US Patent 7893675 Current mode controlled DC-to-DC converter

An apparatus having an input voltage and an output voltage is provided. The apparatus comprises a switch that receives the input voltage and that is adapted to be coupled to a load, a modulator having a timing signal, a compensator that is coupled to the modulator and that includes an amplifier, an overcurrent circuit, and a sampler. The modulator is coupled to the switch and the modulator actuates the switch at a first frequency. The amplifier amplifies the difference between at least a portion of the output voltage with a predetermined reference voltage and outputs an amplified voltage. The overcurrent circuit receives the amplified voltage and outputs an overcurrent signal to the modulator. The sampler is interposed between the amplifier and the overcurrent circuit and is coupled to the modulator, where the sampler samples the amplified voltage prior to each actuation of the switch based on the timing signal and where the sampler outputs the compared voltage that was sampled to the overcurrent circuit through the duration of each actuation of the switch.