received by the International Bureau on 02 Septembre 2015 (02.09.2015)

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A switching power stage for producing an output voltage to a load, comprising:

a power converter comprising a power inductor and plurality of switches arranged to sequentially operate in a plurality of switch configurations; and

a controller configured to:

sequentially select selected operational modes of the power converter from a plurality of operational modes, the plurality of operational modes comprising at least:

a first operational mode in which a first terminal of the load is at a voltage potential lower than that of a first terminal of a power source to the power converter and a second terminal of the load is at a voltage potential higher than that of a second terminal of the power source; and a second operational mode in which one of the first terminal of the load and the second terminal of the load is coupled with a switch of the plurality of switches to one of the first terminal of the power source and the second terminal of the power source;

sequentially apply switch configurations from the plurality of switch configurations to selectively activate or deactivate each of the plurality of switches in order to transfer electrical energy from an input source of the power converter to the load in accordance with the selected operational mode; and

for each particular mode of the plurality of operational modes, selectively activate or deactivate each of the plurality of switches so as to generate a current of the power inductor based on an output signal of a modulator and the particular mode, in order to, for each of the plurality of operational modes, cause the power converter to convert the output signal of the modulator to the output voltage.

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2. The switching power stage of Claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to select the selected operational mode in order to regulate a common mode voltage of the first terminal of the load and the second terminal of the load approximately equal to a maximum of a first voltage associated with the switching power stage and a second voltage associated with the switching power stage.

3. The switching power stage of Claim 2, wherein the first voltage comprises one -half of a voltage potential between the first terminal of the power source and the second terminal of the power source.

4. The switching power stage of Claim 3, wherein the second voltage comprises one -half of the output voltage.

5. The switching power stage of Claim 3, wherein the second voltage comprises one-half of an expected output voltage, wherein the expected output voltage is based on an input signal to the switching power stage.

6. The switching power stage of Claim 5, wherein the input signal is an audio signal.

7. The switching power stage of Claim 1, wherein the power source is a battery.

8. The switching power stage of Claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to, in the first operational mode:

based at least on an input signal to the switching power stage, determine the differential output voltage to be driven at the load; and

based on the differential output voltage to be driven at the load, apply a switch configuration from the plurality of switch configurations to selectively activate or deactivate each of the plurality of switches in order to generate the differential output voltage.

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9. The switching power stage of Claim 8, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between a terminal of the load and a terminal of a power source to the switching power stage in order to transfer charge between the terminal of the load and the terminal of the power source to increase the differential output voltage.

10. The switching power stage of Claim 8, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between a terminal of the load and a terminal of a power source to the switching power stage in order to transfer charge between the terminal of the load and the terminal of the power source to decrease the differential output voltage.

11. The switching power stage of Claim 8, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between terminals of the load in order to transfer charge between the terminals of the load to increase the differential output voltage.

12. The switching power stage of Claim 8, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between terminals of the load in order to transfer charge between the terminals of the load to decrease the differential output voltage.

13. The switching power stage of Claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of operational modes comprises a converter mode.

14. The switching power stage of Claim 13, wherein the converter mode comprises one of a boost mode, a buck mode, and a buck-boost mode.

15. A switching power stage for producing a differential output voltage to a load, comprising:

a power converter comprising a power inductor and plurality of switches arranged to sequentially operate in a plurality of switch configurations; and

a controller configured to:

sequentially select selected operational modes of the power converter from a plurality of operational modes, the plurality of operational modes comprising at least one mode in which the controller is further configured to:

based at least on an input signal to the switching power stage, determine the differential output voltage to be driven at the load; and

based on the differential output voltage to be driven at the load, apply a switch configuration from the plurality of switch configurations to selectively activate or deactivate each of the plurality of switches in order to generate the differential output voltage; and

for each particular mode of the plurality of operational modes, selectively activate or deactivate each of the plurality of switches so as to generate a current of the power inductor based on an output signal of a modulator and the particular mode, in order to, for each of the plurality of operational modes, cause the power converter to convert the output signal of the modulator to the output voltage.

16. The switching power stage of Claim 15, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between a terminal of the load and a terminal of a power source to the switching power stage in order to transfer charge between the terminal of the load and the terminal of the power source to increase the differential output voltage.

17. The switching power stage of Claim 15, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between a terminal of the load and a terminal of a power source to the switching power stage in order to transfer charge between the terminal of the load and the terminal of the power source to decrease the differential output voltage.

18. The switching power stage of Claim 15, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between terminals of the load in order to transfer charge between the terminals of the load to increase the differential output voltage.

19. The switching power stage of Claim 15, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between terminals of the load in order to transfer charge between the terminals of the load to decrease the differential output voltage.

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20. A method for producing an output voltage to a load, comprising:

sequentially selecting a selected operational mode for a power converter comprising a power inductor and plurality of switches arranged to sequentially operate in a plurality of switch configurations, the plurality of operational modes comprising at least:

a first operational mode in which a first terminal of the load is at a voltage potential lower than that of a first terminal of a power source to the power converter and a second terminal of the load is at a voltage potential higher than that of a second terminal of the power source; and

a second operational mode in which one of the first terminal of the load and the second terminal of the load is coupled with a switch of the plurality of switches to one of the first terminal of the power source and the second terminal of the power source;

sequentially applying switch configurations from the plurality of switch configurations to selectively activate or deactivate each of the plurality of switches in order to transfer electrical energy from an input source of the power converter to the load in accordance with the selected operational mode; and

for each particular mode of the plurality of operational modes, selectively activating or deactivating each of the plurality of switches so as to generate a current of a power inductor of the power converter based on an output signal of a modulator and the particular mode, in order to, for each of the plurality of operational modes, cause the power converter to convert the output signal of the modulator to the output voltage

21. The method of Claim 20, wherein selecting the selected operational mode comprises selecting the selected operational mode in order to regulate a common mode voltage of the first terminal of the load and the second terminal of the load approximately equal to a maximum of a first voltage associated with the switching power stage and a second voltage associated with the switching power stage.

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22. The method of Claim 21, wherein the first voltage comprises one -half of a voltage potential between the first terminal of the power source and the second terminal of the power source. 23. The method of Claim 22, wherein the second voltage comprises one -half of the output voltage.

24. The method of Claim 22, wherein the second voltage comprises one -half of an expected output voltage, wherein the expected output voltage is based on an input signal to the switching power stage.

25. The method of Claim 24, wherein the input signal is an audio signal.

26. The method of Claim 24, wherein the power source is a battery.

27. The method of Claim 20, further comprising, in the first operational mode: based at least on an input signal to the switching power stage, determining a differential output voltage to be driven at the load; and

based on the differential output voltage to be driven at the load, applying a switch configuration from the plurality of switch configurations to selectively activate or deactivate each of the plurality of switches in order to generate the differential output voltage.

28. The method of Claim 27, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between a terminal of the load and a terminal of a power source to the switching power stage in order to transfer charge between the terminal of the load and the terminal of the power source to increase the differential output voltage.

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29. The method of Claim 27, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between a terminal of the load and a terminal of a power source to the switching power stage in order to transfer charge between the terminal of the load and the terminal of the power source to decrease the differential output voltage.

30. The method of Claim 27, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between terminals of the load in order to transfer charge between the terminals of the load to increase the differential output voltage.

31. The method of Claim 27, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between terminals of the load in order to transfer charge between the terminals of the load to decrease the differential output voltage.

32. The method of Claim 20, wherein at least one of the plurality of operational modes comprises a converter mode. 33. The method of Claim 32, wherein the converter mode comprises one of a boost mode, a buck mode, and a buck-boost mode.

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34. A method for producing an output voltage to a load, comprising:

sequentially selecting a selected operational mode for a power converter comprising a power inductor and plurality of switches arranged to sequentially operate in a plurality of switch configurations, the plurality of operational modes comprising at least one mode comprising:

based at least on an input signal to a switching power stage for producing a differential output voltage to a load, wherein the switching power stage comprises a power inductor and plurality of switches arranged to sequentially operate in a plurality of switch configurations, determining the differential output voltage to be driven at the load; and

based on the differential output voltage to be driven at the load, applying a switch configuration from the plurality of switch configurations to selectively activate or deactivate each of the plurality of switches in order to generate the differential output voltage; and

for each particular mode of the plurality of operational modes, selectively activating or deactivating each of the plurality of switches so as to generate a current of a power inductor of the power converter based on an output signal of a modulator and the particular mode, in order to, for each of the plurality of operational modes, cause the power converter to convert the output signal of the modulator to the output voltage

35. The method of Claim 34, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between a terminal of the load and a terminal of a power source to the switching power stage in order to transfer charge between the terminal of the load and the terminal of the power source to increase the differential output voltage.

36. The method of Claim 34, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between a terminal of the load and a terminal of a power source to the switching power stage in order to transfer charge between the terminal of the load and the terminal of the power source to decrease the differential output voltage.

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37. The method of Claim 34, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between terminals of the load in order to transfer charge between the terminals of the load to increase the differential output voltage.

38. The method of Claim 34, wherein the switch configuration comprises a configuration in which the power inductor is coupled between terminals of the load in order to transfer charge between the terminals of the load to decrease the differential output voltage.

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