Patent ID: 8466630

Claim:
A discharge lamp lighting apparatus to light a discharge lamp by flash electric discharge, the discharge lamp includes a pair of main electrodes arranged to face each other in an electrical discharge space and a starting electrode that is not in contact with the electrical discharge space, comprising: a main capacitor that accumulates electric charges for producing electric discharge in the discharge lamp; a charge circuit that charges the electric charges in the main capacitor; a main switching element inserted in a path between the main capacitor and the discharge lamp; an electric discharge sequence control circuit that generates a main gate signal and a starting signal; a main gate driving circuit that drives ON and OFF states of the switching element by receiving a main gate signal; and a starting circuit that impresses high voltage to the starting electrode by receiving a starting signal; wherein the sequence control circuit outputs the starting signal to the starting circuit while the main gate signal is supplied to the main switching element to keep the main switching element as a stand-by ON state; and, the sequence control circuit outputs a sequence of the main gate signal corresponding to an alternating repetition of ON and OFF states of the main switching element.