Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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VEHICLE OVEN HAVING AN OPTIMIZED WATER VAPOR INJECTOR
[0001] BACKGROUND
Field
[0002] Embodiments relate to an oven for heating food. More specifically,
embodiments relate to a vehicle oven having an optimized water vapor injector.
Related Art
[0003] Conventional ovens for use in vehicles, such as aircraft,
typically have
water vapor injectors integrated with the heating elements. This leads to
excessive water
usage and chalk accumulation on the heating element, thereby reducing the
lifetime of the
heating element.
SUMMARY
[0004] According to an embodiment, an oven heating element assembly includes:
a
heating element operable to heat air that flows across the heating element, a
fan operable to
cause air to flow across the heating element, and a water vapor injector. The
water vapor
injector is operable to inject mist into the air heated by the heating element
to facilitate the
mist being converted to steam by the heated air.
[0005] The water vapor injector may be disposed in a location on an opposite
side of the
heating element from the fan whereby heated air flows proximate the water
vapor injector
after having flowed across the heating element.
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[0006] The oven heating element assembly may further include a compartment in
which
the oven heating assembly is installed, wherein the heating element is
operable to heat air
within the compartment, and the water vapor injector is disposed in a location
of the
compartment proximate where heated air flows.
[0007] The compartment may further include a wall at which the heating
element, the fan,
and the water vapor injector are installed.
[0008] The heating element may include an electrical heating element that
heats when
electrical current is passed therethrough.
[0009] The heating element may include a plurality of electrical heating
elements
proximate one another.
[00010] The heating element may encircle a majority of the fan and the fan
may
blow air across a majority of the heating element that encircles the fan.
[00011] The water vapor injector may include a nebulizer.
[00012] The heating element may heat the air to a temperature above the
boiling
point of water.
[00013] The water vapor injector may be disposed in a location to inject
water
vapor into heated air that is at a temperature above the boiling point of
water.
[00014] According to another embodiment, a method of injecting water vapor
into
an oven includes heating a heating element of the oven to a temperature above
the boiling
point of water, causing air to flow across the heated heating element by a
fan, heating the
air that flows across the heated heating element by the heating element to a
temperature
above the boiling point of water, injecting mist into the heated air by a
water vapor
injector, and converting the mist to steam by the heated air.
[00015] According to another embodiment, an oven includes a compartment; a
heating element disposed in the compartment, the heating element operable to
heat air that
flows across the heating element; a fan disposed proximate the heating element
and
operable to cause air to flow across the heating element; and a water vapor
injector
operable to inject mist into the air heated by the heating element to
facilitate the mist being
converted to steam by the heated air.
[00016] While the exemplary embodiments described herein are presented in
the
context of an oven for an aircraft galley, these embodiments are exemplary
only and are
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not to be considered limiting. The embodiments of the apparatus are not
limited to ovens
for use in an aircraft galley. The ovens may be used for various applications
including,
but not limited to, cooking or heating food. Various embodiments may be used
in any
vehicle, including aircraft, spacecraft, ships, buses, trains, recreational
vehicles, trucks,
automobiles, and the like. Embodiments of the apparatus may also be used in
homes,
offices, hotels, factories, warehouses, garages, and other buildings where it
may be
desirable to have increased reliability and lower cost of heating element
assemblies. In
general, the embodiments may be used in any location or application in which
it may be
desirable to have increased reliability and lower cost of heating element
assemblies.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[00017] Exemplary embodiments will be explained in more detail with
reference to
the attached drawings in which the embodiments are illustrated as briefly
described below.
[00018] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a conventional oven heating
element
assembly including a water vapor injector.
[00019] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a water vapor injector
installed at a
real wall of an oven compartment separately from a heating element assembly,
according
to an embodiment.
[00020] FIG. 3 illustrates a method of using a water vapor injector in
heating an
oven, according to an embodiment.
[00021] FIG. 4 illustrates a system for heating an oven including a water
vapor
injector, according to an embodiment.
[00022] FIG. 5 illustrates a controller for heating an oven using a water
vapor
injector, according to an embodiment.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00023] FIG. 1
illustrates a schematic view of a conventional oven heating element
assembly 100 including a water vapor injector 180. The heating element
assembly 100
includes a first heating element having a first end 110 and a second end 120,
the first end
110 and the second end 120 being part of a continuous loop. Likewise, the
heating
element assembly 100 includes a second heating element having a first end 130
and a
second end 140, the first end 130 and the second end 140 being part of a
continuous loop,
and a third heating element having a first end 150 and a second end 160, the
first end 150
and the second end 160 being part of a continuous loop. The loops of each of
the three
heating elements are in close proximity to one another. The first, second, and
third
heating elements may be electric heating elements that couple with an electric
heating
element control system (see FIGS. 4 and 5) of an oven. The heating element
assembly
100 may be installed in an oven compartment 105, for example at a back wall of
the oven
compartment 105, to heat air within the oven compartment 105. The heating
element
assembly 100 may be installed such that the continuous loops of the first,
second, and third
heating elements encircle a fan 190 that causes airflow to flow over the
first, second, and
third heating elements in order to heat the interior of the oven compartment
105.
[00024] The
water vapor injector 180 injects water 185 into the oven compartment
in which the heating element assembly 170 is installed by spraying water 185
onto the fan
190 encircled by the first, second, and third heating elements. The water 185
may be
sprayed at one of a variety of different locations of the fan 190 ¨ three
potential locations
are shown in FIG. 1. For example, the water 185 may be sprayed onto a single
location of
the fan 190 to the right of the top of the fan 190. The fan 190 then creates
water spray 193
from the injected water. Outward airflow from the fan 190 causes the water
spray 193 and
any existing liquid water droplets to hit the first, second, and third heating
elements, which
convert the water spray 193 and liquid water droplets into steam 195. The
water spray 193
may hit a different region of the first, second, and third heating elements,
depending upon
where the water 185 is sprayed onto the fan 190 and which direction the fan
190 is
rotating. FIG. 1 illustrates a number of alternative potential areas of the
first, second, and
third heating elements that the water spray 193 may hit. For example, when the
water 185
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is sprayed onto the single location of the fan 190 to the right of the top of
the fan 190, and
the fan 190 is rotating in the clockwise direction, the water spray 193 may
hit the first,
second, and third heating elements at the upper right portion of the heating
element loop
illustrated in FIG. 1.
[00025] Because the water spray 193 and liquid water droplets physically
touch the
first, second, and third heating elements of FIG. 1, mineral residues (e.g.,
chalk) are
deposited on the first, second, and third heating elements. The mineral
residues then
accumulate on the heating elements where the liquid water droplets touch the
heating
elements, leading to a reduction in life for the heating elements. In
addition, frequent
temperature changes of the heating elements due to the spray of cold water 185
onto the
heating elements negatively impacts the reliability of the heating elements.
Furthermore,
alignment of the water vapor injector 180 with the fan 190 is critical in
order for the fan
190 to properly create and distribute the water spray 193 that the heating
elements convert
to steam 195.
[00026] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a water vapor injector 210
installed at
a rear wall 205 of an oven compartment 200 separately from a heating element
assembly
220, according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 also illustrates a fan 290 installed
at the rear
wall 205 within a continuous loop created by first, second, and third heating
elements
having first and second ends 230 and 240, 250 and 260, and 270 and 280,
respectively. In
various embodiments, there may be more or fewer heating elements. For example,
there
may be one, two, four, five, or more heating elements. Each of the heating
elements may
generally encircle the fan 290 generally along a plane parallel with the wall
205 of the
oven compartment 200 at which the water vapor injector 220 is installed. There
may be an
opening between the ends of the heating elements through which air blown by
the fan 290
does not flow across the heating elements, for example. In addition, the
heating elements
may be arranged with respect to one another along a plane perpendicular with
the wall of
the oven compartment 200 at which the heating element assembly 220 is
installed, along a
plane parallel with the wall 205 of the oven compartment 200 at which the
heating element
assembly 220 is installed, along a diagonal plane in between perpendicular and
parallel to
the wall 205 of the oven compartment 200, or other arrangement that
facilitates airflow
295 from the fan 290 passing across the heating elements to be heated. The fan
290 may
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be a rotary fan with a propeller style blade, an axial-flow fan, a radial fan,
a centrifugal
fan, a crossflow fan, or other type of fan as known in the art.
[00027] The water vapor injector 210 may be disposed in a location on an
opposite
side of the heating elements from the fan 290 whereby heated air flows
proximate the
water vapor injector 210 after having flowed across the heating element. In
other
embodiments, the water vapor injector 210 may be disposed in a location on a
same side
of the heating elements as the fan 290, such as below, on, or proximate the
heating
element assembly 220. The water vapor injector 210 may inject mist 213 into
airflow 295
created by the fan 290 and heated by the first, second, and third heating
elements. The
mist 213 may be heated in the heated airflow 295 until the mist 213 changes
state to the
vapor phase to become steam 215 without the mist 213 physically touching the
heating
elements or the fan.
[00028] Although the water vapor injector 210 is illustrated as being
installed to the
left of the heating element assembly 220, this should not be construed as
limiting. In
various embodiments, the water vapor injector 210 may be placed in other or
multiple
locations independent of the shape or placement of the heating element
assembly 220 to
optimize formation and distribution of steam 215 in the oven compartment 200.
In
contrast to the water vapor injector 180, the placement of the water vapor
injector 210 is
more flexible.
[00029] The water vapor injector 210 may include a nozzle coupled with a
water
source such that mist 213 is controllably injected into the oven compartment
200 using a
nebulizer or solenoid powered valves and the nozzle. The heated airflow 295
from the fan
290 quickly heats the mist 213 injected by the water vapor injector 210 to
create steam
215. The mist 213 from the water vapor injector 210 is converted to steam 215
by the
heated airflow 295 that flows across the heating elements in the heating
element assembly
220, rather than by the heating elements directly as in FIG. 1.
[00030] The water vapor injector 210 reduces water usage compared to the
conventional water vapor injector 180, and also prevents chalk accumulation on
the
heating elements because the water vapor injector 210 does not cause mist or
water
droplets to spray directly onto the heating elements in contrast to the
conventional water
vapor injector 180. Because the fineness of the mist 213 facilitates the mist
213 being
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converted to steam 215 by the heated airflow 295 without touching the heating
element
assembly 220 first, the heating element assembly 220 does not have the
problems of the
heating element assembly 170 in this regard. In various embodiments, other
factors that
may contribute to prevention of problems in the heating element assembly 220
similar to
those of the heating assembly 170 include distance between the first, second,
and third
heating elements of FIG. 2 and the water vapor injector 210, and the airflow
295 from the
fan 290 sending the mist 213 and any existing liquid water droplets from the
water vapor
injector 210 in a direction away from the heating element assembly 220. As a
result, the
lifetime of the heating element assembly 220 of FIG. 2 is increased in
comparison with the
heating element assembly 170 of FIG. 1.
[00031] In addition, the water vapor injector 210 may be more easily
cleaned,
serviced, and replaced than the water vapor injector 180 of FIG. 1, because
the water
vapor injector 210 is not integrated with the heating element assembly 220.
However, in
various embodiments, the water vapor injector 210 may be integrated with the
heating
element assembly 220 while still enjoying advantages of the embodiments of the
combination of the heating element assembly 220 and water vapor injector 210
discussed
herein. Furthermore, in embodiments such as that illustrated in which the
water vapor
injector 210 is further from the heating elements than the water vapor
injector 180, the
water vapor injector 210 is not subjected to as extreme hot temperatures as
the water vapor
injector 180. As a result, more materials may be chosen for constructing the
water vapor
injector 210 than the water vapor injector 180. For example, because of the
close
proximity of the water vapor injector 180 to the heating elements in the
conventional
heating element assembly 170, the material choice for the water vapor injector
180 is
typically limited to stainless steel. In the water vapor injector 210, other
materials may be
chosen in order to reduce or eliminate deposition of minerals in the water
vapor injector
210. As such, the lifetime of the water vapor injector 210 may also be
extended and the
total cost of ownership of the water vapor injector 210 and/or heating element
assembly
220 reduced compared to the water vapor injector 180.
[00032] FIG. 3 illustrates a method of using a water vapor injector in
heating an
oven, according to an embodiment. In a step 310, a heating element is heated.
The
heating element may be one or more of the heating elements having first and
second ends
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230 and 240, 250 and 260, and 270 and 280, respectively. In the case of an
electrical
heating element, the heating element may be heated by passing electrical
current through
an electrically resistive heating element. Other heating elements that are
heated by or heat
air using other power sources or fuels may be used in various embodiments as
known in
the art, for example, gas, propane, or kerosene. The heating element may be
heated to a
temperature at or above the boiling point of water, which is 100 degrees
centigrade at one
atmosphere of pressure under standard conditions. The boiling point of water
is a physical
property of water that depends upon factors such as environmental conditions
including
atmospheric pressure. Impurities, such as salt, in the water may increase its
boiling point.
Also, in aircraft during flight, the atmospheric pressure is typically less
than one
atmosphere of pressure. As a result, the boiling temperature of water in an
aircraft during
flight is typically a lower temperature than it would be at one atmosphere of
pressure. In
various embodiments, the heating element may be heated to 100, 150, 200, 250,
or 300
degrees centrigrade, or more, and may heat the air within a compartment of the
oven to a
temperature about the same as the temperature of the heating element.
[00033] In a step 320, air is blown across the heating element heated in
step 310.
The air may be blown by a fan, e.g., fan 290. The air may be blown in a
direction from
the fan toward the heating element whereby the majority of the air blown by
the fan is
blown across the heating element. The fan may blow the air outwardly from the
fan and
across the heating element that encircles the fan. The speed and direction of
airflow
through the fan may be set by a variably controlled electrical power used to
drive a motor
of the fan.
[00034] In a step 330, the heating element heats the air that flows across
the heating
element. The air may be heated by an incremental amount each time the air
flows across
the heating element as the air circulates within the oven, raising a
temperature of the air
each time the air flows across the heating element. The air may decrease in
temperature as
the air circulates through the oven before returning to the fan. The air that
flows between
the fan and the heating element may be at a temperature above the boiling
point of water
prior to being incrementally heated by the heating element during any given
air circulation
cycle. The amount by which the air temperature is increased by passing over
the heating
element may be determined by how hot the heating element is, which in turn may
be
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determined by how much electrical current is passing through the heating
element in the
case of an electrical heating element.
[00035] In a step 340, mist is injected into the heated air. The mist may
be injected
by the water vapor injector 210. The mist may be injected away from the
heating element,
whereby the heated air contacts the mist after the heated air is heated by the
heating
element in step 330. The mist may be injected in the form of a mist or fine
water droplets
that provide a sufficiently large surface area relative to volume in order to
reduce a time
required to be converted into steam by the heated air to a sufficiently short
duration to
prevent the mist or fine water droplets from reaching the heating element. As
such, the
mist may be sufficiently fine such that the mist changes state to the vapor
phase prior to
reaching the heating element. A nebulizer or solenoid powered valves and a
nozzle may
be used to inject the mist into the heated air.
[00036] In a step 350, the mist injected into the heated air in step 340
is converted
into steam by the heated air. The mist may be converted into steam quickly
based on the
fineness of the mist and the temperature of the heated air. A finer mist and
hotter heated
air both reduce a time required to convert the mist into steam. The mist may
be converted
into steam by the heated air away from the heating element, and therefore the
heating
element may not have any mineral deposits left behind by the mist when the
mist is
converted to steam.
[00037] FIG. 4 illustrates a system 400 for heating an oven including a
water vapor
injector 420, according to an embodiment. A control system 410 may control the
water
vapor injector 420 to inject mist into an oven compartment according to the
methods
described herein. The control system 410 may include an embodiment of the
controller
500 shown in FIG. 5. The control system 410 may include sensors and actuators
and
control the water vapor injector 420, the heating element 430, and/or the fan
440 using the
sensors and actuators. The sensors may include temperature sensors, for
example, that
measure temperature of air near the heating element 430, near the water vapor
injector
420, near the fan 440, or in other areas within a compartment of the oven, or
that measure
temperature of the heating element 430 and/or the water vapor injector 420
themselves.
The sensors may also include humidity sensors, for example, that measure
temperature of
air near the heating element 430, near the water vapor injector 420, near the
fan 440, or in
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other areas within a compartment of the oven. The sensors may additionally
include flow
sensors that measure an amount of airflow from the fan 440 or an amount of
fluid or water
flow through the water vapor injector 420 and/or water supply piping that
provides water
to the water vapor injector 420. The sensors may also include a pressure
sensor that
measures the air pressure within the oven. The sensors further may include a
current
sensor that measures how much electrical current flows through the heating
element 430
or a voltage that measures the voltage across the heating element 430 in the
case of an
electrical heating element. The actuators may include a motor that drives the
fan 440, an
actuator that controls water flow through the water vapor injector 420, and an
element
such as a switch or driver that controls an amount of electrical current that
flows through
the heating element 430 in the case of an electrical heating element.
[00038] The water vapor injector 420 may be an embodiment of the water
vapor
injector 210. The heating element 430 may be an embodiment of the heating
elements
having first and second ends 230 and 240, 250 and 260, and 270 and 280,
respectively.
The fan 440 may be an embodiment of the fan 290.
[00039] FIG. 5 illustrates a controller for heating an oven using a water
vapor
injector, according to an embodiment. The controller 500 may be coupled with a
control
panel 540 via an I/O interface 530. The controller 500 may be included in the
oven having
the oven compartment 200 and the control panel 540 may be installed on an
exterior
surface of the oven or near an installation location of the oven. The
controller 500 may
receive input commands from a user via the control panel 540 such as turning
the oven on
or off, selecting an operation mode, and setting a desired temperature of the
oven
compartment 200. The controller 500 may output information to the user
regarding an
operational status (e.g., operational mode, activation of a steam generation
cycle, shut-off
due to over-temperature conditions of the oven compartment 205 and/or
components of
the oven, etc.) of the oven using the control panel 540.
[00040] The controller 500 may include a processor 510 that performs
computations
according to program instructions, a memory 520 that stores the program
instructions and
other data used or generated by the processor 510, and a network interface 550
that
includes data communications circuitry for interfacing to a data
communications network
590 such as Ethernet, Galley Data Bus (GAIN), or Controller Area Network
(CAN). The
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processor 510 may include a microprocessor, a Field Programmable Gate Array,
an
Application Specific Integrated Circuit, or a custom Very Large Scale
Integrated circuit
chip, or other electronic circuitry that performs a control function. The
processor 510 may
also include a state machine. The controller 500 may also include one or more
electronic
circuits and printed circuit boards. The processor 510, memory 520, and
network interface
550 may be coupled with one another using one or more data buses 580. The
controller
500 may communicate with and control various sensors and actuators 570 of the
oven via
a control interface 560. The sensors and actuators of the control system 410
may be
embodiments of the sensors and actuators 570 of FIG. 5.
[00041] The controller 500 may be controlled by or communicate with a
centralized
computing system, such as one onboard an aircraft. The controller 500 may
implement a
compliant ARINC 812 logical communication interface on a compliant ARINC 810
physical interface. The controller 500 may communicate via the Galley Data Bus
(e.g.,
galley networked GAN bus), and exchange data with a Galley Network Controller
(e.g.,
Master GAIN Control Unit as described in the ARINC 812 specification). In
accordance
with the ARINC 812 specification, the controller 500 may provide network
monitoring,
power control, remote operation, failure monitoring, and data transfer
functions. The
controller 500 may implement menu definitions requests received from the
Galley
Network Controller (GNC) for presentation on a GNC Touchpanel display device
and
process associated button push events to respond appropriately. The controller
500 may
provide additional communications using an RS-232 communications interface
and/or an
infrared data port, such as communications with a personal computer (PC) or a
personal
digital assistant (PDA). Such additional communications may include real-time
monitoring of operations of the oven, long-term data retrieval, and control
system software
upgrades. In addition, the control interface 560 may include a serial
peripheral interface
(SPI) bus that may be used to communicate between the controller 500 and motor
controllers within the oven.
[00042] A user may select a desired temperature for the oven compartment
200
using the control panel 540. The user may also select a desired humidity
and/or pressure
for the oven compartment 200 using the control panel 540. The controller 500
may
control a temperature within the oven compartment 200 at a high level of
precision
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according to the desired temperature. The controller 500 may also control a
humidity
within the oven compartment 200 at a high level of precision according to the
desired
humidity, and/or according to a desired pressure. For example, when the
pressure drops
below a threshold, additional water vapor may be injected into the oven
compartment to
increase the pressure. Therefore, quality of food cooked within the oven
compartment 205
may be uniformly obtained according to the user-selected operational mode of
the oven.
[00043] All references, including publications, patent applications, and
patents,
cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if
each reference
were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference
and were set
forth in its entirety herein.
[00044] For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles
of the
invention, reference has been made to the embodiments illustrated in the
drawings, and
specific language has been used to describe these embodiments. However, no
limitation
of the scope of the invention is intended by this specific language, and the
invention
should be construed to encompass all embodiments that would normally occur to
one of
ordinary skill in the art. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of
describing the
particular embodiments and is not intended to be limiting of exemplary
embodiments of
the invention. In the description of the embodiments, certain detailed
explanations of
related art are omitted when it is deemed that they may unnecessarily obscure
the essence
of the invention.
[00045] The apparatus described herein may comprise a processor, a memory
for
storing program data to be executed by the processor, a permanent storage such
as a disk
drive, a communications port for handling communications with external
devices, and user
interface devices, including a display, touch panel, keys, buttons, etc. When
software
modules are involved, these software modules may be stored as program
instructions or
computer readable code executable by the processor on a non-transitory
computer-
readable media such as magnetic storage media (e.g., magnetic tapes, hard
disks, floppy
disks), optical recording media (e.g., CD-ROMs, Digital Versatile Discs
(DVDs), etc.),
and solid state memory (e.g., random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory
(ROM),
static random-access memory (SRAM), electrically erasable programmable read-
only
memory (EEPROM), flash memory, thumb drives, etc.). The computer readable
recording
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media may also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that
the
computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. This
computer
readable recording media may be read by the computer, stored in the memory,
and
executed by the processor.
[00046] Also, using the disclosure herein, programmers of ordinary skill
in the art
to which the invention pertains may easily implement functional programs,
codes, and
code segments for making and using the invention.
[00047] The invention may be described in terms of functional block
components
and various processing steps. Such functional blocks may be realized by any
number of
hardware and/or software components configured to perform the specified
functions. For
example, the invention may employ various integrated circuit components, e.g.,
memory
elements, processing elements, logic elements, look-up tables, and the like,
which may
carry out a variety of functions under the control of one or more
microprocessors or other
control devices. Similarly, where the elements of the invention are
implemented using
software programming or software elements, the invention may be implemented
with any
programming or scripting language such as C, C++, JAVA , assembler, or the
like, with
the various algorithms being implemented with any combination of data
structures,
objects, processes, routines or other programming elements. Functional aspects
may be
implemented in algorithms that execute on one or more processors. Furthermore,
the
invention may employ any number of conventional techniques for electronics
configuration, signal processing and/or control, data processing and the like.
Finally, the
steps of all methods described herein may be performed in any suitable order
unless
otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
[00048] For the sake of brevity, conventional electronics, control
systems, software
development and other functional aspects of the systems (and components of the
individual operating components of the systems) may not be described in
detail.
Furthermore, the connecting lines, or connectors shown in the various figures
presented
are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical
or logical
couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many
alternative or
additional functional relationships, physical connections or logical
connections may be
present in a practical device. The words "mechanism", "element", "unit",
"structure",
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"means", and "construction" are used broadly and are not limited to mechanical
or
physical embodiments, but may include software routines in conjunction with
processors,
etc.
[00049] The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g.,
"such as")
provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and
does not pose a
limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. Numerous
modifications and adaptations will be readily apparent to those of ordinary
skill in this art
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the
following
claims. Therefore, the scope of the invention is defined not by the detailed
description of
the invention but by the following claims, and all differences within the
scope will be
construed as being included in the invention.
[00050] No item or component is essential to the practice of the invention
unless the
element is specifically described as "essential" or "critical". It will also
be recognized that
the terms "comprises," "comprising," "includes," "including," "has," and
"having," as
used herein, are specifically intended to be read as open-ended terms of art.
The use of the
terms "a" and "an" and "the" and similar referents in the context of
describing the
invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be
construed to cover
both the singular and the plural, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise. In addition,
it should be understood that although the terms "first," "second," etc. may be
used herein
to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these
terms, which
are only used to distinguish one element from another. Furthermore, recitation
of ranges
of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of
referring
individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise
indicated
herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if
it were
individually recited herein.
14
