Patent ID: 7221349

Claim:
A display device for gray-scale expression based on a display signal of weighted n bits (where n is an integer larger than two), comprising: a plurality of pixels, each pixel having a light-emitting element exhibiting brightness according to a supplied current; a scanning portion periodically selecting said pixels in a predetermined manner; and a data current generating circuit supplying a data current, according to the display signal, to at least one of said pixels selected by said scanning portion, wherein said data current generating circuit includes an analog current supply circuit generating an output current corresponding to an input voltage set in accordance with lower k bits (where k is an integer satisfying (2≦k≦(n−1))) of the display signal, and digital current supply circuits, j (where j is an integer equal to (n−k)) in number, corresponding to higher j bits of the display signal, and operating to generate and stop generation of the 1st to jth bit-weighted currents corresponding to the higher j bits, respectively, and supplies, as the data current, a sum of currents generated by said j digital current supply circuits and said analog current supply circuit, and the output current produced by said analog current supply circuit is controlled within a range lower that the smallest of the 1st to jth bit-weighted currents.