Patent ID: 7843177

Claim:
A method for controlling a switching regulator circuit to supply a regulated output voltage, the switching regulator comprising an inductor, a first switch coupled between an input voltage and a first terminal of the inductor, a second switch coupled between the first terminal of the inductor and GROUND, a third switch coupled between a second terminal of the inductor and GROUND, and a fourth switch coupled between the second terminal of the inductor and the regulated output voltage, the method comprising: making the switching regulator circuit enter a buck-boost mode by periodically switching the first through the fourth switches in accordance with the sequence of AC to AD to AD to BD, starting from said AC, so as to make only two switches among the first through the fourth switches turn on and off only once during a single switching cycle of the switching regulator to adjust the regulated output voltage, wherein said AC means the first and the third switches are both turned on, and the second and the fourth switches are both turned off, said AD means the first and the fourth switches are both turned on, and the second and the third switches are both turned off, and said BD means the second and the fourth switches are both turned on, and the first and the third switches are both turned off.