Patent ID: 8258710

Claim:
A solid state light source driving and dimming system, comprising: a plurality of solid state light source driver circuits configured to be coupled to an AC voltage source, each driver circuit comprising: a constant current circuitry coupled to the AC voltage source, wherein the constant current circuitry is configured to generate a constant AC current from the AC voltage source; rectifier circuitry coupled to the constant current circuitry and configured to generate a DC current to drive at least one solid state light source; shunt circuitry coupled to a negative voltage rail and a positive voltage rail of the AC voltage source; switch circuitry coupled to the shunt circuitry; and pulse width modulation (PWM) circuitry configured to generate a PWM signal to control a conduction state of the switch circuitry; wherein when the switch circuitry is closed, a conduction path exists between the AC voltage source and the shunt circuitry through the switch circuitry to discontinue the DC current, and when the switch circuitry is closed, the shunt circuitry is electrically decoupled from the AC voltage source.