阅读说明：本技术 缓解表面阻塞的设备和方法 (Apparatus and method for mitigating surface blockage ) 是由 T·韩 B·哈里吉 于 2019-05-15 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供了一种配置为缓解表面阻塞的设备。所述设备包括：表面；阻塞缓解元件,其与所述表面集成；以及控制器,其配置为基于偏移温度来确定雾况或冰况中的至少一者,并且根据所确定的所述雾况和所述冰况中的至少一者、所述表面的表面温度、露点温度和所述偏移温度来控制所述阻塞缓解元件。(An apparatus configured to alleviate surface blockage is provided. The apparatus comprises: a surface; an occlusion mitigation element integrated with the surface; and a controller configured to determine at least one of a fog or an ice condition based on an offset temperature, and to control the occlusion mitigation element in accordance with the determined at least one of the fog and the ice condition, a surface temperature of the surface, a dew point temperature, and the offset temperature.)

1. An apparatus configured to mitigate surface blockage, the apparatus comprising:

A surface;

An occlusion mitigation element integrated with the surface; and

A controller configured to determine at least one of a fog or an ice condition based on an offset temperature from a surface temperature, and to control the occlusion mitigation element as a function of the determined at least one of the fog and the ice condition, the surface temperature of the surface, a dew point temperature, and the offset temperature.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to determine the dew point temperature from a look-up table based on a reference temperature detected by a temperature sensor and a humidity detected by a humidity sensor.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to set the offset temperature according to a control set point corresponding to an accuracy of a temperature sensor measuring the surface temperature and a speed of a power supply.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the controller is configured to determine the fog condition if the offset temperature is above zero.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to determine the ice condition if the offset temperature is below zero.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the controller is configured to power down the occlusion mitigation element if the dew point temperature is below the offset temperature.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to energize the occlusion mitigation element to a full power state if the surface temperature is below the dew point temperature.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to energize the occlusion mitigation element to a power level proportional to the determined at least one of the fog condition and the ice condition if the surface temperature is above the dew point temperature and the dew point temperature is above the offset temperature.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to control an output pulse width modulated signal as a function of the power stage.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the surface comprises a lens of a sensor.

Disclosure of Invention

one or more exemplary embodiments provide an apparatus for cleaning an occlusion surface or mitigating occlusion of a surface or lens. More specifically, one or more exemplary embodiments provide for detecting whether a lens or surface is likely to be blocked by frost or fog, and controlling a defogging or deicing element to defogge or deice the lens or surface based on the likelihood or risk of the lens or surface being blocked by ice or fog.

according to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, an apparatus for mitigating surface blockage is provided. The apparatus comprises: a surface; an occlusion mitigation element integrated with the surface; and a controller configured to determine at least one of a fog or an ice condition based on an offset temperature from a surface temperature, and to control the occlusion mitigation element in accordance with the determined at least one of the fog and the ice condition, the surface temperature of the surface, a dew point temperature, and the offset temperature.

The controller may be configured to determine the dew point temperature from a look-up table based on a reference temperature detected by a temperature sensor and a humidity detected by a humidity sensor.

The controller may be configured to set the offset temperature according to a control set point corresponding to an accuracy of a temperature sensor measuring the surface temperature and a speed of a power supply.

The controller may be configured to determine the fog condition if the offset temperature is above zero.

The controller may be configured to determine the ice condition if the offset temperature is below zero.

the controller may be configured to de-energize the occlusion mitigation element if the dew point temperature is less than the offset temperature.

The controller may be configured to energize the occlusion mitigation element to a full power state if the surface temperature is below the dew point temperature.

The controller may be configured to energize the occlusion mitigation element to a power level proportional to the determined at least one of the fog condition and the ice condition if the surface temperature is greater than the dew point temperature and the dew point temperature is greater than the offset temperature.

The controller may be configured to control the output pulse width modulated signal in accordance with the power level.

The surface may be a lens of the sensor. The sensor may be at least one of a lidar and a camera.

The occlusion mitigation element may be a heated membrane disposed on the lens.

The apparatus may include a power supply and a power switch configured to provide power to the occlusion mitigation element.

The controller may be configured to control power supplied from the power supply to the occlusion mitigation element based on the determined at least one of the fog condition and the ice condition, the lens temperature, the dew point temperature, and the offset temperature.

The blockage-mitigating elements may be de-icing films and de-fogging films having a polyvinyl butyral (PVB) layer disposed between the de-icing films and the de-fogging films, and the blockage-mitigating elements may be disposed between glass layers of the lenses on the lenses.

the blockage-mitigating element may include a bus bar, wherein the controller is configured to power the bus bar to mitigate the surface blockage based on the determined at least one of the fog condition and the ice condition, the surface temperature, the dew point temperature, and the offset temperature.

According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, a method of mitigating surface blockage is provided. The method determines at least one of a fog or an ice condition based on an offset temperature from a surface temperature, and in response to determining that the at least one of the fog or the ice condition is in effect, controls an occlusion mitigation element as a function of the determined at least one of the fog and the ice condition, the surface temperature, a dew point temperature, and the offset temperature of the surface.

The offset temperature may be determined based on sensor accuracy of a sensor measuring the surface temperature and responsiveness of a power supply.

Controlling the occlusion mitigation element may include: control to energize the occlusion mitigation element to a full power state if the surface temperature is below the dew point temperature; and if the dew point temperature is less than the offset temperature, controlling to de-energize the occlusion mitigation element.

Controlling the occlusion mitigation element may include: control to energize the occlusion mitigation element to a power level proportional to the determined at least one of the fog condition and the ice condition if the surface temperature is greater than the dew point temperature and the dew point temperature is greater than the offset temperature.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the exemplary embodiments will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

The disclosed examples will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an apparatus for mitigating surface blockage according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a method of mitigating surface blockage according to an example embodiment;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a flow diagram of a method of determining a fog potential and setting a power and mode of a defogging device in accordance with an aspect of an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a flow chart of a method of determining frost and ice potential and setting power and mode of a de-icing apparatus in accordance with an aspect of an exemplary embodiment; and is

Fig. 5A through 5C illustrate various aspects of an apparatus to mitigate surface blockage, in accordance with aspects of the exemplary embodiments.

Detailed Description

An apparatus configured to mitigate surface blockage will now be described in detail with reference to fig. 1 to 5C of the drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

The following invention will enable one skilled in the art to practice the inventive concept. However, the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are merely exemplary and do not limit the inventive concepts to the exemplary embodiments described herein. Additionally, descriptions of features or aspects of each exemplary embodiment should generally be considered available for aspects of other exemplary embodiments.

It will also be understood that when a first element is referred to herein as being "connected to," "attached to," "formed on," or "disposed on" a second element, the first element can be directly connected to, formed or disposed on the second element, or intervening elements may be present between the first and second elements, unless it is stated that the first element is "directly connected to," attached to, formed or disposed on the second element. In addition, if a first element is configured to "send" or "receive" information from a second element, unless the first element is instructed to "directly" send or receive information to or from the second element, the first element may send or receive information directly to or from the second element via a bus, send or receive information via a network, or send or receive information via an intermediate element.

Throughout the present disclosure, one or more of the disclosed elements may be combined into a single device or into one or more devices. In addition, the individual elements may be provided on separate devices.

Automatic or autonomous control systems on vehicles are being developed and equipped. These systems are designed to take over aspects of vehicle control from a human driver. For example, an automatic or autonomous control system may control steering, braking, windshield wipers, HVAC systems, charging systems, and the like. When a vehicle is operating in an automatic or autonomous control mode, the vehicle relies on information from sensors to sense its environment. For example, cameras, radars, ultrasonic sensors, and lidar are all examples of sensors that provide information about the environment to an automated or autonomous control system. As external vehicle sensors are now exposed to outdoor environments and various weather and environmental conditions, the sensors, their lenses or surfaces may become clogged due to fog, frost, debris, and/or other environmental conditions. Thus, the sensor may be equipped with a cleaning device that helps keep the sensor or the lens of the sensor clean when the surface or lens becomes. However, autonomous vehicles need to be able to sense the environment, detect sensor blockages and environmental conditions that cause sensor blockages, and resolve sensor blockages with little operator intervention.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an apparatus for mitigating surface blockage according to an example embodiment. As shown in fig. 1, an apparatus 100 configured to mitigate surface obstructions according to an exemplary embodiment includes a controller 101, a power source 102, a storage device 103, an output 104, a sensor 105, a user input 106, a communication device 108, and an obstruction mitigation element 109. However, the device 100 configured to mitigate surface blockage is not limited to the above-described configuration, and may be configured to include additional elements and/or omit one or more of the above-described elements. The apparatus 100 configured to mitigate surface obstructions may be implemented as part of the vehicle 110, as a stand-alone component, as a hybrid device between an onboard and an offboard device, or in another computing device.

the controller 101 controls the overall operation and function of the device 100 configured to alleviate surface blockage. The controller 101 may directly or indirectly control one or more of the power source 102, the storage 103, the output 104, the sensor 105, the user input 106, the communication device 108, and the occlusion mitigation element 109 of the apparatus 100 configured to mitigate surface occlusions. The controller 101 may include one or more of a processor, a microprocessor, a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a graphics processor, an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a state machine, circuitry, and a combination of hardware, software, and firmware components.

The controller 101 is configured to send and/or receive information from one or more of the power supply 102, the storage 103, the output 104, the sensor 105, the user input 106, the communication device 108, and the occlusion mitigation element 109 of the apparatus 100 configured to mitigate surface occlusions. The information may be sent and received via a bus or network, or may be read/written directly from/into one or more of the power supply 102, storage 103, output 104, sensor 105, user input 106, communication 108, and occlusion mitigation element 109 of the apparatus 100 configured to mitigate surface occlusions. Examples of suitable network connections include a Controller Area Network (CAN), a Media Oriented System Transfer (MOST), a Local Interconnect Network (LIN), a Local Area Network (LAN), wireless networks such as bluetooth and 802.11, and other suitable connections such as ethernet.

The power supply 102 provides power to one or more of the storage 103, output 104, sensor 105, user input 106, communication 108, and occlusion mitigation element 109 of the apparatus 100 configured to mitigate surface occlusions. The power source 102 may include one or more of a battery, a power outlet, a capacitor, a solar cell, a generator, a wind energy device, an alternator, and the like.

The storage device 103 is configured to store and retrieve information for use by the apparatus 100 configured to alleviate surface blockage. The storage device 103 may be controlled by the controller 101 to store and retrieve information received from the one or more sensors 105 and computer or machine executable instructions to control the occlusion mitigation element 109. Storage device 103 may include one or more of a floppy disk, an optical disk, a CD-ROM (compact disk-read only memory), a magneto-optical disk, a ROM (read only memory), a RAM (random access memory), an EPROM (erasable programmable read only memory), an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory), a magnetic or optical card, a flash memory, a cache memory, and other types of media/machine-readable media suitable for storing machine-executable instructions.

The memory device 103 may store information about fog conditions, ice conditions, surface temperature of a surface or lens, dew point temperature, and offset temperature. The offset temperature is an offset from the surface temperature of the surface or lens. In addition, the storage device 103 may store a lookup table that stores dew point temperatures corresponding to the reference temperature detected by the temperature sensor and the humidity information detected by the humidity sensor. The information about fog or ice conditions may include probabilities or values corresponding to risks of fog or risks of frost or ice. The value may be between 0 and 100. The storage 103 may also store machine-readable instructions executable to implement the apparatus 100 configured to alleviate surface blockage.

The output 104 outputs information in one or more forms, including: visual, auditory and/or tactile. The output 104 may be controlled by the controller 101 to provide an output to a user of the device 100 configured to alleviate surface blockage. The output 104 may include one or more of: speakers, audio, displays, centrally located displays, heads-up displays, windshield displays, haptic feedback devices, vibration devices, tactile feedback devices, touch feedback devices, holographic displays, instrument lights, indicator lights, and the like. The output 104 may output a notification including one or more of an audible notification, a light notification, and a display notification. The notification may include information informing of activation of the occlusion mitigation element 109 or notification of fog or ice conditions on a surface or lens. The output 104 may also display images and information provided by one or more sensors 105.

The sensors 105 may include one or more of a lidar, a radar, an ultrasonic sensor, a camera, a still image camera, an antenna, an infrared camera, and any other sensor suitable for sensing the environment surrounding a vehicle or other machine. The sensor 105 may include a surface exposed to the environment, such as a surface external to a machine or vehicle. The surface may be clogged in the form of frost, ice or fog.

The user input 106 is configured to provide information and commands to the device 100 configured to alleviate surface blockage. The user input 106 may be used to provide user input to the controller 101, and the like. The user input 106 may include one or more of a touch screen, keyboard, soft keyboard, buttons, motion detector, voice input detector, microphone, camera, touch pad, mouse, touch pad, and the like. The user input 106 may be configured to receive user input to confirm or not accept notifications output by the output 104. The user input 106 may also be configured to receive a user input to activate or deactivate the occlusion mitigation element 109.

The environmental condition sensor 107 may include a temperature sensor, such as a thermometer, a humidity sensor, or an ice sensor. The ambient condition sensor 107 may provide information regarding temperature, humidity, and/or ice to the controller 101.

The communication device 108 may be used by the apparatus 100 configured to mitigate surface blockage to communicate with various types of external devices according to several communication methods. The communication means 108 may be used to send/receive various information to/from the controller 101, such as information about the operating mode of the vehicle and control information for operating devices configured to alleviate surface blockage 100. For example, the communication device 108 may send/receive information about dew point temperature, reference temperature, humidity information, information about fog condition, information about ice condition, surface temperature of a surface or lens, and/or offset temperature.

The communication device 108 may include various communication modules, such as one or more of a telematics unit, a broadcast receiving module, a Near Field Communication (NFC) module, a GPS receiver, a wired communication module, or a wireless communication module. The broadcast receiving module may include a terrestrial broadcast receiving module having an antenna for receiving a terrestrial broadcast signal, a demodulator, an equalizer, and the like. The NFC module is a module that communicates with an external device located at a nearby distance according to an NFC method. The GPS receiver is a module that receives GPS signals from GPS satellites and detects a current position. The wired communication module may be a module that receives information through a wired network such as a local area network, a Controller Area Network (CAN), or an external network. The wireless communication module is a module that connects to and communicates with an external network by using a wireless communication protocol such as an IEEE802.11 protocol, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, or IEEE communication protocol. The wireless communication module may further include a mobile communication module that accesses a mobile communication network and performs communication according to various mobile communication standards such as 3 rd generation (3G), 3 rd generation partnership project (3GPP), Long Term Evolution (LTE), bluetooth, EVDO, CDMA, GPRS, EDGE, or ZigBee.

The occlusion mitigation element 109 may be a heating element, such as a heating film disposed on a surface or lens or sensor 105. When the controller 101 detects a fog or ice condition, the blockage-mitigating element 109 may be powered by the power source 102, thereby mitigating the condition by heating the surface or lens. According to another example, the occlusion mitigation element 109 may comprise a multilayer film disposed between two layers of glass and having a layer of PVB between the multilayer film. The multilayer film may include a de-icing film and a de-misting film. The thin film layers may be connected to a bus bar configured to power the thin film with power from the power source 102. The occlusion mitigation element 109 may be powered by a pulse width modulated signal.

According to one example, the controller 101 of the apparatus configured to alleviate the surface blockage 100 may be configured to determine whether at least one of fog or ice conditions are present on the surface. The controller 101 is further configured to control the occlusion mitigation element 109 as a function of the determined at least one of the fog and ice conditions, the surface temperature, the dew point temperature, and the offset temperature. The determination by the controller 101 may be based on the offset temperature. In particular, the controller 101 may be configured to determine the dew point temperature from a look-up table stored in the memory device 103 based on a reference temperature detected by a temperature sensor and a humidity detected by a humidity sensor. In addition, the offset temperature relative to the surface temperature is specified by a control set point that is determined by a calibration engineer based on sensor accuracy and responsiveness of the power supply. Typically, the control set point for the offset temperature varies between 5 degrees celsius and 10 degrees celsius, but is not so limited. The accuracy and responsiveness of the sensors and power supply are used to set the control set point. The higher the accuracy and speed of the sensors and power supply, the lower the control set point and offset temperature.

The controller 101 may be configured to de-energize the occlusion mitigation element if the dew point temperature is below the offset temperature. The controller 101 may be configured to energize the occlusion mitigation element to a full power state if the surface temperature is below the dew point temperature. Additionally, the controller 101 may be configured to energize the occlusion mitigation element to a power level proportional to the determined at least one of the fog and ice conditions if the surface temperature is greater than the dew point temperature and the dew point temperature is greater than the offset temperature.

Fig. 2 shows a flow diagram of a method of mitigating surface blockage according to an example embodiment. The method of fig. 2 may be performed by a device 100 configured to alleviate surface blockage, or may be encoded in a computer-readable medium as instructions executable by a computer to perform the method.

Referring to fig. 2, information regarding the surface temperature (e.g., optical window temperature), the offset temperature (i.e., a calibrated control set point that is lower than the optical window temperature corresponding to the accuracy of the temperature sensor and the speed of the power supply), and the dew point temperature is received in operation 205. Information about the dew point temperature may be determined from information about the air temperature and the relative humidity. The operation mode is determined in operation S210 using the information received in operation S205. For example, if the offset temperature is above zero, the method continues to operation SS20 to assess the risk of fog, and if the offset temperature is below zero, the method continues to operation SS25 to assess the risk of frost or ice.

In operation S220, the offset temperature is compared with the dew point temperature and the surface temperature. If the offset temperature is above the dew point temperature, a low fog potential is determined and the power to the occlusion mitigation element 109 is kept off or shut off in operation S230. If the dew point temperature is higher than the surface temperature, a high risk of fog is determined and the occlusion mitigation element 109 is set to full power to reduce fog or mitigate occlusion in operation S234. If the surface temperature is greater than the dew point temperature and the dew point temperature is greater than the offset temperature, the power of the occlusion mitigation element 109 is set to a level corresponding to the fog risk in operation S232.

In operation S225, the offset temperature is compared with the dew point temperature and the surface temperature. If the offset temperature is greater than the dew point temperature, a low ice potential is determined and the power to the occlusion mitigation element 109 is maintained de-energized or turned off in operation S240. If the dew point temperature is higher than the surface temperature, a high risk of ice is determined and the blockage relieving element 109 is set to full power to reduce ice or relieve blockage in operation S244. If the surface temperature is higher than the dew point temperature and the dew point temperature is higher than the offset temperature, the power of the blockage mitigation element 109 is set to a level corresponding to the ice risk in operation S242.

fig. 3A and 3B illustrate a flow diagram of a method of determining a fog potential and setting a power and mode of a defogging device in accordance with an aspect of an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to fig. 3A, a reference temperature 301 from a temperature sensor and a relative humidity 302 from a humidity sensor are input into a dew point lookup table 305 to estimate a dew point temperature. The dew point temperature and surface temperature 303 are then used to calculate a fog risk value in block 307. The fog risk value may be a value between 1 and 100.

The mode may be set according to the offset temperature 310. The pattern may then be used to control the switching pattern between de-icing and de-fogging. In this case, the mode may be a defogging mode of the blockage relief element 109. The fog risk value and mode control calculated in block 307 may then be used to control the power of the blockage mitigation element 109 to mitigate blockage caused by fog when the mode is a demisting mode. The power of the occlusion mitigation element 109 may be set to off 315 if the fog risk is zero, may be set to full power 330 if the fog risk is 100, or may have a power value 320 between 0 and 100 corresponding to the fog risk value.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a graph showing the relationship between fog risk 360, 365, 370, dew point temperature 305, surface temperature 303, and offset temperature 310 is shown. The temperature in degrees celsius is shown on the y-axis 350 and the elapsed time is on the x-axis 340.

As can be appreciated from the figure, when the dew point temperature 305 is above the surface temperature 303 and the offset temperature 310, there is a 100% fog risk, such that the occlusion mitigation element 109 is set to full power. Furthermore, when the surface temperature 303 is above the offset temperature 310 and the dew point temperature 305, there is little risk of fogging. Still further, when the dew point temperature 305 is above the offset temperature 310 but below the surface temperature 303, there is a series of fog risks. This range is used to control the power of the occlusion mitigation element 109 according to the fog risk zones 460, 465 and 470.

Fig. 4A and 4B illustrate a flow chart of a method of determining frost and ice potential and setting power and mode of a de-icing apparatus in accordance with an aspect of an exemplary embodiment.

Referring to fig. 4A, a reference temperature 401 from a temperature sensor and a relative humidity 402 from a humidity sensor are input into a dew point lookup table 405 to estimate a dew point temperature. The dew point temperature and surface temperature 403 are then used in block 407 to calculate a frost or ice risk value. The frost/ice risk value may be a value between 1 and 100.

The mode may be set according to the offset temperature 410. The pattern may then be used to control the switching pattern between de-icing and de-fogging. In this case, the mode may be a defrost mode of the blockage relieving element 109. The frost/ice risk value calculated in block 407 and the mode control may then be used to control the power of the blockage-mitigating element 109 to mitigate the blockage caused by frost/ice when the mode is a de-icing mode. The power of the occlusion mitigation element 109 may be set to off 415 if the frost/ice risk is zero, set to full power 430 if the frost/ice risk is 100, or a power value 420 corresponding to the frost/ice risk value between 0 and 100.

Referring to FIG. 4B, a graph showing the relationship between frost/ice risk 460, 465, 470, dew point temperature 405, surface temperature 403, and offset temperature 410 is shown. The temperature in degrees celsius is shown on the y-axis 450 and the elapsed time is on the x-axis 440.

As can be appreciated from the figure, when the dew point temperature 405 is above the surface temperature 403 and the offset temperature 410, there is a 100% risk of frost/ice, such that the occlusion mitigation element 109 is set to full power. Furthermore, when the surface temperature 403 is above the offset temperature 410 and the dew point temperature 405, there is little risk of fogging. Still further, when the dew point temperature 405 is above the offset temperature 410 but below the surface temperature 403, there is a series of fog risks. This range is used to control the power of the occlusion mitigation element 109 to correspond to the frost/ice risk zones 460, 465, 470.

Fig. 5A-5C illustrate diagrams of various aspects of an apparatus to mitigate surface blockage, according to aspects of an example embodiment.

Referring to fig. 5A, an illustration of the overall setup of an apparatus to alleviate surface blockage 500 is shown. In this example, the backup battery 501 is connected to a switch 502 controlled by a controller 507. The controller 507 receives input from the temperature sensor 504, humidity sensor 506, or ice sensor (not shown), and uses the information provided by the sensors to control the power switch 502 to activate the device to alleviate surface blockage, as appropriate. The power switch 502 controls the flow of power from the backup battery 501 to the bus bar 503. When the power switch 502 is active, the bus bar 503 receives power and powers the surface 508 or optical window, thereby mitigating fog or ice on the optical window or surface 508.

Referring to fig. 5B, an illustration of one example of an optical window 508 or surface configuration 510 is shown. The surface arrangement 510 comprises a plastic optical window 511 with a layer of a heating film 512. The heating film 512 layer may be disposed directly on the plastic optical window 511. The plastic optical window 511 may be made of other materials, such as glass, etc.

Referring to fig. 5C, an illustration of a second example of an optical window 508 or surface configuration 520 is shown. Surface configuration 520 includes two outer glass layers 524. A deicing film 523, which is activated during ice or frost risk conditions, and a defogging film 522, which is activated during fog conditions, and sandwiched between the glass layers. A PVB ply 521 is disposed between the deicing film 523 and the defogging film 522.

The processes, methods or algorithms disclosed herein may be delivered to/performed by a processing device, a controller or a computer (which may include any conventional programmable or dedicated electronic control device). Similarly, the processes, methods or algorithms may be stored as data and instructions executable by a controller or computer in a number of forms including, but not limited to, information permanently stored on non-writable storage media such as ROM devices and information variably stored on writable storage media such as floppy diskettes, magnetic tape, CD, RAM devices and other magnetic and optical media. The processes, methods, or algorithms may also be implemented in software executable objects. Alternatively, the processes, methods or algorithms may be implemented in whole or in part using suitable hardware components, such as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), state machines, controllers or other hardware components or devices, or a combination of hardware, software and firmware components.

One or more exemplary embodiments have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. The exemplary embodiments described above should be considered in descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. In addition, the exemplary embodiments may be modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventive concept as defined by the following claims.