Patent ID: 9423668
Filing Date: 2016-08-23
CPC Classification: G03B,H01M,H02J,Y02E

Claim Text:
1. A method of operating a camera having control circuitry, the method comprising: providing one or more solar panels; storing energy from the one or more solar panels in one or more capacitors; at least partially disabling the charging of the one or more capacitors when the voltage of the one or more capacitors reaches a threshold voltage; providing control circuitry operatively coupled to the camera and to the one or more capacitors; using the energy stored in the one or more capacitors to provide power to the camera to capture images, wherein the camera is powered without using power from a non-photovoltaic power source such as a chemical battery; and configuring the control circuitry to prevent the camera from depleting energy stored in the one or more capacitors below a critical level so that the control circuitry will have enough energy available to sustain full circuit operation, including critical logic operation and timekeeping operation, during time periods when the energy stored in the one or more capacitors is insufficient to maintain operation of both the control circuitry and the camera.