VOLTAGE REGULATOR INCLUDING A BUCK CONVERTER PASS SWITCH

摘要

A voltage driver 10 includes a voltage input, a voltage regulation controller 110 including an on/off input 150. The voltage regulation controller 110 is configured to control a switching converter in a first mode, a second mode, and at least one additional mode. The switching converter is configured to operate as an open pass switch in the first mode, is configured to operate as a closed pass switch in the second mode,, and is configured to operate as an overcurrent and overvoltage protection switch in the at least one additional mode. A discrete output driver control and monitoring circuit can be used to control the switching converter. The output driver control and monitoring circuit includes a controller 30 coupled to a communication bus 80 and is configured to provide high level control instructions to the communication bus 80.