Patent 7084864 was granted and assigned to Texas Instruments on August, 2006 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A computer (80) includes a display assembly 10 which uses a backlight power supply 40 to power a fluorescent tube 18 for backlighting purposes. The power supply generates voltages necessary to power the tube 18, generally in the range of 250-450 for steady-state operation, using a bank 41 of switched capacitors 52. The switched capacitors are charged in parallel and switched to a serial configuration to produce the voltage necessary to power the tube 18.