Patent ID: 7982415

Claim:
A discharge lamp lighting apparatus comprising: a switch circuit configured to convert a DC voltage of a DC power source into an AC voltage by turning on/off one or more switching elements; a transformer having a primary winding connected to the switch circuit and a secondary winding to output an AC voltage; a discharge lamp connected to the secondary winding of the transformer; a current detector configured to detect an AC output current passing through the discharge lamp; an error amplifier configured to output an error signal representative of an error voltage between a detected value of the current detector and a predetermined reference voltage; a controller configured to generate, based on the error signal of the error amplifier, control signals that turn on/off the switching elements to control the AC output current at a predetermined value; and a time division signal generator configured to generate a time division signal at the start of an ON/OFF operation of the switching elements, the time division signal being one of a signal that delays a change in a burst dimming signal and a signal that is formed by superimposing a signal having a predetermined inclination on the burst dimming signal, wherein the error amplifier changes the error signal according to the time division signal of the time division signal generator.