# US 2008/0185978 A1 · Light source driving apparatus, display device having the same, and driving method thereof > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2008/0185978 A1 - Document ID: US20080185978A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 11/856,852 - Filed: 2007-09-18 - Published: 2008-08-07 - Earliest claimed: 2007-02-06 - Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. - Inventors: Jin-gil Jeong; Seung-yo Lee; Jung-seob Lee - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20080185978A1 ## CPC - H05B 45/14: using electrical feedback from LEDs or from LED modules - H05B 45/10: Controlling the intensity of the light - H05B 45/37: Converter circuits - H05B: ELECTRIC HEATING; ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS FOR ELECTRIC LIGHT SOURCES, IN GENERAL ## Abstract A light source driving apparatus for time-dividing and driving a plurality of light sources, a display device having the same, and a driving method thereof are provided. The light source driving apparatus includes a light source module including a plurality of light sources; a light source driver which outputs a driving current to drive the light sources; and a switch which selectively feeds the driving current to the light sources respectively and sequentially drives the plurality of the light sources. The light source driver outputs a low-level driving current to drive the light sources, and thus the driving speed, the system efficiency and the optical power can be increased and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A light source driving apparatus comprising: a light source module comprising a plurality of light sources; a light source driver which outputs a driving current to drive the light sources; and a switch which selectively and plurally feeds the driving current to the plurality of the light sources and sequentially drives the selectively fed light sources. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The light source driving apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light source driver sequentially provides the switch with a control signal to drive the selectively fed light sources with a predetermined duty ratio. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The light source driving apparatus of claim 2, wherein, when a number of the plurality of the light sources is greater than an inverse number of the predetermined duty ratio, the light source driver provides the control signal with respect to the selectively fed light sources by blocks, wherein the blocks respectively correspond to the selectively fed light sources, wherein a number of blocks corresponds to an integer part of the inverse number of the predetermined duty ratio. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The light source driving apparatus of claim 2, wherein, when a number of the plurality of the light sources is less than an inverse number of the duty ratio, the light source driver divides the light sources into blocks and provides the control signal to each block. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The light source driving apparatus of claim 2, wherein the switch comprises a plurality of switch elements which interconnect the plurality of the light sources to the light source driver. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The light source driving apparatus of claim 5, wherein the light source driver outputs the control signal through signal lines linked to the respective plurality of the switch elements. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The light source driving apparatus of claim 5, further comprising: an element selector which selects a switch element among the plurality of the switch elements to drive the selectively fed light sources in response to the control signal. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The light source driving apparatus of claim 7, wherein the element selector is a demultiplexer. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The light source driving apparatus of claim 1, wherein the light source driver comprises: a power supplier which outputs the driving current; and a light source controller which outputs the control signal to the switch. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The light source driving apparatus of claim 1, wherein a light source among the plurality of the light sources is a diode pumped solid state laser. ### Claim 11 (depends on 2) The light source driving apparatus of claim 2, further comprising: a pulse width modulator (PWM) which variably generates the predetermined duty ratio. ### Claim 12 A method for driving a plurality of light sources, comprising: setting a condition to divide the plurality of the light sources based on time and drive the plurality of the light sources; generating a control signal based on the condition; and sequentially providing a driving current to the plurality of the light sources according to the control signal. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The method of claim 12, wherein the control signal is a signal to drive the plurality of the light sources with a predetermined duty ratio. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the setting the condition comprises providing the control signal with respect to the plurality of the light sources by blocks, wherein each block is determined according to the condition in the setting the condition, wherein a number of the blocks corresponds to an integer part of an inverse number of the predetermined duty ratio when a number of the plurality of the light sources is greater than the inverse number of the predetermined duty ratio. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13, wherein the setting the condition comprises dividing the plurality of the light sources into blocks and providing the control signal to each block when a number of the plurality of the light sources is less than an inverse number of the predetermined duty ratio. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the generating the control signal comprises generating a plurality of control signals corresponding to the blocks. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The method of claim 14, wherein the generating the control signal comprises selecting a unit of the block and generating a control signal comprising a logical combination to supply the driving current to the unit of the block. ### Claim 18 A display device comprising: a display which displays an image; an optical engine which emits lights of a predetermined luminance to display the image on the display; and a controller which controls the optical engine to process an image signal input from outside and display the image, wherein the optical engine comprises: a light source module comprising a plurality of light sources, a light source driver which outputs a driving current to drive the plurality of the light sources, and a switch which selectively and plurally feeds the driving current to the plurality of the light sources and sequentially drives the selectively fed light sources. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The display device of claim 18, wherein the light source driver sequentially provides the switch with a control signal for driving the selectively fed light sources with a predetermined duty ratio. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The display device of claim 18, wherein the optical engine comprises a digital micromirror device (DMD). ### Claim 21 (depends on 18) The display device of claim 18, wherein a light source among the plurality of the light sources is a diode pumped solid state laser. ### Claim 22 A method for driving a display device which comprises a display to display an image and a plurality of light sources to emit lights of a predetermined luminance, the method comprising: setting a condition to time-divide and drive the plurality of the light sources; generating a control signal based on the condition; sequentially providing a driving current to the plurality of the light sources according to the control signal; and displaying an image on the display using lights emitted from the plurality of the light sources which are sequentially driven by the driving current. ### Claim 23 (depends on 22) The method of claim 22, wherein the control signal is a signal to drive the plurality of the light sources with a predetermined duty ratio. ### Claim 24 (depends on 23) The method of claim 23, wherein the setting the condition comprises providing the control signal with respect to the plurality of the light sources by blocks, wherein each block is determined according to the condition in the setting the condition, wherein a number of the blocks corresponds to an integer part of an inverse number of the predetermined duty ratio when a number of the plurality of the light sources is greater than the inverse number of the predetermined duty ratio. ### Claim 25 (depends on 23) The method of claim 23, wherein the setting the condition comprises dividing the plurality of the light sources into blocks and providing the control signal to each block when a number of the plurality of the light sources is less than an inverse number of the predetermined duty ratio.