Patent ID: 8624432

Claim:
An energy boost circuit adapted to provide a power to a load, the circuit comprising: a pair of thermoelectric generators (TEGs), each TEG coupled to a heat source and each adapted to convert thermal energy from the heat source into electrical energy; a first capacitor bank and a second capacitor bank arranged in parallel, each capacitor bank coupled to one of the TEGs and adapted to store electrical energy generated by the TEG to which the capacitor bank is coupled; a first switching element coupled to the first capacitor bank; a second switching element coupled to the second capacitor bank; a power converter connected to the first and second capacitor banks; and a monitor/controller coupled to the first and second switching elements and adapted to selectively switch the first and second switching elements in order to provide a power boost to the load, wherein the monitor/controller automatically switches the first and second switching elements based at least partly on charge levels measured at the first and second capacitor banks.