Patent ID: 8581512

Claim:
A lighting apparatus, comprising: a light source module including a light source unit including a plurality of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) electrically connected to each other; a characteristic setting unit for setting characteristic information on electrical characteristics of the LEDs; a first pin base having a first electrode and a second electrode; and a second pin base having a third electrode and a fourth electrode; wherein a direct current (DC) voltage supplied from a lighting apparatus is applied between the first electrode and the second electrode or between the third electrode and the fourth electrode, a constant voltage is supplied to an anode side of the LEDs of the light source unit, and the characteristic setting unit is connected between the first and second electrodes and/or between the third and fourth electrodes; a voltage conversion unit, which includes at least one switching device, for receiving, as a power, an external DC voltage or a rectified voltage obtained by rectifying an input alternating current (AC) voltage, and for converting the received voltage into a desired voltage by turning on and off the corresponding switching device thereby to supply the desired voltage to the first pin base of the light source module; a setting power source for supplying a power to the characteristic setting unit via the first or the second pin base; and a characteristic determination unit for determining the characteristic information, wherein the first and the second pin bases have a structure attachable to an illumination device for a fluorescent lamp, and the characteristic determination unit determines the characteristic information based on a signal generated at a pin base other than a pin base to which the voltage conversion unit is connected.