Patent ID: 8446185

Claim:
A load driving device, comprising: a power supply terminal; a ground terminal; an output terminal provided to be coupled to a load; an output transistor coupled between the power supply terminal and the output terminal; a driver circuit supplying a first control signal to turn on the output transistor and a second control signal to turn off the output transistor; a discharge circuit coupled between a control terminal of the output transistor and the output terminal, which renders the output transistor in a non-conductive state responsive to the second control signal when a polarity of a power supply coupled between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal is normal; a compensation circuit that turns on when a potential of the ground terminal assumes a value equal to or greater than a predetermined value to maintain a non-conductive state of the output transistor when a polarity of a power supply coupled between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal is normal; and a reverse connection protection circuit coupled between the control terminal of the output transistor and the ground terminal, which brings the output transistor into a conductive state when a polarity of the power supply coupled between the power supply terminal and the ground terminal is reversed.