Patent ID: 7999484

Claim:
A drive and control apparatus for controlling current supplied to a string of one or more electronic devices, the apparatus comprising: a voltage converter configured to receive a first magnitude voltage from a power supply, the voltage converter configured to convert the first magnitude voltage to a second magnitude voltage in response to a control signal; a dimming control means configured to receive the second magnitude voltage and a dimming control signal, the dimming control means configured to control transmission of the second magnitude voltage to the string based on the dimming control signal, the dimming control means configured for multi-mode operation, wherein the dimming control signal is indicative of a desired mode of operation of the dimming control means, and is indicative of a duty cycle and a reference voltage; a current sensing means in series with the string and configured to generate a feedback signal indicative of current flowing through the string; and a feedback means electrically coupled to the voltage converter and current sensing means, the feedback means configured to receive the feedback signal and generate the control signal based on the feedback signal, the feedback means further configured to provide the control signal to the voltage converter.