Patent ID: 11876456
Assignee: ALPHA AND OMEGA SEMICONDUCTOR INTERNATIONAL LP
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  Y | IPC H

Claim 12:
13. A method in a controller for a switching regulator, the switching regulator configured to receive an input voltage on an input node and to generate a regulated output voltage on an output node for driving a load, the method comprising:
receiving a first command to set the regulated output voltage to a first voltage value less than the input voltage;
configuring the controller to operate in a buck mode to generate a first pulse width modulation (PWM) signal in response to a first error signal for driving a power stage to regulate the output voltage on the output node to the first voltage value, the first error signal being indicative of a difference between a feedback voltage indicative of the regulated output voltage and a reference voltage;
receiving a second command to ramp down the voltage at the output node to a second voltage value less than the first voltage value, the second command comprising a decay command to instruct the controller to ramp down the regulated output voltage to the second voltage value;
configuring the controller to operate in a boost mode to generate a second pulse width modulation (PWM) signal in response to a second error signal for driving the power stage to return stored charges on the output node to the input node while decreasing the voltage at the output node to the second voltage value, the second error signal being indicative of at least a current sense signal relating to the current flowing in the power stage; and
in response to receiving the second command and during a charge recycle period where the controller is configured to operate in the boost mode to return stored charges to the input node, responding to incoming commands or requests by providing a status indicator that the switching regulator is in a decay state.