Control circuit for dimming fluorescent lamps

Abstract

The present invention constitutes a control circuit which permits the dimming of the illumination emitted from a fluorescent lamp. A controllable source of alternating current power is converted to direct current utilizing a conventional diode bridge and power filter. The direct current signal is converted to a high frequency alternating current signal using a self-oscillating inverter circuit. The output of the inverter circuit is coupled to a resonance circuit. The lamp will be turned on when the output of the resonance circuit is increased until it exceeds the minimum voltage specified for the selected fluorescent lamp. A voltage doubler circuit powers the fluorescent lamp and permits the fluorescent lamp to be dimmed or otherwise remain illuminated when the input alternating power is reduced below that specified for normal operation of the fluorescent lamp.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.