Microprocessor-controlled strobe light

Claim 1

A strobe light circuit powered by an input voltage, for flashing a flashtube at a predetermined flash rate with a predetermined amount of energy in each flash, comprising: first means for storing energy supplied from said input voltage; second means for storing energy, connected in shunt with said flashtube and capable of storing energy at a rate faster than said first storing means; switching means for regulating the storage over time of energy in said first storing means and for allowing transfer of energy from said first storing means to said second storing means, said switching means having a first position and a second position such that when said switching means is in said first position, energy is stored in said first storing means and when said switching means is in said second position, energy from said first storing means is transferred to said second storing means, and such that a relative peak current drawn by said first storing means is attained as said switching means switches from said first position to said second position; means for permitting current flow from said first storing means to said second storing means and for blocking current flow from said second storing means to said first storing means or said switching means; means for triggering said flashtube at said predetermined flash rate; means for regulating said input voltage into a regulated voltage supply; and microcontroller means powered by said regulated voltage supply, for initiating said triggering means at the predetermined flash rate, for receiving said input voltage, for sampling and digitizing said input voltage into a lookup table input having a corresponding D.C. lookup table output, and for repeatedly cycling said switching means between flashes of said flashtube by controlling the time said switching means is in said first position in accordance with the lookup table output, and controlling the time said switching means is in said second position in accordance with the time expended since the last flash of said flashtube, such that said second energy storing means acquires said predetermined amount of energy as the triggering means is initiated by the microcontroller means and such that the time said switching means is in said first position is maximized and the time said switching means is in said second position is generally decreased relative to the time since the last flash of said flashtube, to minimize the peak current drawn by the first storing means.