Patent ID: 7529282

Claim:
An apparatus for driving a light emitting element in response to input data, the light emitting element emitting light by causing a current to flow therethrough, the apparatus comprising: a voltage driving section for driving the light emitting element with voltage such that the light emitting element emits light; a current driving section for driving the light emitting element with a current; and a switching section for changing between voltage drive by the voltage driving section and current drive by the current driving section based on the input data, wherein the input data are pulse data, the switching section is configured to simultaneously select the voltage drive and the current drive, and simultaneously selects the voltage drive and the current drive based on the input data in a period of rise of the pulse data, the voltage driving section includes a bias voltage applying section for applying forward-bias voltage to the light emitting element, and the switching section is configured to apply the forward-bias voltage to the light emitting element in a period in which of the pulse data falls.