Energy harvesting and control for sensor node
First Claim
1. A sensor node, comprising:
- a regulator circuit including an input coupleable to an energy source that is configured to drive the input of the regulator circuit with at least sufficient operating energy to establish operation of the sensor node;
a digital processor circuit coupled to the regulator circuit; and
a power management processor circuit coupled to the digital processor circuit and configured to select an energy consumption level of the sensor node based on information related to the input and/or a system parameter of the sensor node;
the digital processor circuit including a subthreshold operational mode established by the power management processor circuit based on the selected energy consumption level.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An integrated circuit, such as included as a portion of a sensor node, can include a regulator circuit having an input coupleable to an energy harvesting transducer. The integrated circuit can include a wireless receiver circuit coupled to the regulator circuit and configured to wirelessly receive at least enough operating energy to establish operation of the sensor node without requiring the energy harvesting transducer. The integrated circuit can include a digital processor circuit coupled to the regulator circuit and a power management processor circuit. The digital processor circuit or one or more other circuits can include a subthreshold operational mode established by the power management processor circuit based on the selected energy consumption level. For example, establishing the subthreshold operational mode can include adjusting or selecting a supply voltage so as to establish subthreshold operation of a field effect transistor (FET) in the digital processor circuit or other circuits.
26 Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A sensor node, comprising:
-
a regulator circuit including an input coupleable to an energy source that is configured to drive the input of the regulator circuit with at least sufficient operating energy to establish operation of the sensor node; a digital processor circuit coupled to the regulator circuit; and a power management processor circuit coupled to the digital processor circuit and configured to select an energy consumption level of the sensor node based on information related to the input and/or a system parameter of the sensor node; the digital processor circuit including a subthreshold operational mode established by the power management processor circuit based on the selected energy consumption level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15)
-
-
11. A method, comprising:
-
receiving, at an input of a regulator circuit of a sensor node, at least sufficient operating energy to establish operation of the sensor node; selecting, by a power management processor circuit coupled to a digital processor circuit of the sensor node, an energy consumption level of the sensor node based on information related to (1) the input and/or (2) a system parameter of the sensor node, the digital processor circuit further coupled to the regulator circuit; and establishing, by the power management processor circuit, a subthreshold operational mode of the digital processor circuit based on the selected energy consumption level.
-
-
16. A method, comprising:
-
obtaining, at an analog input of a sensor node, information indicative of one or more physiological signals; selecting an energy consumption level of the sensor node based on information related to (1) available operating energy of the sensor node and/or (2) a system parameter of the sensor node; and establishing a data path from the analog input to process and/or to transmit the obtained information based on the selected energy consumption level, the data path established so as to include one or more of a general-purpose processor circuit and a function-specific processor circuit of the sensor node, the one or more of a general-purpose processor circuit and a function-specific processor circuit of the sensor node including a subthreshold operational mode based on the selected energy consumption level. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification