Patent ID: 8198527

Claim:
An apparatus, comprising: a housing adapted to provide a seal for elements disposed therein; an inner thermal insulator disposed within the housing, the inner thermal insulator having a first shape; a thermoelectric power source, wrapped around the inner thermal insulator, operable to provide a voltage when a temperature difference is presented across the thermoelectric power source; an electronics module, disposed within the housing and positioned within the inner thermal insulator, and electrically coupled to the thermoelectric power source, the electronics module adapted to physically and electrically couple to an application-specific plug-in module disposed within the housing; and an outer thermal insulator disposed around an outer periphery of the thermoelectric power source; wherein the electronics module is operable to provide at least a regulated output voltage; wherein the housing includes a first thermal transfer element and a second thermal transfer element, each thermally coupled to the other through the thermoelectric power source.