A lighting control system provides variable arc current to one or more fluorescent
gas discharge lamps and provides a heating voltage to the lamp electrodes. The
system includes a start-up circuit which includes circuitry for providing a starting
voltage to an output power conditioning circuit. The latter drives a switching
unit to control the application of DC power to the fluorescent gas discharge lamps
and to provide an operating voltage to an input power factor correction circuit.
The input power factor correction circuit boosts the converted DC power and the
operating voltage. The start-up circuit includes a plurality of voltage doubling
rectifier circuits and a plurality of zener diodes which receive the operating
voltage and are electrically connected to the input power factor correction circuit
and the output power conditioning unit so as to provide a regulated bias voltage
supply to the output power conditioning unit and to the input power factor correction circuit.
