Patent ID: 8901847

Claim:
A driving device comprising: a switching power supply circuit including an inductor, the switching power supply circuit repeatedly turning on and off an input current flowing through the inductor to repeatedly accumulate and release energy in and from the inductor so as to convert input power to output power; a first switching element connected to a load, the first switching element opening and closing a circuit of the load; an output capacitor connected in parallel to the load and the first switching element; a selection switch disposed between the inductor and the output capacitor, the selection switch switching between a first selection state and a second selection state, the first selection state being a state where the load is electrically connected to the inductor and where a reference potential portion is electrically disconnected from the inductor, and the second selection state being a state where the load is electrically disconnected from the inductor and where the reference potential portion is electrically connected to the inductor; a timing controller which alternately opens and closes the first switching element and alternately operates the switching power supply circuit by repeatedly turning on and off the input current flowing through the inductor and stops operating the switching power supply circuit, the timing controller operating the switching power supply circuit while the first switching element is closed; and a controller which alternately switches the selection switch between the first selection state and the second selection state, wherein the controller puts the selection switch into the second selection state before the timing controller closes the first switching element.