Patent ID: 7679350

Claim:
A DC/DC voltage regulator that receives an input voltage and outputs a stable voltage onto an output node for use by a load, the regulator comprising: a linear regulator controlled by a linear drop out (LDO) feedback signal, said linear regulator operative if said load is drawing less than a first predetermined amount of current; a switch-mode regulator controlled by a switch-mode (PWM) feedback signal, said switch-mode regulator operative if said load is drawing more than a second predetermined amount of current; and a single feedback network that provides an output node feedback signal indicative of the voltage on said output node, said feedback network including a LDO error amplifier and a PWM error amplifier, said LDO error amplifier outputting said LDO feedback signal based upon said output node feedback signal and said PWM error amplifier outputting said PWM feedback signal based on said output node feedback signal.