Patent ID: 7230408

Claim:
A voltage regulator circuit for converting an unregulated input voltage received at an input node into a regulated output voltage provided at an output node, the voltage regulator comprising: a first transistor having a first terminal coupled to the input node; an inductor coupled between a second terminal of the first transistor and the output node; a linear regulator circuit coupled in parallel with the first transistor and the inductor between the input node and the output node, wherein the linear regulator circuit includes means for passing a first current from the input node to the output node when the regulated output voltage provided at the output node drops below a predetermined minimum target voltage level such that the first current maintains the output node at the minimum target voltage level; and a pulse control circuit including means for detecting the first current through the linear regulator circuit, and means for transmitting a pulse signal having a predetermined duration to a gate terminal of the first transistor in response to said detected first current.