Patent attributes
A switching regulator according to the invention includes: an output switching element; an output feedback circuit generating an error voltage (Verr) according to an error between an output voltage (Vout) and a target voltage; a switching control circuit turning on and off the output switching element based on the error voltage (Verr); a short-circuit current protection circuit that includes a first comparator (CMP1) comparing a reference voltage (Vs) commensurate with an output current (iout) with a first threshold voltage (Vth1) and that instructs, based on this comparison result, whether to drive the switching control circuit; and a drive current generating circuit that includes a second comparator (CMP2) comparing the error voltage (Verr) with a second threshold voltage (Vth2) and that determines, based on this comparison result, whether to supply a drive current (i1) to the first comparator (CMP1). With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the waste of electric power without spoiling the reliability of short-circuit current protection.
