Patent ID: 7592753

Claim:
An inductive power supply system for an inductively powered gas discharge lamp assembly comprising: a primary having a tank circuit operable at a pre-heat frequency and an operating frequency, said primary having a resonant frequency controller for selectively varying a resonant frequency of said tank circuit; a lamp having a first electrode and a second electrode spaced apart within a gas; a secondary coil electrically connected to said first electrode and said second electrode; a first capacitor connected in series between said first electrode and said second electrode; and wherein said first capacitor has characteristics selected such that an electrical flow path through said first capacitor has a lesser impedance than an electrical flow path through said gas when power is applied to the secondary circuit at a pre-heat frequency, and such that said electrical flow path through said first capacitor has a greater impedance than said electrical flow path through said gas when power is applied to the secondary circuit at an operating frequency.