Patent ID: 8044645

Claim:
A multiphase voltage regulator comprising: an output terminal; a plurality of switches in parallel to each other for providing a plurality of current phases, the plurality of current phases being added together to generate a total current for a load coupled to said output terminal; a plurality of inductive circuits coupled between respective outputs of said plurality of switches and said output terminal, each inductive circuit comprising an inductance and a resistance coupled to said inductance; a sense circuit comprising a first adder node, and a first adder circuit comprising a plurality of resistances connected between said first adder node and the respective outputs of said plurality of switches for adding voltages on the respective outputs of said plurality of switches; a second adder node and a second adder circuit coupled to said second adder node, said second adder circuit comprising a plurality of resistances connected to respective outputs of said plurality of inductive circuits for adding voltages output by said plurality of inductive circuits, with said plurality of resistances being separate from the resistance of each inductive circuit; an amplifier circuit having a first input connected to said first input of said sense circuit for receiving the added voltage from said sense circuit, and a second input connected to said second adder node for receiving the added voltages output by said plurality of inductive circuits and an output for generating a current proportional to the total current; and a controller comprising first and second pins for reading the total current, said first and second pins respectively coupled to said first and second inputs of said amplifier circuit, with said controller operating on an input voltage of said plurality of switches to keep the total current constant.