| 摘要 |
A means and method for dimming ballasted lamps ensures that sufficient starting voltage is always available to the ballasted lamps, yet allows switching between maximum light output, and one or more dimmed light output levels. Each lamp is connected to a ballast and has a capacitor component in parallel between the ballast and the lamp. A selection or switching device allows control of the desired light output level. For dimmed light output levels, the selection device causes a reduction in capacitance of the capacitance component to reduce the power to each of the lamps. An optional timing device ensures that full capacitance will always be available during starting. Once the selected timing period of the timing device is expired, the selected light level is achieved by automatically changing the capacitance available to each lamp to alter the output of that lamp. The selection or switching device can control a single lamp, or an array of lamps, or multiple arrays of lamps at spaced apart locations.
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