Patent ID: 7119490

Claim:
Starter for a discharge lamp suitable for operation from an AC supply voltage, comprising a first terminal for connection to a first lamp electrode, a second terminal for connection to a second lamp electrode, a switching element that is coupled between the first and the second lamp electrode during operation of the starter, a control circuit coupled to a control electrode of the switching element for generating a control signal for rendering the switching element conductive and thereby allowing an AC preheat current with a period T to flow through the lamp electrodes and for subsequently rendering the switching element non-conductive to generate an ignition voltage pulse between the lamp electrodes, characterized in that the control circuit is operable from the point in time at which the AC preheat current begins to flow through the lamp electrodes and comprises a synchronization circuit coupled to the discharge lamp during operation of the starter for synchronizing the control signal and AC preheat current in such a way that the time at which the control signal renders the switching element non-conductive differs less than 0.08*T from a zero-crossing of the preheat current.