Claims:
1. A water pump control system comprising:
a controller unit that is configured to support any or a combination of semi-automatic star-delta starter, fully automatic starter, and a direct on-line starter, said controller unit being configured to continuously monitor incoming three phase voltages and current of one phase; and
a GSM module operatively coupled with said controller unit and with a super capacitor in a manner such that said super capacitor is charged through incoming voltage when power is available, and in the event of a power failure, said charged super capacitor provides power to the GSM module and enable said controller unit to, using the GSM module, provide a power fail message to at least one user through SMS.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein when power is back again after the power failure, said controller unit, using said GSM module, sends a power up message to said user without the super capacitor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said controller unit is operatively coupled with a visual indicator indicating a fault in said water pump control system.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said system comprises one or more front panel configurable timers for any or a combination of power ON delay timer, star-delta changeover timer, and dry run fault rest timer.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said controller unit provides said power fail message to said at least one user through a missed call, an IVRS, or a telecom platform based communication means.
, Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to a control device for pumps and to a pump apparatus comprising the control device. In particular, it pertains, but not by way of limitation, to a system for remotely automatic and manual water pump controller for starters, such as Star-Delta starter and Direct On Line (DOL) starter, with power back up for electricity fail Short Message Service (SMS) providing protection against voltage and current faults.

BACKGROUND
[0002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0003] Important technological infrastructure, such as electrical hardware and elevator hydraulics and cables, are often located in enclosed spaces such as transformer vaults and elevator shafts. This infrastructure is enclosed for a variety of reasons, including engineering design, prevention of injury or theft, noise dampening, and aesthetics. However, these enclosed spaces are often subject to waste water accumulation as water from rain, irrigation, leaks, and other sources may enter these spaces, accumulate, and flood the enclosure.
[0004] To prevent water from rising above a certain level in these enclosed spaces, submersible pumps are often used to remove accumulated water from these locations. The water is typically pumped into a reservoir and ultimately released into the environment via a sewer system or the like. However, the waste water is often mixed with oil that leaked from the equipment in these structures. This oil-water mixture presents an environmental hazard if it is pumped into the sewer system.
[0005] Pump controllers are usually used to control the operation of submersible pumps. A pump controller is typically configured to activate the pump when water within the enclosed space has reached a high threshold level and to de-activate the pump when water has dropped below a low threshold level. A pump/motor controller is a device or group of devices that serves to govern in some predetermined manner the performance of an electric motor. The motor controller might include a manual or automatic means for starting and stopping the motor, selecting forward or reverse rotation, selecting and regulating the speed, regulating or limiting the torque, and protecting against overloads and faults.
[0006] There are many types of starters: 1) Direct On Line (DOL), 2) Star delta starter, and 3) Auto transformer starter. Motor controllers can be manually, remotely or automatically operated. They may include only the means for starting and stopping the motor or they may include other functions. An electric motor controller can be classified by the type of motor it is to drive such as permanent magnet, servo, series, separately excited, and alternating current. A motor controller is connected to a power source such as a battery pack or power supply, and control circuitry in the form of analog or digital input signals.
[0007] However, pump controllers could sometimes malfunction and cause the pump to continue pumping even if water/fuel has dropped below the low threshold level. As a result, the pump could be damaged from running under dry conditions. Therefore, there exists a need for an improved pump control system for pumps adapted for removing waste water from enclosed spaces and reducing the occurrence of the pump running under dry sump conditions. There are prior-art references in which water pump is controlled through mobile phone. However, these applications are limited till DOL starter.
[0008] The aforementioned limitations of the existing pump controllers in general and in the existing prior-art references are recognized by the inventors hereof and some or all of these limitations have been addressed by various embodiments of the present invention. The inventors of this applications recognized that it would be advantageous to provide System for remotely automatic and manual water pump controller for Star-Delta and DOL starter with power back up for electricity fail SMS providing protection against voltage and current faults.
[0009] All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
[0010] In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, properties such as concentration, reaction conditions, and so forth, used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the invention are to be understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, in some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable. The numerical values presented in some embodiments of the invention may contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.
[0011] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0012] The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g. “such as”) provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the invention.
[0013] Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all Markush groups used in the appended claims.

SUMMARY
[0014] The aforementioned limitations of the existing pump controllers in general and in the existing prior-art references are recognized by the inventors hereof and some or all of these limitations have been addressed by providing a new, efficient, technically advanced, system and method for remotely automatic and manual water pump controller for Star-Delta and DOL starter with power back up for electricity fail SMS providing protection against voltage and current faults.
[0015] The present disclosure generally relates to a control device for pumps and to a pump apparatus comprising the control device. In particular, it pertains, but not by way of limitation, to a system for remotely automatic and manual water pump controller for starters, such as Star-Delta starter and Direct On Line (DOL) starter, with power back up for electricity fail Short Message Service (SMS) providing protection against voltage and current faults.
[0016] The present invention relates to remotely water pump control system for DOL and Star Delta starter in automatic and manual mode using mobile phone and also provide power fail SMS to user/farmer using Super capacitor on the event of electricity unavailability (power fail). This system also provides protections against voltage based faults like under voltage, over voltage, phase unbalance, single phasing and current based fault like Dry run.
[0017] The present invention also provides the three different timers which are configurable from front panel of unit i.e. Power ON delay timer, star-delta changeover timer and dry run fault rest timer. These provisions are not found in any of available techniques of pump controllers.
[0018] An aspect of the present disclosure provides a water pump control system. The system can include a controller unit that is configured to support any or a combination of semi-automatic star-delta starter, fully automatic starter, and a direct on-line starter. The controller unit continuously monitors the incoming three phase voltages and current of one phase. The system also includes a GSM module operatively coupled with the controller unit and with a super capacitor in a manner such that the super capacitor is charged through incoming voltage when power is available. In the event of a power failure, the charged super capacitor provides power to the GSM module, and enables said controller unit to, using the GSM module, provide a power fail message to at least one user through SMS.
[0019] In an aspect, when power is back again after the power failure, said controller unit, using said GSM module, sends a power up message to said user without the super capacitor.
[0020] In an aspect, the controller unit is operatively coupled with a visual indicator indicating a fault in said water pump control system.
[0021] In an aspect, the system can further include one or more front panel configurable timers for any or a combination of power ON delay timer, star-delta changeover timer, and dry run fault rest timer.
[0022] In an aspect, the controller unit provides said power fail message to said at least one user through a missed call, an IVRS, or a telecom platform based communication means.
[0023] In contrast to the existing techniques of pump controllers, the present invention enables to supports the all types of starts i.e. semi-automatic star delta starter, fully automatic starter and DOL. Further, the pump operations can be controlled through SMS/Missed call/IVRS using mobile phone. In prior arts, pump operation controlling through mobile is claimed but this is possible when the electricity is available. When there is power fail, user cannot control pump operations and there is no provision to inform unavailability of electricity to user in prior arts. The present invention provides Power fail SMS, the last SMS sent by unit to inform the user that there is a Power fail. This is achieved using super capacitor in our circuit for power back up. In this way user gets information on availability of electricity and also power fail through SMS so that he can plan his watering activities accordingly.
[0024] Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which like numerals represent like components

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.
[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of internal circuitry of the proposed system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0027] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary computer system utilized for implementation of the proposed system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such detail as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
[0029] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details.
[0030] Embodiments of the present invention include various steps, which will be described below. The 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 steps. Alternatively, steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software, and firmware and/or by human operators.
[0031] Embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a computer program product, which may include a machine-readable storage medium tangibly embodying thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform a process. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, fixed (hard) drives, magnetic tape, floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact disc read-only memories (CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories, such as ROMs, PROMs, random access memories (RAMs), programmable read-only memories (PROMs), erasable PROMs (EPROMs), electrically erasable PROMs (EEPROMs), flash memory, magnetic or optical cards, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable for storing electronic instructions (e.g., computer programming code, such as software or firmware).
[0032] Various methods described herein may be practiced by combining one or more machine-readable storage media containing the code according to the present invention with appropriate standard computer hardware to execute the code contained therein. An apparatus for practicing various embodiments of the present invention may involve one or more computers (or one or more processors within a single computer) and storage systems containing or having network access to computer program(s) coded in accordance with various methods described herein, and the method steps of the invention could be accomplished by modules, routines, subroutines, or subparts of a computer program product.
[0033] If the specification states a component or feature “may”, “can”, “could”, or “might” be included or have a characteristic, that particular component or feature is not required to be included or have the characteristic.
[0034] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0035] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. These exemplary embodiments are provided only for illustrative purposes and so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those of ordinary skill in the art. The invention disclosed may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Various modifications will be readily apparent to persons skilled in the art. The general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Moreover, all statements herein reciting embodiments of the invention, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future (i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure). Also, the terminology and phraseology used is for the purpose of describing exemplary embodiments and should not be considered limiting. Thus, the present invention is to be accorded the widest scope encompassing numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents consistent with the principles and features disclosed. For purpose of clarity, details relating to technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention have not been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure the present invention.
[0036] Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the diagrams, schematics, illustrations, and the like represent conceptual views or processes illustrating systems and methods embodying this invention. The functions of the various elements shown in the figures may be provided through the use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executing associated software. Similarly, any switches shown in the figures are conceptual only. Their function may be carried out through the operation of program logic, through dedicated logic, through the interaction of program control and dedicated logic, or even manually, the particular technique being selectable by the entity implementing this invention. Those of ordinary skill in the art further understand that the exemplary hardware, software, processes, methods, and/or operating systems described herein are for illustrative purposes and, thus, are not intended to be limited to any particular named element.
[0037] Each of the appended claims defines a separate invention, which for infringement purposes is recognized as including equivalents to the various elements or limitations specified in the claims. Depending on the context, all references below to the "invention" may in some cases refer to certain specific embodiments only. In other cases it will be recognized that references to the "invention" will refer to subject matter recited in one or more, but not necessarily all, of the claims.
[0038] All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the invention.
[0039] Various terms as used herein are shown below. To the extent a term used in a claim is not defined below, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in printed publications and issued patents at the time of filing.
[0040] The aforementioned limitations of the existing pump controllers in general and in the existing prior-art references are recognized by the inventors hereof and some or all of these limitations have been addressed by providing a new, efficient, technically advanced, system and method for remotely automatic and manual water pump controller for Star-Delta and DOL starter with power back up for electricity fail SMS providing protection against voltage and current faults.
[0041] The present disclosure generally relates to a control device for pumps and to a pump apparatus comprising the control device. In particular, it pertains, but not by way of limitation, to a system for remotely automatic and manual water pump controller for starters, such as Star-Delta starter and Direct On Line (DOL) starter, with power back up for electricity fail Short Message Service (SMS) providing protection against voltage and current faults.
[0042] The present invention relates to remotely water pump control system for DOL and Star Delta starter in automatic and manual mode using mobile phone and also provide power fail SMS to user/farmer using Super capacitor on the event of electricity unavailability (power fail). This system also provides protections against voltage based faults like under voltage, over voltage, phase unbalance, single phasing and current based fault like Dry run.
[0043] The present invention also provides the three different timers which are configurable from front panel of unit i.e. Power ON delay timer, star-delta changeover timer and dry run fault rest timer. These provisions are not found in any of available techniques of pump controllers.
[0044] An aspect of the present disclosure provides a water pump control system. The system can include a controller unit that is configured to support any or a combination of semi-automatic star-delta starter, fully automatic starter, and a direct on-line starter. The controller unit continuously monitors the incoming three phase voltages and current of one phase. The system also includes a GSM module operatively coupled with the controller unit and with a super capacitor in a manner such that the super capacitor is charged through incoming voltage when power is available. In the event of a power failure, the charged super capacitor provides power to the GSM module, and enables said controller unit to, using the GSM module, provide a power fail message to at least one user through SMS.
[0045] In an aspect, when power is back again after the power failure, said controller unit, using said GSM module, sends a power up message to said user without the super capacitor.
[0046] In an aspect, the controller unit is operatively coupled with a visual indicator indicating a fault in said water pump control system.
[0047] In an aspect, the system can further include one or more front panel configurable timers for any or a combination of power ON delay timer, star-delta changeover timer, and dry run fault rest timer.
[0048] In an aspect, the controller unit provides said power fail message to said at least one user through a missed call, an IVRS, or a telecom platform based communication means.
[0049] In contrast to the existing techniques of pump controllers, the present invention enables to supports the all types of starts i.e. semi-automatic star delta starter, fully automatic starter and DOL. Further, the pump operations can be controlled through SMS/Missed call/IVRS using mobile phone. In prior arts, pump operation controlling through mobile is claimed but this is possible when the electricity is available. When there is power fail, user cannot control pump operations and there is no provision to inform unavailability of electricity to user in prior arts. The present invention provides Power fail SMS, the last SMS sent by unit to inform the user that there is a Power fail. This is achieved using super capacitor in our circuit for power back up. In this way user gets information on availability of electricity and also power fail through SMS so that he can plan his watering activities accordingly.
[0050] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of internal circuitry of the proposed system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, a system 100 according to the present disclosure controls operations associated with water pump by way of controlling operations of DOL starter.
[0051] In an exemplary embodiment, the present invention provides a mechanism which enables a single line diagram to support all type of starter’s i.e. semi-automatic star-delta starter, fully automatic starter and direct on-line starter, i.e., no separate configuration/setting/module is required to serve different types of starters.
[0052] In an exemplary embodiment, a controller 102 for pump operator continuously monitors the incoming three phase voltages 104 through a voltage sensing means 106 and current 108 of one phase through one or more current transformers (CT) 110.
[0053] In an exemplary embodiment, the controller 102 is self-powered device. It derived different voltages required to power up its electronic circuitry 112.
[0054] In an exemplary embodiment, the system 100 includes a GSM module 114 which takes power from incoming voltage 112. The GSM module 114 can include a capability to connect with a GSM network 116 to communicate with other device located at remote location remotely. The GSM module 114 can further include a capability to hold a SIM card 118 which enables to communicate over GSM network. It may be appreciated that, the GSM network is merely used for exemplary purposes; the proposed invention is capable of connecting with any of the existing or further networks providing wireless communication facilities.
[0055] In an exemplary embodiment, the system 100 can further include a LED fault indication unit 122 adapted to provide an indication of an occurrence of any fault in the system. The system 100 can further include a timer setting 120 unit which is adapted to set timers associated with one or more performance parameters of the system 100.
[0056] In an exemplary embodiment, the super capacitor is incorporated in circuit such a way that it keeps on charging through incoming voltage in healthy situation (when power is available). It takes 120 seconds to get charge completely. Whenever, there is power fail, in absence of incoming voltage, charged super capacitor provides the power to GSM module and micro-controller circuitry. Using super capacitor power, unit provides power fail message to three users through SMS. On availability of power, the internal circuitry again gain power from incoming voltage and send SMS of Power available to user.
[0057] As compared to the exiting solutions for controlling the pump motor controllers, the proposed invention enables the water pump controller to support all types of starters i.e. i.e. semi-automatic star-delta starter (SASD), fully automatic starter (FASD) and direct on-line starter (DOL). Further, As compared to the exiting solutions for controlling the pump motor controllers, according to the proposed invention, if power fail a SMS is provided through power back up using Super capacitor. Furthermore, the present invention enables to provide front panel configurable timers for Power ON Delay timer, Star-Delta changeover timer and Dry run fault rest timer.
[0058] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary computer system utilized for implementation of the proposed system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, present invention can be implemented in the computer system 200 to enable aspects of the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps, which have been described above. A variety of these steps may be performed by hardware components or may be tangibly embodied on a computer-readable storage medium in the form of machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with instructions to perform these steps. Alternatively, the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. As shown in the figure, computer system 200 includes an external storage device 210, a bus 220, a main memory 230, a read only memory 240, a mass storage device 250, communication port 260, and a processor 270. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that computer system 200 may include more than one processor and communication ports. Examples of processor 270 include, but are not limited to, an Intel® Itanium® or Itanium 2 processor(s), or AMD® Opteron® or Athlon MP® processor(s), Motorola® lines of processors, FortiSOC™ system on a chip processors or other future processors. Processor 270 may include various modules associated with embodiments of the present invention. Communication port 260 can be any of an RS-232 port for use with a modem based dialup connection, a 10/100 Ethernet port, a Gigabit or 10 Gigabit port using copper or fiber, a serial port, a parallel port, or other existing or future ports. Communication port 260 may be chosen depending on a network, such a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or any network to which computer system 200 connects. Memory 230 can be Random Access Memory (RAM), or any other dynamic storage device commonly known in the art. Read only memory 240 can be any static storage device(s) e.g., but not limited to, a Programmable Read Only Memory (PROM) chips for storing static information e.g., start-up or BIOS instructions for processor 270. Mass storage 250 may be any current or future mass storage solution, which can be used to store information and/or instructions. Exemplary mass storage solutions include, but are not limited to, Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment (PATA) or Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) hard disk drives or solid-state drives (internal or external, e.g., having Universal Serial Bus (USB) and/or Firewire interfaces), e.g. those available from Seagate (e.g., the Seagate Barracuda 7200 family) or Hitachi (e.g., the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000), one or more optical discs, Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) storage, e.g. an array of disks (e.g., SATA arrays), available from various vendors including Dot Hill Systems Corp., LaCie, Nexsan Technologies, Inc. and Enhance Technology, Inc. Bus 220 communicatively couples processor(s) 270 with the other memory, storage and communication blocks. Bus 720 can be, e.g. a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) / PCI Extended (PCI-X) bus, Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), USB or the like, for connecting expansion cards, drives and other subsystems as well as other buses, such a front side bus (FSB), which connects processor 270 to software system. Optionally, operator and administrative interfaces, e.g. a display, keyboard, and a cursor control device, may also be coupled to bus 220 to support direct operator interaction with computer system 200. Other operator and administrative interfaces can be provided through network connections connected through communication port 260. External storage device 210 can be any kind of external hard-drives, floppy drives, IOMEGA® Zip Drives, Compact Disc - Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), Compact Disc - Re-Writable (CD-RW), Digital Video Disk - Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM). Components described above are meant only to exemplify various possibilities. In no way should the aforementioned exemplary computer system limit the scope of the present disclosure.
[0059] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits and algorithm steps described herein may be implemented or performed as electronic hardware, software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. It is noted that the configurations may be described as a process that is depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminated when its operations are completed. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination corresponds to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.
[0060] When implemented in hardware, various examples may employ a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array signal (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core or any other such configuration.
[0061] When implemented in software, various examples may employ firmware, middleware or microcode. The program code or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in a computer-readable medium or processor-readable medium such as a storage medium or other storage(s). A processor may perform the necessary tasks. A code segment may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.
[0062] As used in this application, the terms "component," "module," "system," and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component may be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be a component. One or more components can reside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer readable media having various data structures stored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/or remote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with another component in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet with other systems by way of the signal).
[0063] In one or more examples herein, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium or processor-readable medium. A processor- readable media and/or computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. A storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer- readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connection is properly termed a computer-readable medium or processor-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk and blue-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media. Software may comprise a single instruction, or many instructions, and may be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs and across multiple storage media. An exemplary storage medium may be coupled to a processor such that the processor can read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.
[0064] One or more of the components, steps, and/or functions illustrated in the Figures may be rearranged and/or combined into a single component, step, or function or embodied in several components, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps, and/or functions may also be added without departing from the invention. The novel algorithms described herein may be efficiently implemented in software and/or embedded hardware.
[0065] Those of skill in the art would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.
[0066] As used herein, and unless the context dictates otherwise, the term “coupled to” is intended to include both direct coupling (in which two elements that are coupled to each other or in contact each other) and indirect coupling (in which at least one additional element is located between the two elements). Therefore, the terms “coupled to” and “coupled with” are used synonymously. Within the context of this document terms “coupled to” and “coupled with” are also used euphemistically to mean “communicatively coupled with” over a network, where two or more devices are able to exchange data with each other over the network, possibly via one or more intermediary device.