Switching power converter with mode transition control

A power converter circuit is disclosed. In one embodiment, the power converter includes a switching circuit coupled to an input power supply node and a regulated power supply node via an inductor, wherein the switching circuit is configured to source respective charge current to the regulated power supply node during a plurality of active cycles. The power converter further includes a control circuit configured to determine, for a particular active cycle, an average inductor current. The control circuit is further configured to perform a comparison of the average inductor current to a threshold value. Based on results of the comparison, the control circuit is configured to deactivate the switching circuit for a different active cycle subsequent to the particular active cycle. Two methods are disclosed to identify mode transitions, depending on conditions such as minimum time on and discontinuous current mode.