Control system for multiple fluorescent lamps

A control system for multiple fluorescent lamps, comprising:

• a period counter that receives an input signal and calculates the period of said input signal;
• a divider that receives the period of said input signal and divides said period by a predetermined number to form a start point indicator;
• a pulse width counter that receives said input signal and calculates the pulse width of said signal;
• an adder that adds the divided period from said divider to said pulse width to form an end point indicator;
• a first comparator that outputs a phase delayed signal by comparing said start point indicator, said end point indicator, and said period;
• a ramp waveform generator that generates a ramp waveform signal according to a reset signal;
• and
• a second comparator that generates an output signal with a phase shift by comparing said ramp waveform signal to a reference voltage.

A method for controlling a system with multiple fluorescent lamps, comprising the steps of:

• generating a ramp waveform signal;
• extracting the period and the width of said ramp waveform signal;
• calculating a start point indicator by dividing the period by a predetermined number;
• adding the value of said start point indicator to the width of said ramp waveform signal to form an end point indicator;
• and
• comparing said start point indicator, said end point indicator, and said period in order to generate a series of output signals with phase shifts.