Silicon controlled rectifier dimmer

Claim 1

APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING THE LOAD CURRENT SUPPLIED TO AN INCANDESCENT LAMP LOAD SUPPLIED FROM AN ALTERNATING SOURCE COMPRISNG CURRENT CONTROL MEANS HAVING OUTPUT TERMINALS FOR CONNECTING THE CURRENT CONTROL MEANS IN SERIES WITH AN INCANDESCENT LAMP LOAD, SAID CURRENT CONTROL MEANS HAVING CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID OUTPUT TERMINALS, A BRIDGE NETWORK WITH SILCON CONTROLLED RECTIFIER IN ADJACENT LEGS FOR ALTRNATELY PASSING LOAD CURRENT AND DIODES IN THE OTHER OPPOSITE ADJACENT LEGS, SURGE CURRENT LIMITING AND WAVE SHAPING MEANS CONNECTED ACROSS THE DIAGONAL OPPOSITE TO SAID OUTPUT TERMINAL DIAGONAL FOR PASSING THE LOAD CURRENT THROUGH EACH SILICON CONTROLLED RECTIFIER, MEANS FOR FORMING DRIVE SIGNALS IN TIMED RELATION WITH ALTERNATING VOLTAGE APPLIED TO SAID OUTPUT TERMINALS AND VARIABLE IN PHASE RELATIVE TO THE APPLIED VOLTAGE TO CONTROL THE CONDUCTIVITY OF SAID SILICON CONTROLLED RECTIFIERS FOR PASSING THE LOAD CURRENT OVER A RANGE FROM DIMOUT TO FULL BRILLIANCE, AND MEANS CONNECTING SAID SURGE CURRENT LIMITING AND WAVE SHAPING MEANS AND SAID DRIVE SIGNAL FORMING MEANS TO IMPRESS A PLURS ON SAID DRIVE SIGNAL FORMING MEANS TO ALTER THE PHASE RELATION OF DRIVE SIGNALS AND THE APPLIED VOLTAGE ON APPLICATION OF A LOW RESISTANCE LOAD TO RENDER SAID SILICON CONTROLLED RECTIFIERS INITIALLY NON-CONDUCTIVE TO BLOCK THE PASSAGE OF LOAD CURRENT AND GRADUALLY RESTORE THE PHASE RELATION OF THE DRIVE SIGNAL AND APPLIED VOLTAGE IN AN INITIAL PERIOD LESS THAN ONE SECOND.