Patent ID: 7202643

Claim:
A DC-to-DC power regulator circuit, comprising: a power stage having an input port for receiving a DC input voltage and having an output port for providing a regulated DC output voltage, including a control FET transistor having a first terminal, a second terminal, and a gate, the first terminal being connected to the input port, an energy storage element having a first terminal connected to the second terminal of the control FET and a second terminal connected to the output port, and a driven FET transistor having a first terminal connected to ground, a second terminal connected to the first terminal of the energy storage element, and a gate; a driver circuit having an input adapted to receive a control signal, and providing a first driver signal to the control FET gate and a second driver output signal to the driven FET gate, the driver circuit having a power supply node for receiving power to power the driver circuit, the power supply node being connected to a power supply external to the converter circuit; and a driver powering circuit arranged to derive power from the first terminal of the energy storage element and provide it to the power supply node of the driver circuit at an optimized voltage for efficiency of operation, after an initial period of operation of the converter circuit, the driver powering circuit comprising an inductor and a diode connected in series between the first terminal of the energy storage element and the power supply node of the driver circuit.