In a method and apparatus for controlling power factor correction in mixed
operation modes, a frequency of the input voltage is obtained by
detecting the zero crossing points of the input voltage. A peak of the
input voltage is obtained by detecting input voltage with 90 degree
phase. Thus, the present invention predicts the input voltage by its
frequency and peak and the characteristic of the sine wave. A digital
signal processor computes the duty and frequency of a boost switch,
switching the operation mode of the boost converter among continuous
mode, critical mode and discontinuous mode according to input voltage or
the load. According to another aspect, the operation is switched to
critical mode from the average current mode when a zero current is
detected before the charging and recharging cycle of the boost switch is
finished. Overcurrent protection may be achieved by controlling current
in response to detected voltage to provide a substantially constant power
level. The overcurrent protection may be adaptive in nature.