HIGH PRESSURE DISCHARGE LAMP LIGHTING DEVICE

摘要

A control circuit controls a switching element of a step-down chopper circuit and that of an igniter circuit such that the switching elements are synchronously turned on/off, and controls the switching of the switching element of the step-down chopper circuit in accordance with an amount of a drop in the output voltage of the step-down chopper circuit when lighting of a high-voltage discharge lamp is started such that inrush current flowing when the high-voltage discharge lamp breaks down is suppressed. With this, when a lighting apparatus starts lighting the high-voltage discharge lamp, the inrush current flowing when the lamp breaks down can be minimized in response to variations in the load of the high-voltage discharge lamp. In addition, the lifetime of the high-voltage discharge lamp can be increased since inrush current during glow discharge can be suppressed.