Patent ID: 7031173

Claim:
A method for providing a drive signal for a switch operable to control the current consumption of an inductive energy storage element in a power factor correction circuit, the power factor correction circuit comprising a rectifier arrangement coupled to the inductive energy storage element and output terminals operable to provide an output voltage, and wherein a control signal is operable to control power consumption, the method comprising: generating a switch-on level of the drive signal for a switch-on duration dependent on the control signal, and generating a switch-off level of the drive signal after the switch-on duration has elapsed; detecting a predetermined storage state of the inductive energy storage element after the switch-on duration has elapsed; and waiting until the end of a waiting duration before renewing generation of the switch-on level, wherein the waiting duration is substantially proportional to the time duration between the beginning of the switch-on level and the detection of the predetermined storage state, and wherein the waiting duration is dependent on the control signal.