Staged selection type Christmas light controller circuit

Claim 1

A staged selection type Christmas light controller circuit, comprising: an integrated circuit controller having at least a power input pin, a trigger signal input pin, and a plurality of output pins, said integrated controller selectively changing which of said plurality of output pins are energized responsive to a trigger signal coupled to said trigger signal input pin; power supply means coupled to said integrated circuit for supplying regulated DC voltage thereto, said power supply means including (1) a rectifier circuit having an input coupled to an AC source, (2) a current-limiter having an input coupled to an output of said rectifier circuit, and (3) a voltage regulator circuit having an input coupled to an output of said current-limiter and an output coupled to said input pin of said integrated circuit controller; trigger signal generating means coupled between said power supply means and said trigger signal input pin for generating said trigger signal responsive to said rectifier circuit being disconnected from said AC source followed by reconnection thereto within a predetermined time period; and, a driver circuit having a plurality of inputs respectively coupled to said plurality of output pins of said integrated circuit controller, said driver circuit having a plurality of output terminals, each of said plurality of output terminals of said driver circuit being coupled to one end of a respective string of Christmas lights, each said string of Christmas lights having an opposing end coupled to said power supply means.