Patent ID: 8513896

Claim:
Method for control and discharge control of an electrical load comprising: at least two point loads by means of a control frame and a discharge frame, wherein one control frame and one discharge frame establish one switching cycle for the electrical load and a plurality of switching cycles are arranged together, wherein a controllable switch is connected in parallel to each point load so that each point load is configured to be switched independently of the other point load during the switching cycle, wherein the electrical current flowing in the electrical load is monitored by a control unit and controlled to an adjustable setpoint by means of an actual/setpoint comparison so that a current that is substantially constant flows into the electrical load, and wherein the controllable switches switch on the point loads during the control frame, and the controllable switches switch off the point loads during the discharge frame, a capacitor connected in parallel to the electrical load smoothes the voltage dropping across the electrical load, and a discharge resistor with an additional controllable switch is connected in parallel to the capacitor in order to discharge the capacitor during the discharge frame by closing the additional controllable switch to ground or to zero point or to another voltage potential through the discharge resistor.