Patent ID: 8693215

Claim:
A DC/DC converter comprising: a power stage circuit that includes an input, an output, and a transformer with a core, the power stage circuit being configured to operate in a power transfer phase during which power is transferred from the input to the output and a reset phase during which flux density in the core of the transformer is reduced; a pulse generator circuit configured to generate pulses that regulate the output of the power stage circuit; a flux density monitor circuit configured to: generate flux density information indicative of the flux density of the core of the transformer during both the power transfer phase and the reset phase; preserve a representation of the flux density in the core of the transformer at the end of the reset phase; and modify the preserved representation of the flux density in the core of the transformer to track changes in the flux density in the core of the transformer during the power transfer phase; and power stage control logic configured to regulate the output of the power stage circuit based on the pulses and to prevent the core of the transformer from saturating based on the flux density information, including to terminate the power transfer phase when the representation of the flux density in the core of the transformer reaches or exceeds a pre-determined threshold.