Patent attributes
In a solenoid driving device of the type in which energy stored in a capacitor is used for re-driving of the solenoid, the generation of heat in a current back-flow preventing circuit preventing the back-flow of current to a power supply terminal is suppressed, and the generation of heat in a rectifying element through which the current that flows to the capacitor passes is suppressed. Electric power accumulated in the solenoid when the driving of the solenoid is stopped is temporarily stored in the capacitor, and a high voltage that is generated by the charging utilizing the peak voltage of the capacitor is utilized as the power supply for a discharge control circuit that controls the discharge of the capacitor. The current back-flow preventing circuit is constructed from a switching element such as an FET so that the generation of heat in this circuit is suppressed. Furthermore, the rectifying element through which the current that flows to the capacitor passes is constructed from a switching element such as an FET so that the generation of heat in this element is suppressed.
