Low power voltage regulator circuit

Abstract

Described is a technique that can address the low power problem when running a device on a battery and, alternatively, on the output of a switching regulator. In low-power mode, the voltage regulator circuit can be powered off, and a switch can connect the input voltage of the regulator (e.g., a battery) to the CPU. In addition, internal and / or external loads (e.g., voltage feedback resistors) can be disconnected to further reduce power consumption. If the device starts running, the CPU can be disconnected from the input voltage of the regulator (e.g., the battery) and switched to the output of the regulator. This ensures that the circuit consumes very little power in standby mode.

Description

[0001] Priority Declaration

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application serial number 16 / 837,691, filed on April 1, 2020, entitled “LOW POWERREGULATOR CIRCUIT,” the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This document relates generally to power supply devices and, in particular, to voltage regulators. Background Art

[0004] One of the most common challenges in designing portable electronic devices is generating and maintaining a regulated voltage from an unregulated voltage source, such as a battery. Typically, a voltage regulator is used for this purpose. Voltage regulators can be designed as linear regulators or switching regulators.

[0005] A linear voltage regulator provides closed-loop control to regulate the voltage at the load. This type of regulator can be used to provide a constant output voltage with a lower amplitude than the unregulated voltage source.

[0006] In contrast, a switching regulator uses an energy storage element, such as an inductor, to transfer energy from the unregulated voltage source to the load in discrete bursts. A feedback circuit can be used to regulate the energy transfer to maintain a constant voltage at the load. Because the switching regulator operates by transferring energy in discrete bursts, it can be configured to step up and / or step down the voltage of the unregulated voltage source. Furthermore, switching regulators are generally more efficient than linear regulators.

[0007] Today, various types of switching regulators are commonly used in portable electronic devices. A buck converter is an inductor-based regulator used to step down, or drop, an unregulated voltage source. A boost converter is an inductor-based regulator used to step up, or boost, an unregulated voltage source. In some applications, various converters can be used to provide a regulated output voltage that is higher, lower, or the same as the unregulated voltage source. Summary of the Invention

[0008] Among other things, the present disclosure describes a technique that can solve the problem of low power when running a device on a battery and, alternatively, on the output of a switching regulator. In low power mode, the voltage regulation circuit can be powered off, and a switch can connect the input voltage of the regulator (e.g., a battery) to the CPU. In addition, internal and / or external loads (e.g., voltage feedback resistors) can be cut off to further reduce power consumption. If the device starts running, the CPU can be cut off from the input voltage of the regulator (e.g., the battery) and switched to the output of the regulator. This ensures that the circuit consumes very little power in standby mode.

[0009] In some aspects, the present disclosure relates to a voltage regulation circuit configured to receive an input voltage and generate a first output voltage, the voltage regulation circuit having a shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation circuit comprising: a voltage regulation control circuit configured to control a plurality of switches to generate the first output voltage at a first output node, wherein, during the shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit is configured to stop generating the first output voltage and coupling the input voltage to a second output node, and to provide a second output voltage different from the first output voltage to the second output node.

[0010] In some aspects, the present disclosure relates to a method of operating a voltage regulation circuit having a shutdown enable mode and including a plurality of switches, the method comprising: receiving an input voltage and controlling the plurality of switches to generate a first output voltage at a first output node; during the shutdown enable mode, stopping generation of the first output voltage; and coupling the input voltage to a second output node, and providing a second output voltage different from the first output voltage to the second output node.

[0011] In some aspects, the present disclosure relates to a voltage regulator circuit configured to receive an input voltage and generate a first output voltage, the voltage regulator circuit having a shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulator circuit comprising: a device for controlling a plurality of switches to generate the first output voltage at a first output node; a device for stopping generation of the first output voltage during the shutdown enable mode; and a device for coupling the input voltage to a second output node, and a device for providing a second output voltage different from the first output voltage to the second output node.

[0012] This summary is intended to provide an overview of the subject matter of this patent application and is not intended to provide an exclusive or exhaustive explanation of the invention. The detailed description is included to provide further information about this patent application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numbers may describe similar components in different views. Like numbers with different letter suffixes may represent different instances of similar components. The accompanying drawings generally illustrate various embodiments discussed in this document by way of example and not limitation.

[0014] Figure 1 is an example of a voltage stabilizing circuit.

[0015] Figure 2 is coupled to the load Figure 1 The voltage stabilizing circuit in .

[0016] Figure 3 is an example of a voltage stabilization circuit including an output isolation switch.

[0017] Figure 4 is an example of a voltage regulation circuit having an isolation switch coupled to a load.

[0018] Figure 5 is an example of a voltage regulation circuit in a shutdown enabled mode, which can implement various techniques of this disclosure.

[0019] Figure 6 is coupled to the load Figure 5 The voltage stabilizing circuit in.

[0020] Figure 7 Is in shutdown disabled mode Figure 5 The voltage stabilizing circuit in .

[0021] Figure 8 is another example of a voltage regulation circuit in a shutdown enabled mode that can implement various techniques of this disclosure.

[0022] Figure 9 is coupled to the load Figure 8 The voltage stabilizing circuit in.

[0023] Figure 10 Is in shutdown disabled mode Figure 8 The voltage stabilizing circuit in . DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In battery applications with switching regulators, such as boost converters and buck-boost converters, a system central processing unit (CPU) can be powered by the battery when the regulator is off, and by the regulator output when the regulator is on. The inventors have recognized that even when the regulator is off, internal and / or external loads, such as voltage feedback resistors, can cause power losses due to current flowing through the feedback resistors.

[0025] The present disclosure describes a technique that can solve the low power problem when running a device on a battery and, alternatively, on the output of a switching regulator. The inventors have recognized that, among other things, in low power mode, the voltage regulation circuit can be powered off and a switch can connect the input voltage of the regulator (e.g., a battery) to the CPU. In addition, internal and / or external loads (e.g., voltage feedback resistors) can be cut off to further reduce power consumption. If the device starts running, the CPU can be cut off from the input voltage of the regulator (e.g., the battery) and switched to the output of the regulator. This ensures that the circuit consumes very little power in standby mode.

[0026] Figure 1 is an example of the voltage stabilizing circuit 100 . Figure 1 The voltage regulation circuit 100 in FIG. 1 may include a first electronic switch 102 and a second electronic switch 104, each of which is coupled to and controlled by a voltage regulation control circuit 106. The first electronic switch 102 and the second electronic switch 104 may be transistors, such as field effect transistors (FETs). In some examples, the switch 104 may be implemented as a diode, such as a diode-connected FET.

[0027] Inductor L1 can be coupled to an input voltage VIN, such as provided by a voltage source 108, such as a battery, and coupled to capacitor C1 via a first electronic switch 104. A voltage regulation control circuit 106 can control switches 102 and 104 to turn on and off to control the alternating charging of inductor L1 and capacitor C1. A load (not shown) can be coupled in parallel with capacitor C1 and provided with an output voltage VOUT.

[0028] For example, to save power, the voltage regulation control circuit 106 can be in shutdown mode. For example, the control circuit can provide a "shutdown enable" signal to the voltage regulation control circuit 106 to place the voltage regulation control circuit 106 in shutdown mode. In shutdown mode, the switch 102 can be turned off, and the switch 104 can be turned on. In shutdown mode, the output voltage VOUT can still be provided by the voltage source 108 (e.g., a battery).

[0029] like Figure 1 As shown, the voltage regulator circuit 100 may include two resistors R1 and R2, which provide a feedback path to the voltage regulator control circuit 106 so that it can monitor the output voltage VOUT. However, in shutdown mode, current still flows through the feedback path, which can cause power loss. In addition, there may be current consumption through the output load and through the bias of the voltage regulator control circuit 106.

[0030] Figure 2 is coupled to the load Figure 1 The voltage stabilizing circuit 100 in FIG. The voltage stabilizing circuit 100 may include some similar Figure 1 Like reference numerals are used for like components and will not be described again for the sake of brevity.

[0031] Figure 2 The circuit 100 in FIG. 1 shows a load including an application control circuit 110 and an application circuit 112. In one non-limiting example, the application control circuit 110 (e.g., a microcontroller) and the application circuit 112 may form part of a drug delivery device (e.g., a drug delivery pump). For example, the application control circuit 110 may be located in the drug delivery device and may turn the drug delivery device on and off.

[0032] During shutdown mode, the output voltage VOUT may still be provided by a voltage source 108 such as a battery. In shutdown mode, the application control circuit 110 may draw a low power control current and the application circuit 112 (eg, a drug delivery device) may draw an application standby current.

[0033] Figure 3 is an example of a voltage stabilizing circuit 200 including an output isolation switch. The voltage stabilizing circuit 200 may include Figures 1 to 2 The voltage regulator circuit 200 may include a switch 201 and an isolation switch 202. During the shutdown mode, the voltage regulator control circuit 204 may disconnect the output node 206 from the input voltage VIN. In the shutdown mode, the power consumption is very low, but Figure 1 and Figure 2 Unlike the configuration shown, there is no output voltage available to power the connected load. For example, for medical applications, Figure 3 The configuration shown may not be desirable.

[0034] Figure 4 is an example of a voltage regulator circuit 300 having an isolation switch coupled to a load. The voltage regulator circuit 300 may include Figures 1 to 3 Some similar parts. Figure 4 The circuit 300 in FIG. 1 shows a load including the application control circuit 110 and the application circuit 112. The voltage regulation circuit 300 may include a switch 201 and an isolation switch 202 that may isolate a first output node 206 from the input voltage VIN during shutdown mode.

[0035] During the shutdown mode, the output voltage VOUT at the first output node 206 is in an off state and no voltage is available to the application circuit 110. Figure 4As shown, the voltage regulation circuit 300 may include an alternate output path 302 coupled to a capacitor C2 for providing an output voltage to the application control circuit 112 (eg, a microcontroller). During shutdown mode, the application control circuit 112 may be powered by the input voltage VIN at a second output node 304.

[0036] Once the application circuit 110 is powered on after disabling the shutdown mode, the application control circuit 112 may be operational. However, the application circuit 110 and the application control circuit 112 may then be at different voltage levels and may require level shifting.

[0037] Figure 5 is an example of a voltage regulation circuit 400 in a shutdown enabled mode, which can implement various techniques of this disclosure. Figure 5 The voltage regulation circuit 400 in FIG. 4 may include electronic switches 402 to 408, each of which is coupled to and controlled by a voltage regulation control circuit 410. For example, at least some of the switches 402 to 408 may include transistors such as field effect transistors (FETs). In some examples, the switches 406 and 408 may be implemented as diodes, such as diode-connected FETs.

[0038] Inductor L1 can be coupled to an input voltage VIN, such as provided by a voltage source 108, such as a battery, and coupled to capacitor C1 via switch 402. A voltage regulation control circuit 410 can control transistors 402 and 404 to turn on and off to control the alternating charging of inductor L1 and capacitor C1. A load (not shown) can be coupled in parallel with capacitor C1 and provided with an output voltage VOUT.

[0039] like Figure 5 As shown, the voltage regulation circuit 400 may include an alternate output path 412 including a capacitor C2 for providing the output voltage to an application control circuit (e.g., a microcontroller). In addition, the voltage regulation circuit 400 may include a feedback path between the first output node 414 and the voltage regulation control circuit 410 via feedback resistors R1 and R2.

[0040] Figure 5 The voltage regulation circuit 400 in FIG. 4 is shown in shutdown mode after the control circuit provides a "shutdown enable" signal to the voltage regulation control circuit 410. In the shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 may open switches 402, 404, and 408 and close switch 408. During the shutdown mode, with switch 402 open, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 may disconnect the first output node 414 from the input voltage VIN. During the shutdown mode, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 may stop generating the first output voltage at the first output node 414, and no voltage is available to any connected load (not shown).

[0041] However, according to the present disclosure, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 can control the switch 406 to be closed so as to couple the input voltage VIN, such as provided by the battery, to the second output node 416 and provide a second output voltage different from the first output voltage to the second output node. For example, instead of providing the regulated output voltage (e.g., 5V) to the first output node 414 during normal operation, an output voltage approximately equal to VIN (e.g., 3V) can be provided to the second output node 416. In this way, when the shutdown mode has been enabled, the input voltage VIN can be connected to, for example, the power supply of the first output node 414 via the closed switch 406. Figure 6 Furthermore, by opening the switches 402, 404 and 408, the first output node 414 is cut off from the input, and there is no path through the feedback resistors R1 and R2, thereby saving energy.

[0042] exist Figure 5 , switch 406 is shown coupled after inductor L1. However, in some examples, switch 406 may be coupled between input voltage source 108 and inductor L1.

[0043] In some examples, Figure 5 The voltage stabilizing circuit may include a DC-DC boost converter circuit.

[0044] Figure 6 is coupled to the load Figure 5 The voltage stabilizing circuit 400 in FIG. Figure 6 As shown, in the shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 can control the switch 402 to be open, which can disconnect the first output node 414 from the input voltage VIN. In this case, no power is supplied to the application circuit 110. However, for example, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 can control the switch 406 to be closed to connect the input voltage VIN to the second output node 416 and supply power to the application control circuit 112.

[0045] During the shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 can be configured to stop generating a first output voltage (e.g., a 5V regulated output voltage) at the first output node 414, and to couple an input voltage (e.g., a 3V input voltage) to the second output node 416 and provide a second output voltage (e.g., an input voltage approximately equal to 3V) to the second output node 416 that is different from the first output voltage (e.g., the 5V regulated output voltage).

[0046] The voltage regulation circuit 400 may include a second feedback path 418 between the voltage regulation control circuit 410 and a second output node 416 via feedback resistors R1 and R2. During the shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit 400 may receive a "shutdown enable" signal to place the voltage regulation control circuit 410 in the standby mode. In response, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 may open the switch 408 in the second feedback path 418, thereby cutting off the second feedback path 418. This may prevent current from flowing through the feedback resistors R1 and R2, thereby eliminating power loss.

[0047] Figure 7 Is in shutdown disabled mode Figure 5 During the shutdown disable mode, for example, during the normal operation mode, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 receives a “shutdown disable” signal to put the voltage regulation control circuit 410 into the normal operation mode. To resume generating the first output voltage (e.g., the regulated voltage) at the first output node 414, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 may alternately control the opening and closing of the switches 402, 402.

[0048] Furthermore, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 can control the switch 408 to be closed to connect the second output node 416 to the voltage regulation control circuit 410 via the second feedback path 418 and the feedback resistors R1 and R2. Closing the switch 408 can couple the output voltage VOUT (e.g., the regulated output voltage) to the first output node 414 and the second output node 416. Finally, the voltage regulation control circuit 410 can control the switch 406 to be open to decouple the input voltage VIN from the second output node 416.

[0049] In this way, when the output voltage regulation system is running, Figure 6 The application control circuit 112 (eg, a microcontroller) in the embodiment can be powered by the first output node 414. This can eliminate the need for Figure 4 The configuration shown requires level shifting.

[0050] Figure 8 5 is another example of a voltage regulation circuit 500 in a shutdown enabled mode that can implement various techniques of the present disclosure. Inductor L1 can be coupled to an input voltage VIN, such as provided by a voltage source such as a battery, and to capacitor C1 via a first electronic switch 502. During the shutdown enabled mode, voltage regulation control circuit 504 receives a "shutdown enabled" signal to place voltage regulation control circuit 504 in a standby mode.

[0051] In shutdown mode, the voltage regulator control circuit 504 may open the switch 506 and close the switch 502. In this way, the output voltage VOUT may still be provided to the first output node 508 by the voltage source 108 such as a battery. When the voltage regulator is essentially shut down (except for its standby logic), such as Figure 9 Application control circuits such as the application control circuit 112 in FIG. 1 , such as a microcontroller, may still be powered by the input voltage V IN .

[0052] also, Figure 8 The voltage regulation circuit 500 in FIG. 5 may include a switch 510 in a feedback path formed between a first output node 508 and a voltage regulation control circuit 504 via resistors R1 and R2. In shutdown mode, the voltage regulation control circuit 504 may open the switch 510 to isolate the voltage regulation control circuit 504 from current leakage in the feedback path, which may reduce power loss.

[0053] In some examples, Figure 5 The voltage stabilizing circuit may include a DC-DC boost converter circuit.

[0054] Figure 9 is coupled to the load Figure 8 The output node 508 is coupled to the application control circuit 112 and the application circuit 110. Figure 9 In the shutdown mode shown, the voltage regulation control circuit 504 may turn off the switch 506 , and in order to cut off the feedback path between the voltage regulation control circuit 504 and the output node 508 , the voltage regulation control circuit may turn off the switch 510 .

[0055] During the shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit 504 is configured to stop generating an output voltage at the output node 508 and to stop coupling the input voltage VIN to the output node 508. To power the output node 508, the voltage regulation control circuit 504 may close the switch 502, which provides a second output voltage (e.g., approximately 3V VIN) different from the first output voltage (e.g., 5V regulated output voltage) to the output node 508.

[0056] In this way, the application control circuit 112 and the application circuit 110 can be powered by a voltage source such as a battery during the shutdown mode. Therefore, when the various components of the voltage regulator circuit 500 are disconnected, the input voltage can be provided to the output, such as to power the medical device circuit. Figure 6 Similar to the voltage stabilizing circuit 400, Figure 9 The voltage stabilizing circuit 500 can avoid the level shift problem.

[0057] Figure 6 The voltage regulator circuit 400 shown in FIG utilizes two output nodes 414, 416. In contrast, Figure 9 The voltage regulation circuit 500 in FIG. 5 utilizes a single output node 508 .

[0058] Figure 10 Is in shutdown disabled mode Figure 8During the shutdown disable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit 504 receives a "shutdown disable" signal to place the voltage regulation control circuit 504 in a normal operating mode. To restore the first output voltage generated at the output node 508, the voltage regulation control circuit 504 can alternately control the opening and closing of switches 502 and 506. In addition, the voltage regulation control circuit 504 can control the closing of switch 510 to connect the output node 508 to the voltage regulation control circuit 504 via a feedback path through feedback resistors R1 and R2.

[0059] In this way, when the output voltage regulation system is running, Figure 9 The application control circuit 112 and the application circuit 110 in the embodiment can be powered by the first output node. Thus, the control operation can be eliminated when the application control circuit 112 and the application circuit 110 are powered by the first output node. Figure 4 The configuration shown requires level shifting.

[0060] Notes

[0061] Each non-limiting aspect or example described herein can stand on its own or can be combined with one or more of the other examples in various permutations or combinations.

[0062] The above detailed description includes reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this detailed description. The accompanying drawings show, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which the present invention may be put into practice. These embodiments are also referred to herein as "examples." Such examples may include elements other than those shown or described. However, the present inventors have also contemplated examples in which only those elements shown or described are provided. In addition, the present inventors have also contemplated examples using any combination or arrangement of those elements shown or described (or one or more aspects thereof), either with respect to a specific example (or one or more aspects thereof), or with respect to other examples shown or described herein (or one or more aspects thereof).

[0063] In the event of a conflict in usage between this document and any documents incorporated by reference, the usage in this document shall control.

[0064] In this document, as is common in patent documents, the terms "a" or "an" are used to include one or more than one, independent of any other examples or uses of "at least one" or "one or more." In this document, the term "or" is used to indicate a non-exclusive or, thus, unless otherwise stated, "A or B" includes "including A but not B," "including B but not A," and "including A and B." In this document, the terms "including" and "in which" are used as the plain English equivalents of the respective terms "comprising" and "wherein." Furthermore, in the following claims, the terms "including" and "comprising" are open-ended, meaning that a system, apparatus, article, composition, formulation, or method that includes any elements in addition to the elements listed after the term in a claim is still deemed to fall within the scope of the claim. Furthermore, in the following claims, the terms "first," "second," and "third," etc., are used merely as labels and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects.

[0065] The method examples described herein can be implemented at least in part by a machine or computer. Some examples may include a computer-readable medium or machine-readable medium encoded with instructions that are operable to configure an electronic device to perform the methods described in the above examples. The implementation of such methods may include code, such as microcode, assembly language code, high-level language code, etc. Such code may include computer-readable instructions for executing various methods. The code may constitute part of a computer program product. Further, in one example, such as during execution or at other times, the code may be tangibly stored on one or more volatile, non-transitory or non-volatile tangible computer-readable media. Examples of these tangible computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, hard disks, removable disks, removable optical disks (e.g., optical disks and digital video disks), magnetic tapes, memory cards or memory sticks, random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs), etc.

[0066] The above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. For example, the above examples (or one or more aspects thereof) can be used in combination with each other. Other embodiments can be used, such as, after reviewing the above description, those of ordinary skill in the art can use other embodiments. The abstract is provided to comply with Section 1.72(b) of Title 37 of the United States Code of Federal Regulations, so that the reader can quickly determine the nature of the present disclosure. The premise of submitting this document is that this document shall not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the above specific embodiments, various features can be combined together to simplify the present disclosure. This should not be interpreted to mean that the disclosed features that are not claimed for protection are essential to any claim. On the contrary, the subject matter of the invention may not lie in all the features of a particular disclosed embodiment. Therefore, the following claims are incorporated into the specific embodiments as examples or embodiments, each of which can exist independently as a separate embodiment, and it is considered that such embodiments can be combined with each other in various combinations or arrangements. The scope of the present invention should be determined with reference to the appended claims and all equivalent scopes enjoyed by the claims.

Claims

1. A voltage stabilizing circuit configured to receive an input voltage and generate a first output voltage, the voltage stabilizing circuit having a shutdown enable mode, the voltage stabilizing circuit comprising: a voltage regulation control circuit configured to control the plurality of switches to generate the first output voltage at a first output node; and a first feedback path between the voltage regulation control circuit and the first output node, wherein the first feedback path includes a first switch of the plurality of switches, and wherein, During the shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit is configured to turn off the first switch to cut off the first feedback path. During the shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit is configured to stop generating the first output voltage and coupling the input voltage to the second output node, and provide a second output voltage different from the first output voltage to the second output node. 2 . The voltage stabilizing circuit according to claim 1 , wherein the second output node is the same as the first output node.

3. The voltage stabilizing circuit according to claim 1, wherein: During the shutdown disabled mode, the voltage regulation control circuit is configured to: Resuming generation of the first output voltage; and The first switch is controlled to be closed to connect the first feedback path.

4. The voltage stabilizing circuit according to claim 1, comprising: a second feedback path between the voltage regulation control circuit and the second output node, wherein the second feedback path includes a second switch of the plurality of switches, and wherein, During the shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit is configured to turn off the second switch to cut off the second feedback path.

5. The voltage stabilizing circuit according to claim 4, wherein: During the shutdown disabled mode, the voltage regulation control circuit is configured to: Resuming generation of the first output voltage; controlling the second switch to close to connect the second feedback path; as well as The third switch is controlled to be turned off to decouple the input voltage from the second output node.

6. The voltage stabilizing circuit according to claim 5, wherein: During the shutdown disabled mode, the voltage regulation control circuit is configured to couple the first output voltage to both the first output node and the second output node.

7. The voltage stabilizing circuit according to claim 1, comprising: The inductor is coupled to the input voltage, in, During the shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit is configured to control the fourth switch to be closed to couple the input voltage to the second output node, and to provide the second output voltage different from the first output voltage to the second output node, and The fourth switch is coupled between the inductor and the second output node.

8. The voltage stabilizing circuit according to claim 1, comprising: The inductor is coupled to the input voltage, in, During the shutdown enable mode, the voltage regulation control circuit is configured to control the fourth switch to be closed to couple the input voltage to the second output node, and to provide the second output voltage different from the first output voltage to the second output node, and The fourth switch is coupled between the input voltage and the inductor.

9. The voltage stabilizing circuit according to claim 1, wherein the voltage stabilizing circuit comprises a DC-DC boost converter circuit.

10. A method of operating a voltage regulation circuit having a shutdown enabled mode and comprising a plurality of switches, wherein the voltage regulation circuit comprises a first feedback path between a voltage regulation control circuit and a first output node, wherein the first feedback path comprises a first switch of the plurality of switches, the method comprising: receiving an input voltage and controlling a plurality of switches to generate a first output voltage at the first output node; During the shutdown enable mode, stopping generating the first output voltage; as well as coupling the input voltage to a second output node, and providing a second output voltage different from the first output voltage to the second output node; as well as During the shutdown enable mode, the first switch is turned off to cut off the first feedback path. The method of claim 10 , wherein the second output node is the same as the first output node.

12. The method according to claim 10, comprising: During Shutdown Disable Mode: Resuming generation of the first output voltage; and The first switch is controlled to be closed to connect the first feedback path.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the voltage regulation circuit comprises a second feedback path between the voltage regulation control circuit and the second output node, wherein the second feedback path comprises a second switch of the plurality of switches, the method comprising: During the shutdown enable mode, the second switch is turned off to cut off the second feedback path.

14. The method according to claim 13, comprising: During Shutdown Disable Mode: Resuming generation of the first output voltage; controlling the second switch to close to connect the second feedback path; and The third switch is controlled to be turned off to decouple the input voltage from the second output node.

15. The method according to claim 14, comprising: During the shutdown disabled mode, the first output voltage is coupled to both the first output node and the second output node.

16. A voltage regulator circuit configured to receive an input voltage and generate a first output voltage at a first output node, the voltage regulator circuit having a shutdown enable mode and a first feedback path between a voltage regulator control circuit and the first output node, the voltage regulator circuit comprising: means for controlling a plurality of switches to generate a first output voltage at said first output node; means for ceasing generation of said first output voltage during a shutdown enabled mode; means for coupling the input voltage to a second output node, and means for providing a second output voltage different from the first output voltage to the second output node; and means for disconnecting the first feedback path during the shutdown enabled mode.

17. The voltage stabilizing circuit according to claim 16, wherein the voltage stabilizing circuit includes a shutdown disabled mode, and the voltage stabilizing control circuit comprises: means for resuming generation of said first output voltage; and means for connecting said first feedback path.

18. The voltage stabilizing circuit according to claim 17, wherein: During the shutdown disabled mode, the voltage regulation control circuit is configured to couple the first output voltage to both the first output node and the second output node.

19. The voltage stabilizing circuit according to claim 16, wherein the voltage stabilizing circuit comprises a DC-DC boost converter circuit.

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