Patent ID: 7525408

Claim:
An N-phase coupled inductor for magnetically coupling N phases of a power converter, comprising: a magnetic core including a first and a second magnetic element and N connecting magnetic elements, N being an integer greater than one, the first and second magnetic elements being disposed parallel to each other and separated by a linear separation distance, each connecting magnetic element being coupled to the first and second magnetic elements; and N windings, each of the N windings for electrically connecting to a respective phase of the power converter, each connecting magnetic element having a respective one of the N windings wound at least partially thereabout, two of the N windings being at least partially wound about a respective one of the N connecting magnetic elements and one of the first and second magnetic elements, and N−2 of the N windings being at least partially wound about a respective one of the N connecting magnetic elements and both of the first and second magnetic elements.