Patent ID: 7911189

Claim:
A method of scavenging power in a circuit including a power source and a power consuming device, wherein the power source generates electric current that varies within a certain range to define signaling between the power source and the power consuming device to control the power consuming device, the method comprising: connecting a power scavenging device having an input terminal pair and an output terminal pair to the circuit via the input terminal pair; dynamically regulating a voltage drop across the input terminal pair of the power scavenging device; harvesting electrical energy available at the regulated voltage drop from the electric current flowing through the input terminal pair of the power scavenging device, including controlling an amount of the harvested electrical energy based on the electric current so as to not interfere with the signaling between the power source and the power consuming device; and providing the harvested electrical energy at the output terminal pair of the power scavenging device.