Development of the buck-boost inverter with two switches and the application to the electronic ballast

In this paper, the buck-boost converter circuit, which we have named "neutral-point type", based on the new approach is proposed. Operations and characteristics of this circuit are reported. And, it is shown that this converter can be applied to the electronic ballast for the lighting. This circuit is effective for reduction of harmonic current. When it was applied to the electronic ballast, it also has the advantage that reduces the following characteristics of the circuit: 1. withstand voltage of circuit element, 2. inrush current and 3. ripple of output voltage. The experimental result of electronic ballast is also reported.