resonance. Accordingly, conveo(cid:173)
`tional baUasts require very precise selection of the compo(cid:173)
`nents of tbe ballast c ircuit and secondary circuit. In some
`applications, the impedance of the secondary circuit will
`vary over time, thereby changing the resonant frequency of
`the circuit. For example, io many cooventiooal ligbtiog
`app l.ications, the impedance of the lamp will vary as the
`lamp is heated and will also vary over the life of the lamp.
`As a result of these changes, the efficiency of conventional,
`fixed-frequency ballasts will vary over time.
`Conventional ballast control circuits employ bipolar tra n(cid:173)
`sistors and saturating transformers to provide power. The
`ballast control circuits oscillate at frequencies related to the
`25 magnetic properties of the materials and winding arrange(cid:173)
`mcots of these transformers. Circuits with saturatiog trans(cid:173)
`former oscillators produce an output in tbe category of a
`square wave, require the transistors of the ha lf bridge to
`hard-switch under load and require a separate inductor to
`JO limit tbe current tbrough tbe load. Conventional circuits
`c hop the available power supply voltage, developing voltage
`spikes at the corners of the square wave as a consequence of
`the current limiting inductor. Inductive couplings rely on
`electromagnetic induction to transfer power from a primary
`35 coil to a secondary coil. T he amount of current induced in
`the seconda ry coil is a function of the cbanges in the
`magnetic field generated by the primary coil. Accordingly,
`tbe amount of current transferred through a □ inductive
`coupling is dependent, in part, on the waveform of the
`40 curreot driviog the primary. A square waveform has rela(cid:173)
`tively small regions of change and therefore provides rela(cid:173)
`tively inefficient transfer of power.
`T hese and other deficie ncies i n prior ballasts are
`45 addressed by the present invention.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention generally relates to ballasts and
`more particularly, to ao inductively coupled ballast for
`ooo-cootact power transfer to a secondary circuit or load.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Ballasts are commonly used to supply power to a wide
`variety of electrically powered components. Often ballasts
`are connected directly to tbe component (or load), for
`example, by " permanent" connections, sucb as wires or
`soldered leads on a circuit board, or by " removable"
`coonections, such as plugs or other connectors. Direct
`electrical connections present a number of problems. First,
`direct electrical connections make it difficult to install and
`remove tbc load from tbc ballast. With permanent
`connections, the electrical leads must be soldered or otber(cid:173)
`w~5C secured directly between the ballast and tbe load. U tbe
`ballast or the load is damaged, replacement is complicated
`by the permanent connections. Removable coonectioos
`make separation of the ballast and the load easier, but still
`require some manual manipulation. Removable connectors
`arc also subject to corrosion and may be inadvertently or
`uoioteotiooally disconnected, for example, by vibrations.
`Second, in many environments, direct electrical connections
`must be insulated from the enviroomcnt to prevent damage
`lo tbe circuit. For example, in wet environments, exposed 50
`electrical connections are subject to a short circuit. T bird,
`d irect electrical connections provide a di rect and essentially
`unimpeded path for electricity to flow between tbe ballast
`and the load. As a result, power surges and otber potentially
`damaging abnormalities in one element can be directly 55
`transfer to the otber, thereby permitting problems in one
`component to damage o r even destroy the other.
`To address these and otber significant problems, there is
`an increasing trend to replace conventional direct electrical
`conoect ioos with inductive connections. l nduct ively 60
`coupled systems provide a number of significant advantages
`over direct connections. First, inductive couplings do not
`include permanent or removable physical co □oectors.
`Instead, the secondary coil of tbe load (or secondary circuit)
`simply needs lo be placed in the close proximity to tbe 65
`primar y coil of the ballast. T his greatly simplifies installa(cid:173)
`tion aod removal of the load. Second, the ioductive coupling
`
`The preseot ioveotioo discloses an ioductively powered
`ballast circuit having a current seosing circu it that automati(cid:173)
`cally adjusts the frequency of the ballast to maintain opera(cid:173)
`tion of the ballast at or near unity power factor.
`fn one embodiment, the inductively coupled ballast circuit
`is a self-oscillating half-bridge switching design that oper(cid:173)
`ates at high frequencies. In addition, the inductively coupled
`ballast circuit self-oscillates partly as a function of the
`current sensing circui t to mai ntain resonance, uses MOSFET
`transistors as switching clements, and is designed to accom(cid:173)
`modate an air-core transformer coupling arrangement.
`One embodiment o[ the ioductively coupled ballast circuit
`iocludes a control circuit, an oscillator, a driver, a half(cid:173)
`bridge switching circuit, and a series resonant tank circuit.
`Tbe secondary circuit preferably includes a secondary coil
`and a load. During operation, the control circuit provides
`electrical signals to the oscillator, wbich, in turo, provides
`electrical signals to direct the driver. The driver then causes
`the half-bridge switching circuit to become energized. The
`half-bridge switching c ircuit energizes the series resonant
`
`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 19 of 33
`
`

`

`FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main bousing of the
`water treatment system witb its top sbroud removed and a
`filter assembly and the ultraviolet lamp assembly removed
`from the base unit.
`FIGS. 2A-C are exploded perspective views of major
`components of the water treatment system.
`FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of the major circuits and
`assemblies of the water treatment system .
`FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of the inductively coupled
`ballast circuit.
`FIG. 5 is an electrical circuit schematic of a portion of the
`inductively coupled ballast circuit, the ballast feedback
`circuit and the interlock circuit.
`FIG. 6 depicts the secondary coil, the resonant lamp
`circuit and the ultraviolet lamp of the ultraviolet lamp
`as.sembly.
`FIG. 7 is an electrical circuit schematic of the starter
`20 circuit.
`FIG. 8 illustrates an electrical circuit schematic of the
`radio frequency identification system used in the water
`treatment system
`FIG. 9 is an electrical circuit schematic of the flow sem;or
`circuit.
`FIG. LO is an electrical circuit schematic of the ambient
`light sensor circuit.
`FIG. 11 is an electrical circuit schematic of the ultraviolet
`30 light sensor circuit.
`FIG. U is an electrical circuit schematic of the ambient
`temperature sensor circuit.
`FIG. 13 is an electrical circuit schematic of the audible
`generation circuit.
`FIG. 14 is an electrical c ircuit schematic of tbe comrnu-
`nication port.
`FIG. 15 is a plurality of waveforms representing operation
`of the current sensing circuit.
`FIG. 16 is an electrical circuit schematic of the current
`limit circuit.
`FIG. 17 is an electrical circuit schematic of a portion of
`an alternative current feedback circuit.
`
`25
`
`3
`tank circuit, which includes a primary coil. Once the series
`resonant tank circuit, and consequently the primary coil, is
`energized, the secondary coil becomes induc tively
`energized, thereby providing power Lo the load.
`lo ooe embodiment, the resonant frequency for the induc- s
`lively coupled ballast circuit is about 100 kHz. Ia addition,
`the secondary circuit preferably resonates at about 100 kHz
`as well. The resonant frequency of operation can be adjusted
`up or down by the control unit to accommodate for coove(cid:173)
`oieot component selection. lo addition, selection of the 10
`resonant frequency is a function of the component selection
`in the series resonant tank and the characteristics of the
`secondary circuit.
`An interesting feature of the inductively coupled ballast
`circuit is the inductive coupling. The series resonant tank
`circuit includes an inductive coupler. In one embodiment,
`the inductive coupler is positioned adjacent the secondary
`coil witb an air gap therebetweeo to form an air core
`transformer. When vol tage is applied to the inductive
`coupler, magnetic flux in the air gap induces voltage in the
`secondary coil thereby energizing the secondary load.
`Another interesting feature of the inductively coupled
`ballast circuit involves the a ir gap of one embodiment. The
`air gap is the distance between tbe inductive coupler and the
`secondary coil. The air gap may be selected lo provide a
`current limiting function. In addition, the air gap provides a
`magnetic Jlux path for inducing sufficient vollage in the
`secondary coil to establish and maintain an operating point
`for the secondary load.
`Yet another interesting feature involves the frequency of
`operation of the inductively coupled ballast circuit. Both the
`series resonant tank and the secondary load may be tuned by
`proper selection of components to operate at a similar
`resonant frequency. In addition, impedance matching
`between the series resonant tank and the secondary load may
`occur at the resonant frequency. Accordingly, power transfer
`from the inductive coupler to the secondary coil may be
`optimized at a resonant frequency to maximize power effi(cid:173)
`ciency.
`Still another interesting feature involves self-oscillation 40
`of the inductively coupled ballast circuit with the oscillator.
`The oscillator may include feedback control for monitoring
`the series resonance tank. 1l:Je feedback control may allow
`the oscillator to adjust the frequency 10 minimize reflected
`impedance f:rom the secondary circuit. Adjusting the fre- 45
`quency to maintain resonance minimizes tbe reflected
`impedance and maintains optimum power transfer as the
`impedance o( the secondary circuit varies.
`In another aspect, the present invention preferably
`includes a current limit circuit that monitors the ballast 50
`circuit and disables the ballast circuit if the current to the
`primary exceeds a desired threshold. 1he current limit
`circuit protecL5 both the load and the ballast circuit from
`exces.5ive current. The current limit circuit is preferably
`latched to keep the ballast circuit disabled until reset, for 55
`example, by a manual reset switch.
`lo an alternative embodiment, the current limit circuit
`may be configured 10 disengage tbe ballast circuit if tbe
`current falls outside of a desired operating range. T his
`embodiment is particularly useful in application where the 60
`load may be damaged or function improperly when opera!•
`iog under low current.
`These and otber features and advantages of the invention
`will become apparent upon consideration of the following
`detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments 65
`of the invention, viewed in conjunction with the appended
`drawings.
`
`35
`
`US 6,825,620 B2
`
`4
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`15
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE
`ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT OF THE
`INVENTION
`The present invention is directed 10 an inductively
`coupled ballast circuit that is capable of providing power to
`a wide variety of electrically powered componems in numer(cid:173)
`ous applications. For purposes of disclosure, embodiments
`of the ballast circuit will be described in connection with a
`water treatment system, and more specifically in connection
`with the powering of an ultraviolet lamp in a water treatment
`system. Although described in connection with this particu(cid:173)
`lar application, the present invention is well-suited for use in
`providing power to other types of lamps, such as
`incandescent, fluorescent and halogen lamps used in numer(cid:173)
`ous lighting applications, such as indoor and outdoor light
`fixtures, desk lamps, outdoor sigoage, decorative lighting,
`automotive lighting, underwater lighting, intrinsically safe
`lighting, and landscape Lighting, to name only a few lighting
`cooligurations and applications. The present invention is
`also well suited for providing power to non-lighting
`components, such as integrated battery chargers in various
`electronic components, including cell phones, personal digi(cid:173)
`tal assistants and the like.
`
`Ex.1008
`APPLE INC. / Page 20 of 33
`
`

`

`US 6,825,620 B2
`
`5
`Referring to FIG. 1, the present invention, as used in the
`illustrated embodiment, discloses an electronic control sys(cid:173)
`tem for a water treatmen t system 10 that generally uses
`carbon-based filters and ultraviole t light to purify water. lo
`order to appreciate the present invention, it is helpful to have
`a general background of the mechanical aspects of water
`treatment system 10 for wbicb tbis illustrated embodiment
`was intended. Water treatment system 10 includes a main
`housing 12, a replaceable ultraviolet lamp assembly 14 and
`a filter assembly 16. Tbe ultraviolet lamp assembly 14 and
`tbc filter assembly 16 arc