US 8,274,235 B2 · Inverter device and driving method thereof

Abstract

An inverter according to exemplary embodiment of the present invention generates a plurality of feedback voltages corresponding to driving voltages of discharge lamps. The inverter generates a first minimum voltage having a smaller feedback voltage of a plurality of feedback voltages and compares the first minimum voltage and a short circuit reference voltage to determine a short circuit of at least two discharge lamps. Also, the inverter generates a plurality of feedback voltages corresponding to driving currents of a plurality of discharge lamps, generates a second minimum voltage having a smaller feedback voltage of a plurality of the feedback voltages, and compares the second minimum voltage and an open circuit reference voltage to determine the open circuit of the at least two discharge lamps.

Claims28

Dependent claims

An inverter for supplying power to at least two discharge lamps, comprising:

a first feedback information generation unit for generating a first feedback voltage corresponding to a driving voltage of a first discharge lamp of the at least two discharge lamps;
a second feedback information generation unit for generating a second feedback voltage corresponding to a driving voltage of a second discharge lamp of the at least two discharge lamps;
and
an inverter driver for comparing a first minimum voltage having a smaller feedback voltage of the first and second feedback voltages and a short circuit reference voltage in order to determine at least one short circuit discharge lamp of the at least two discharge lamps and for sensing the at least one short circuit discharge lamp by using the comparison result and a first sawtooth wave signal having a predetermined period.

1 more element

A driving method of an inverter for supplying a power source to at least two discharge lamps, comprising:

a step for generating a first feedback voltage corresponding to a driving voltage of a first discharge lamp of the at least two discharge lamps;
a step for generating a second feedback voltage corresponding to a driving voltage of a second discharge lamp of the at least two discharge lamps;
a step for generating a first minimum voltage having a smaller feedback voltage by comparing the first and second feedback voltages;
a step for comparing the first minimum voltage to a short circuit reference voltage in order to determine whether at least one short circuit discharge lamp of the at least two discharge lamps is present;
and
a step for sensing the at least one short circuit discharge lamp of the at least two discharge lamps by using the comparison result and a first sawtooth wave signal having a predetermined period.

3 more elements

An inverter for supplying a power source to at least two discharge lamps, comprising:

a first feedback information generation unit for generating a first voltage and a second voltage corresponding to each driving voltage of the at least two discharge lamps;
and
an inverter driver that respectively rectifies the first voltage and the second voltage, compares a first minimum voltage having a smaller voltage of the rectified first voltage and the rectified second voltage to a short circuit reference voltage in order to determine whether at least one short circuit discharge lamp of the at least two discharge lamps is present, and senses the at least one short circuit discharge lamp of the at least two discharge lamps by using the comparison result and a first sawtooth wave signal having a predetermined period.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Inverter device and driving method thereof

Life of this patent

Inverter device and driving method thereof

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims28