Patent ID: 8786162

Claim:
A device for driving a piezoelectric element, comprising: a charging circuit that charges the piezoelectric element through a first node; a discharging circuit that discharges electric charge charged in the piezoelectric element through the first node; and a control circuit that controls switching to cause the discharging circuit to perform a discharging action or cause the charging circuit to perform a charging action, based on a comparison between the magnitude of a voltage being applied to the piezoelectric element and the magnitude of a control voltage, wherein the discharging circuit includes: a current output amplifier; a first switch that is provided between the first node and a ground and controlled by the output of the current output amplifier; and a second switch that is provided between the output of the current output amplifier and a ground, and wherein the control circuit controls an input voltage to the current output amplifier and controls ON/OFF of the second switch.