Fault indicating fluorescent ballast apparatus

Claim 1

A FLUORESCENT LAMP AND BALLAST SYSTEM COMPRISING: A TRANSFORMER HAVING A PRIMARY WINDING AND AT LEAST ONE SECONDARY WINDING INDUCTIVELY COUPLED TO THE PRIMARY WINDING, AT LEAST ONE FLUORESCENT LAMP CONNECTED IN CIRCUIT WITH THE SECONDARY WINDING TO BE IGNITED AND OPERATED BY THE TRANSFORMER, LEADS EXTENDING FROM TWO TERMINALS OF THE PRIMARY WINDING AND ADAPTED TO BE CONNECTED RESPECTIVELY TO TWO TERMINALS OF AN A.C. POWER SOURCE, AND ONE LEAD HAVING AN AUTOMATIC RESET THERMOSTATIC SWITCH SERIES CONNECTED THEREIN AND DISPOSED ADJACENT SAID TRANSFORMER TO BE SUBJECTED TO THE HEAT GENERATED THEREIN SO THAT ABNORMAL HEAT FROM SAID TRANSFORMER WILL OPEN SAID THERMOSTATIC SWITCH, WITH RESPECT TO A FIXED CONTACT THEREOF, AT A PREDETERMINED TEMPERATURE AND THEREBY OPEN SAID LEAD TO SAID PRIMARY WINDING TO DEENERGIZE SAID TRANSFORMER AND EXTINGUISH SAID LAMPS, FOLLOWING WHICH THE SWITCH WILL CLOSE AFTER THE TRANSFORMER HAS COOLED TO A SECOND LOWER TEMPERATURE ONCE MORE CLOSING SAID LEAD TO SAID PRIMARY WINDING ENERGIZING SAID TRANSFORMER AND REIGNITING SAID LAMP UNLESS OTHERWISE PREVENTED FROM DOING SO, A RELAY HAVING NORMALLY CLOSED CONTACTS IN SERIES WITH SAID SWITCH IN SAID ONE LEAD AND THE RELAY HAVING A SOLENOID CONNECTED IN A CIRCUIT BY-PASSING THE SWITCH AND CONTACTS, THE SOLENOID IMPEDANCE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN THE IMPEDANCE OF THE PRIMARY WINDING WHEREBY UPON OPENING OF SAID SWITCH CURRENT WILL FLOW IN SAID SOLENOID IN SERIES WITH SAID PRIMARY WINDING, THE SOLENOID BEING MECHANICALLY CONNECTED TO OPEN SAID CONTACTS WHEN ENERGIZED, AND THE SOLENOID ADAPTED TO DRAW A CURRENT SMALLER THAN REQUIRED TO ENERGIZE THE TRANSFORMER BUT SUFFICIENT TO KEEP THE SOLENOID ENERGIZED SO THAT THE SUBSEQUENT CLOSING OF THE SWITCH WILL NOT AFFECT THE PRIMARY WINDING UNTIL THE SOLENOID IS DEENERGIZED AND MEANS FOR DEENERGIZING THE SOLENOID COMPRISING CIRCUIT INTERRUPTING MEANS IN THE SERIES CIRCUIT OF THE PRIMARY WINDING AND SOLENOID.