Energy harvesting rfid circuit, energy harvesting rfid tag, and associated methods

Abstract

An energy harvesting RFID circuit is provided for taking measurements wirelessly. The RFID circuit receives an interrogation signal on an input lead from an antenna, and harvests energy which is stored in a charge storage unit that produces a harvested voltage. A boost converter then boosts the harvested voltage to a boosted voltage that is fed as an output voltage to a sensor output lead. A booster switching unit is also provided for activating the boost converter. The booster switching unit does not activate the boost converter until the voltage output by the charge storage unit reaches a first threshold value. Based on the output voltage, one or more sensor input leads receive a measurement input which reflects a sensed value of an object to be measured, such as the strain in a pipe fitting.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.