Buck/Boost Converter between 2.7 and 10 volts?

[Th232]

Been poking around a bit, and I've found this rather interesting buck/boost converter.

Of note is that Vin is between 2.7 and 10 volts, instead of the usual 2.7-5.5 volts, so it can be used for both 2x CR123As, 2x RCR123As or 1x 18650 (some of you may remember me asking about buck/boost drivers that could do this before). The answer to this may very well be "no", but has anyone used this driver?

If not, I've got a new project for myself...

Edit: Wait a moment... may be constant voltage instead of constant current. Mentions a current limit, but that's about it. Their design rules mean that this isn't going to be a small board either.

Or these:
LT3477 rated to provide 2 amps.
LT3478 rated to provide 3 amps. Efficiency looks terrible if it's used in a buck/boost configuration though.

Or is there something that I'm completely missing?

 

[ahorton]

I'm interested to see how this goes, but for my purposes I still prefer the LTC3454.

The number of extra components is a concern for me. I have a very simple mind.

 

[rmteo]

How about this one (as low as $0.50)?
http://www.onsemi.com/PowerSolutions/product.do?id=NCV3065DR2G

The NCP3065 is a monolithic switching regulator designed to deliver constant current for powering high brightness LEDs (HBLED). The device has a very low feedback voltage of 235 mV (nominal) which is used to regulate the average current of the LED string. In addition, the NCP3065 has a wide input from 3V to 40 V to allow it to operate from 12 Vac or 12 Vdc supplies commonly used for lighting applications as well as unregulated supplies such as Lead Acid batteries.

The device can be configured in a controller topology with the addition of an external transistor to support higher LED currents beyond the 1.5 A rated switch current of the internal transistor. The NCP3065 switching regulator can be configured in Step-Down (Buck), Step-Up (boost) or SEPIC topologies with a minimum number of external components. Available with ENABLE feature under part number NCP3066.

 

[Th232]

That one does look quite nice, thanks for the heads up.