Power supply and method for controlling it
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United States of America Patent
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Jul 5, 2005
Grant Date -
Nov 25, 2004
app pub date -
May 19, 2003
filing date -
May 19, 2003
priority date (Note) -
Expired
status (Latency Note)
Importance
Abstract
A self-powered apparatus includes a solar power cell, a battery, and a load. The load may include one or more load functions performed using power provided by one or both of the solar power cell and the battery. The inclusion of a battery permits the solar power cell to be sized much smaller than if the solar power cell was the only supply of power. A programmable controller selectively regulates power provided to one or more load functions and also selectively regulates whether one or both of the power cell and battery supplies the power. Switching circuitry, controlled by the programmable controller, selectively couples one or both of the battery and the solar cell to supply energy for powering the load. In a preferred example embodiment, the controller couples the battery and/or solar cell to charge a super capacitor, which then is selectively controlled to power the load. The programmable controller determines and prioritizes load function power requirements, and based thereon, determines which load functions will be powered based the priority of the load function requirements and the amount of power that can be supplied by the solar power cell as supplemented by the battery.
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