Patent ID: 7049760

Claim:
An electronic flash circuit for a camera comprising: a single flash capacitor; a flash capacitor charging circuit for generating a flash discharge voltage on the single flash capacitor; a flash tube having a pair of input electrodes in an envelope enclosing gas molecules; a flash tube trigger terminal adjacent to the flash tube envelope; a flash trigger switch having a pair of switch contacts and adapted to close at a desired time of flash illumination, one of the switch contacts being connected directly both to the single flash capacitor and one of the input electrodes in the flash tube envelope; and a piezoelectric transformer having one input connected directly to the single flash capacitor and another of the input electrodes in the flash tube envelope, having another input connected directly to another of the switch contacts of the flash trigger switch, and having an output coupled to the flash tube trigger terminal, the piezoelectric transformer being responsive to charge voltage on the single flash capacitor upon closure of the flash trigger switch to generate a high voltage at the flash tube trigger terminal sufficient to ionize gas in the flash tube envelope thereby causing a flash illumination from discharge of the single flash capacitor voltage through the input electrodes in the flash tube envelope.