Light-Harvesting Power Supply With Power Management and Load Identification Capability
First Claim
1. A power supply system comprising:
- a power harvesting unit configured to convert light energy into electrical energy;
at least one terminal electrically coupled to the power harvesting unit, wherein the at least one terminal is configured for providing the electrical energy to at least one device; and
a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one terminal, wherein the controller is configured for;
determining that the at least one device that is receiving power via the at least one terminal is not authorized to receive power from the power supply system, andpreventing the power harvesting unit from providing the electrical energy to the at least one device.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A light-harvesting power supply system is provided that can perform one or more of power management and load identification. The power supply system can include a power harvesting unit and a controller. The power harvesting unit can convert light energy into electrical energy that may be provided to one or more load devices via one or more terminals of the power supply system. In some aspects, the controller can allocate electrical energy among load devices based on their respective power requirements and an available amount of electrical energy from the power harvesting unit. The controller can cause the electrical energy to be provided to the load devices based on the allocation of available energy. In additional or alternative aspects, the power supply system can determine that a device is not authorized to receive power. The controller can prevent the power harvesting unit from providing electrical energy to the unauthorized device.
14 Citations
21 Claims
-
1. A power supply system comprising:
-
a power harvesting unit configured to convert light energy into electrical energy; at least one terminal electrically coupled to the power harvesting unit, wherein the at least one terminal is configured for providing the electrical energy to at least one device; and a controller communicatively coupled to the at least one terminal, wherein the controller is configured for; determining that the at least one device that is receiving power via the at least one terminal is not authorized to receive power from the power supply system, and preventing the power harvesting unit from providing the electrical energy to the at least one device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A display system comprising:
-
a first illumination device; a second illumination device; and a power supply system comprising; a power harvesting unit configured to convert light energy into electrical energy, a first terminal electrically coupling the power harvesting unit to the first illumination device, a second terminal electrically coupling the power harvesting unit to the second illumination device, and a controller communicatively coupled to the first terminal and the second terminal, wherein the controller is configured for; determining a maximum amount of electrical energy available from the power harvesting unit; identifying a first power requirement for the first illumination device and a second power requirement for the second illumination device; determining an allocation of the electrical energy between the first illumination device and the second illumination device based on the first power requirement, the second power requirement, and the maximum amount of electrical energy available from the power harvesting unit; and causing the power harvesting unit to provide, based on the determined allocation, the electrical energy to the first illumination device via the first terminal and the second illumination device via the second terminal. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A method comprising:
-
determining a maximum amount of electrical energy available from a power harvesting unit that generates electrical energy from light energy; identifying a first power requirement for a first illumination device that is electrically coupled to the power harvesting unit; identifying a second power requirement for a second illumination device that is electrically coupled to the power harvesting unit; determining an allocation of the electrical energy between the first illumination device and the second illumination device based on the first power requirement, the second power requirement, and the maximum amount of electrical energy available from the power harvesting unit; and causing the power harvesting unit to provide the electrical energy to the first illumination device and the second illumination device in accordance with the determined allocation. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
Specification