Patent ID: 8421425

Claim:
A current detector for an output inductor, comprising a. a high side power transistor; b. a low side power transistor coupled to the high side power transistor; and c. a controller coupled to the high and low side power transistors to provide cycle by cycle control of the conduction of the high and low side power transistors, wherein if the controller detects zero or negative current in the output inductor during a dead time between when the low side power transistor turns off and before the high side power transistor turns on, the controller disables the low side power transistor during a subsequent switching cycle; d. a comparator coupled to a junction between the high and low side power transistors; e. a first logic gate coupled to the comparator, to the low side power FET control and the high side power FET control; f. a flip-flop coupled to the first logic gate; and g. a second logic gate whose inputs are coupled to the output of the flip-flop and to a controller output low side power FET control, and whose output is coupled to the low side power FET control.