Patent ID: 8558481

Claim:
A luminescence driving apparatus comprising: a driving circuit which is connected to at least one light-emitting device and drives the at least one light-emitting device according to a control pulse having an amplitude of which fluctuates; a controller which, if an internal current of the at least one light-emitting device is less than or equal to a threshold value, senses a voltage at a position selected from among a plurality of different positions of the driving circuit based on the amplitude of the control pulse, and determines whether a short-circuit has occurred between the at least one light-emitting device and the driving circuit using a level of the sensed voltage; and a protector which, if it is determined that the short-circuit has occurred between the at least one light-emitting device and the driving circuit, performs a protection operation with respect to the at least one light-emitting device, wherein the controller selects a first position from among the plurality of different positions if the amplitude of the control pulse is a high value, and selects a second position, different from the first position, from among the plurality of different positions if the amplitude of the control pulse is a low value.