Current detection circuit with over-current protection

A load current detection circuit for detecting a load current on a bus, the detection comprising:

• a transconductance circuit that converts a voltage across a sense resistor carrying the load current into an output current;
• a sample-and-hold circuit that samples the output current during a quiescent phase of the bus to produce a sample current;
• a distortion-compensating circuit with a gain, for producing a compensation current that is a function of the sample current;
• a combining circuit that combines the output current, the sample current, the compensation current, and a reference current representative of a threshold value for the load current to produce a combined current;
• and
• a discriminator that generates a discriminator output having a first value when the combined current exceeds the threshold value and a second value, different from the first value, when the combined current is less than the threshold value.