Patent ID: RE39341

Claim:
A fluorescent lamp lighting apparatus comprising: a DC-voltage generation circuit for generating a DC voltage; a drive-signal generation circuit for generating and outputting desired high-voltage-side and low-voltage-side pulse signals by using the DC voltage from said DC-voltage generation circuit; and a drive control circuit having switching means driven by the pulse signals input from said drive-signal generation circuit to output a drive signal across the output terminals thereof, wherein a resonance circuit and the filament electrodes of a fluorescent lamp light-emitting tube are connected across the output terminals of said switching means, and said drive-signal generation circuit having: a timer circuit in which the output signal thereof is altered after a predetermined time from power on; a separate-excitation oscillator for outputting a signal having a predetermined frequency; a separate-excitation/self-excitation selection switch circuit for outputting one of two input signals depending on the output signal of said timer circuit; a trigger input circuit for detecting the resonance frequency of said resonance circuit; a high voltage-side pulse generation circuit having a high-voltage-side dead time generation circuit, a narrow pulse generation circuit, a level shift circuit, a pulse reproduction circuit and an output circuit; a low-voltage-side pulse generation circuit having a low-voltage-side dead time generation circuit and an output circuit; and an under-voltage lockout circuit for outputting an output signal when the voltage of the power source is a predetermined voltage or less at the time of the rising and falling of the power source.