Light source driving apparatus, display device having the same and method of driving a light source

A display device comprising:

• a display unit which displays an image;
• a light source unit including a plurality of light sources and which provides the light to the display unit;
• and
• a light source driving unit which drives the light source unit by controlling an operation of the light source unit,
• wherein the light source driving unit comprises:
• a controller which outputs a first control signal to drive the light sources in a normal-luminance mode and a second control signal to drive the light sources in a low-luminance mode;
• a first driver which generates a first driving signal and a plurality of second driving signals based on a first voltage in response to the first control signal, provides the first driving signal to anode terminals of the light sources and respectively provides the second driving signals to cathode terminals of the light sources in the normal-luminance mode;
• and
• a second driver which includes a first switching element which is turned on in response to the second control signal, a second switching element which provides a second voltage lower than the first voltage to the anode terminals of the light sources when the first switching element is turned on and a third switching element which provides a ground voltage to the cathode terminals of the light sources in response to the second control signal in the low-luminance mode,
• wherein the controller deactivates an operation of the first driver when an operation of the second driver is activated.

A method of driving a light source, comprising:

• driving a plurality of light-emitting diodes with a first driver, which provides a first driving signal to anode terminals of the light-emitting diodes and respectively provides a plurality of second driving signals to cathode terminals of the light-emitting diodes in response to a first control signal in a first driving mode;
• driving the light-emitting diodes with a second driver which includes a first switching element which is turned on in response to the second control signal, a second switching element which provides a second voltage lower than the first voltage to the anode terminals of the light-emitting diodes when the first switching element is turned on and a third switching element which provides a ground voltage of to the cathode terminals of the light-emitting diodes in response to a second control signal in a second driving mode;
• and
• driving the light-emitting diodes when a third control signal is provided in a third driving mode,
• wherein the first driver is deactivated in the second driving mode.

A method of driving a light source, comprising:

• receiving a preliminary control signal;
• determining a driving mode based on the preliminary control signal to output a first control signal and a second control signal corresponding to the determined driving mode;
• activating an operation of a first driver in response to the first control signal and deactivating an operation of a second driver when the driving mode is determined to be a normal-luminance driving mode;
• applying a first driving signal to anode terminals of a plurality of light-emitting diodes based on a first voltage and a plurality of second driving signals to cathode terminals of the light-emitting diodes according to the operation of the first driver;
• deactivating the operation of the first driver and activating the operation of the second driver in response to the second control signal when the driving mode is determined to be a low-luminance driving mode;
• and
• applying a dimming voltage to the anode terminals of the light-emitting diodes and a ground voltage to the cathode terminals of the light-emitting diodes according to the operation of the second driver which includes a first switching element which is turned on in response to the second control signal, a second switching element which provides a dimming voltage lower than the first voltage to the anode terminals of the light sources when the first switching element is turned on and a third switching element which provides the ground voltage to the cathode terminals of the light-emitting diodes.