Patent ID: 7667482

Claim:
An apparatus for a power bus including a current flowing therein, said apparatus comprising: an inductive power harvesting unit structured to provide a first power output arising from the current flowing in said power bus; an energy storage unit structured to store energy from the first power output of said inductive power harvesting unit and to provide a second power output; a selector structured to select one of the first power output of said inductive power harvesting unit and the second power output of said energy storage unit and to provide a third power output from said selected one; and a processor powered from the third power output of said selector, wherein said selector is further structured to normally provide the third power output from the first power output of said inductive power harvesting unit, and wherein said processor is structured to determine that the first power output of said inductive power harvesting unit is inadequate and to cause said selector to provide the third power output from the second power output of said energy storage unit.