Method of driving a power converter by using a power pulse and a sense pulse

A method of regulating voltage at an output of a switching power converter, the converter comprising a switch and pulse generation circuitry, the pulse generation circuitry producing one or more drive signals for cycling the switch ON and OFF to transfer power from a source to a load, the method comprising:

• sensing an output voltage feedback signal originating from a primary side of the converter, the sensed feedback signal approximating an output voltage at the load;
• comparing the sensed feedback signal to a reference at an instant when the sensed feedback signal corresponds to the output voltage plus a small, substantially constant voltage drop measured from cycle to cycle of the switch;
• and
• regulating the output voltage by controlling whether a cycle of one of the drive signals cycles the switch in response to the comparison, the step of regulating the output voltage including:
• producing a first drive signal using a first pulse generator of the pulse generation circuitry for cycling the switch ON and OFF, wherein if the switch is cycled ON and OFF according to a cycle of the first drive signal, a power pulse is transferred from the source to the load, and
• producing a second drive signal using a second pulse generator of the pulse generation circuitry for cycling the switch ON and OFF, wherein if the switch is cycled ON and OFF according to a cycle of the second drive signal, a sense pulse is transferred from the source to the load, the power transferred to the load by the sense pulse being substantially less than the power transferred to the load by the power pulse,
• wherein the cycling of the switch is enabled by a cycle of the power pulse, the sense pulse, or neither, in response to the comparison, and the comparison of the sensed feedback signal to the reference made during one or more previous switch cycles is taken into account in determining whether to enable the cycle of the power pulse, the sense pulse, or neither, to cycle the switch in response to a present comparison.