Patent ID: 7592787

Claim:
An adaptive firing order (AFO) controlled multi-phase power converter, comprising: a plurality of parallel connected regulator phases controlled by respective pulse width modulation (PWM) signals, said regulator phases each comprising at least one driver having an input coupled to receive said PWM signals, and an output stage comprising at least one output transistor having an input coupled to an output of said driver, said output stage operable for driving an inductor in series with a capacitor, wherein outputs of said regulator phases taken across said capacitor are tied together to provide an output of said converter (V OUT ), said V OUT generating a load current across a load when connected across said capacitor, and a PWM modulator comprising: a multiphase leading edge generator comprising pulse generating circuitry associated with each of said regulator phases, said pulse generating circuitry generating phase pulses associated with each of said phases; an AFO controller, said AFO controller having circuitry including a mixer for receiving and summing said phase pulses into a summing signal and using said summing signal to generate a series of turn-on pulses therefrom, and a multiphase PWM generator having inputs coupled to an output of said AFO controller coupled to receive said series of turn-on pulses, said multiphase PWM generator having circuitry for generating said PWM signals therefrom.