Patent ID: 7402962

Claim:
An electronic circuit comprising: an electroluminescent lamp having a first terminal and a second terminal; a regulator having a first input coupled to an input voltage, an output for providing an output voltage, and a feedback input; a programmable feedback circuit having a first input coupled to the output of the regulator, an output coupled to the feedback input of the regulator to provide a feedback voltage, and a control input for programming a relationship between the regulator output voltage and the feedback voltage; and a driver circuit having a first control input, a first output coupled to the first terminal of the lamp, and a second output coupled to the second terminal of the lamp, wherein during a first time period, the feedback circuit is programmed to increase a voltage across said electroluminescent lamp to a first threshold and then hold the voltage across said electroluminescent lamp constant, wherein during one or more successive time periods, the feedback circuit is reprogrammed to successively increase the voltage across said electroluminescent lamp and then hold the voltage across said electroluminescent lamp constant, and wherein during a final time period, the feedback circuit is reprogrammed to increase a voltage across said electroluminescent lamp to a maximum voltage and then hold the voltage across said electroluminescent lamp constant.