阅读说明：本技术 电驱动自调节压力控制方法、设备、程序及存储介质 (Electric drive self-regulation pressure control method, device, program, and storage medium ) 是由 郝亮 于 2021-05-11 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种电驱动自调节压力控制方法、设备、程序及存储介质,所述方法包括以下步骤：通过位置传感器获取摇架的位置信息；基于所述摇架的位置信息及预设目标接触压力,确定电机目标转矩；将电机的当前转矩调整为所述电机目标转矩,以使生产物和生产平台之间的接触压力到达所述预设目标接触压力。本发明解决了人工调节生产设备来控制纱线接触压力,导致纱线接触压力不准确以及纺纱质量不合格的问题,实现了根据需求自动且准确地调节生产物所受的接触压力,节省人力,保证纺纱生产质量。(The invention discloses an electric drive self-regulation pressure control method, equipment, a program and a storage medium, wherein the method comprises the following steps: acquiring position information of the cradle through a position sensor; determining a target torque of the motor based on the position information of the cradle and a preset target contact pressure; and adjusting the current torque of the motor to the motor target torque so that the contact pressure between the production object and the production platform reaches the preset target contact pressure. The invention solves the problems of inaccurate yarn contact pressure and unqualified spinning quality caused by controlling the yarn contact pressure by manually adjusting production equipment, realizes automatic and accurate adjustment of the contact pressure of a product according to requirements, saves manpower, and ensures the spinning production quality.)

1. An electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control method, comprising the steps of:

acquiring position information of the cradle through a position sensor;

determining a target torque of the motor based on the position information of the cradle and a preset target contact pressure;

and adjusting the current torque of the motor to the motor target torque so that the contact pressure between the production object and the production platform reaches the preset target contact pressure.

2. The electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control method of claim 1, further comprising:

acquiring current information of the motor through a current sensor;

controlling the current torque of the motor to be maintained at the motor target torque based on the current information.

3. The electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control method of claim 1 wherein said determining a motor target torque based on said cradle position information and a preset target contact pressure comprises:

obtaining a mechanical weight torque and a production weight torque based on the position information of the cradle;

acquiring a preset target contact pressure required by the production;

acquiring target contact pressure torque generated by the preset target contact pressure based on the preset target contact pressure;

and calculating to obtain the motor target torque by using a preset transmission ratio based on the target contact pressure torque, the mechanical weight torque and the production weight torque.

4. The electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control method of claim 3 wherein said deriving a mechanical weight torque and a production weight torque based on said cradle position information comprises:

acquiring a position deflection angle of the cradle and the vertical direction based on the position information of the cradle;

and calculating and obtaining the mechanical weight torque and the production weight torque according to the position deflection angle.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein said calculating said mechanical weight torque and said production weight torque based on said position deflection angle comprises:

acquiring the mechanical weight of an electrically driven self-regulating pressure control device and the weight of the production;

calculating to obtain the mechanical weight torque based on the position deflection angle, the mechanical weight and a moment arm corresponding to the mechanical weight;

and calculating to obtain the production weight torque based on the position deflection angle, the production weight and the moment arm corresponding to the production weight.

6. An electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control device, comprising:

the motor is connected with the transmission device and used for providing transmission power for the transmission device;

the transmission device is respectively connected with the motor and the cradle and is used for transmitting continuous power provided by the motor;

the cradle is connected with the transmission device and the production object and is used for lifting the production object according to the driving of the transmission device;

control means connected to the motor for carrying out the method steps according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The electrically driven self-regulating pressure control device of claim 6 further comprising:

the position sensor is arranged at the motor or the transmission device and used for detecting position information; wherein the position sensor is one or more;

and the current sensor is arranged at the motor and used for acquiring current information.

8. The electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control apparatus of claim 6 wherein said transmission is a one-stage transmission or a multi-stage transmission.

9. A computer storage medium, characterized in that the computer storage medium has stored thereon an electrically driven self-regulating pressure control method program which, when executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the electrically driven self-regulating pressure control method of any one of claims 1-5.

10. A computer program product, characterized in that it comprises a computer program which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the electrically driven self-regulating pressure control method according to any one of claims 1-5.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of automation control, and in particular, to an electrically driven self-adjusting pressure control method, device, program, and storage medium.

Background

In spinning formation, in order to control the yarn density, the contact pressure of the yarn on the friction roller is usually adjusted, and the common contact pressure is obtained by adjusting the pressure of a cradle (force arm) where the yarn is located through a mechanical device such as a spring, and the like, and there are two common forms, which are schematically shown in fig. 1 and fig. 2. The cradle is lifted to different angles, the stretching conditions of the springs are different, and then the contact pressure between the reel of the yarn at the tail end of the cradle and the friction roller is adjusted.

Due to the variety of spinning varieties, different yarn process requirements are different, the required optimal yarn contact pressure is also different, and in the original scheme of controlling the pressure by a mechanical spring, the position of the spring needs to be adjusted manually or the spring needs to be replaced. If the mechanical setting of production equipment is not changed, the same cradle lifting angle corresponds to a fixed diameter, the volume of the produced yarns is the same, but the contact pressure is different due to the fact that the weights of different types of yarns with the same volume are different, and the process adjustment is complicated. Moreover, due to the limitation of the spring and its installation, it is generally difficult to maintain the same contact pressure at different lifting angles, so that the spinning result is not ideal.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, embodiments of the present application provide an electrically-driven self-adjusting pressure control method, device and computer storage medium, which solve the problems of unstable yarn contact pressure and unqualified spinning quality caused by manually adjusting production equipment to control yarn contact pressure.

The embodiment of the application provides an electrically-driven self-adjusting pressure control method, which comprises the following steps:

acquiring position information of the cradle through a position sensor;

determining a target torque of the motor based on the position information of the cradle and a preset target contact pressure;

and adjusting the current torque of the motor to the motor target torque so that the contact pressure between the production object and the production platform reaches the preset target contact pressure.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises:

acquiring current information of the motor through a current sensor;

controlling the current torque of the motor to be maintained at the motor target torque based on the current information.

In one embodiment, the determining a target torque of a motor based on the position information of the cradle and a preset target contact pressure includes:

obtaining a mechanical weight torque and a production weight torque based on the position information of the cradle;

acquiring a preset target contact pressure required by the production;

acquiring target contact pressure torque generated by the preset target contact pressure based on the preset target contact pressure;

and calculating to obtain the motor target torque by using a preset transmission ratio based on the target contact pressure torque, the mechanical weight torque and the production weight torque.

In one embodiment, the obtaining the mechanical weight torque and the production weight torque based on the position information of the cradle includes:

acquiring a position deflection angle of the cradle and the vertical direction based on the position information of the cradle;

and calculating and obtaining the mechanical weight torque and the production weight torque according to the position deflection angle.

In an embodiment, the calculating the mechanical weight torque and the production weight torque according to the position deflection angle includes:

acquiring the mechanical weight of an electrically driven self-regulating pressure control device and the weight of the production;

calculating to obtain the mechanical weight torque based on the position deflection angle, the mechanical weight and a moment arm corresponding to the mechanical weight;

and calculating to obtain the production weight torque based on the position deflection angle, the production weight and the moment arm corresponding to the production weight.

To achieve the above object, there is also provided an electrically driven self-regulating pressure control apparatus including:

the motor is connected with the transmission device and used for providing transmission power for the transmission device;

the transmission device is respectively connected with the motor and the cradle and is used for transmitting continuous power provided by the motor;

the cradle is connected with the transmission device and the production object and is used for lifting the production object according to the driving of the transmission device;

control means connected to said motor for performing the method steps as claimed in any one of the above.

In one embodiment, the electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control device further comprises:

the position sensor is arranged at the motor or the transmission device and used for detecting position information; wherein the position sensor is one or more;

and the current sensor is arranged at the motor and used for acquiring current information.

In one embodiment, the transmission is a one-stage transmission or a multi-stage transmission.

To achieve the above object, there is also provided a computer storage medium having stored thereon an electrically driven self-regulating pressure control method program, which when executed by a processor, performs the steps of any of the electrically driven self-regulating pressure control methods described above.

To achieve the above object, there is also provided a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the electrically driven self-regulating pressure control method according to any one of the above.

One or more technical solutions provided in the embodiments of the present application have at least the following technical effects or advantages:

acquiring position information of the cradle through a position sensor; the position sensor is used for automatically acquiring the position information of the cradle, and guarantee is provided for correctly calculating the target torque of the motor.

Determining a target torque of the motor based on the position information of the cradle and a preset target contact pressure; the accuracy of obtaining the target torque of the motor is guaranteed, data support is provided for correctly controlling the motor output, automation is completed, and therefore labor cost is reduced.

And adjusting the current torque of the motor to the motor target torque so that the contact pressure between the production object and the production platform reaches the preset target contact pressure. Controlling the contact pressure between the production object and the production platform to be the target contact pressure by adjusting the current actual torque of the motor to be the target torque of the motor; by controlling the actual torque of the motor, the contact pressure value of the product has stability, and the quality of the product is guaranteed.

The invention solves the problems of inaccurate yarn contact pressure and unqualified spinning quality caused by different yarn contact pressures due to manual adjustment of production equipment, realizes automatic and accurate adjustment of target contact pressure according to requirements, saves manpower, and ensures the spinning production quality.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a prior art production apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a prior art production facility after pressure regulation;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of the electrically driven self-regulated pressure control method of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the electrically driven self-regulated pressure control method of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of step S120 of the electrically driven self-regulated pressure control method of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of step S121 of the electrically driven self-regulated pressure control method of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a specific implementation step S1212 of the electrically driven self-adjusting pressure control method according to the present application;

FIG. 8 is a first schematic view of the electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control apparatus of the present application;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of the transmission of the electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control apparatus of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a second schematic diagram of the electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control apparatus of the present application.

Detailed Description

It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

The main solution of the embodiment of the invention is as follows: the invention discloses an electric drive self-regulation pressure control method, equipment, a program and a storage medium, wherein the method comprises the following steps: acquiring position information of the cradle through a position sensor; determining a target torque of the motor based on the position information of the cradle and a preset target contact pressure; and adjusting the current torque of the motor to the motor target torque so that the contact pressure between the production object and the production platform reaches the preset target contact pressure. The invention solves the problems of inaccurate yarn contact pressure and unqualified spinning quality caused by controlling the yarn contact pressure by manually adjusting production equipment, realizes automatic and accurate adjustment of the contact pressure of a product according to requirements, saves manpower, and ensures the spinning production quality.

In order to better understand the technical solution, the technical solution will be described in detail with reference to the drawings and the specific embodiments.

Referring to fig. 3, fig. 3 is a first embodiment of the electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control method of the present application, comprising the steps of:

step S110: and acquiring the position information of the cradle through a position sensor.

Specifically, the location information may be obtained by a location sensor; the position sensor can acquire position information of a cradle, a transmission device, a motor and the like which are included in the electric drive self-adjustment control equipment.

Specifically, the sensor (english name: transducer/sensor) is a detection device, which can sense the measured information and convert the sensed information into an electric signal or other information in a required form according to a certain rule to output, so as to meet the requirements of information transmission, processing, storage, display, recording, control and the like;

position sensors (position sensors) that sense the position of the object and convert it into a usable output signal. It can sense the position of the measured object and convert it into a sensor capable of outputting signal.

Position sensors can be divided into two types, touch sensors and proximity sensors. In this embodiment, and not limited to the type of position sensor, adjustments are made to the requirements of a particular electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control device.

Step S120: and determining the target torque of the motor based on the position information of the cradle and the preset target contact pressure.

Specifically, the motor target torque is the torque which needs to be generated by a motor in the electric drive self-adjusting pressure control device so as to ensure that the contact pressure on the product is maintained at the set target contact pressure value.

Specifically, torque is the moment that turns a mechanical element.

Step S130: and adjusting the current torque of the motor to the motor target torque so that the contact pressure between the production object and the production platform reaches the preset target contact pressure.

Specifically, the current actual torque of the motor is adjusted to be the motor target torque by controlling the current mode of the motor, so that the cradle can be controlled to lift through the conveying device, the lifting force of the cradle is controlled, the contact pressure value of the product is controlled to be maintained at the target contact pressure value, and the quality of the product is guaranteed.

It should be noted that, in one embodiment, if the product is yarn, when the weight of the yarn reaches the maximum value, the information about replacing the winding drum is sent out, the motor generates force to lift the cradle, and the winding drum is replaced by the winding drum replacing device, so that the function of automatically loading and unloading the winding drum is realized.

In the above embodiment, there are beneficial effects of:

acquiring position information of the cradle through a position sensor; the position sensor is used for automatically acquiring the position information of the cradle, and guarantee is provided for correctly calculating the target torque of the motor.

Determining a target torque of the motor based on the position information of the cradle and a preset target contact pressure; the accuracy of obtaining the target torque of the motor is guaranteed, data support is provided for correctly controlling the motor output, automation is completed, and therefore labor cost is reduced.

And adjusting the current torque of the motor to the motor target torque so that the contact pressure between the production object and the production platform reaches the preset target contact pressure. Controlling the contact pressure between the production object and the production platform to be the target contact pressure by adjusting the current actual torque of the motor to be the target torque of the motor; by controlling the actual torque of the motor, the contact pressure value of the product has stability, and the quality of the product is guaranteed.

The invention solves the problems of inaccurate yarn contact pressure and unqualified spinning quality caused by different yarn contact pressures due to manual adjustment of production equipment, realizes automatic and accurate adjustment of target contact pressure according to requirements, saves manpower, and ensures the spinning production quality.

Referring to fig. 4, fig. 4 is a second embodiment of the present electrically driven self-regulated pressure control method, further comprising:

step S210: and acquiring the position information of the cradle through a position sensor.

Step S220: and determining the target torque of the motor based on the position information of the cradle and the preset target contact pressure.

Step S230: and adjusting the current torque of the motor to the motor target torque so that the contact pressure between the production object and the production platform reaches the preset target contact pressure.

Step S240: and acquiring current information of the motor through a current sensor.

Specifically, the current sensor is a detection device, can sense the information of the current to be detected, and can convert the sensed information into an electric signal meeting certain standard requirements or information in other required forms to be output according to a certain rule so as to meet the requirements of information transmission, processing, storage, display, recording, control and the like; in this embodiment, the current sensor may be a shunt, an electromagnetic current transformer, an electronic current transformer, or the like, which is not limited herein and may be dynamically adjusted according to the requirement of the control device.

Step S250: controlling the current torque of the motor to be maintained at the motor target torque based on the current information.

Specifically, the current information is used for controlling the motor, so that the current torque of the motor is continuously maintained at the calculated target torque of the motor.

Compared with the first embodiment, the second embodiment further includes step S240 and step S250, and other steps have already been described in the first embodiment and are not described herein again.

In the above embodiment, there are advantageous effects of: the current torque of the motor is continuously kept at the target torque of the motor by acquiring the current information of the motor in real time, so that the contact pressure between the production object and the production platform is continuously kept at the target contact pressure value, and the quality of the production object is further ensured.

Referring to fig. 5, fig. 5 is a detailed implementation step of step S120 of the first embodiment of the electrically driven self-adjusting pressure control method according to the present application, where the determining of the motor target torque based on the position information of the cradle and the preset target contact pressure includes:

step S121: based on the position information of the cradle, a machine weight torque and a production weight torque are obtained.

Specifically, the position deflection angle of the cradle can be acquired through the position information of the cradle, so that the mechanical weight torque and the production weight torque are calculated based on the position deflection angle of the cradle; wherein the mechanical weight torque and the production weight torque are necessary conditions for calculating the target torque of the motor.

Step S122: and acquiring a preset target contact pressure required by the production.

Specifically, the product may be yarn in this embodiment, or may be a product that needs to be wound up in a reel in other production processes; the contact pressure of the product may be a contact pressure between the product and the production platform, specifically, a contact pressure between the product and the rubbing roller, or a contact pressure between the product and other equipment, which is not limited herein and is specifically adjusted according to the production equipment. In the present embodiment, the contact pressure applied to the product during the production process needs to be continuously maintained at the target contact pressure required by the product, so as to ensure the quality of the product, and different products need different target contact pressures.

Step S123: and acquiring target contact pressure torque generated by the preset target contact pressure based on the preset target contact pressure.

Specifically, the cross product of the preset target contact pressure and the moment arm is calculated to obtain the target contact pressure torque.

Step S124: and calculating to obtain the motor target torque by using a preset transmission ratio based on the target contact pressure torque, the mechanical weight torque and the production weight torque.

Specifically, the motor target torque may be calculated by equation 1:

T_M＝(T_S+T_G-T_N) K-equation 1

Wherein, T_SWeight torque of the green product; t is_GIs the mechanical weight torque; t is_NIs the target contact pressure torque; t is_MA target torque of the motor; k is a preset transmission ratio.

It should be further noted that, in another embodiment, the lifting force F of the cradle may be obtained through stress analysis, so as to obtain the target torque of the motor according to the torque of the lifting force of the cradle, which may be specifically calculated by formula 2:

T_M＝T_Fk-equation 2

Wherein, T_MA target torque of the motor; k is a preset transmission ratio; t is_FIs the torque of the lifting force F of the cradle.

Specifically, the transmission ratio is the ratio of instantaneous input speed to output speed in an electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control device. The preset gear ratio is dynamically adjustable depending on the setting of the electrically driven self-adjusting pressure control device and is not limited herein.

In the above embodiment, there are advantageous effects of: the corresponding torque is correctly obtained, the target torque of the motor is calculated, and the correctness of the target torque of the motor is ensured, so that the accuracy of the motor output is ensured, the lifting force of the cradle is correctly controlled, and the contact pressure value of a product is ensured to be maintained at the target contact pressure value.

Referring to fig. 6, fig. 6 is a detailed implementation step of step S121 of the present invention, in which the obtaining of the mechanical weight torque and the product weight torque based on the position information of the cradle includes:

step S1211: and acquiring the position deflection angle of the cradle and the vertical direction based on the position information of the cradle.

Step S1212: and calculating and obtaining the mechanical weight torque and the production weight torque according to the position deflection angle.

Specifically, by using the position deflection angle, the torque generated by the mechanical weight of the electrically driven self-regulating pressure control device and the torque generated by the weight of the product are calculated;

in the above embodiment, there are advantageous effects of: and the mechanical weight torque and the production weight torque are correctly obtained through the position deflection angle in the position information of the cradle, so that the correct motor target torque is guaranteed.

Referring to fig. 7, fig. 7 is a specific implementation step of step S1212 in the electric-driven self-adjusting pressure control method of the present application, wherein the calculating and obtaining the mechanical weight torque and the product weight torque according to the position deflection angle includes:

step S1212-1: the mechanical weight of the electrically driven self-regulating pressure control device is captured as well as the weight of the production.

In particular, the mechanical weight comprises the total weight of the physical components comprised by the electrically driven self-regulating pressure control device; the weight of the production may be varied with the progress of the production, if the production is a yarn, the weight of the yarn may be the total weight of the yarn on the reel; or the total weight of the yarn on the drum and the drum.

Step S1212-2: and calculating to obtain the mechanical weight torque based on the position deflection angle, the mechanical weight and the moment arm corresponding to the mechanical weight.

Specifically, the machine weight torque can be calculated by equation 3:

T_Gg × L cos θ — equation 3

Wherein, T_GThe moment is the mechanical weight, G is the mechanical weight, L is the moment arm, and theta is the position deflection angle.

Step S1212-3: and calculating to obtain the production weight torque based on the position deflection angle, the production weight and the moment arm corresponding to the production weight.

Specifically, the product weight torque can be calculated by equation 4:

T_Ss is L cos theta-equation 4

Wherein, T_SThe weight torque of the product is generated, S is the weight of the product, L is the force arm, and theta is the position deflection angle.

In the above embodiment, there are advantageous effects of: specifically, the mechanical weight torque and the product weight torque are correctly obtained through the formula, and the correctness of the calculation of the target torque of the motor is ensured.

Referring to fig. 8, fig. 8 is a first schematic diagram of the electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control apparatus of the present application, comprising:

the motor 01 is connected with the transmission device 02 and used for providing transmission power for the transmission device 02;

specifically, the type of the motor may be a brushless dc motor, or a permanent magnet synchronous motor. The motor control drive needs current sampling and position sampling.

The transmission device 02 is respectively connected with the motor 01 and the cradle 03 and is used for transmitting continuous power provided by the motor 01;

specifically, a Transmission (Transmission device) transmits the power of the power unit to an intermediate device such as a working mechanism.

The final purpose is to reduce the torque output required by the shaft end of the motor, so that the motor can drive the mechanical weight and the weight of the product.

And the cradle 03 is connected with the transmission device 02 and the product 04 and is used for lifting the product according to the driving of the transmission device 02.

Control means 05 connected to said motor 01 for carrying out any of the method steps described above.

Wherein the control device 05 can be installed at the motor 01, but is not limited to the position of the control device 05 shown in fig. 8.

In one embodiment, the electrically driven, self-regulating pressure control device further comprises:

the position sensor 06 is installed at the motor 01 or the transmission device 02 and used for detecting position information; wherein the position sensor 06 is one or more. Among them, the position sensor 06 installed at the motor 01 may be an encoder-based sensor; in other embodiments, the position sensor 06 may be located at the transmission 02, and the position sensor installed at the transmission 02 may be an angular position sensor or a sensor based on an encoder; as shown in fig. 9, a position sensor 06 is located at the motor 01, while another position sensor 06 is located in the transmission 02, and may be specifically disposed at the main rotation axis 022 of the main transmission wheel 021 of the transmission 02.

As shown in fig. 8, the position sensor 06 is mounted on the motor 01 as an example, but is not limited to the position of the position sensor 06 shown in the figure.

And the current sensor 07 is arranged at the position of the motor 01 and is used for acquiring current information.

Specifically, in the present embodiment, the current sensor 07 is installed at the motor 01, but is not limited to the position of the current sensor 07 shown in the drawing.

In one embodiment, the transmission 02, with particular reference to fig. 9, fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the transmission; the method comprises the following steps:

a main transmission wheel 021 connected with the motor 01 through a main rotation shaft 022 of the main transmission wheel 021;

a secondary driving wheel 023 connected with the cradle 03 through a secondary rotating shaft 024 of the secondary driving wheel 023;

and a belt 025 connected to the primary driving wheel and the secondary driving wheel, respectively.

Specifically, the transmission device is not limited to the synchronous belt transmission.

In one embodiment, the transmission is a one-stage transmission or a multi-stage transmission. Specifically, the transmission device may be a primary transmission device, and if the primary transmission device satisfies a proportional relationship between a target torque and a target contact pressure value of the motor, multi-stage transmission is not required; if the one-stage transmission cannot satisfy the proportional relationship between the target torque and the target contact pressure value of the motor, the multi-stage transmission is required to further transmit the continuous power provided by the motor.

Referring to fig. 10 in particular, in fig. 10, the transmission device 02 as a primary transmission device cannot satisfy the proportional relationship between the target torque and the target contact pressure value of the motor, and a multi-stage transmission device 02' is newly added to transmit the output force of the motor together, so as to satisfy the proportional relationship between the target torque and the target contact pressure value of the motor.

The present application further provides a computer storage medium having stored thereon an electrically driven self-regulating pressure control method program that, when executed by a processor, performs the steps of any of the electrically driven self-regulating pressure control methods described above.

The present application further provides a computer program product comprising a computer program which, when being executed by a processor, carries out the steps of the method for electrically driven self-regulating pressure control as set forth in any of the above.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, embodiments of the present invention may be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, and the like) having computer-usable program code embodied therein.

The present invention is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, and combinations of flows and/or blocks in the flow diagrams and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart flow or flows and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It should be noted that in the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in a claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The usage of the words first, second and third, etcetera do not indicate any ordering. These words may be interpreted as names.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, additional variations and modifications in those embodiments may occur to those skilled in the art once they learn of the basic inventive concepts. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims be interpreted as including preferred embodiments and all such alterations and modifications as fall within the scope of the invention.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, if such modifications and variations of the present invention fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention is also intended to include such modifications and variations.