Patent ID: 8456461

Claim:
An apparatus for ambient light detection and power control using photovoltaics, comprising: a processor; a display operatively coupled to the processor; a power supply powering at least one of the processor and the display; a photovoltaic cell detecting an ambient light level and producing an electric current based on the ambient light level; a power recovery circuit receiving the electric current from the photovoltaic cell and conditioning the electric current to provide a conditioned power signal to at least one of an energy storage unit, the power supply, the processor, and the display, the conditioned power signal being useable by the at least one of the energy storage unit, the power supply, the processor, and the display; and a memory device operatively coupled to the processor, the memory device storing instructions to cause the processor to: provide a display signal to the display; determine a value indicative of the ambient light level based on the electric current; and control a power level of the display signal based on the value indicative of the ambient light level such that a change in the ambient light level causes a change in a brightness level of the display to reduce power consumption.