Abstract: The invention provides a method and system of controlling illumination characteristics of a plurality of lighting segments. According to the invention, there is provided an illumination system, comprising: a plurality of lighting segments; a detecting subsystem configured to detect an illumination intensity and/or color of lights emitted from each lighting segment; a controller configured to receive the detecting subsystem's output signals representing illumination intensity and/or color of lights emitted from each lighting segment and to generate sets of driving signals to respectively adjust the driving currents of each lighting segment in response to the output signals, so as to adjust the illumination intensity and/or color of the lights emitted from each lighting segment in accordance with a predetermined illumination setting, wherein each set of driving signals has a unique period feature which is distinguished from that of other sets of driving signals corresponding to other lighting segments.

Abstract: The present invention proposes a circuit for converting DC into AC pulsed voltage. The circuit comprises two or four controllable semiconductor switches as well as a corresponding controller unit. The controller unit controls the opening and closing of the two or four controllable semiconductor switches using a preset control mode. When the circuit is used as the driver circuit of a capacitive load such as a DBD lamp, the luminous efficiency of the DBD lamp is improved.

Abstract: The present invention proposes a circuit for converting DC into AC pulsed voltage. The circuit comprises two controllable semiconductor switches. By controlling the opening and closing of the semiconductor switches, the circuit can operate in different modes, i.e. high input voltage mode and low input voltage mode. The circuit for converting DC into AC pulsed voltage, proposed in the present invention, is suitable for a wide input voltage range. When the circuit is used as the driver circuit of a DBD lamp, the DBD lamp can still operate normally by switching to low-voltage DC supply in case of an AC supply failure, and the DBD lamp has a higher luminous efficiency.

Abstract: The invention proposes a circuit arrangement for converting a DC voltage from a DC power supply into a pulsed voltage to operate or drive a load, for example, a DBD lamp. The circuit arrangement comprises a transformer having a primary winding and a secondary winding, a first controllable switch branch, a second controllable switch branch, and a control unit. The control unit is configured to control the first controllable switch branch and the second controllable switch branch to be alternately turned on so that at least part of the energy from the DC power supply is stored in the primary winding during each turn-on period of the first controllable switch branch and the second controllable switch branch, and to leave an idle time between the two adjacent turn-on periods so that at least part of the stored energy is transferred to the secondary winding to alternately generate a positive pulsed voltage during one idle time and a negative pulsed voltage during the next idle time.

Abstract: The invention provides a method and system of controlling illumination characteristics of a plurality of lighting segments. According to the invention, there is provided an illumination system, comprising: a plurality of lighting segments; a detecting subsystem configured to detect an illumination intensity and/or color of lights emitted from each lighting segment; a controller configured to receive the detecting subsystem's output signals representing illumination intensity and/or color of lights emitted from each lighting segment and to generate sets of driving signals to respectively adjust the driving currents of each lighting segment in response to the output signals, so as to adjust the illumination intensity and/or color of the lights emitted from each lighting segment in accordance with a predetermined illumination setting, wherein each set of driving signals has a unique period feature which is distinguished from that of other sets of driving signals corresponding to other lighting segments.