Drive device

A drive device that controls driving of an opening/closing metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistor and a protection MOS transistor interposed in series in a power supply path extending from a direct current power supply to a load, and connected so that parasitic diodes of the opening/closing MOS transistor and the protection MOS transistor are directed oppositely to each other, the drive device comprising:

• a drive portion that operates by receiving power supplied from the direct current power supply via a high potential side power supply line connected to a high potential side terminal of the direct current power supply and a low potential side power supply line connected to a low potential side terminal of the direct current power supply, and drives the opening/closing MOS transistor and the protection MOS transistor;
• and
• a reverse connection protection controller that executes a protection operation which cuts off a current flowing in the power supply path by forcibly turning off the protection MOS transistor independently of driving by the drive portion in response to that a potential relationship between the high potential side power supply line and the low potential side power supply line becomes a reverse potential relationship that is a reverse of a normal potential relationship between the high potential side power supply line and the low potential side power supply line,
• wherein:
• the reverse connection protection controller includes a potential relationship detection portion that divides a voltage between the high potential side power supply line and the low potential side power supply line, and detects a potential relationship between the high potential side power supply line and the low potential side power supply line based on the divided voltages;
• the reverse connection protection controller executes the protection operation based on a detection result obtained by the potential relationship detection portion;
• the potential relationship detection portion includes a series circuit of resisters connected between the high potential side power supply line and the low potential side power supply line;
• the potential relationship detection portion includes a transistor connected between the high potential side power supply line and the low potential side power supply line and turned on and off based on the divided voltages which are voltage of an interconnection node of the resistors;
• and
• the turning on and off of the transistor expresses the detection result of the potential relationship.