US Patent 7646185 Automatic external switch detection in synchronous switching regulator controller

A synchronous switching regulator controller incorporates a switch detection circuit to determine the presence or absence of a power switch at the output of a switch driver so that the switch driver can be disabled when it is left unused. In one embodiment, the synchronous controller includes a switch detection circuit receiving a power cycle signal and the PWM ramp clock signal and measuring a voltage at an output node of the switch driver. The switch detection circuit provides a driver enable signal in response to the assertion of the power cycle signal. The driver enable signal has a first logical state when the voltage at the output node of the switch driver is greater than a reference voltage and a second logical state when the voltage at the output node is less than a reference voltage. The switch driver can be disabled based on the driver enable signal.