Patent Application
20130030590
The present invention relates to the field of electrical utility usage mitigation and optimization, the field of electrical utility usage mitigation via peak mitigation by using energy storage and load shedding methods, and related fields.
Electrical energy and power generation and distribution has been a mainstay for residential and commercial energy needs for societies all over the world for many years. Various forms of electrical energy generation have been devised, including coal fired power plants, nuclear power plants, hydroelectric plants, wind harness plants, and others. All of these forms of electrical energy generation are well known to those of skill in the art of power generation and details of their operation need not be set forth herein.
As power generation has advanced, power usage has increased. This is due to many societal factors. First, populations in practically every country of the world have increased, resulting in more power needs. Second, consumer products are frequently designed to use electrical energy in order to operate. Due to advances in technology, more electronic products are available for use today than at any time in world history. Third, manufacturing plants have realized that machine automation can increase plant productivity and decrease production costs. Such automation usually requires electrical energy. Thus, the overall result is a greater need for electrical energy than ever before.
It is also common that energy consumption is greater during certain hours of the day. In any given time zone, electrical energy usage is often greatest during hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., commonly referred to as the “awake hours” or waking hours. Between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. the next day, most people are using less electrical energy. These hours are commonly called the “sleeping hours.” In order to avoid energy “brownouts” or, worse yet, “blackouts,” power companies have to be able to meet “peak demand” requirements of any given 24 hour day. Peak demand requirements usually occur during the awake hours and historical data obtained from tracking energy usage can fairly accurately predict how much energy will be needed each hour of each day in practically any community. Therefore, peak demand is one of the main drivers of the size and number of power plants needed for any given area. Peak demand drives the sizing and number of feeders, mains, transformers, and other power distribution elements in the grid as well.
The problem with using peak demand requirements to determine power plant capacity is that it does not make for efficient use of the resulting power plant. For example, if a peak demand period in a given area is X kilowatt-hours and that demand is only required for a period of eight hours each day, and the average demand for the rest of the day is half of X, then the design capacity of that power plant for the other sixteen hours of the day is not being effectively utilized. Said another way, if the full energy production capacity of each power plant, for each day, was utilized, fewer power plants would be needed because each one would be fully utilized, all day, every day. Design and usage could then be based on total energy needs each day rather than peak demand needs. Using peak demand requirements also results in an inefficient use of the distribution and transmission systems used by the power plants to deliver the electrical energy they produce.
Another problem with peak demand requirements is the high environmental and financial costs of operating the plants. The power plants that respond to peak demand loads during especially high demand periods of time are frequently more pollutive and expensive to operate than non-peaking power plants. The power companies operating the power plants that wait to supply power for peak demand periods charge a high price to local utilities for their temporary power output. Local utilities then pass the costs of buying power from these peak demand plants to customers as a “demand charge” based on the highest peak draw that the customer takes from the power grid over a billing period. Demand charges are determined differently by various utility providers but tend to be based on the highest usage of electricity (in kW) over a short period of time within a billing cycle. Electricity providers justify these charges by citing the high prices of the peak demand power supply companies and by explaining that they must constantly upgrade and increase capacity of the distribution grid to manage the “spikes” in demand that arise during peak periods.
A consumer's draw on the power grid is, on average, much lower than the power level at which they are rated for demand charges. End users are often unaware of when or how demand charges are accumulated and are displeased to find out that their average electricity consumption is in fact typically much lower than these peaks, and that their power charges would be significantly reduced if their peaks in consumption could be mitigated or eliminated. Environmentally-conscious end users also seek to reduce emissions from the pollutive power plants that provide peaking energy to the grid by decreasing their reliance on them as a power source for peak energy needs.
Load shedding is one method of reducing peaks in consumption. Although it comes in many forms, load shedding is essentially a process wherein loads are temporarily removed from or reduced on a distribution grid at times when energy consumption is high or exceeds an upper limit. The demand imposed on the electrical production systems is thereby temporarily reduced, preventing overloading of the grid and/or excess utility fees and demand charges.
The scope of load shedding varies in nearly every aspect of its various modes of implementation. Early forms of utility-side load shedding involved utility providers mandating customers to shut off power to large electricity-drawing equipment in industrial facilities to prevent plant-overloading blackouts. Load shedding is still used, albeit rarely in the United States, in the form of “rolling blackouts” for this reason. Other types of load shedding include consumer-side load shedding, where a small number of loads at a site or locality are shed during peak periods to minimize demand charges, or very small scale load shedding, where a load is shed in response to a drop in solar power generation output in order to keep critical loads operating. When load shedding is used for peak mitigation, consumers must carefully select the loads to be shed. Lighting, security systems, and electronic doors for example, are critical to operating a facility, but other loads can be temporarily shed with less negative impact, like a music system or television. Some loads such as a refrigerator or HVAC system have ongoing electrical consumption requirements to maintain acceptable conditions, but their consumption needs can be temporarily offset with minimum observable impact but significant reduction in site demand.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, peak mitigation and load leveling is implemented using energy storage and load shedding elements. For example, at times when power consumption of a site is less than a maximum consumption threshold, energy is stored in an energy storage device, such as, for example, an array of batteries which may be located in or near a structure at the site. In at least some embodiments, the energy stored in the energy storage device comes from the utility grid connected to the site or local energy sources, such as, for example, solar panels. At times when the power consumption of the location exceeds the maximum consumption threshold, energy storage discharges to prevent the consumption read at the utility meter from exceeding the maximum consumption threshold. If the energy storage device discharges completely, or nearly so, then load shedding may be engaged, along with supplemental or additional load mitigation, if desired, to permit the energy storage device to recharge before reactivating to mitigate a peak again. Therefore power consumption is distributed over time, and sustained high power consumption periods that would otherwise result in demand charges or other fees are leveled to approach or match the maximum consumption threshold at the site. These embodiments may allow capacity requirements for a peak mitigating energy storage device at a site to be reduced, and energy stored therein may be allocated to specific loads more easily because load shedding provides some reduction in the need for energy storage to meet peak reduction needs of the site and may therefore allow the energy storage to recharge during peak consumption periods.
Some embodiments implement constant amounts of load shedding and supplemental and/or additional mitigation, and some embodiments allow these measures to vary while shedding and/or mitigation is activated.
Mitigation apparatus or consumption management units (CMUs) may include a system controller and energy storage device, and may include energy generation means, network connectivity, electrical connections to loads at the site, user inputs and outputs, and other components and connections. Loads at the site may receive their power from an output of a CMU and may have sensors that are monitored by a CMU or may not be monitored by sensors connected to the CMU.
Embodiments of the invention may reduce energy consumption charges at a site by reducing or eliminating consumption peaks that would result in demand charges. A site may also become more environmentally friendly with this system installed, reducing the reliance of the site on pollutive peaking plants, reducing energy consumption overall due to load shedding, and may increase awareness of environmental effects of consumption peaking by tracking and potentially displaying information about consumption over time.
In at least one embodiment, a method of mitigating metered consumption of an energy source of a site during a peak in actual consumption of the energy source by loads of the site is presented, comprising reducing actual consumption of a site of an energy source during a peak in energy consumption from the energy source when energy stored by an energy storage system (ESS) configured for mitigating the actual consumption of the site is less than or equal to a peak consumption threshold, and restoring energy to the ESS from the energy source during the peak at a rate less than or equal to the difference between the peak consumption threshold and the reduced actual consumption of the site.
In some embodiments, the method further comprises disengaging the reduction of actual consumption during the peak when the energy level of the ESS is greater than or equal to a restored energy level, and discharging the ESS during the peak at such a rate that the metered consumption does not exceed the peak consumption threshold.
In yet other embodiments, the method further comprises disengaging the reduction of actual consumption during the peak after a predetermined length of time of consumption reduction, and discharging the ESS during the peak at such a rate that the metered consumption does not exceed the peak consumption threshold. In some embodiments, the predetermined length of time is the length of time required for the ESS to recharge to a restored energy level.
In yet other embodiments, the predetermined length of time is the maximum time that a load may be shed. In some embodiments, the maximum time that a load may be shed is determined by comparison of economic value of the load shedding and the peak reduction.
In yet other embodiments, actual consumption is reduced by shedding one or more loads of the site. In some embodiments, one shed load is shed at a different rate than one or more other shed loads. In some embodiments, the loads are controlled to be shed such that the actual consumption is held to follow a specified course.
In yet other embodiments, actual consumption is reduced by energy generation or energy accumulation. In yet other embodiments, the total reduction in energy consumption is prevented from dropping below a predetermined minimum level. In some embodiments, energy is restored to the ESS only when the difference between the peak consumption threshold and the reduced actual consumption of the site is positive. In some embodiments, the energy source is an electrical utility distribution grid. In some embodiments, the energy source is a local generator.
In another embodiment, an energy consumption management method for mitigating peaks in consumption at a site is provided, comprising measuring electrical energy consumed by a load and a site to which the load is connected, detecting energy consumption of the load in excess of a first consumption threshold, supplying energy to the load from an energy source, thereby preventing the energy consumption of the site from exceeding the first consumption threshold due to the load until the level of energy stored in the energy source is less than or equal to a minimum energy stored level, engaging load shedding for the load in such a manner that the energy consumption at the site falls below the first consumption threshold, and charging the energy source during load shedding without the energy consumption at the site incurring an increased demand charge. In some embodiments, the energy consumption at the site does not incur an increased demand charged due to not exceeding a second consumption threshold.
In another embodiment, an apparatus for mitigating peaks of energy consumption is provided, comprising an energy storage system (ESS) having a state of charge, the ESS being configured to discharge to the site and to charge via a connection to a power source, and a system controller configured to monitor energy consumption at the site, control the charging and discharging of the ESS, and engage and disengage load shedding at the site, wherein the controller discharges the ESS when the monitored energy consumption exceeds a maximum consumption threshold, and the controller engages load shedding when the state of charge of the ESS falls below a minimum charge value such that the load shedding allows for the ESS to recharge during the peak without the monitored energy consumption exceeding the maximum consumption threshold.
In some embodiments, the controller disengages load shedding at the site while the ESS discharges. In some embodiments, the controller does not allow energy consumption to drop below a certain level during load shedding. In some embodiments, the ESS has an energy storage capacity that is small enough to completely recharge during a peak while load shedding is engaged and large enough to mitigate a peak in demand while load shedding is disengaged. In some embodiments, the ESS has an energy storage capacity minimized to the energy storage capacity required for the ESS to mitigate a peak in energy consumption while loads recover from being shed.
Additional and alternative features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The features and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.
In addition to the novel features and advantages mentioned above, other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following descriptions of the drawings and exemplary embodiments, wherein like reference numerals across the several views refer to identical or equivalent features, wherein:
While preferable embodiments of the invention have been shown and described herein, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that such embodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations, changes, and substitutions will now occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the invention. It should be understood that various alternatives to the embodiments of the invention described herein may be employed in practicing the invention. It shall be understood that different aspects of the invention can be appreciated individually, collectively, or in combination with each other.
Referring now to the drawings,
Load shedding is a process by which loads such as loads 106, 108, 110, and 114 are dimmed or deactivated to reduce consumption at a site. A load may be “dimmed” by reducing the power draw of the load by changing settings to a power-saving setting, limiting the power provided to the load without preventing power from reaching the load altogether, or another similar practice. Load shedding may be activated at the site by a CMU 112 connected to the loads (e.g., 108, 114), by a user, or by demand-limiting devices and processes on or in the loads. For example, a lighting load may be dimmed in a site by reducing the power provided to the lighting for a period of time by a user, or a large appliance such as a refrigerator may be deactivated for a period of time to reduce the demand of the site when an onboard consumption monitor triggers a load shedding mode. Other loads may be shed by preventing them from turning on, such as preventing a clothing dryer from turning on, or by preventing them from drawing more power than a selected demand limit, such as by preventing the dryer from turning on a heating element during a period of load shedding even though the dryer tumbler may continue to operate.
Load shedding may take place by dimming or deactivating one or many loads at a site depending on the amount of load shedding required and the load that can be shed by each load individually. Ideally, during a period of load shedding at the site, high-consumption devices are limited without a great impact on otherwise normal operations at the site. Load shedding of a refrigerator or HVAC unit, for example, may be a prime option for load shedding as it may drastically reduce demand while its effects may be mostly unnoticeable over short periods of time. More noticeable load shedding such as deactivating all lighting at a site or turning off large production equipment is also considered to be within the scope of the invention, and other methods of load shedding described herein should be considered to be examples of load shedding that may be advantageous to some practitioners of the invention. Because some load shedding is only economically feasible for short periods of time, it is advantageous to have energy storage at the site to “bridge” the site between periods of time when load shedding would be too detrimental. For example, a freezer load may only be shed for a limited time before the cost of a loss of frozen goods would outweigh the cost of paying a demand charge to keep the freezer active, but if energy storage from a CMU is provided to the freezer to keep the goods from perishing during long load shedding periods, the demand charges and the frozen goods may be saved.
The utility distribution grid connection 100 may include a source of electrical energy such as, for example, an electrical connection to an electrical power plant or generator system. The source of electrical energy represented by the utility distribution grid connection 100 may charge the site operator according to the energy drawn from the grid connection 100 at the site or by another method such as by a monthly service charge or similar non-proportional charge. Preferably, the source charges the site operator based on their maximum demand during a billing period as a “demand charge” that can be mitigated by use of a CMU 112.
The utility meter 102 tracks the consumption of energy by the site when it draws energy from the grid connection 100. For example, it may track the kilowatt-hours drawn from the grid connection 100 to loads or the service panel 104 at the site, and may be used to determine the total energy from the grid that is used at the site.
The service panel 104 may be connected to the utility meter 102 and distributes the grid connection 100 to loads 106, 108, 110, and/or 114 or to subpanels that redistribute the electrical connection throughout the site. The service panel 104 connected to the utility meter 102 may be accessible or measureable by a CMU 112 to obtain current and voltage readings 118 for the entire site or a portion of the site. The power line between the utility meter 102 and the main service panel 104 may also be configured for taking a current measurement 116 to obtain the current presently drawn to the site from the utility distribution grid 100. Other features, options, and components of a service panel 104 will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
The loads 106, 108, 110, and 114 may include loads connected to the service panel 104 or to the CMU 112. The loads 106, 108, 110, and 114 may be standard appliances, commercial electrical units, HVAC systems, other user loads, and/or combinations thereof. The loads 106, 108, 110, and 114 may also include any variety of electricity-consuming device that, when connected to the electrical system of the site on the customer side of the service meter 102, draws energy that is charged to the site operator by the utility grid operator. Loads 106, 108, 110, and 114 may also periodically become inactive, thereby not drawing power from the grid connection 100, or may periodically discharge energy into the grid connection 100 or other portions of the site. Loads may be connected to the service panel 104 such as loads 106, 108, and 110, or may be connected to the CMU 112 such as load 114. Either way, the loads may draw electrical energy to operate. If a load 114 is connected through the CMU 112, the CMU may also have the ability to control the amount of power made available to a load 114, and/or whether power is transferred to the load 114 at all. This ability to control the power provided to the load 114 is represented as a solid line between the CMU 112 and the load 114. Loads 106, 108, and 114 may be monitored by the CMU 112, as shown by communication arrows 120. Loads 108 and 114 have a two-sided arrow because the CMU 112 may also be able to issue instructions to those loads, and load 106 may not be able to receive instructions from the CMU 112. Load 110 is shown in dotted lines to indicate that the number of loads may vary, and that some loads may not be monitored or measured by the CMU 112. The loads represented herein are merely representative of various loads that may be connected at the site and at the CMU 112, and should not be interpreted as restrictive of the number of nature of the loads connected in the system according to the invention. The number of loads connected at the site may be one, two, three, four, five, ten, fifty, one hundred, or any other positive integer without departing from the spirit of the invention, and each of these loads may be connected to the CMU 112, service panel 104, or at some other point in the site, and may have differing types and rates of energy consumption and communication (e.g., energy consumption measurements 120) with the CMU 112. It may be preferable to connect some loads to the CMU 112 directly for certain forms of load shedding, and it may be preferable to connect some loads to the service panel 104 or other connections in the site for other forms of load shedding.
In some embodiments, the consumption management unit (CMU) 112 may include an energy storage device and an electronic controller. It may also include generators, renewable energy generation devices, transmitters, and other electronics. (See also
The current measurement 116 may include current information (e.g., amperage) entering the site from a utility distribution grid connection 100 or entering the site from another portion of the site. A current measurement 116 may be taken using a current transformer (CT), ammeter, or other means for measuring and detecting current in electronics. The current and voltage readings 118 may include current information such as amperage taken from a current measurement 116 and voltage information such as the total voltage at the service panel that is provided to the connected loads (e.g., 106, 108, and 110) and CMU 112. The current and voltage readings 118 may provide sufficient information to the CMU 112 to calculate the total power draw of the site (or some portion of the site monitored). This total power draw may be different from the actual power consumed at the site because the CMU 112 may supply energy to the service panel 104 or loads (e.g., 114), thereby reducing the consumption measured at the utility meter 102 or current measurement 116. With the information from the current and voltage readings 118 the CMU 112 may determine when demand of the site would exceed a peak demand and result in a demand charge.
The energy storage device 122 may include batteries, capacitors, fuel cells, flywheels, other energy storing apparatus, and combinations thereof. Energy storage may also include electrical components such as DC-DC converters or inverters to enable the energy storage to interface with the service panel 104 or other portions of the site or CMU 112. Energy storage 112 may include one unit or more than one unit, such as n units, where n is a nonzero positive integer. It may be advantageous to have a large energy storage device 122 in order to mitigate demand spikes for a long period of time. However, according to some embodiments of the invention, the energy storage capacity may be reduced to a point where the energy storage is approximately small enough to substantially or completely recharge while load shedding is enabled over a short period of time and approximately large enough to mitigate peaks in demand while load shedding is disabled in order to prevent losses to the site operator due to engaging load shedding. For example, if the loads shed include refrigerators, the capacity of the energy storage 122 may be minimized by determining the maximum time allowable for the refrigerator loads to be shed and multiplying by the minimum amount of load shedding that brings the average peak values below the maximum consumption threshold (e.g., 402 in
The system controller 124 may include a processor and associated memory of a computer that has inputs and outputs. The controller 124 may have means to monitor the activity of connected loads (e.g., 106, 108, and 114), energy storage 122, energy generation 126, and/or a service panel 104 using devices such as current and voltage sensors at those loads and other assets, and it may interface with other components if necessary. The controller 124 may be a digital signal controller and may have power connections to route power to a load (e.g., 114), and may interface with a network connection 128. The controller may also have an associated memory for permanent or semi-permanent storage of consumption data of the loads and other parts of the site.
In some embodiments the energy generation device 126 may be present in the system to supplement the energy storage 122 in providing energy to the site. The energy generation device 126 may include solar or other photovoltaic panels, wind generators, fuel-based generators, fuel cells, thermoelectric generation, other generating devices, and combinations thereof.
In some embodiments the network connection 128 may include a radio frequency transceiver, a wired connection, or other link to a network. A network may include an intranet or internet of multiple computers, servers, controllers, and combinations thereof. The network connection 128 allows the CMU 112 to send and/or receive instructions and information from external devices, such as to link multiple CMUs 112 to a server that monitors and records energy usage at multiple sites in an area or that may issue discharge commands to the CMUs 112 to push energy into the distribution grid where the CMUs 112 are located. A network connection may include an antenna for communications via wi-fi, radio, cellular, wireless broadband, Bluetooth®, Zigbee®, other wireless standards, and combinations thereof, including those with wired standards.
The isolated connection 130 to load 110 indicated in this figure shows that a load may be connected at the site (e.g., to the service panel 104) in some embodiments such that it is not directly measured by a CMU 112. The consumption of an isolated load 110 may be determined by a CMU 112 by taking current and voltage readings 118 and comparing the power drawn by the site as a whole to the power used by loads that the controller 124 may read, such as loads 106 and 108, then subtracting those loads from the total power used at the site. An isolated load 110 may not be subject to load shedding, or may require external means to shed its electrical consumption.
Embodiments such as those pictured in
The maximum consumption threshold 402 is a value selected as the maximum consumption target for the site. In some embodiments, this value is the maximum consumption level allowed before the site's consumption begins to incur demand charges. In other embodiments, this value is below or above the demand charge threshold, and may be unrelated, such as, for example, a threshold over which an undesired amount of pollution is generated at the site. The maximum consumption threshold 402 may be calculated by the CMU 112 controller, input from a user or external computer, sent to the CMU 112 via a network connection, may be hard-wired into the CMU 112, or may be determined by some other means. It may also vary over time or due to other factors. The maximum consumption threshold 402 may be significant in the operation of embodiments of the invention because it may be the point at which the CMU 112 dispenses energy into the site to mitigate a peak. It may be the point at which the CMU 112 registers that the energy consumption is undesirably high and will dispense energy into the site to bring the energy consumption read at the meter to match or fall below the maximum consumption threshold 402.
The process illustrated in
Another peak occurs between time 624 and time 628. The mitigation process is repeated by the system between these times—the energy storage is discharged between time 624 and time 626 until its SOC drops below a lower SOC threshold, and load shedding is engaged (and the energy storage is recharged) between times 626 and 628. In the case of this peak, however, the end of the peak comes before the energy storage device is completely recharged. Thus, the energy storage device does not return to discharging, as it did between times 618 and 620, and instead simply recharges using available headroom from time 628 to time 630. After time 630, the system controller continues monitoring and measuring the energy consumption at the site, and since the actual energy consumption 400 is below the maximum consumption threshold 402, the metered consumption 500 matches the actual energy consumption 400.
In some embodiments, load shedding periods such as the time periods covering regions 702, 706, 710, and 714 must be managed separate from the metered energy consumption curve 500. For example, if food freezers are the loads shed to permit the energy storage to recharge, then they can only be disabled for a set time period before the cost of the loss of the frozen goods exceeds the cost of increasing the maximum consumption threshold 402. Thus, in these embodiments, as the system controller monitors the energy consumption, it also monitors the costs associated with load shedding and may adjust parameters of the energy management system in order to keep operations cost-effective.
A process and system producing the discharge and load shedding pattern typified by
In these embodiments, such as shown in
Some methods and systems of the embodiments of the invention disclosed herein may also be embodied as a computer-readable medium containing instructions to complete those methods or implement those systems. The term “computer-readable medium” as used herein includes not only a single physical medium or single type of medium, but also a combination of one or more tangible physical media and/or types of media. Examples of a computer-readable medium include, but are not limited to, one or more memory chips, hard drives, optical discs (such as CDs or DVDs), magnetic discs, and magnetic tape drives. A computer-readable medium may be considered part of a larger device or it may be itself removable from the device. For example, a commonly-used computer-readable medium is a universal serial bus (USB) memory stick that interfaces with a USB port of a device. A computer-readable medium may store computer-readable instructions (e.g. software) and/or computer-readable data (i.e., information that may or may not be executable). In the present example, a computer-readable medium (such as memory) may be included to store instructions for the charging, discharging, and load shedding by the controller or to control it to perform other actions and processes disclosed herein.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.
In addition, it should be understood that the figures described above, which highlight the functionality and advantages of the present invention, are presented for example purposes only and not for limitation. The exemplary architecture of the present invention is sufficiently flexible and configurable, such that it may be utilized in ways other than that shown in the figures. It will be apparent to one of skill in the art how alternative functional, logical or physical partitioning, and configurations can be implemented to produce or implement the desired features of the present invention. Also, a multitude of different constituent module or step names other than those depicted herein can be applied to the various partitions. Additionally, with regard to flow diagrams, operational descriptions and method claims, the order in which the steps are presented herein shall not mandate that various embodiments be implemented to perform the recited functionality in the same order unless the context dictates otherwise.
Although the invention is described above in multiple various exemplary embodiments and implementations, it should be understood that the various features, aspects and functionality described in one or more of the individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to the particular embodiment with which they are described, but instead can be applied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of the other embodiments of the invention, whether or not such embodiments are described and whether or not such features are presented as being a part of a described embodiment. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments. The invention is also defined in the following claims.
Terms and phrases used in this document, and variations thereof, unless otherwise expressly stated, should be construed as open ended as opposed to limiting. As examples of the foregoing: the term “including” should be read as meaning “including, without limitation” or the like; the term “example” is used to provide exemplary instances of the item in discussion, not an exhaustive or limiting list thereof; the terms “a” or “an” should be read as meaning “at least one,” “one or more” or the like; and adjectives such as “typical,” “conventional,” “traditional,” “normal,” “standard,” “known” and terms of similar meaning should not be construed as limiting the time described to a given time period or to an item available as of a given time, but instead should be read to encompass conventional, traditional, normal, or standard technologies that may be available or known now or at any time in the future. Likewise, where this document refers to technologies that would be apparent or known to one of ordinary skill in the art, such technologies encompass those apparent or known to the skilled artisan now or at any time in the future.
A group of items linked with the conjunction “and” should not be read as requiring that each and every one of those items be present in the grouping, but rather should be read as “and/or” unless expressly stated otherwise or context dictates otherwise. Similarly, a group of items linked with the conjunction “or” should not be read as requiring mutual exclusivity among that group, but rather should also be read as “and/or” unless expressly stated or context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, although items, elements or component of the invention may be described or claimed in the singular, the plural is contemplated to be within the scope thereof unless limitation to the singular is explicitly stated. The presence of broadening words and phrases such as “one or more,” “at least,” “but not limited to” or other like phrases in some instances shall not be read to mean that the narrower case is intended or required in instances where such broadening phrases may be absent.
Additionally, the various embodiments set forth herein are described in terms of exemplary block diagrams and other illustrations. As will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading this document, the illustrated embodiments and their various alternatives can be implemented without confinement to the illustrated examples. For example, block diagrams and their accompanying description should not be construed as mandating a particular architecture or configuration.
Further, the purpose of the Abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers, and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The Abstract is not intended to be limiting as to the scope of the present invention in any way.
Priority is claimed to the following related pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety: Ser. No. 61/513,398, filed Jul. 29, 2011.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61513398 | Jul 2011 | US |
