阅读说明：本技术 一种车辆控制总成、方法、装置及车辆 (Vehicle control assembly, method and device and vehicle ) 是由 欧阳丹 施发义 熊迪 刘向晖 向高 于 2021-06-29 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明公开了一种车辆控制总成、方法、装置及车辆,所述总成包括：发电机、皮带轮、机油泵以及离合器,机油泵的转子轴固定在发电机的驱动轴上,皮带轮用于连接外部发动机,离合器集成在发电机的皮带轮上。其中,离合器用于在发动机启动前,或在发动机启动时,且车辆电池电量大于或等于预设值时,控制发电机的转子轴与皮带轮处于断开连接状态,以通过车辆电池驱动发电机运转,带动机油泵运转。在发动机启动时,且车辆电池电量小于预设值时,控制发电机的转子轴与皮带轮处于连接状态,以使得皮带轮在外部发动机的作用下带动发电机运转给车辆电池充电,并驱动机油泵运转。(The invention discloses a vehicle control assembly, a method, a device and a vehicle, wherein the assembly comprises: the generator comprises a generator, a belt pulley, an oil pump and a clutch, wherein a rotor shaft of the oil pump is fixed on a driving shaft of the generator, the belt pulley is used for connecting an external engine, and the clutch is integrated on the belt pulley of the generator. The clutch is used for controlling the rotor shaft of the generator and the belt pulley to be in a disconnection state before the engine is started or when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is larger than or equal to a preset value, so that the generator is driven to operate by the vehicle battery, and the oil pump is driven to operate. When the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is smaller than a preset value, the rotor shaft of the generator is controlled to be in a connection state with the belt pulley, so that the belt pulley drives the generator to operate under the action of the external engine to charge the vehicle battery and drives the oil pump to operate.)

1. A vehicle control assembly, comprising: the generator comprises a generator, a belt pulley, an oil pump and a clutch, wherein a rotor shaft of the oil pump is fixed on a driving shaft of the generator, the belt pulley is used for connecting an external engine, and the clutch is integrated on the belt pulley of the generator;

the clutch is used for controlling a rotor shaft of the generator and the belt pulley to be in a disconnection state before the engine is started or when the engine is started and the electric quantity of a vehicle battery is greater than or equal to a preset value, so that the generator is driven to operate by the vehicle battery, and the oil pump is driven to operate;

when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is smaller than the preset value, the rotor shaft of the generator is controlled to be in a connection state with the belt pulley, so that the belt pulley drives the generator to charge the vehicle battery under the action of the external engine and drives the oil pump to operate.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the clutch is an electromagnetic clutch.

3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the electromagnetic clutch includes a driving pulley and a driven pulley, the pulley being fixed to the driving pulley of the electromagnetic clutch, and the rotor shaft of the generator being fixed to the driven pulley of the electromagnetic clutch;

when the electromagnetic clutch is powered on, the driving wheel and the driven wheel are attracted through electromagnetic force, so that the belt pulley and the rotor shaft of the generator are in a connected state, and when the electromagnetic clutch is powered off, the driving wheel and the driven wheel are disconnected, so that the belt pulley and the rotor shaft of the generator are in a disconnected state.

4. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the rotor shaft of the oil pump is secured to the drive shaft of the generator by an interference fit.

5. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the predetermined value is 10% to 20% of the vehicle battery charge.

6. The assembly of claim 1, wherein a drive shaft length of the generator is twice a rotor shaft length of the oil pump.

7. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a vehicle detection unit;

the vehicle detection unit is connected with the clutch and used for detecting the starting state of a vehicle engine and the residual quantity of the electric quantity of the vehicle battery in real time and sending a corresponding control instruction to the clutch according to a detection result.

8. A vehicle control method, applied to the assembly of any one of claims 1 to 7, the method comprising:

before a vehicle engine is started or when the engine is started and the electric quantity of a vehicle battery is detected to be larger than or equal to a preset value, a first control instruction is sent to a clutch to control a rotor shaft of a generator and a belt pulley to be in a disconnection state, so that the generator is driven to operate by the vehicle battery to drive an oil pump to operate;

when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is detected to be smaller than the preset value, a second control command is sent to the clutch, and the rotor shaft of the generator is controlled to be in a connection state with the belt pulley, so that the belt pulley drives the generator to charge the vehicle battery under the action of the external engine and drives the oil pump to operate.

9. A vehicle control device for use in an assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the device comprising:

the first control module is used for sending a first control instruction to the clutch before a vehicle engine is started or when the engine is started and the electric quantity of a vehicle battery is detected to be larger than or equal to a preset value, and controlling a rotor shaft of the generator and a belt pulley to be in a disconnection state so as to drive the generator to operate through the vehicle battery and drive the oil pump to operate;

and the second control module is used for sending a second control instruction to the clutch when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is detected to be smaller than the preset value, and controlling the rotor shaft of the generator and the belt pulley to be in a connection state, so that the belt pulley drives the generator to operate under the action of an external engine to charge the vehicle battery and drives the oil pump to operate.

10. A vehicle comprising an external engine and an assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of vehicle control, in particular to a vehicle control assembly, a method and a device and a vehicle.

Background

The traditional automobile generator is arranged on an engine, and a belt is adopted to drive the generator to generate electricity, so that electric power is provided for automobile electric appliances and an automobile battery is charged. The traditional engine oil pump comprises a mechanical oil pump and an electronic oil pump, wherein the mechanical pump is driven by an engine and can only start to work after the engine is started. The electronic pump drives the oil pump by a motor and can work when the engine is stopped.

However, when the engine is stopped for a long time, the engine oil in the engine oil duct flows back to the engine oil sump, and when the engine is restarted, the engine oil needs to fill the oil duct space first, so that the oil pressure at the tail end of the engine oil duct is established for a long time, an oil component at the tail end of the engine oil duct can work in an oil-free state, the abrasion of the oil component at the tail end of the engine oil duct is increased, and the service life of parts is shortened. This problem is exacerbated by the slow flow of oil due to its high viscosity, particularly at cold starts at low temperatures.

If the motor oil pump is adopted as the main oil pump of the engine, the power requirement of the motor oil pump is large (generally, the requirement is larger than 1kw), the volume of the motor oil pump is very large, and the high-power motor oil pump cannot be generally arranged at the boundary of the existing engine. At present, the motor oil pump applied in the industry is generally below 200W, and the requirement of a main oil pump of an engine cannot be met. Therefore, only an electric oil pump and a mechanical pump can be adopted at the same time, wherein the electric oil pump is only used for cold start oil filling channel and pre-lubrication, and the mechanical pump is also used as a main oil pump.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a vehicle control assembly, a method, a device and a vehicle, wherein the assembly can pre-lubricate each transmission part of an engine before the engine is started with smaller space occupation ratio and lower cost, and an oil pump continues to work when the engine is started, so that the oil pressure is quickly established at the tail end of an oil circuit of the engine.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides the following technical solutions through an embodiment of the present invention:

a vehicle control assembly comprising: the generator comprises a generator, a belt pulley, an oil pump and a clutch, wherein a rotor shaft of the oil pump is fixed on a driving shaft of the generator, the belt pulley is used for connecting an external engine, and the clutch is integrated on the belt pulley of the generator; the clutch is used for controlling a rotor shaft of the generator and the belt pulley to be in a disconnection state before the engine is started or when the engine is started and the electric quantity of a vehicle battery is greater than or equal to a preset value, so that the generator is driven to operate by the vehicle battery, and the oil pump is driven to operate; when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is smaller than the preset value, the rotor shaft of the generator is controlled to be in a connection state with the belt pulley, so that the belt pulley drives the generator to charge the vehicle battery under the action of the external engine and drives the oil pump to operate.

Preferably, the clutch is an electromagnetic clutch.

Preferably, the electromagnetic clutch comprises a driving wheel and a driven wheel, the belt pulley is fixed with the driving wheel of the electromagnetic clutch, and the rotor shaft of the generator is fixed with the driven wheel of the electromagnetic clutch; when the electromagnetic clutch is powered on, the driving wheel and the driven wheel are attracted through electromagnetic force, so that the belt pulley and the rotor shaft of the generator are in a connected state, and when the electromagnetic clutch is powered off, the driving wheel and the driven wheel are disconnected, so that the belt pulley and the rotor shaft of the generator are in a disconnected state.

Preferably, the rotor shaft of the oil pump is fixed on the driving shaft of the generator by interference fit.

Preferably, the preset value is 10% to 20% of the vehicle battery charge.

Preferably, the length of the drive shaft of the generator is twice the length of the rotor shaft of the oil pump.

Preferably, the assembly further comprises: a vehicle detection unit; the vehicle detection unit is connected with the clutch and used for detecting the starting state of a vehicle engine and the residual quantity of the electric quantity of the vehicle battery in real time and sending a corresponding control instruction to the clutch according to a detection result.

In a second aspect, the present invention provides the following technical solutions through an embodiment of the present invention:

a vehicle control method comprising: the assembly as in any one of the preceding first aspects, the method comprising:

before a vehicle engine is started or when the engine is started and the electric quantity of a vehicle battery is detected to be larger than or equal to a preset value, a first control instruction is sent to a clutch to control a rotor shaft of a generator and a belt pulley to be in a disconnection state, so that the generator is driven to operate by the vehicle battery to drive an oil pump to operate;

when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is detected to be smaller than the preset value, a second control command is sent to the clutch, and the rotor shaft of the generator is controlled to be in a connection state with the belt pulley, so that the belt pulley drives the generator to charge the vehicle battery under the action of the external engine and drives the oil pump to operate.

In a third aspect, the present invention provides the following technical solutions through an embodiment of the present invention:

a control device for a vehicle, applied to the assembly of any one of the preceding first aspects, the device comprising:

the first control module is used for sending a first control instruction to the clutch before a vehicle engine is started or when the engine is started and the electric quantity of a vehicle battery is detected to be larger than or equal to a preset value, and controlling a rotor shaft of the generator and a belt pulley to be in a disconnection state so as to drive the generator to operate through the vehicle battery and drive the oil pump to operate;

and the second control module is used for sending a second control instruction to the clutch when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is detected to be smaller than the preset value, and controlling the rotor shaft of the generator and the belt pulley to be in a connection state, so that the belt pulley drives the generator to operate under the action of an external engine to charge the vehicle battery and drives the oil pump to operate.

In a fourth aspect, the present invention provides the following technical solutions according to an embodiment of the present invention:

a vehicle, comprising: an external engine and an assembly according to any one of the preceding first aspects.

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

the vehicle control assembly, the method and the device provided by the embodiment of the invention comprise a generator, a belt pulley, an oil pump and a clutch, wherein a rotor shaft of the oil pump is fixed on a driving shaft of the generator, the belt pulley is used for connecting an external engine, and the clutch is integrated on the belt pulley of the generator. By integrating the vehicle generator and the oil pump, when the vehicle battery is larger than or equal to a preset value, the connection between the generator and the belt pulley is disconnected through the clutch, so that the oil pump can be used as an independent motor oil pump, the oil pump is driven by the vehicle battery to operate in advance before the engine is started, the oil pump is enabled to fill an engine oil channel in advance, an engine oil component is lubricated in advance, and the service life of engine parts is prolonged. When the battery is lower than the preset value, the connection between the generator and the belt pulley is connected through the clutch, so that the oil pump can be used as a traditional mechanical pump. The oil pump can be used as a motor oil pump when the engine is started, the pressure requirements of the engine under different working conditions can be accurately matched, and the oil consumption of the engine is reduced. The oil pump is connected with the generator, and the pulley and the generator are controlled to be disconnected and connected through the clutch, so that the scheme can lubricate a transmission part before the engine is started through simple structural improvement, small space occupation and low cost, and the abrasion problem of the engine is avoided.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments are briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle control assembly provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of an electromagnetic clutch provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an oil saving mode of the motor oil pump according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a vehicle control method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle control device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The embodiment of the application provides a vehicle control assembly, a method, a device and a vehicle, which can pre-lubricate each transmission part of an engine before the engine is started with smaller space occupation and lower cost, and ensure that an oil pump continues to work when the engine is started, thereby ensuring that the oil pressure is quickly established at the tail end of an oil circuit of the engine.

In order to solve the technical problems, the general idea of the embodiment of the application is as follows:

a vehicle control assembly comprising: the generator comprises a generator, a belt pulley, an oil pump and a clutch, wherein a rotor shaft of the oil pump is fixed on a driving shaft of the generator, the belt pulley is used for connecting an external engine, and the clutch is integrated on the belt pulley of the generator; the clutch is used for controlling a rotor shaft of the generator and the belt pulley to be in a disconnection state before the engine is started or when the engine is started and the electric quantity of a vehicle battery is greater than or equal to a preset value, so that the generator is driven to operate by the vehicle battery, and the oil pump is driven to operate; when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is smaller than the preset value, the rotor shaft of the generator is controlled to be in a connection state with the belt pulley, so that the belt pulley drives the generator to charge the vehicle battery under the action of the external engine and drives the oil pump to operate.

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.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a vehicle control assembly, specifically, as shown in fig. 1, including: the generator comprises a generator 101, a belt pulley 102, an oil pump 103 and a clutch 104, wherein a rotor shaft 105 of the oil pump is fixed on a driving shaft 106 of the generator, the belt pulley 102 is used for connecting an external engine, and the clutch 104 is integrated on the belt pulley 102 of the generator 101. The pulley 102 is fixed to a rotor shaft 109 of the generator, and the clutch 104 can control the connection state of the pulley 102 and the rotor shaft 109 of the generator. And the oil pump 103 is used for an oil pump oil inlet 107 and an oil pump oil outlet 108 for oil inlet and outlet.

It is conceivable that the external engine is connected to the pulley via a belt, and when the engine is running, the pulley is driven to operate, and if the pulley is connected to the generator, the generator is driven to operate by the engine. In addition, the rotor shaft of the oil pump can be fixed on the driving shaft of the generator through interference fit.

It should be noted that the assembly may include a vehicle detection unit (not shown in the figure), and the vehicle detection unit is connected to the clutch and is configured to detect the starting state of the vehicle engine and the remaining amount of the vehicle battery in real time, and send a corresponding control command to the clutch according to the detection result.

Specifically, the clutch is used for controlling the rotor shaft of the generator and the belt pulley to be in a disconnection state before the engine is started or when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is greater than or equal to a preset value, so that the generator is driven to operate by the vehicle battery, and the oil pump is driven to operate. When the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is smaller than a preset value, the rotor shaft of the generator is controlled to be in a connection state with the belt pulley, so that the belt pulley drives the generator to operate under the action of the external engine to charge the vehicle battery and drives the oil pump to operate. The preset value may be a basic electric quantity capable of driving the generator to rotate, for example, the preset value may be 10% to 20% of an electric quantity of a battery of the vehicle.

As an alternative embodiment, the clutch may be an electromagnetic clutch, as shown in fig. 2, the electromagnetic clutch includes a driving wheel 201 and a driven wheel 202, the pulley 102 is fixed to the driving wheel 201 of the electromagnetic clutch, and the rotor shaft 109 of the generator is fixed to the driven wheel 202 of the electromagnetic clutch.

When the electromagnetic clutch is powered on, the driving wheel and the driven wheel are attracted by electromagnetic force and combined together through friction plates connected to the driving wheel and the driven wheel, so that the belt pulley and the rotor shaft of the generator are in a connected state, and when the electromagnetic clutch is powered off, the driving wheel and the driven wheel are disconnected, so that the belt pulley and the rotor shaft of the generator are in a disconnected state.

In a specific embodiment, before the engine is started and the residual quantity of the electric quantity of the vehicle battery can drive the generator to operate, the oil pump is driven by the vehicle battery to operate, the pumping oil fills the whole lubricating oil path, and the various oil-using parts of the engine are pre-lubricated. When the engine is started, the oil pressure at the tail end of the oil channel of the engine is already established, so that the oil consumption component at the tail end of the oil channel of the engine cannot work in an oil-free state, good lubrication of all the oil consumption components of the engine can be ensured, and the service life of parts is prolonged.

When the engine is started and the electric quantity residual quantity of the vehicle battery can drive the generator to operate, the generator does not need to charge the vehicle battery, the clutch still disconnects the generator from the belt pulley, and the generator is driven to operate by the battery to drive the oil pump to operate. Because the battery drives the oil pump to operate, the oil pump can be used as a motor oil pump, the rotating speed of the motor oil pump can be adjusted according to the requirement of an oil consumption part, and the requirement of the oil consumption part of the engine can be accurately matched under each working condition of the engine, so that the oil consumption of the engine is reduced.

Specifically, as shown in the line graph of fig. 3, the abscissa is the engine speed (in rpm) and the ordinate is the pump oil amount, and when the engine speed is idle, the displacement demand of the oil pump is the largest, and when the engine speed is medium and high, the displacement demand of the oil pump is decreased. In which the shaded portion in fig. 3 represents the oil saving amount of the electric oil pump compared to the conventional oil pump. Because the oil pump capacity is equal to the oil pump displacement × the oil pump rotation speed, and the conventional oil pump is driven by the engine crankshaft (the oil pump rotation speed and the engine rotation speed are in a proportional relationship), as the engine rotation speed increases, the oil pump rotation speed increases, and the oil pump capacity greatly exceeds the engine demand. The motor oil pump drives the oil pump to work by the motor, and the motor can adjust the rotating speed of the oil pump according to requirements, so that the motor oil pump can completely and accurately match the requirements of an engine, and the oil saving effect of the motor oil pump is obvious compared with that of the traditional oil pump.

When the engine is started and the residual quantity of the battery of the vehicle cannot drive the generator to operate, the generator needs to charge the battery of the vehicle, therefore, the clutch needs to control the generator and the belt pulley to be in a connected state, the generator is driven to operate through the engine belt to charge the battery of the vehicle, the oil pump is driven to operate by the driving machine, the oil pump lubricates various oil components of the engine and is driven by the engine belt, and the oil pump at the moment is used as a traditional mechanical pump.

Further, in order to enable the driving shaft of the generator to better drive the rotor shaft of the engine oil pump to rotate, the length of the driving shaft of the generator may be designed according to the length of the rotor shaft of the engine oil pump, for example, the length of the driving shaft of the generator is twice as long as the length of the rotor shaft of the engine oil pump.

According to the engine oil pump, the function of the engine oil pump is integrated on the basis of the vehicle generator, the generator can still be driven by an engine belt, the electromagnetic clutch is integrated on the belt pulley of the generator, the rotor shaft of the generator extends out from the rear end of the generator, the rotor shaft of the engine oil pump can be fixed on the driving shaft of the generator in an interference fit mode, the engine oil pump is driven to operate through the generator, and other oil ways of the engine oil pump are integrated on the shell at the rear end of the generator. Because the power of the vehicle generator is generally more than 1kW, the power requirement of a main oil pump of the engine can be met, the integrated generator and the oil pump are still installed at the position of the traditional generator, the diameter of the generator is unchanged, the length direction is increased only, and the existing engine can be provided with the integrated scheme under the condition of not occupying too much space.

In summary, the vehicle control assembly provided in the embodiment of the present application integrates the oil pump into the driving shaft of the generator, and adds the device with the clutch function between the pulley and the generator, so that the oil pump is driven to operate in advance before the engine is started, and the oil passage of the engine is filled to pre-lubricate each oil-consuming component of the engine. Therefore, the problem of abrasion caused by direct running of the engine under the unlubricated condition is avoided, and after the engine is started, the oil pump can be used as an independent motor oil pump to accurately match the pressure requirements of the engine under different working conditions, so that the oil consumption of the engine is reduced.

In a second aspect, based on the same inventive concept, the present embodiment provides a vehicle control method applied to the control assembly of any one of the first aspect. As shown in fig. 4, the following steps S101 to S102 are included.

And step S101, before the vehicle engine is started or when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is detected to be larger than or equal to a preset value, a first control instruction is sent to the clutch, the rotor shaft of the generator and the belt pulley are controlled to be in a disconnection state, and the generator is driven to operate by the vehicle battery to drive the oil pump to operate.

And S102, when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is detected to be smaller than a preset value, sending a second control instruction to the clutch, and controlling a rotor shaft of the generator and the belt pulley to be in a connection state, so that the belt pulley drives the generator to operate under the action of the external engine to charge the vehicle battery and drives the oil pump to operate.

In a specific embodiment, the vehicle can send corresponding instructions to the clutch according to the detected engine state and the battery charge remaining condition to control the on-off of the clutch, so as to control the connection between the rotor shaft of the engine and the belt pulley.

It should be noted that, for the specific implementation process of step S101 to step S102, reference may be made to the corresponding description in the foregoing vehicle control assembly embodiment, and details are not described here again.

The implementation principle and the generated technical effects of the vehicle control method provided by the embodiment of the invention are the same as those of the vehicle control assembly embodiment, and for the sake of brief description, no part of the method embodiment is mentioned, and reference may be made to the corresponding contents in the vehicle control assembly embodiment.

In a third aspect, based on the same inventive concept, the present embodiment provides a vehicle control device applied to the control assembly of any one of the first aspect. As shown in fig. 5, the apparatus includes:

the first control module 301 is configured to send a first control instruction to the clutch before a vehicle engine is started or when the engine is started and it is detected that the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is greater than or equal to a preset value, and control the rotor shaft of the generator and the belt pulley to be in a disconnection state, so that the generator is driven to operate by the vehicle battery, and the oil pump is driven to operate.

The second control module 302 is configured to send a second control instruction to the clutch when the engine is started and the electric quantity of the vehicle battery is detected to be smaller than a preset value, and control the rotor shaft of the generator and the pulley to be in a connection state, so that the pulley drives the generator to operate under the action of the external engine to charge the vehicle battery, and drives the oil pump to operate.

The above modules may be implemented by software codes, and in this case, the modules may be stored in a memory of the control device. The above modules may also be implemented by hardware, such as an integrated circuit chip.

The implementation principle and the generated technical effects of the vehicle control device provided by the embodiment of the invention are the same as those of the vehicle control assembly embodiment, and for the sake of brief description, no part of the embodiment of the device is mentioned, and reference may be made to the corresponding contents in the vehicle control assembly embodiment.

In a fourth aspect, based on the same inventive concept, the present embodiment provides a vehicle 500, as shown in fig. 6, comprising an external engine 502 and a vehicle control assembly 501 according to any of the preceding first aspects.

Since the vehicle control assembly included in the vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention is described in the foregoing, based on the vehicle control assembly described in the embodiment of the present invention, a person skilled in the art can understand the specific structure and effect principle of the vehicle, and details are not described herein again. All vehicles that include the vehicle control assembly of the embodiments of the present invention are within the intended scope of the present invention.

Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This invention is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.

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.

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.