The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 30, 2013
Filed:
Apr. 07, 2009
Ryuji Maeda, San Diego, CA (US);
Ryuji Maeda, San Diego, CA (US);
Other;
Abstract
A circuit which extends the operational life of a main power source, said circuit comprising a pair of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) for converting thermal energy from a heat source into electrical energy; a pair of capacitors arranged in parallel, each coupled to one of the TEGs for storing the electrical energy generated by said TEG; a power converter; a first switching element coupled between a first capacitor in the pair of capacitors and the power converter; a second switching element coupled between a second capacitor in the pair of capacitors and the power converter; and a monitor/controller coupled to said first and second switching elements and each of said capacitors for selectively and alternatively switching the first and second switching elements in order to selectively provide power from one of the capacitors to a load, thereby reducing the amount of power drawn from the main power source.