Method of driving a gas-discharge lamp

A driving unit for driving a gas-discharge lamp, the unit comprising:

• an event management unit for detecting or anticipating a trigger event (tsw);
• a driving scheme management unit for selecting one of a plurality of different driving schemes (DS1, DS2), according to which the lamp is to be driven, based on the output of the event management unit;
• and a power control strategy management unit, which power control strategy management unit is realised to select, in temporal dependence on the trigger event (tsw), one of a plurality of different power control strategies (PCs, PCf) according to which the lamp power is to be controlled for a time interval (tm, tf).

A method of driving a gas-discharge lamp and stabilizing the light flux of the lamp under requirements of maintaining a constant flux,

• wherein, at any one time, the lamp is driven according to one of a plurality of different driving schemes (DS1, DS2) and the lamp power is controlled according to one of a plurality of different power control strategies (PCs, PCf),
• wherein the lamp is driven according to a first driving scheme (DS1) prior to a trigger event (tsw) and, upon occurrence of the trigger event (tsw), a driving scheme switchover is effected so that the lamp is subsequently driven according to a second driving scheme (DS2), wherein said trigger event is determined based upon one or more measurements of operating parameters of the lamp, and
• wherein, in temporal dependence on the trigger event (tsw), a power control strategy switchover is effected from a first power control strategy (PCs) to a second power control strategy (PCf) such that the lamp power is subsequently controlled according to the second power control strategy (PCf) for a time interval (tm, tf).