Claims:
1. A system comprising:
a display module configured in a circuit breaker;
a controller operatively coupled with said display module in a manner such that upon receipt of a first interrupt signal from a button, said controller sends a first command to said display module so as to temporarily turn OFF said display module without resetting power supply.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said circuit breaker is a Smart Release Air Circuit Breaker.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said display module is an OLED display module.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said button is a multi-purpose button is configured to issue a second interrupt signal to said controller, based on which said controller sends a second command signal to turn ON said display module.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said button assists in displaying cause of a trip on said display module.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said display module is temporarily turned OFF when said display module is continuously idle for a defined time period.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said display module remains temporarily turned OFF until said button is pressed again.

8. A circuit breaker comprising:
a display module; and
a controller operatively coupled with said display module in a manner such that upon receipt of a first interrupt signal from a button, said controller sends a first command to said display module so as to temporarily turn OFF said display module without resetting power supply.

9. The circuit breaker of claim 8, wherein said button is a multi-purpose button is configured to issue a second interrupt signal to said controller, based on which said controller sends a second command signal to turn ON said display module.

10. The circuit breaker of claim 8, wherein said display module is temporarily turned OFF when said display module is continuously idle for a defined time period.

, Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to a system for controlling power consumption for certain end uses in which different entities have the capacity to program the system to limit energy consumption during chosen periods.

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] It is known in the art air circuit breaker (ACB) operation panel is determined by the electronic controller, and a status display composed of a mechanical button, these three component elements has its own disadvantages.
[0004] Normally, ACB release uses organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays module to show current, voltage and power metering. Since viewing angle and life of OLED is more as compare to LCD display hence OLED is preferred over LCD display. However, OLED modules have defined operation life time but after certain period like 2 or 3 years of usages there will be ghost images appearing on the OLED displays. When ambient temperature changes the life of OLED display reduces significantly which can lead to the malfunction of images display by OLEDs. For example, if operating at higher temperature like 70°C the time to start ghost image may reduce down to 15 to 16 hours. It has been observed that in torrid areas where ambient temperature normally reaches to 50 degrees Celsius. The ghost image (blurs and distorted) used to come in display only after 2 to 3-year life span of the product which makes it compulsory to replace the product as well.
[0005] Further, a research establishes that customer complaints for ghost image in smart release for display of the ACBs. This ghost image will create dummy images on the display which makes display reading difficult for user. Also, since display is always running due to which OLED panel life is degrading and depending upon the brightness set by user Ghost image occurrence is increasing. Thus, to increase display life there is a need to keep the panel active for lesser time.
[0006] The aforementioned limitations of the existing displays for ACBs 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 a screen saver to OLED display for low power consumption by a smart push button.
[0007] 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.
[0008] 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.
[0009] 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.
[0010] 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.
[0011] 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
[0012] The aforementioned limitations of the existing displays for ACBs 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 a screen saver to OLED display for low power consumption by a smart push button. Screen save mode enable will turn off the OLED panel of display when it is in ideal mode preferably for 2 min. By turning off the display we can extend the OLED operating Life. In result this will reduce the OLED use and delay the ghost image in the module. OLED panel ON/OFF feature is available in the OLED modules. By sending command from microcontroller to OLED module, entire display can be turned ON or OFF without resetting the power supply.
[0013] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to increase OLED display life by keeping the OLED panel active for lesser time. The present invention proposes a screen off feature in smart release ACB where its functionality will not get affected, only its display screen will be off. This can be achieved by sending OLED panel off command from controller to display module.
[0014] The present disclosure generally relates to a system for controlling power consumption for certain end uses in which different entities have the capacity to program the system to limit energy consumption during chosen periods.
[0015] An aspect of the present disclosure provides a system having a display module and a controller. The display module configured in a circuit breaker. The controller is operatively coupled with said display module in a manner such that upon receipt of a first interrupt signal from a button, said controller sends a first command to said display module so as to temporarily turn OFF said display module without resetting power supply.
[0016] In an aspect, said circuit breaker is a Smart Release Air Circuit Breaker (ACB).
[0017] In an aspect, said display module is an OLED display module.
[0018] In an aspect, said button is a multi-purpose button is configured to issue a second interrupt signal to said controller, based on which said controller sends a second command signal to turn ON said display module.
[0019] In an aspect, said button assists in displaying cause of a trip on said display module.
[0020] In an aspect, said display module is temporarily turned OFF when said display module is continuously idle for a defined time period.
[0021] In an aspect, said display module remains temporarily turned OFF until said button is pressed again.
[0022] An aspect of the present disclosure relates to circuit breaker having a display module and a controller. The controller operatively coupled with said display module in a manner such that upon receipt of a first interrupt signal from a button, said controller sends a first command to said display module so as to temporarily turn OFF said display module without resetting power supply.
[0023] In an aspect, said button is a multi-purpose button is configured to issue a second interrupt signal to said controller, based on which said controller sends a second command signal to turn ON said display module.
[0024] In an aspect, said display module is temporarily turned OFF when said display module is continuously idle for a defined time period.
[0025] In contrast to the displays for ACBs in general and in the existing prior-art references, the present invention a screen saver to OLED display for low power consumption by a smart push button. Screen save mode enable will turn off the OLED panel of display when it is in ideal mode preferably for 2 min. By turning off the display we can extend the OLED operating Life. In result this will reduce the OLED use and delay the ghost image in the module. OLED panel ON/OFF feature is available in the OLED modules. By sending command from microcontroller to OLED module, entire display can be turned ON or OFF without resetting the power supply.
[0026] The present invention relates to increase OLED display life by keeping the OLED panel active for lesser time. The present invention proposes a screen off feature in smart release ACB where its functionality will not get affected, only its display screen will be off. This can be achieved by sending OLED panel off command from controller to display module.
[0027] 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
[0028] 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.
[0029] FIG. 1 illustrates a result performed for experimental analysis of the proposed system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0030] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of the proposed system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0031] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a smart query button for OLED of the proposed system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0032] FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary computer system utilized for implementation of the proposed system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0033] 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.
[0034] 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.
[0035] 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.
[0036] 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).
[0037] 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.
[0038] 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.
[0039] 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.
[0040] 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.
[0041] 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.
[0042] 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.
[0043] 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.
[0044] 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.
[0045] The aforementioned limitations of the existing displays for ACBs 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 a screen saver to OLED display for low power consumption by a smart push button. Screen save mode enable will turn off the OLED panel of display when it is in ideal mode preferably for 2 min. By turning off the display we can extend the OLED operating Life. In result this will reduce the OLED use and delay the ghost image in the module. OLED panel ON/OFF feature is available in the OLED modules. By sending command from microcontroller to OLED module, entire display can be turned ON or OFF without resetting the power supply.
[0046] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to increase OLED display life by keeping the OLED panel active for lesser time. The present invention proposes a screen off feature in smart release ACB where its functionality will not get affected, only its display screen will be off. This can be achieved by sending OLED panel off command from controller to display module.
[0047] The present disclosure generally relates to a system for controlling power consumption for certain end uses in which different entities have the capacity to program the system to limit energy consumption during chosen periods.
[0048] An aspect of the present disclosure provides a system having a display module and a controller. The display module configured in a circuit breaker. The controller is operatively coupled with said display module in a manner such that upon receipt of a first interrupt signal from a button, said controller sends a first command to said display module so as to temporarily turn OFF said display module without resetting power supply.
[0049] In an aspect, said circuit breaker is a Smart Release Air Circuit Breaker (ACB).
[0050] In an aspect, said display module is an OLED display module.
[0051] In an aspect, said button is a multi-purpose button is configured to issue a second interrupt signal to said controller, based on which said controller sends a second command signal to turn ON said display module.
[0052] In an aspect, said button assists in displaying cause of a trip on said display module.
[0053] In an aspect, said display module is temporarily turned OFF when said display module is continuously idle for a defined time period.
[0054] In an aspect, said display module remains temporarily turned OFF until said button is pressed again.
[0055] An aspect of the present disclosure relates to circuit breaker having a display module and a controller. The controller operatively coupled with said display module in a manner such that upon receipt of a first interrupt signal from a button, said controller sends a first command to said display module so as to temporarily turn OFF said display module without resetting power supply.
[0056] In an aspect, said button is a multi-purpose button is configured to issue a second interrupt signal to said controller, based on which said controller sends a second command signal to turn ON said display module.
[0057] In an aspect, said display module is temporarily turned OFF when said display module is continuously idle for a defined time period.
[0058] In contrast to the displays for ACBs in general and in the existing prior-art references, the present invention a screen saver to OLED display for low power consumption by a smart push button. Screen save mode enable will turn off the OLED panel of display when it is in ideal mode preferably for 2 min. By turning off the display we can extend the OLED operating Life. In result this will reduce the OLED use and delay the ghost image in the module. OLED panel ON/OFF feature is available in the OLED modules. By sending command from microcontroller to OLED module, entire display can be turned ON or OFF without resetting the power supply.
[0059] The present invention relates to increase OLED display life by keeping the OLED panel active for lesser time. The present invention proposes a screen off feature in smart release ACB where its functionality will not get affected, only its display screen will be off. This can be achieved by sending OLED panel off command from controller to display module.
[0060] FIG. 1 illustrates a result 100 performed for experimental analysis of the proposed system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The details of experimental analysis would be explained along with the description of FIGs. 2-3 below.
[0061] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of the proposed system 200, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In an embodiment, the proposed system can include a trip unit 204 coupled with all the 3 phases 202 of a 3 phase inputs current and a display unit 206 having an OLED panel 208 and a query button 210.
[0062] In an embodiment, a smart push button 210 is used to send the interrupt signal to the controller so that controller sense the interrupt and switch on the display however same push button performs other function like to display the cause of the trip of the ACB. In an exemplary embodiment, single push button 210 is used in such a way that controller will be able to distinguish the process for which it has been pushed.
[0063] In an exemplary embodiment, screen save mode turns off the display when unit is in ideal state for 20 min. using this feature we can enhance the OLED panel life. Enabling power save mode will delay the ghost image issue which occurs due to continuous operation of OLED panel.
[0064] In an exemplary embodiment, the proposed screen save mode can be a complete software process with command based hence it will not impact any cost in other hand it will improve the product performance and reduces the display field issues. It may be appreciated that, the usage of expression “software process” here does not restrict the implementation scope of the present disclosure such that, the present invention may be implemented as a firmware or a dedicated hardware device.
[0065] In an exemplary embodiment, the ACBs may have the proposed screen save mode enabled by default. If user select Disable, then the display unit not turns off itself it will continue to operate the as earlier releases. If user enables the power save mode, then unit will turn off itself after 2 min of inaction by user.
[0066] In an exemplary embodiment, the display will come out of sleep mode when any key is pressed and especially a query button 210 assigned for wakeup from screen save mode, or in an alarm condition, the display will show pop-up and goes in to sleep after 20 min, or in pickup and trip condition, the display will not go into screen save mode.
[0067] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flowchart of a smart query button for OLED of the proposed system, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0068] At step 302, all modules and peripheral, such as but not limited to trip unit, display unit with query button, and LED/alarm indicator are initialized.
[0069] At step 304, a timer associated with the screen saver elapse time is set (which may be approximately 20minutes.)
[0070] At step 306, timer for keys and query button scanning purpose are initialized. Further, tasks for screen saver task and query button scanning task are also initialized.
[0071] At step 308, a scheduler may start to execute the all task with priority.
[0072] At step 310, it is recognized if the query button screen saver mode either active or deactivate.
[0073] At step 312, if the query button screen saver mode is active, it clears the running timer and the display will come out of sleep mode at step 314.
[0074] At step 316, if the query button screen saver mode is deactivate, the timer starts and increment the counter variable and it compare with screen saver set time.
[0075] At step 318, if counter values are greater than set timing value of screen saver mode, then display module goes into the screen saver (power save mode).
[0076] At step 320, at same time, when display module goes into the screen saver (power save mode), the query button is press then clear the counter incremented values and display modules come out from screen saver mode at step 314.
[0077] This task is continuously executing. Based on that, we can claim to save power as well enhancing the life of “OLED Display” module.
[0078] Referring again to FIG. 1, embodiments of the present disclosure relate to increase OLED display life by keeping the OLED panel active for lesser time. The present invention proposes a screen off feature in smart release ACB where its functionality will not get affected, only its display screen will be off. This can be achieved by sending OLED panel off command from controller to display module.
[0079] Accordingly, the present invention provides a screen saver feature has been implemented through a multipurpose smart push button. In an exemplary embodiment, after implementation a firmware/unit/present invention is provided to perform the temperature test. The firmware/unit/present invention is reviewed/tested for 7 to 8 days at 70°C. After this test, there was no appearance of any ghost image where in earlier test on conventional displays after 15 to 16 Hours the ghost image was clearly observed at same temperature. This proved the successful working of the present invention.
[0080] As it can be seen from the table as shown in FIG. 1, if OLED display continuously turns ON it life span is good when the ambient temperature is at 25 degree Celsius however it reduces when ambient changes to higher degree Celsius. Hence for increasing the life screen saver method is used.
[0081] According to the present invention, usage hours of the OLED will be reduced by shutting off the display after a particular time interval which will finally reduce the number of hours for which display will stay active.
[0082] According to the present invention, the multipurpose smart push button has been used to send the command to the controller to turn on the display module on the will of the user.
[0083] According to the present invention, the smart push button is used to send the interrupt signal to the controller so that controller sense the interrupt and switch on the display however same push button performs other function like to display the cause of the trip of the ACB.
[0084] According to the present invention, single push button is used in such a way that controller will be able to distinguish the process for which it has been pushed.
[0085] FIG. 4 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 400 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 400 includes an external storage device 410, a bus 420, a main memory 430, a read only memory 440, a mass storage device 450, communication port 460, and a processor 470. A person skilled in the art will appreciate that computer system 400 may include more than one processor and communication ports. Examples of processor 470 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 470 may include various modules associated with embodiments of the present invention. Communication port 460 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 460 may be chosen depending on a network, such a Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), or any network to which computer system 400 connects. Memory 430 can be Random Access Memory (RAM), or any other dynamic storage device commonly known in the art. Read only memory 440 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 470. Mass storage 450 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 420 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 470 to software system. Optionally, operator and administrative interfaces, e.g. a display, keyboard, and a cursor control device, may also be coupled to bus 420 to support direct operator interaction with computer system 400. Other operator and administrative interfaces can be provided through network connections connected through communication port 260. External storage device 410 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.
[0086] 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.
[0087] 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.
[0088] 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.
[0089] 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).
[0090] 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.
[0091] 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.
[0092] 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.
[0093] 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.