WO2004089044A1

WO2004089044A1 - Lamp conditioning system

Info

Publication number: WO2004089044A1
Application number: PCT/US2003/034954
Authority: WO
Inventors: Denny D. Beasley
Original assignee: Delta Power Supply
Priority date: 2002-10-31
Filing date: 2003-10-31
Publication date: 2004-10-14
Also published as: AU2003295376A1

Abstract

This invention is directed generally to lighting technologies and their operation. Lamps such as sodium, metal halide, mercury and others are commonly used as sources of illumination due to their relatively high efficiencies in converting electrical input power into light output. However, there has been an industry wide problem in meeting lamp lumen depreciation specifications for HID lamps over time. The present invention utilizes a power supply (“ballast”) as a platform to improve the performance characteristics and manufacturing process of new and used discharge by providing in one respect a method and apparatus suited to operate the lamp at a variety of power levels. Furthermore, the present invention can be utilized to improve the inefficiencies of the manufacturing process, required seasoning at the user level and provide a more efficacious initial lumen performance amd lumen efficacy and economic life of the lamp and address the ploblems of the prior art.

Description

LAMP CONDITIONING SYSTEM

Background of Invention - Field of the Invention

This invention is directed generally to lighting technologies and their operation.

Background of the Invention:

More specifically, this invention relates to the utilization of a system that can season, restore and rejuvenate lamps. The present invention utilizes a power supply ("ballast") as a platform to improve the performance (initial lumens, color, lamp to lamp consistency, lumen maintenance over time, color rendition index ("CRI")) characteristics of new and used High Intensity Discharge Lamps (HID) and to improve the manufacturing process of an HID lamp.

(HID) lamps such as sodium, metal halide, mercury and others are commonly used as sources of illumination due to their relatively high efficiencies in converting eleetrieal input power into light output. However, there has been an industry wide problem in meeting lamp lumen depreciation (LLD) specifications for HID lamps.

Efficiency, compatibility and longevity considerations have become ubiquitous within the artificial lighting industry and consumer base. To this end, manufacturers of incandescent, fluorescent and HID light sources allocate substantial resources to improve operation of their mercury vapor, metal halide, high-pressure sodium and low-pressure sodium lamps. The relatively low power consumption and light color features associated with such sources have made HID lighting systems commonplace in factories, schools, retail stores, industrial buildings, studios, and malls and street settings.

Unlike conventional incandescent lamps that may be powered directly from a 120V/60Hz utility source, HID lamps typically require a ballast for the ignition and subsequent operation of the lamp. Ballast circuitry regulates the flow of electrical current to a lamp in order to facilitate coordinated ignition and subsequent operation. In addition to various resistive and inductive components, circuitry associated with the baljast may include a transformer to provide voltage to the lamp. One such purpose of such regulation may be to achieve a desired level of illumination in a lighting environment.

Despite the efficiencies associated with HID lamps, where voltage from the ballast to the gas discharge lamp remains constant over time, the lumen output of the lamp will decrease proportionally to the duration of use. As such, maintaining the desired light level is complicated by the fact that the lumen output decreases over time by use. Lumen depreciation, or loss of light from the high initial levels, is the primary negative against HID lamps. This curve plotted against time always has a negative slope and is a result of several operational issues. One is the loss of electrode material over time from the ignition and operation of the HID lamp. Whenever material is removed from the electrode it will deposit on the inside of the arc tube wall increasing its opacity. Both ignition and the time it takes the lamp to pressurize contribute to this. The other condition is loss of spectral generating elements that are vaporized into the arc stream for color. The utilization of this patent makes it possible to improve the lumens and color stability to an HID lamp that would otherwise be disposed of due to the loss of lumens. The cleaning and restoration process improves the efficacy of the individual lamp such that the quality of the light and economic life of the lamp is thus extended.

Lumen depreciation is often attributable to factors such as sputtering. Sputtering includes volatile particulate scattering the tungsten electrode material. Over time, tungsten may condense on and blacken the inner surface of the lamp. Transmission of light through the envelope decreases as the interior of the lamp arc tube blackens. Tungsten pieces may additionally absorb radiation and increase the lamp casing to the critical temperature. Due to this sputtering, the lamp is less efficient and the energy utilized to ignite the lamp (in this example 400 watts) is now no longer dispersing as light. This energy is instead increasing the temperature of the lamp and thus causing the arc volts of the lamp to rise. This increased heat may decrease the lamp life while requiring more power. This and related conditions also result in the lodged tungsten, or other materials being unavailable for subsequent excitation and spectral generation. As such, the lumen material remains deposited on relatively cooler portions of the arc tube.

The sputtering and loss of electrode materials can also be seen in the rate of rise of arc Volts in the lamp overtime. This rise can be as high as two Volts per thousand hours and accounts for the end of life phenomena. On the average, a metal halide lamp has outlived its economic life once the arc volts rise beyond 170. A new 400 watt metal halide lamp will have arc volts of 132 to 135. The aforementioned patent offers the ability to reduce the arc volts by utilizing the restoration and rejuvenation process.

The lumen output (lumen depreciation) from a lamp decreases proportionately to the duration of the lamp's use and number of starts per day. As a consequence, the lighting designer typically designs the lighting for a job using HID based upon the amount of light at 8,000 hours or its "rated mean life". This initial, elevated setting is conventionally required to anticipate and correct for the lumen output depreciation of the HID lamp. For instance, the initial lumen output of the lamp may be set at a level that tolerates 8,000 hours of use before falling below the mean lumen value. The effect of this practice, however, is to provide more lumen output at the beginning of a lamp's life than is needed, and too little near the end of the lamp's life. Moreover, initially generating the elevated lumen output wastes power and unduly burdens lamp circuitry, leading to decreased lamp life. Consequently, what is needed is an improved process for operating a lamp.

Most color corrected lamps are a composite of vaporized materials that contribute to emission spectra of the lamp. These materials are lost to cold parts of the lamp as the lamp cycles from hot to cold -on to off - the starts per day contributes negatively to this phenomena. This leakage of materials to the cold parts of the lamp is a result of the lamp not being uniform in temperature. Materials will overtime accumulate in these cold areas and be unavailable to provide spectral contribution for normal lamp operation. The manifestation of this effect can be seen in the OEM lamp manufacturers' recommendation to users for a 100 hour burn-in period to "season" the lamp. This process allows the lamp minerals that are doped into the arc tube to achieve normal distribution for nominal operation of the lamp. The following patent's process is an improvement of the process as the utilization of the technology at the lamp manufacturing level could negate the need for this wasteful 100 hour seasoning at the end user.

As a part of their manufacturing process, most manufacturers of HID lamps "burn-in" a portion or all of their product for period of minutes to hours to provide an initial quality control check, initiate the engagement of the arc tube minerals for distribution, and to ensure the lamp lumen & color consistency conform to the lamp manufacturer's published specification. As a consequence, this process adds expense to the manufacturing process due to the time and energy required for the process. Finally, the present invention has shown that this process may be able to increase the initial performance on new lamps and/or improve those lamps that would not be released for sale due to the restrictions of prior art.

As lumen depreciation, color shift (color shift relates to the reduced spectral generation away from a desired net color of light) and other lamp performance characteristics degrade, a lamp consumer must replace the light fixture with a new one. Such maintenance is typically recommended or required to occur after a number of hours of use for a 400 watt lamp corresponding to 170 arc volts. The frequency of lamp replacement and related labor can translate into substantial expenditures for users over time; these costs are compounded by the fact that commercial settings have numerous lamps in use. HID lamps contain particulates of mercury and are categorized as hazardous for disposal. This factor further compounds the financial, environmental and societal costs of lamp replacement.

The present invention can improve upon the prior art in the aforementioned and other areas.

Background of the Invention- Objects and Advantages:

Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the present invention are: (a) to reduce the current delimiters of HID lamps (lumen depreciation, lamp and system efficacy, color, etc) that limits the use of this light source;

(b) to provide for an engagement of a lamp restoration process that can improve the performance characteristics of new and used HID lamps;

(c) to reduce the current delimiters of HID lamps that increases the manufacturing, operational, maintenance and disposal costs of this light source;

(d) to provide an integrated system (lamp, ballast, and controls) that can be engaged on a regular cleaning cycle to improve the operating characteristics of an HID lamp;

(e) to utilize ballast system to initiate the engagement of the lamp arc tube materials for regular efficient redistribution;

(f) to utilize an HID ballast system to redeploy the vaporized materials lost to the cold sections of the arc tube over time;

(g) to utilize an HID ballast system to assist in the efficacy of the manufacturing process of HID lamps by providing an accelerated seasoning, accelerated testing and improved manufacturing process;

(h) to improve not only the externally visible aspects of the lamp

(color, light, and efficacy) but also improve the internal limiter of HID lamps - the rise in arc volts; (i) to reduce the need for lighting designers who "over design" a lighting project due to the inability of the prior art to address the aforementioned issues; (j) the utilization of an electronic ballast allows for the engagement of the restoration cycle via a signal and/or communication protocol; Further objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawing and ensuing description

Summary of the Invention

The present invention provides in one respect a method and apparatus suited to operate the lamp at a variety of power levels without detrimental life effects. The present invention allows HID light sources to achieve operational power adjustment levels that are not possible with prior art. The present invention offers an improvement over existing art and it can change the entire operational paradigm for HID lighting by extending the useful life of the HID light. The present invention can minimize many of the delimiters (lumen depreciation, color shift, starts per day, arc volt rise) that has plagued HID and limited its use and efficacy. As a result this invention can extend the economic life of the lamp and improve the performance of the lamp while it is being utilized.

Furthermore, the present invention can be utilized to improve the inefficiencies of the manufacturing process, required seasoning at the user level and provide a more efficacious initial lumen performance and lumen efficacy and economic life of the lamp and address the problems of the prior art. This invention will allow the operator to improve the performance of the HID light source and extend its economic life where it would otherwise be replaced and disposed of.

The application of the present invention allows the operation of HID lamps at a higher than normal power level for a short period time. An embodiment of the present invention capitalizes on tolerances conventional lamp systems to condition lamps compromised by lumen depreciation and other degenerative effects. To this end, one embodiment exceeds normal power levels to dislodge lumen and color contributing materials that has settled in undesirable locations. Further adjustments of the power levels redistributes and returns the dislodged arc material to the electrodes where it may again contribute to the lumen output and spectral generation of the lamp. The application of this invention can reduce the arc tube opacity by allowing the proper light output to be restored. The utilization of this invention can reduce the rise in the HID light source arc volts.

Conditioning processes of another embodiment may be employed to season lamps at the factory, saving considerable manpower and other resources. The utilization of these same conditioning processes may negate the cost of "burn-in" at the end user. This burn-in is necessitated by the prior art. Moreover, the processes of the present invention are compatible with and may compliment known lighting systems. For the purpose of this patent application, a 400 watt high frequency dimming electronic ballast from Delta Power Supply was used. In one embodiment, control circuitry in communication with the ballast may impart a control signal to the ballast adjusting the power. The HID quartz envelope can support wattages that are several times the rated power in the lamp. Having command of the power, through a high frequency controllable ballast, a controller can be utilized which would have the ability to overpower the lamp for a short period time in a programmed manner. The amount of power and the length of time the lamp is sustained at that power has been determined by experimental means. The ballast power supply could have the sequence programmed into its controller or, by some external signal, could command a higher power. The ballast would otherwise run only at its rated condition.

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention shall be made apparent from the accompanying drawing and following description.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description of the of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a ballast system in accordance with the principals in the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a second ballast system in accordance with the principals in the present invention but includes an external control input suitable for inclusion within the ballast lighting system;

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a ballast system in accordance with the principals in the present invention but includes an imbedded micro controller and photo, lumen, color or other sensor suitable for inclusion within the ballast lighting system of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4A is a graph plotting luminosity over time in a manner consistent with the present invention.

Fig. 4B is a graph plotting power level and time as it relates to luminosity in fig 4A in a manner consistent with the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a graph of time (x-axis) and power level (y-axis) plotting one power modulation scenario as compared to time in a manner that is consistent with the principals of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a flow chart having steps for monitoring and executing the lighting system in a manner that is consistent with the principals of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a more detailed flow chart having steps for monitoring and executing the lighting system in a manner ,that is consistent with the principals of the present invention. Fig. 8 is a graph comparing arc volts over time as one would see with the prior art with the arc volts one would see with the utilization of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a graph tracking the peak arc volts and peak light levels as they relate to the power settings for one full clean cycle time in a manner consistent with the present invention and is flow chart that shows that illustrates a scenario where three power changes may be an ideal setting.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Fig. 1 shows a block diagram of lighting system 10 that is consistent with the principals of the present invention. The system includes lamp 12 and a ballast 14 as well as leads 16-24 connected to the ballast 14 and lamp 12. While features of the present invention may have particular application within the context of HID lamps, one skilled on the art should appreciate that a suitable lamp for purposes of this specification may include any device that generates light output. Also included within the system are input dimming leads 26 and 28 for dimming the ballast 14. The control input for the dimming leads 26 and 28 typically comprise about a 0 to about a 10 VDC control port. For the lamp restoration control signal the range may be about 0 to about 15 VDC control port. However, one skilled on the art should appreciate that voltage supplied via leads 26 and 28 is not limited to any particular range. In one embodiment, the voltage level supplied to the leads 26 and 28 is generated via a power supply.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a second ballast system in accordance with the principals in the present invention configured to condition a HID lamp. Power levels supplied to the load via an electronic ballast are determined by an external control input 30 via external control inputs 26 and 28. For the purposes of this specification, a suitable controller may comprise any devise configured to adjust power levels supplied to the lamp.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a second ballast system in accordance with the principals in the present invention but includes an imbedded internal micro - controller 31 suitable for inclusion within the ballast lighting system of Fig. 1or 2. In addition to external activation, where desired, the controller may include a remote control interface. The imbedded controller may also be activated via infared and/or through a computer in series. However the command is delivered, a command to the microcontroller will initiate the 125%, 100%, and 35% of power clean cycles. The power level and length of cycle varies by lamp type, history and operating parameters.

The controller may cause the application of an elevated power signal to the load for a first duration. The duration may be pre-set according to a pre-set conditioning scheme. Such a scheme may account for lamp rating, age, maintenance and other considerations. For instance, protocol or operation of a conventional HID lamp may normally call for supply of 400 watts of power to the ballast. As such, an exemplary elevated power signal may comprise 500 watts. Of note, normal operating protocol for purposes of the embodiment of this invention may include power supply schemes that vary over time. Thus, a suitable elevated power signal may comprise any signal that exceeds the power for the protocol at a specific point in time.

One method of cleaning the lamp may be performed through the utilization of an external control input utilizing through the dimming wires 26 & 28 in Figure 2 that is attached to the ballast (and thus the lamp) through the ballast's low voltage dimming wires 26 and 28. A low voltage signal (15v for this example) is sent to the ballast each time the ballast is to operate at a hyper-power mode (125% of power in this example) to engage the restoration process. Correspondingly, two other voltages (10v and Ov) are utilized by the controller to take the lamp to 35% of power and 100% of power respectively to complete the clean cycles. The power level and time at hyper power to engage the restoration process varies by the lamp type, manufacturer and operating history.

Figure 3A includes a sensor 36 connected in series with the ballast and/or imbedded microcontroller controller 31. The controller could also be activated through the utilization of a photo sensor. While features of the present invention may have particular application within the context of a lumen output efficacy or color sensor to asses HID lamps, one skilled on the art should appreciate that a suitable sensor for purposes of this specification may include any device that tracks the light, color, arc volts or other required lamp information that affects and/or improves the cleaning/seasoning restoration cycle. Further, the sensor sensor may be powered by light energy (if a photovoltaic cell), line carrier energy, or low voltage control signal.

As previously mentioned, the cleaning process controller can be either external or imbedded in the ballast structure as seen in figure 2. The photo sensor shown in figure 3 (36) could be set up for specific spectra or total light output and initiate and/or request that the cleaning cycle begin, it should be noted that the process would be also predicated on time or other parameters so as to not be as obtrusive to the users. The cleaning cycle can be based purely on a time cycle basis (as seen in figures 4 and 5) or based upon performance characteristics such as color, light output and Arc voltage as seen in figures 6 and 9.

This could be made far more complex as decisions could be made, based on a known performance matrix, that could involve several parameters including but not limited to - total light output, specific spectral output, lamp operating electricals e.g. (current or voltage and there related time variances) and thermal performance - of all or specific parts of the lamps mechanical structure - or all or part of the arc containment vessel. The imbedded micro controller could record the history of the lamps operating parameters and performance. The aforementioned information and performance matrix would be utilized to preprogram the restoration cycles. It has been found that lamps that are very old are more difficult to clean. As a result these lamps may require a longer cycle time and higher power level to achieve renewal. A renewal strategy utilizing regular cleaning cycles could require less time and less power to achieve restoration. Figure 4 shows a graph of the lamp's operating history light output 40 and provides one such scenario where at a regular interval of time (for this example every 4000 hours or a fraction of rated life) then deploy the cleaning cycle to restore the lamp to more ideal operational condition. Figure 4A shows a diagram of the cleaning schedule for light output 40 plotted against time 42. In this illustration the initial light output 44 is noted as well as the light output prior to each cleaning cycle 43 and following each clean. cycle 44. It has been found from experiment and experience that three cycles is sufficient to clean most lamps and the process and experimentation has assumed that there are no more than 4000 hours between cleaning cycles 48. This cycle would be repeated every 4000 hours effectively restoring the lamp to nearly its original condition.

Fig 4B provides an example of when the lamp after 4000 hours 48, in this example, is taken from nominal power to 125% of power or hyper power 50 to ensure restoration. Cycles could be closer than those described in the diagram or longer. The repeat cycle would be dependant upon the lamp type, age and desired results. A lamp manufacturer would probably not require three cycles at hyper power to preseason the lamp prior to shipment. It is possible that the lamps could be cleaned more frequently however the . process would need to be analyzed to reduce the potentiality of lamp mechanical difficulties due to the severe thermal cycles that would be introduced by the cleaning process.

Figure 5 provides a graphic example of power level 52 vs. seconds at the clean cycle 54 for a 400 W lamp to be restored to normal or near normal operational condition. As one can see from this figure the power ramping from 35% of power or dim power 56 to a multiple of rated power, in this example 125% or hyper power 58, (could be up to 3 times Normal power or 3*X*Pnorm) over a 10 second interval, sustaining at 125% power for a period of time, shown as another 10 seconds. The number of seconds required may be modified to be longer if the lamp has gone for a long time without being cleaned. The greater the deposits mean the greater the loss of materials and thus the greater the time required to restore the lamp. At the end of the sustained high power condition the lamp is ramped back to the 35% dim power level 56. This level will be maintained for a period of time, 10 seconds in this example, to allow the materials removed from the cold areas to now condense into the normal arc space. The cycle is repeated in this graph three times, it has been found that with the proper selection of power levels and time that this is sufficient to fully restore lamp. Once the lamp achieves the performance desired, the power level is then adjusted to the normal 100% power level 60. It may be however that some lamps will require special cycles depending on the fixture and lamp thermal mass. A cleaning schedule can be developed for every lamp wattage.

Figure 6 outlines a simple flow chart that is expanded in Figure 7 -which addresses the necessary steps in decision tree format - and figure 9 - that illustrates the arc volts and cycle. Figure 6 begins with the clean cycle 78 which runs and is monitored for adjustment by the capture of peak light or peak arc volts 80. This example assumes that the 1^st cycle 82 will be insufficient to achieve adequate cleaning. The process then repeats itself until the most recent peak light level (P12) is greater than the previous (P11 ) and the most recent Arc volts (VAR 2) are less than the previous arc volts (VAR 1 ) 84. Once the maximum light level and minimum desired arc volts are achieved, the cleaning cycle would then be terminated 86.

Figure 7 shows a flow chart that describes the cleaning process. The start of the process could either be from an operational mode or from a cold start. Figure 7, step one 62, assumes that the lamp was originally at full power, and then ramps the power supply to its lowest power level (Step 2) 64 for ten seconds or as needed to based upon desired outcome. The process of cleaning would begin by ramping the power level to some multiple of the lamp rating seen in (Step 3) 66. In the previous example this level was 125% of power. The higher power setting will be held for a predetermined period of time (Step 4) 68 for a period ranging from several seconds to as much as a few minutes for typical lamps. The power level and length of time at that power level will depend upon the lamp condition and desired outcome. At the end of the higher power setting interval, the power to the lamp would then be ramped to a new lower power condition Figure 7 step 5 70. This lower power needs to be sufficiently low in level to allow all the lowest vapor pressure material to remain in the arc. The correct time to achieve the lower thermal condition, steps 5 and 6, would be determined by the nature of the lamp, more specifically the thermal mass of the lamp. The specific period time could range from five seconds to several minutes. Under this scenario, the assumption has made that three cycles were optimal for this particular lamp. These cycles involve ramping the lamp to 35% or Pnorm of power 64 and then to a multiple of power 66 and then held 68 for a period of time. As such, Step 6 72 of the flow chart is necessary for determining whether this was the 3^rd cycle and the light level decreased from the previous cycle. If the answer is "Ho", then another cycle is initiated 74. If the answer is "Yes" then the cycle and process is complete and the power returns to the normal level 76. In addition, at this Step 6 - 72, the determination can be made whether the lumen, arc volt and/or color sensing reading matches the desired outcome. If not, then another cycle would be engaged.

As discussed herein, the optimal light, color, and arc volts may be detected by an external sensor or tracked by an imbedded micro-processor. Also discussed herein is the ability to utilize either an external, imbedded or sensor driven control signal to affect the clean cycle length and power level. Where so configured, external control may allow a user of one embodiment to override program protocol to initiate a minimum or maximum dimming operation, for example.

One of skill in the art should appreciate that any of the hardware implementations of the present invention could be realized using software where appropriate. For instance, the functionality of any of the circuitry included within the hardware systems described above may be supplanted and/or augmented with programs executed by embedded microchip or other technologies.

This process assumes a ramping up or down of power to prevent the lamp from having thermal shock. Rapid power changes resulting in quick changes to arc tube thermal conditions can result in a ruptured arc tube. Ramping is therefore not a requisite for the process but a precaution to.

As seen in Figure 8, an optimized cleaning process can significantly reduce the slope in the rise of arc volts 120 over time 122 thus further extending the lamp's economic life. Normal ANSI lamp arc volts begin at 135 volts at zero hours 124 until the arc volts extend beyond 170 arc volts 126. At that point 126, the lamp is beyond its economic life and should be replaced. Figure 8 not only provides an illustration of the normal rise of arc volts with time 128 but also tracks the arc volts at the end of each cleaning cycle. In this illustration, following each 4,000 hour clean cycle the arc volts drop back to below where they would be with a normal rise 128. As a result, an optimized regular cleaning cycle can flatten the slope of the arc volt rise such that at the 20,000 hour mark the arc volts of the lamp are 150 or less 132. Figure 9 tracks the arc volts 134 and light levels 136 as they relate to the power settings 138 for one full clean cycle. While in this case one clean cycle represents three separate power changes the Figure 9 chart shows that while three power changes may be an ideal setting, studies have shown that it may take more or less than three cycles depending upon the particular lamp - the results are tracked to determine the cycles required. Upon completion of one of the three cycles 140 that make a complete clean cycle 142, the light level 148 and arc volts 150 are tracked either by microcontroller, sensor, and/or other diagnostic protocol familiar to those in the art. The arc volt and light level information is relayed back to the internal control input or external control input to assess whether to engage another cycle 140. In this example, once peak light level 146 and minimal arc volts 144 are achieved, the cycle would be complete as the lamp would then be optimized until its next cycle was due.

Using the light output characteristic as the decision criteria, it is seen in figure 9 that there are specific peak light levels (PI1 , PI2, PI3) obtained on each cleaning cycle. As the lamp doping materials that are locked into the cold areas are engaged and more optimally distributed, the light level will increase. This may be seen in fig 9 as P 12 146 and thus recorded before continuing to the next cycle. On cycle 2 the light and/or spectral level, PI2 (146), is taken again and compared to PI1 if it is again larger then the cycle 1 reading, PI2>PI2, then the cycling is allowed to continue to cycle 3. In this example it is seen that in cycle 3 the peak light level decreases slightly, thus the criteria that cycling continue only as long as it has a positive outcome therefore fails or PI3<PI2 indicates that no further improvements are possible.

Other advantages and improvements over the prior art from this invention is an improvement of the HID lamp manufacturing process. The present invention lamp restoration process could be used by the OEM lamp manufacturer at the lamp factory as a more efficient improvement of the manufacturing process. As a part of the manufacturing process the lamp doping halides are deposited into the arc tube envelope. The lamps are then ignited once to fully deploy these materials. Some further burn in is then conducted to ensure there are no manufacturing defects (welds, crimps - physical structure) and that the lamp's performance will meet or exceed the OEM's spec for initial lumens, color and life cycle. This hyper power process can help the OEM lamp manufacturer "season" its lamps and sell lamps as an already seasoned device. The decision flow chart would be expanded version of figure 8 and based on the manufacturers detailed product performance matrix.

Moreover, while the present invention has been illustrated by a description of various embodiments, and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the applicants to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. For instance, embodiments consistent with the invention may include a system configured to detect and monitor filtered light using a sensor responsive to certain wavelengths of the visible spectrum. Thus the power would be controlled on color and not totalized energy levels received in a wide spectrum light at the sensor.

In another embodiment, the sensor may be physically remote from a photovoltaic cell used to power. Still another embodiment may regulate power to a controller using boost or buck topologies know in the art. Storage of power may be achieved by use of super-capacitors (very high capacitance capacitors suitable for energy storage) or batteries. This can allow for the orderly shut down when the light is turned off as well as provide a time when the controller can record the number of events. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative example shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of applicant's general inventive concept.

Claims:

1. A method of conditioning a lamp, comprising: applying an elevated power level to the lamp for a period, wherein the elevated power setting exceeds a normal operating protocol;

And

Subsequently applying a diminished power level to the lamp;

2. The method of Claim 1 , wherein the normal operating protocol includes the diminished power level.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method of conditioning a lamp, comprising: applying an elevated power level to the lamp for a period, wherein the elevated power setting exceeds a normal operating protocol; And Subsequently applying a diminished power level to the lamp;

2. The method of Claim 1 , wherein the normal operating protocol includes th® diminished power tevel.

3. The method of Claim 1 , further comprising detecting a parameter

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the parameter is selected from a group consisting of at least one of; voltage, power, impedance, current, luminosity, color, arc volts, noise, color shifts, number of starts, age of lamp, usage of (amp, maintenance data, number of cycles and frequency.

5. The method of Claim 1 , wherein applying the elevated , power signal for a period further compromises correlating the period to a detected parameter.

6. The method of Claim 5, wherein applying the elevated power signal for a period further compromises correlating the period from a lookup table.

7. The method of Claim 1, wherein applying the elevated power signal for a period further compromises processing a detected parameter to determine the period.

: art apparatus comprising of a pϊwalte/ of HID lamps comprising: a ballast coupled to each HID lamp and configured to give power to each HIP lamp and a power source (triggered externally, internally or by feedback from a sensor) that communicates to each lamp and to the ballast either analog or digitally via a microchip, wherein the power supply communicates a control signal to the ballast that detemiines the delivered power to the lamp for the restoration cycle;

9.. The apparatus of Claim 1 where the sensor may be powered by light energy (if a photovoltaic cell), line carrier energy, or low voltage control signal.