Patent ID: 8129973

Claim:
A wireless system comprising: a radio; and a voltage regulator to provide a supply voltage to the radio, the voltage regulator comprising: a storage element; at least one switch coupled to the storage element; and a controller to: operate the voltage regulator in a continuous mode of operation, operate the voltage regulator in a discontinuous mode of operation in response to an output current of the voltage regulator decreasing below a predetermined threshold, operate said at least one switch to energize the storage element in response to a detection of whether an output voltage is below a threshold level, and operate said at least one switch to halt the energization of the storage element in response to detecting a current in the storage element reaching a predetermined current threshold, wherein the controller operates said at least one switch to energize and de-energize the storage element in the discontinuous mode of operation of the voltage regulator, and the controller operates said at least one switch to energize the storage element in synchronization with a periodic clock signal.