Patent ID: 7483003

Claim:
A display system comprising: multiple display elements, multiple drive circuits that generate drive signals corresponding to the input control data and supply the drive signals to the display elements and being connected in cascade whereby control data input to a first section can be shifted sequentially to sections that follow the first section, a control data generating means that generates the control data corresponding to the image to be displayed, synchronizes the generated control data with a supplied clock signal, and inputs the control data sequentially to the drive circuit in the first section of the cascade connection, a data acquiring means for obtaining data output sequentially from the drive circuit in the last section of the cascade connection; wherein the drive circuit of the first section comprises a first data holding means that holds the input control data synchronously with a supplied clock signal, a second data holding means that holds the control data held in the first data holding means synchronously with a supplied latch signal, a signal output means that generates a drive signal corresponding to the control data held in the second data holding means and outputs the drive signal to a drive object, and a data updating means that updates the control data held in the first data holding means with data indicating prescribed information when new control data are held in the second data holding means wherein the drive circuit of the first section has a first judgment means that determines whether the level of the drive signal to be output in the signal output means reaches a prescribed level; wherein the data updating means updates the control data held in the first data holding means each time control data in the second data holding means is updated to data corresponding to the judgment result of the first judgment means; and further comprising an abnormality detection means that detects an abnormality of the drive circuit on the basis of data obtained by the data acquiring means corresponding to the result of the first judgment means the abnormality detection means of each drive circuit being separately connected in cascade whereby the results of the first judgment means can be shifted sequentially when the control data is shifted sequentially.