Apparatus for operating electric discharge devices

Claim 1

A SYSTEM FOR OPERATING AT LEAST ONE ELECTRIC DISCHARGE LAMP FROM AN ALTERNATING POWER SOURCE, SAID SYSTEM COMPRISING: AN ALTERNATING POWER SOURCE, AT LEAST ONE ELECTRIC DISCHARGE LAMP, AT LEAST ONE BILATERAL SWITCH, MEANS FOR REPETITIVELY DRIVING SAID BILATERAL SWITCH TO A HIGH IMPEDANCE STATE AND TO A LOW IMPEDANCE STATE IN EACH HALF CYCLE OF THE ALTERNATING POWER SOURCE, A FIRST IMPEDANCE ELEMENT CONNECTED IN SHUNT WITH SAID BILATERAL SWITCH, AN INDUCTANCE CONNECTED IN SERIES CIRCUIT RELATION WITH SAID BILATERAL SWITCH, CIRCUIT MEANS INCLUDING INPUT LEADS FOR CONNECTION WITH THE POWER SOURCE AND OUTPUT LEADS FOR CONNECTION WITH THE ELECTRIC DISCHARGE LAMP TO SUPPLY THE OUTPUT OF THE APPARATUS TO THE LAMP, SAID CIRCUIT MEANS CONNECTING SAID BILATERAL SWITCH IN CIRCUIT WITH AT LEAST ONE OF SAID INPUT LEADS AND ONE OF SAID OUTPUT LEADS, SAID BILARERAL SWITCH WHEN DRIVEN FROM ONE OF SAID IMPEDANCE STATES TO THE OTHER IN EACH HALF CYCLE CAUSING THE ENERGY SUPPLIED TO SAID OUTPUT LEADS TO BE CHANGED FROM ONE LEVEL TO A SECOND LEVEL, A FEEDBACK DEVICE COUPLED TO SAID LAMP FOR INDICATING THE ENERGY UTILIZED BY SAID LAMP, AND MEANS COUPLING SAID FEEDBACK DEVICE TO SAID DRIVING MEANS FOR REPETITIVELY CHANGING SAID ENERGY LEVELS AT A RATE PROPORTIONAL TO THE ENERGY UTILIZED BY SAID LAMP TO VARY THE IMPEDANCE OF SAID INDUCTANCE AND DYNAMICALLY BALANCE THE ENERGY PROVIDED BY SAID SOURCE WITH THE ENERGY REQUIRED FOR OPERATION OF THE ELECTRIC DISCHARGE LAMP.