Patent Application
20250093287
This patent document contains material subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the reproduction of this patent document or any related materials in the files of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, but otherwise reserves all copyrights whatsoever.
This invention relates to cathodic protection of metal structures, including a cathodic protection measurement and test system including a variable input impedance.
Cathodic protection (CP) of large metal structures such as pipelines, storage tanks, drilling rigs and other types of metal structures is a technique used to control and reduce the corrosion of the metal surfaces of the structures. During the process, the metal surface to be protected may be forced to be the cathode of an electrochemical cell. In this way, there may be a flow of current into the metal to be protected (the cathode) from an anode which may counteract corrosion.
In order to ensure that a particular metal structure (e.g., a pipeline) is adequately protected by CP, measurements may be made, and the results may be compared to established criteria.
A first method of this includes placing (e.g., burying) a reference electrode in close proximity to the structure being protected, and measuring the potential between reference electrode (e.g., a copper sulfate reference electrode or CSE) and the structure. A second method includes the positioning of test coupons in close vicinity of the structure in addition to the reference electrode, wherein the coupons may comprise the same material as the structure being protected. The procedure may then involve making voltage potential measurements between the coupons and the reference electrode.
In either case, wires may extend from the reference electrode, the test coupons, and the structure to the surface where the wires may be accessible for electrical measurements. In this way, the voltage measurements may be taken, and the cathodic protection may be assessed.
During the CP measurement process, any measurements that seem to be less than or greater than expected values may be manually troubleshooted onsite using a variety of techniques. However, with some CP measurement systems that are controlled remotely, e.g., the CP measurement system described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/035,503, filed Sep. 28, 2020, the entire contents of which are hereby fully incorporated herein by reference for all purposes, no technician may be available onsite to troubleshoot the problem(s).
Accordingly, there is a need for an automated test system that may, upon detecting potentially out of bounds measurement results, troubleshoot itself automatically, and without manual intervention.
Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:
In some embodiments, as shown in
In general, the cathodic protection (CP) measurement system 10 according to exemplary embodiments hereof provides equipment, devices, components, methods, and procedures for monitoring, measuring, evaluating, and computing the amount, level, and criteria of cathodic protection of a structure 12 or combination of structures 12. The CP measurement system 10 also includes a controllable input impedance thereby enabling a user to monitor, quantify, and troubleshoot the general health, installation and environment of a reference electrode being used by the system 10.
Note that
Cathodic protection (CP) is a technique used to control and reduce the corrosion of metal surfaces. As is known in the art, corrosion may occur as a metal loses electrons to its surroundings. The corrosion process occurs with the removal of electrons (oxidation) of the metal and the consumption of those electrons by some other reduction reaction, such as oxygen reduction. To counteract the loss of electrons, the metal surface to be protected may be forced to be the cathode of an electrochemical cell. In this way, there may be a flow of current into the metal to be protected (the cathode) from an anode. It may be preferable that the level of current flowing into the metal structure overcome the naturally occurring loss of electrons from the metal structure so that corrosion may be controlled at a reduced level. CP may be used to protect large metal structures such as pipelines, storage tanks, drilling rigs and other types of metal structures.
One method of CP involves connecting the metal to be protected to a more easily corroded metal to act as the anode (e.g., a galvanic anode). The more easily corroded metal (the galvanic anode) may then corrode instead of the protected metal. For this reason, the anode metal may often be referred to as a sacrificial anode.
A second method of CP involves impressing a direct current between an inert anode and the metal structure to be protected. This method may be preferred for larger structures, or where electrolyte resistivity is high, and where galvanic anodes may not deliver enough current to provide protection. The direct current may be applied to the system by a transformer rectifier or by other sources of direct current. The anode may be buried in proximity to the metal structure and a low voltage DC may be impressed between the anode and the cathode (the metal structure to be protected) such that the desired amount of current my flow into the metal structure thereby offsetting the loss of electrons due to natural corrosion processes.
In order to ensure that a particular metal structure (e.g., a pipeline) is adequately protected by CP, measurements may be made, and the results may be compared to established criteria.
There are several measurement methodologies that may be employed to ensure adequate CP.
A first method includes placing (e.g., burying) a reference electrode in close proximity to the structure being protected, and measuring the potential between reference electrode (e.g., a copper sulfate reference electrode or CSE) and the structure. Once the potential measurements are taken, the data is compared to established criteria. In order to assess any IR (voltage) drop that may exist in the soil or across the structure's coating that may produce an error in the pipe-to-soil (p/s) potential measurement, this measurement scheme may require the interruption of the CP current and the measurement of an off-potential immediately following interruption. This IR-drop may be affected by soil resistivity, depth of burial, the soil conditions around the reference electrode, coating condition of the structure, the amount of CP current, and other variables. In addition, the resulting error may vary from pipeline to pipeline and even along the length of a given pipe.
A second methodology to test for adequate CP includes placing (e.g., burying) a reference electrode as well as test coupons in close vicinity of the structure, where the coupons comprise the same material as the structure being protected. The procedure involves making voltage potential measurements between the coupons and the reference electrode. It may be preferable that the coupons comprise the same material as the structure but with no coating. In this way, the coupons may represent a section of the structure where the coating may be damaged, may include a defect or may not have been applied (coating holiday). The test coupons may be electrically connected to the metal structure being protected so that the coupons and the structure may be at the same potential, and therefore may receive the same amount of CP. The voltage measurement between the test coupons and the reference electrode may then represent the cathodic protection present on the metal structure being protected.
The system 10 is capable of providing any of the CP measurement methodologies described above to ensure adequate CP. Also, it is understood that other CP test methodologies also may exist and that the system 10 is capable of providing those additional methodologies as well. In addition, as will be described in other sections, the system 10 also includes reference electrode verification system 600 thereby providing the ability to monitor, quantify, and troubleshoot the installation, environment, and general health of a reference electrode 102 being used by the system 10 during such measurement methodologies.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the measurement and test system 200 may include equipment such as digital multimeters, voltmeters, and/or other types of instrumentation that may read direct current (DC) and the resulting voltages, alternating current (AC) and the resulting voltages, resistance, and other parameters.
For the purposes of this specification, the system 10 will be described with use with a single structure 12. However, it is understood that more than one structure 12 may be included, and if more than one structure 12 is being protected, each structure 12 may include its own separate wire 108. It may be preferable that the wires 108 be color coded but this may not be required.
It may be preferable that the test coupons 104 (e.g., test coupon 104-1 and/or test coupon 104-3) be electrically connected to the structure 12 such that the coupons 104-1, 104-3 may be at the same potential as the structure 12. This may be accomplished directly and/or within the connection assembly 500. In this way, the coupons 104-1, 104-3 may receive the same amount of cathodic protection as the structure 12, and the measurement of the potential across the coupons 104-1, 104-3 and the reference electrode 102 may represent a measurement between an uncoated area of surface of the structure 12 and the reference electrode 102.
While the reference electrode 102 is shown as being configured directly on the same physical probe as the test coupons 104, it is understood that the reference electrode 106 also may be included in a separate probe than the coupons 104.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the connection assembly 500 includes a series of input terminals Tin-n, a series of output terminals Tout-n, and controllable relays, switches and/or other signal directing devices configured between the input terminals Tin-n and the output terminals Tout-n. In this way, the connection assembly 500 may be controlled (e.g., by the controller 400) to electrically direct signals from any particular input terminal(s) Tin-n to any particular output terminal(s) Tout-n for measurement.
In some embodiments, the electrical line 106 extending from the reference electrode 102 is electrically connected to a first input terminal Tin-1, the electrical line 108 from the structure 12 is electrically connected to a second input terminal Tin-2, the electrical line 110-1 from the first test coupon 104-1 is electrically connected to a third input terminal Tin-3, the electrical line 110-2 from the second test coupon 104-2 is electrically connected to a fourth input terminal Tin-4, and the electrical line 110-3 from the third test coupon 104-3 is electrically connected to a fifth input terminal Tin-5. Additional electrical lines 110-n may be electrically connected to additional input terminals Tin-n.
In addition, the output terminals Tout-1 and Tout-2 may be electrically configured with the positive measurement lead ML(+) and the negative measurement lead ML(−), respectively, of the voltage and/or current measuring device 106.
The connection assembly 500 may then be controlled, e.g., by the controller 300, to connect particular input terminals Tin-n connected to particular electrical lines 106, 108, 110 to particular output terminals Tout-n and measurements may be made using the measurement and test system 200 across the output terminals Tout-n (across the positive measurement lead ML(+) and the negative measurement lead ML(−)).
For example, to measure the potential between the reference electrode 102 and the structure 12, the first input terminal Tin-1 may be electrically connected to a first output terminal Tout-1 and the second input terminal Tin-2 may be electrically connected to a second output terminal Tout-2, and the measurement and test system 200 may be triggered (e.g., via the controller 400) to measure the potential between the first and second output terminals Tout-1, Tout-2.
In another example, to measure the potential between the reference electrode 102 and a test coupon 104, the first input terminal Tin-1 may be electrically connected to a first output terminal Tout-1 and one of the third, fourth, or fifth input terminal Tin-3, Tin-4, Tin-5 (depending on which test coupon 104 is being measured) may be electrically connected to a second output terminal Tout-2. The measurement and test system 200 may then be triggered (e.g., via the controller 400) to measure the potential between the first and second output terminals Tout-1, Tout-2.
It is understood that the examples and arrangements described above are meant for demonstration and that any appropriate electrical line(s) may be connected to any appropriate input terminals Tin-n and/or any appropriate output terminals Tout-n and as necessary and that other types of measurements may be made across the output terminals Tout-n.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the system 10 includes a reference electrode verification system 600 to verify the operational condition of the reference electrode 102. In some embodiments, the reference electrode verification system 600 may include a standalone assembly while in other embodiments, the reference electrode verification system 600 is integrated into the connection assembly 500 and/or into the measurement and test system 200 and/or into any other elements of the system 10.
During use of the CP measurement system 10, when voltage potential measurement results taken by the measurement and test system 200 appear to be lower or higher than expected, the reason(s) for the unexpected results may be difficult to immediately identify. In some cases, the reference electrode 102, having a finite life expectancy, may have itself degraded thereby causing the poor measurement results. In this case, the reference electrode 102 may require maintenance and/or replacement.
However, in other cases, the questionable results may be caused by changes in the electrode's immediate environment (e.g., changes in the electrolytes/soil surrounding the electrode 102 due to rain erosion, poor packing of the electrode 102 in the soil, etc.), and the electrode 102 itself may be healthy. For example, the soil surrounding the electrode 102 may have become excessively dry resulting in a high contact resistance between the electrode 102 and the surrounding soil/electrolyte.
Accordingly, without further information, it may be difficult to ascertain the exact cause of the questionable readings.
Furthermore, voltage and/or current measuring devices (e.g., digital voltmeters, digital multimeters, etc.) oftentimes include a high input impedance (e.g., typically 10 MΩ or 100 MΩ). This load is imposed in parallel with the circuit being measured. Given this, voltage and/or current measuring devices are able to measure voltage drops across lower resistances quite accurately, however, when measuring voltage drops across higher resistances (e.g., across resistances that approach the input resistance of the measurement device), the resulting measurements may be inaccurate.
For example, if the voltage drop being measured is across a soil resistance of about 10 KΩ, the resistance of the measuring device (e.g., 10 MΩ) compared to the resistance of the circuit is 10,000,000 divided by 10,000, or a ratio of 1000:1. Accordingly, if the voltage drop being measured is about 1.0 v, the measurement may incur an error of about 0.1%, or a 0.999 voltage potential. However, if the resistance of the circuit is much higher, e.g., 10 MΩ due to poor soil conditions surrounding the reference electrode 102, the resistance of the measuring device compared to the resistance of the circuit may be about 1:1, resulting in an error of 50% with a measurement of 0.5 v (using the 1.0 v example from above). This phenomenon may be referred to as meter loading.
One procedure that may be implemented in such a scenario is to add water to the soil in the area surrounding the reference electrode 102 to improve the contact resistance between the electrode 102 and the surrounding soil. When this is done, the resulting potential measurements may return to expected values and the reference electrode 102 may be deemed healthy. If, however, the resulting potential measurements do not return to expected values with the improvement of the contact resistance between the electrode 102 and the soil, then it may be ascertained that a problem may exist with the electrode 102 itself.
However, and notably, the above-described procedure requires a person to be physically at the CP test site to add the water to the soil and to assess the situation. Accordingly, if a person is not at the CP test site, e.g., the CP test system 10 is being controlled remotely, this troubleshooting procedure may not be available.
To solve this problem, in some embodiments, as shown in
In any event, the variable input impedance module 602 may be used to controllably change the measurement and test system's 200's input impedance from its native value to one or more known altered value(s) (typically lower). Once altered, the potential measurement under question may be re-measured (using the newly altered input impedance) and the measurement results may be compared to the original results under question. In theory, a healthy reference electrode 102 should maintain a near constant voltage potential reading as the measurement and test system's 200's input impedance is systematically lowered.
Accordingly, if the newly measured potential generally matches the original results (e.g., within 30 mV), the reference electrode 102 and its installation (i.e., the reference electrode 102 and its earth environment) may be deemed as healthy and the problem may be due to other factors. However, if the newly measured potential varies from the original results (e.g., by more than 30 mV), then the reference electrode 102 and/or its installation may be the cause of the problems and may require maintenance and/or replacement.
For example, in some embodiments, as shown in
In addition, in some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the system 10 (e.g., the controller 400, the reference electrode verification system 600 and/or the measurement and test system 200 implements a timing parameter that causes the measurement and test system 200 to wait a desired amount of time (e.g., 1 millisecond to about 500 milliseconds) after implementing a new impedance and before taking a measurement reading. This may account for any necessary settling.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, the system 10 is controlled remotely (i.e., no person is physically at the CP test site) via the communication system 300 and/or the backend platform 700. In some embodiments, the system 10 is controlled remotely to connect particular input terminals Tin-n connected to particular electrical lines 106, 108, 110 to particular output terminals Tout-n. The system 10 may then be controlled remotely to take measurements using the measurement and test system 200 across the output terminals Tout-n (across the positive measurement lead ML(+) and the negative measurement lead ML(−)). In some embodiments, the system 10 is controlled remotely also to alter the measurement and test system's 200's input impedance by positioning one or more impedance members 604 in parallel with the system's 200's native input impedance.
During a CP measurement process, the system 10 (e.g., the controller 400) may be programmed to compare measurement readings to historical data and/or predetermined thresholds, and to flag readings that may be out of limits. For example, if a particular voltage potential reading is less than expected (e.g., less than historical measurements of the same or similar arrangement) by a particular threshold (e.g., as described in the example above), the system 10 may identify the reading as questionable. When a reading is flagged, the system 10 may cease taking CP measurements and notify a user of the system 10 of the out of bounds measurement(s) (e.g., using the system's communication system 300 and/or backend platform 700 (e.g., using a mobile application)). This process may then trigger the system 10 to utilize the reference electrode verification system 600 and its variable input impedance module 602 to determine if the reference electrode 102 is operating within its specifications or if there may be a problem with the electrode 102.
In one example, upon detecting a questionable reading, the system 10 may enter into a troubleshooting process by controlling the variable input impedance module 602 to place the first impedance member 604-1 (20 MΩ) in parallel with the measurement and test system's 200's input impedance thereby decreasing its overall input impedance. Next, the system 10 may control the measurement and test system 200 to make a measurement, and the system 10 may subsequently compare the newly made measurement with the original measurement results. If the newly made measurement tracks the original measurement (within a predetermined threshold), the system 10 may test the reference electrode 102 further by controlling the variable input impedance module 602 to place the second impedance member 604-2 (10 MΩ) in parallel with the measurement and test system's input impedance thereby further decreasing the overall input impedance. A second measurement may then be made and compared to the original measurement. This process may continue with the system 10 controlling the variable input impedance module 602 to sequentially place the third impedance member 604-3 (5 MΩ), the fourth impedance member 604-4 (1 MΩ), the fifth impedance member 604-5 (500 kΩ), the sixth impedance member 604-6 (100 KΩ), and/or any combinations thereof, while taking respective measurement readings and comparing the readings to the original measurement results. It also is understood that any combinations of the impedance members 604 may be implemented simultaneously at any time to implement other values of parallel impedances.
In some embodiments, the system 10 may utilize the measurement data resulting from the above measurements to determine the relative health of the reference electrode 102. As described above, if the measurements taken at different input impedances track the original measurements (within a predetermined threshold), the reference electrode 102 may be deemed healthy and the lower-than-expected voltage readings of the original measurement may be attributed to other causes (e.g., a high contact resistance between the electrode 102 and the soil). If, however, the measurements taken at different input impedances do not track the original measurements (within a predetermined threshold), the reference electrode 102 may be deemed unhealthy and may be serviced and/or replaced.
In addition, in some embodiments, the system 10 may utilize the measurement results described above to determine the serviceability of the reference electrode 102 under test. For example, the system 10 may determine the amount of deviation between each measurement made using an altered input impedance with the corresponding original measurements made to determine how far out of limits the reference electrode 102 may be. For instance, if the deviation between the new measurement is within 1% of the original measurement, the reference electrode 102 may be deemed as healthy, and if the deviation is less than 5%, the reference electrode 102 may be deemed degraded but potentially serviceable. However, if the deviation is greater than 5%, the reference electrode 102 may be deemed compromised and possibly serviceable (and possibly not serviceable), and if the deviation is greater than 10% then the reference electrode 102 may be deemed unreliable and not serviceable. It is understood that these thresholds are meant for demonstration and that the system 10 may use any suitable thresholds to make these types of determinations.
Given all of the above, the system 10 may be controlled remotely to automatically take CP measurements, to compare the measurements to historical data of the same or similar arrangements, and to flag measurements that appear to differ from the historical data by a predetermined threshold. If no measurements are flagged, the system 10 may continue its CP testing processes without interruption. However, if and when a measurement is flagged, the system 10 may cease the CP testing process and utilize its reference electrode verification system 600 and its variable input impedance module 602 to test the health of the reference electrode 102.
In some embodiments, the system 10 is programmed to perform all or at least some of the actions described herein automatically and/or on a timed schedule. In other embodiments, a user of the system 10 may remotely trigger the system 10 (e.g., using a mobile application in communication with the communication system 300 and/or backend platform 700) to perform the actions. In some embodiments, the system 10 and/or multiple systems 10 over a large area are controlled to each perform all or some of the actions described herein in a synchronized fashion using a timing signal provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) or similar system.
In some embodiments, upon performing any of the above, the system 10 may communicate the findings to a user of the system 10 using the system's communication system 300 and/or backend platform 700 (e.g., using a mobile application). The user may then utilize the information to assess the situation and to take actions, e.g., to send a technician to the CP test site to replace a faulty reference electrode 102, to add water to the soil in the area surrounding the reference electrode 102, etc.
The functionalities, applications, services, mechanisms, operations, and acts shown and described above are implemented, at least in part, by software running on one or more computers (e.g., the controller assembly 400 and the backend systems 600).
Programs that implement such methods (as well as other types of data) may be stored and transmitted using a variety of media (e.g., computer readable media) in a number of manners. Hard-wired circuitry or custom hardware may be used in place of, or in combination with, some or all of the software instructions that can implement the processes of various embodiments. Thus, various combinations of hardware and software may be used instead of software only.
One of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate and understand, upon reading this description, that the various processes described herein may be implemented by, e.g., appropriately programmed computers, special purpose computers and computing devices. One or more such computers or computing devices may be referred to as a computer system.
As discussed herein, embodiments of the present invention include various steps or operations. A variety of these steps may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the operations. Alternatively, the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. The term “module” refers to a self-contained functional component, which can include hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof.
One of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate and understand, upon reading this description, that embodiments of an apparatus may include a computer/computing device operable to perform some (but not necessarily all) of the described process.
Embodiments of a computer-readable medium storing a program or data structure include a computer-readable medium storing a program that, when executed, can cause a processor to perform some (but not necessarily all) of the described process.
According to the present example, the computer system 800 includes a bus 802 (i.e., interconnect), one or more processors 804, a main memory 806, read-only memory 808, removable storage media 810, mass storage 812, and one or more communications ports 814. Communication port(s) 814 may be connected to one or more networks (not shown) by way of which the computer system 800 may receive and/or transmit data.
As used herein, a “processor” means one or more microprocessors, central processing units (CPUs), computing devices, microcontrollers, digital signal processors, or like devices or any combination thereof, regardless of their architecture. An apparatus that performs a process can include, e.g., a processor and those devices such as input devices and output devices that are appropriate to perform the process.
Processor(s) 804 can be any known processor, such as, but not limited to, an Intel® Itanium® or Itanium 2® processor(s), AMD® Opteron® or Athlon MP® processor(s), or Motorola® lines of processors, and the like. Communications port(s) 814 can be any of an Ethernet port, a Gigabit port using copper or fiber, or a USB port, and the like. Communications port(s) 814 may be chosen depending on a network such as a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), or any network to which the computer system 800 connects. The computer system 900 may be in communication with peripheral devices (e.g., display screen 816, input device(s) 818) via Input/Output (I/O) port 820.
Main memory 806 can be Random Access Memory (RAM), or any other dynamic storage device(s) commonly known in the art. Read-only memory (ROM) 808 can be any static storage device(s) such as Programmable Read-Only Memory (PROM) chips for storing static information such as instructions for processor(s) 804. Mass storage 812 can be used to store information and instructions. For example, hard disk drives, an optical disc, an array of disks such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), or any other mass storage devices may be used.
Bus 802 communicatively couples processor(s) 804 with the other memory, storage and communications blocks. Bus 802 can be a PCI/PCI-X, SCSI, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) based system bus (or other) depending on the storage devices used, and the like. Removable storage media 810 can be any kind of external storage, including hard-drives, floppy drives, USB drives, Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disc-Re-Writable (CD-RW), Digital Versatile Disk-Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM), etc.
Embodiments herein may be provided as one or more computer program products, which may include a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform a process. As used herein, the term “machine-readable medium” refers to any medium, a plurality of the same, or a combination of different media, which participate in providing data (e.g., instructions, data structures) which may be read by a computer, a processor or a like device. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile media include dynamic random access memory, which typically constitutes the main memory of the computer. Transmission media include coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, including the wires that comprise a system bus coupled to the processor. Transmission media may include or convey acoustic waves, light waves and electromagnetic emissions, such as those generated during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications.
The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical discs, CD-ROMs, magneto-optical disks, ROMs, RAMs, erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic or optical cards, flash memory, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions. Moreover, embodiments herein may also be downloaded as a computer program product, wherein the program may be transferred from a remote computer to a requesting computer by way of data signals embodied in a carrier wave or other propagation medium via a communication link (e.g., modem or network connection).
Various forms of computer readable media may be involved in carrying data (e.g. sequences of instructions) to a processor. For example, data may be (i) delivered from RAM to a processor; (ii) carried over a wireless transmission medium; (iii) formatted and/or transmitted according to numerous formats, standards or protocols; and/or (iv) encrypted in any of a variety of ways well known in the art.
A computer-readable medium can store (in any appropriate format) those program elements which are appropriate to perform the methods.
As shown, main memory 806 is encoded with application(s) 822 that support(s) the functionality as discussed herein (the application(s) 822 may be an application(s) that provides some or all of the functionality of the services/mechanisms described herein. Application(s) 822 (and/or other resources as described herein) can be embodied as software code such as data and/or logic instructions (e.g., code stored in the memory or on another computer readable medium such as a disk) that supports processing functionality according to different embodiments described herein.
During operation of one embodiment, processor(s) 804 accesses main memory 806 via the use of bus 802 in order to launch, run, execute, interpret or otherwise perform the logic instructions of the application(s) 822. Execution of application(s) 822 produces processing functionality of the service related to the application(s). In other words, the process(es) 824 represent one or more portions of the application(s) 822 performing within or upon the processor(s) 804 in the computer system 800.
It should be noted that, in addition to the process(es) 824 that carries (carry) out operations as discussed herein, other embodiments herein include the application 822 itself (i.e., the un-executed or non-performing logic instructions and/or data). The application 822 may be stored on a computer readable medium (e.g., a repository) such as a disk or in an optical medium. According to other embodiments, the application 822 can also be stored in a memory type system such as in firmware, read only memory (ROM), or, as in this example, as executable code within the main memory 806 (e.g., within Random Access Memory or RAM). For example, application(s) 822 may also be stored in removable storage media 810, read-only memory 808, and/or mass storage device 812.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the computer system 900 can include other processes and/or software and hardware components, such as an operating system that controls allocation and use of hardware resources.
It is understood that any aspect or element of any embodiment of the system 10 described herein may be combined with any other aspect or element of any other embodiment of the system 10 described herein to form additional embodiments of the system 10, all of which are within the scope of the system 10.
Where a process is described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the process may operate without any user intervention. In another embodiment, the process includes some human intervention (e.g., a step is performed by or with the assistance of a human).
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “at least some” means “one or more,” and includes the case of only one. Thus, e.g., the phrase “at least some ABCs” means “one or more ABCs”, and includes the case of only one ABC.
As used herein, including in the claims, term “at least one” should be understood as meaning “one or more”, and therefore includes both embodiments that include one or multiple components. Furthermore, dependent claims that refer to independent claims that describe features with “at least one” have the same meaning, both when the feature is referred to as “the” and “the at least one”.
As used in this description, the term “portion” means some or all. So, for example, “A portion of X” may include some of “X” or all of “X”. In the context of a conversation, the term “portion” means some or all of the conversation.
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “using” means “using at least,” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “using X” means “using at least X.” Unless specifically stated by use of the word “only”, the phrase “using X” does not mean “using only X.”
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “based on” means “based in part on” or “based, at least in part, on,” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “based on factor X” means “based in part on factor X” or “based, at least in part, on factor X.” Unless specifically stated by use of the word “only”, the phrase “based on X” does not mean “based only on X.”
In general, as used herein, including in the claims, unless the word “only” is specifically used in a phrase, it should not be read into that phrase.
As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “distinct” means “at least partially distinct.” Unless specifically stated, distinct does not mean fully distinct. Thus, e.g., the phrase, “X is distinct from Y” means that “X is at least partially distinct from Y,” and does not mean that “X is fully distinct from Y.” Thus, as used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “X is distinct from Y” means that X differs from Y in at least some way.
It should be appreciated that the words “first,” “second,” and so on, in the description and claims, are used to distinguish or identify, and not to show a serial or numerical limitation. Similarly, letter labels (e.g., “(A)”, “(B)”, “(C)”, and so on, or “(a)”, “(b)”, and so on) and/or numbers (e.g., “(i)”, “(ii)”, and so on) are used to assist in readability and to help distinguish and/or identify, and are not intended to be otherwise limiting or to impose or imply any serial or numerical limitations or orderings. Similarly, words such as “particular,” “specific,” “certain,” and “given,” in the description and claims, if used, are to distinguish or identify, and are not intended to be otherwise limiting.
As used herein, including in the claims, the terms “multiple” and “plurality” mean “two or more,” and include the case of “two.” Thus, e.g., the phrase “multiple ABCs,” means “two or more ABCs,” and includes “two ABCs.” Similarly, e.g., the phrase “multiple PQRs,” means “two or more PQRs,” and includes “two PQRs.”
The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values and ranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. are used in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally, substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” or “approximately 3” shall also cover exactly 3 or “substantially constant” shall also cover exactly constant).
As used herein, including in the claims, singular forms of terms are to be construed as also including the plural form and vice versa, unless the context indicates otherwise. Thus, it should be noted that as used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Throughout the description and claims, the terms “comprise”, “including”, “having”, and “contain” and their variations should be understood as meaning “including but not limited to”, and are not intended to exclude other components unless specifically so stated.
It will be appreciated that variations to the embodiments of the invention can be made while still falling within the scope of the invention. Alternative features serving the same, equivalent, or similar purpose can replace features disclosed in the specification, unless stated otherwise. Thus, unless stated otherwise, each feature disclosed represents one example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.
The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values, and ranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. are used in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally, substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” shall also cover exactly 3 or “substantially constant” shall also cover exactly constant).
Use of exemplary language, such as “for instance”, “such as”, “for example” (“e.g.,”) and the like, is merely intended to better illustrate the invention and does not indicate a limitation on the scope of the invention unless specifically so claimed.
While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
