Abstract: A discharge lamp lighting device capable of simply and inexpensively suppressing generation of unpleasant sounds from an inductive element is provided without increasing size. A discharge lamp lighting device includes a commutator 11 for supplying an AC current whose polarity alternately reverses to a discharge lamp 16, a high-voltage pulse transformer 35 capable of lighting the discharge lamp 16, a frequency varying means 48 for sequentially varying the frequency of a current supplied to the discharge lamp 16 with the discharge lamp 16 being kept lighted. Accordingly, with the discharge lamp 16 lighted, the frequency of the current supplied to the discharge lamp 16 is kept nonconstant and sequentially varied. Hence, the magnetic flux generated in a magnetic core 34 of the high-voltage pulse transformer 35 is prevented from being sequentially reversed in polarity at a constant frequency, thus effectively reducing the level of the unpleasant sounds.

Abstract: The present invention is capable of continuously applying an optimum starting waveform to a discharge lamp using a simple-enough circuit configuration. A starting circuit is connected to output terminals of an inverter, and the starting circuit outputs to a discharge lamp an output voltage Vout capable of starting the discharge lamp that is a load, upon receiving an AC power with a high frequency from the inverter at the start of the discharge lamp. Further, the starting circuit is connected to output terminals of the inverter, and comprises two windings connected to the output terminals of the inverter and serially connected to the discharge lamp; a first capacitor connected between an output terminal of the first winding and an input terminal of the second winding; and a second capacitor connected between an input terminal of the first winding and an output terminal of the second winding.