LIFT ARM ATTACHMENT SAFETY SYSTEM

Abstract

A lift arm attachment safety system may include, an adapter plate receivable within an adapter frame of a lift arm attachment; one or more configured to detect a proximity of the adapter plate to the adapter frame; a drive control system configured to control drive capabilities of a vehicle; at least one processor; and at least one memory device storing one or more instructions for: receiving at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within a threshold proximity to the adapter frame; transmitting one or more control signals to the drive control system to cause the drive control system to disable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within a threshold proximity to the adapter frame.

Claims

1. A lift arm attachment safety system comprising: an adapter plate receivable within an adapter frame of a lift arm attachment; one or more sensors disposed on the adapter plate and configured to detect a proximity of the adapter plate to the adapter frame; a drive control system configured to enable or disable the drive capabilities of a vehicle; at least one processor; and at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor for: receiving at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within a threshold proximity to the adapter frame; transmitting one or more control signals to the drive control system to cause the drive control system to disable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within a threshold proximity to the adapter frame.

2. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 1, further comprising: a locking mechanism configured to control one or more locking pins; wherein the at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor further includes instructions for: receiving at least one signal from the locking mechanism indicating that the one or more locking pins are in a locked position; transmitting one or more control signals to the drive control system to cause the drive control system to enable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the one or more locking pins are in a locked position.

3. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 2, further comprising: an interface device configured to receive at least one control input from a user; wherein the at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor further includes instructions for: receiving at least one signal from the interface device indicating a control input from a user; transmitting one or more control signals to the drive control system to cause the drive control system to disable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the interface device indicating the control input from the user.

4. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 3, wherein the at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor further includes instructions for: transmitting one or more control signals to the locking mechanism to cause the locking mechanism to move the one or more locking pins to an unlocked position in response to receiving the at least one signal from the interface device indicating the control input from the user.

5. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 3, wherein the at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor further includes instructions for: receiving at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is not within a threshold proximity to the adapter frame; transmitting one or more control signals to the drive control system to cause the drive control system to enable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is not within a threshold proximity to the adapter frame.

6. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 1, further comprising: a locking mechanism configured to control one or more locking pins; wherein the at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor further includes instructions for: receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within the threshold proximity to the adapter frame; transmitting one or more control signals to the locking mechanism to cause the locking mechanism to move the one or more locking pins to a locked position in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within the threshold proximity to the adapter frame.

7. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 1, wherein the drive control system includes at least one of a parking brake or a transmission.

8. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensors disposed on the adapter plate and configured to detect a proximity of the adapter plate to the adapter frame includes: one or more first sensors configured to detect a proximity of at least one projection portion the adapter plate to a flange portion of the adapter frame; and one or more second sensors configured to detect a proximity of the adapter plate to a back plate of the adapter frame.

9. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 8, wherein the adapter plate includes: one or more apertures in the adapter plate configured to allow the one or more second sensors to detect the proximity of the adapter plate to the back plate of the adapter frame through the adapter plate.

10. A lift arm attachment safety system comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor for: receiving at least one signal from one or more sensors indicating that an adapter plate is within a threshold proximity to an adapter frame; transmitting one or more control signals to a drive control system to cause the drive control system to disable drive capabilities of a vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within the threshold proximity to the adapter frame.

11. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 10, further comprising: wherein the at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor further includes instructions for: receiving at least one signal from a locking mechanism indicating that one or more locking pins are in a locked position; transmitting one or more control signals to the drive control system to cause the drive control system to enable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the one or more locking pins are in a locked position.

12. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 11, further comprising: wherein the at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor further includes instructions for: receiving at least one signal from an interface device indicating a control input from a user; transmitting one or more control signals to the drive control system to cause the drive control system to disable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the interface device indicating the control input from the user.

13. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 12, wherein the at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor further includes instructions for: transmitting one or more control signals to a locking mechanism to cause the locking mechanism to move one or more locking pins to an unlocked position in response to receiving the at least one signal from the interface device indicating the control input from the user.

14. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 12, wherein the at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor further includes instructions for: receiving at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is not within a threshold proximity to the adapter frame; transmitting one or more control signals to the drive control system to cause the drive control system to enable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is not within a threshold proximity to the adapter frame.

15. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 10, further comprising: wherein the at least one memory device storing one or more instructions executable by the at least one processor further includes instructions for: receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within the threshold proximity to the adapter frame; transmitting one or more control signals to a locking mechanism to cause the locking mechanism to move one or more locking pins to a locked position in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within the threshold proximity to the adapter frame.

16. The lift arm attachment safety system of claim 10, wherein the transmitting one or more control signals to a drive control system to cause the drive control system to disable drive capabilities of a vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within the threshold proximity to the adapter frame includes: transmitting one or more control signals to at least one of a parking brake or a transmission of the vehicle to cause the at least one of a parking brake or a transmission to disable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within the threshold proximity to the adapter frame.

17. A method for secure operation of a lift-arm vehicle comprising: receiving at least one signal from one or more sensors indicating that an adapter plate coupled to a lift-arm is within a threshold proximity to an adapter frame of a lift arm attachment; transmitting one or more control signals to a drive control system to cause the drive control system to disable drive capabilities of a vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within the threshold proximity to the adapter frame.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising: receiving at least one signal from a locking mechanism indicating that one or more locking pins are in a locked position; transmitting one or more control signals to the drive control system to cause the drive control system to enable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the one or more locking pins are in a locked position.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: receiving at least one signal from an interface device indicating a control input from a user; transmitting one or more control signals to the drive control system to cause the drive control system to disable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the interface device indicating the control input from the user.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting one or more control signals to a locking mechanism to cause the locking mechanism to move one or more locking pins to an unlocked position in response to receiving the at least one signal from the interface device indicating the control input from the user.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising: receiving at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is not within a threshold proximity to the adapter frame; transmitting one or more control signals to the drive control system to cause the drive control system to enable drive capabilities of the vehicle in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is not within the threshold proximity to the adapter frame.

22. The method of claim 17, further comprising: receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within the threshold proximity to the adapter frame; transmitting one or more control signals to a locking mechanism to cause the locking mechanism to move one or more locking pins to a locked position in response to receiving the at least one signal from the one or more sensors indicating that the adapter plate is within the threshold proximity to the adapter frame.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] The numerous advantages of the disclosure may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures in which:

[0003] FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of a lift arm attachment safety system;

[0004] FIG. 2 shows an environmental view of a lift arm attachment safety system;

[0005] FIG. 3 shows a lift arm attachment;

[0006] FIG. 4 shows an adapter plate including one or more sensors of a lift arm attachment safety system;

[0007] FIG. 5 shows an adapter plate including one or more sensors of a lift arm attachment safety system;

[0008] FIG. 6 shows a mechanism for coupling an adapter plate to a lift arm attachment;

[0009] FIG. 7 shows a mechanism for coupling an adapter plate to a lift arm attachment;

[0010] FIG. 8 shows a mechanism for coupling an adapter plate to a lift arm attachment;

[0011] FIG. 9 shows a mechanism for coupling an adapter plate to a lift arm attachment;

[0012] FIG. 10 shows a mechanism for coupling an adapter plate to a lift arm attachment;

[0013] FIG. 11 shows a mechanism for coupling an adapter plate to a lift arm attachment;

[0014] FIG. 12 shows a mechanism for coupling an adapter plate to a lift arm attachment;

[0015] FIG. 13 shows a logic diagram of a lift arm attachment safety system;

[0016] FIG. 14 shows a logic diagram of a lift arm attachment safety system;

[0017] FIG. 15 shows a logic diagram of a lift arm attachment safety system;

[0018] FIG. 16 shows a logic diagram of a lift arm attachment safety system;

[0019] FIG. 17 shows a logic diagram of a lift arm attachment safety system; and

[0020] FIG. 18 shows a logic diagram of a lift arm attachment safety system;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The present disclosure has been particularly shown and described with respect to certain embodiments and specific features thereof. The embodiments set forth herein are taken to be illustrative rather than limiting. It should be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications in form and detail may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

[0022] Reference will now be made in detail to the subject matter disclosed, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Referring generally to FIGS. 1 through 18, embodiments of the present disclosure are generally directed to a lift arm attachment safety system 100.

[0023] Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic view of the control components of the lift arm attachment safety system 100 is shown. The lift arm attachment safety system 100 may include one or more sensors 101 (e.g., first sensors 101A, second sensors 101B and third sensors 101C) a processor 102 (e.g., programmable logic computing devices including memory configured for storing computer readable instructions, application-specific microcontrollers, relays, and the like). Based on one or more outputs of the sensors 101, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 may provide control signals to locking mechanism control circuitry 103 configured to enable or disable a locking mechanism 104 to secure a lift arm attachment 110 to a vehicle 105 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 2). Further, based on one or more outputs of the sensors 101, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 may provide control signals to a vehicle drive control circuitry 106 configured to enable control of a drive control system 107 (e.g., a parking break, a transmission disengagement, a hydraulic system, or any other system configured to disable drive functionality of the vehicle 105 as described below and in FIGS. 13-18), of the vehicle 105.

[0024] While described herein in the context of a compact skid-steer loader or track loader-type vehicle 105 as shown in FIG. 2 (e.g., vehicles such as those manufactured and sold by John Deere, Bobcat, Kubota, Case, Caterpillar, Ditch Witch, New Holland, and the like), the technologies disclosed herein will be recognized as being extensible to any lift-arm equipped vehicle (e.g., bucket loaders, backhoes, tractor front-end loaders, combines, excavators, dozers, fork lifts, cranes, mowers, and the like) which are configured to receive and/or couple to various attachments, accessories, or implements (loader buckets, excavator buckets, snowplows, mower heads, combine heads, and the like).

[0025] The lift arm attachment safety system 100 may further include an interface device 124 (e.g., an LED indicator, one or more physical buttons, touch screen, gesture recognition, voice recognition, and the like) configured to allow an operator to interact with the lift arm attachment safety system 100. The interface device 124 may receive signals from the processor 102 and display status information for the lift arm attachment safety system 100 to the operator. Further, the interface device 124 may receive user inputs from the operator to control various operations of the lift arm attachment safety system 100.

[0026] Referring to FIG. 2, a lift arm attachment safety system 100 may include an adapter plate 108 which may be coupled to the lift arms 109 of the vehicle 105. The adapter plate 108 may be manipulated by an operator via the lift arms 109 to engage with and connect to a lift arm attachment 110 (e.g., a loader bucket).

[0027] Referring to FIG. 3, in one example, the lift arm attachment 110 may include an adapter frame 111 including back plate 112 (e.g., a rear surface of the lift arm attachment 110 or a separate panel affixed to the rear surface of the lift arm attachment 110), a top flange portion 113 and a bottom flange portion 114. The bottom flange portion 114 may include one or more locking pin apertures 115.

[0028] Referring to FIGS. 4-6, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 may include the adapter plate 108 configured to engage the top flange portion 113 of the adapter frame 111 of the lift arm attachment 110. In one example, the adapter plate 108 may include one or more projection portions 116 having one or more surfaces 117 which are disposed at an angle relative to the adapter plate 108. For example, the surfaces 117 of the projection portions 116 may be configured such that upon insertion of the projection portions 116 under the top flange portion 113 of the adapter frame 111 and drawing the adapter plate 108 into contact with the back plate 112 of the adapter frame 111, the surfaces 117 are substantially parallel to the top flange portion 113. Such a configuration is further described with respect to FIGS. 6-9 below.

[0029] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, The lift arm attachment safety system 100 may further include a locking mechanism 104. The locking mechanism 104 may include one or more locking pin apertures 118 disposed in one or more flange portions 119 of the adapter plate 108. The locking mechanism 104 may include one or more actuators (e.g., hydraulic actuators, electric linear actuators, and the like) (not shown) configured to extend or retract one or more locking pins 120 through the locking pin apertures 118 in the flange portions 119 to engage the locking pin apertures 115 of the bottom flange portion 114 of the adapter frame 111 of the lift arm attachment 110 to couple the adapter plate 108 to the lift arm attachment 110. Such a configuration is further described with respect to FIGS. 6-9 below.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 1, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 may further include one or more sensors 101. The sensors 101 may be contact-based or contactless positional location/proximity sensors. The various examples, the sensors 101 may include, but are not limited to, inductive, eddy-current, capacitive, magnetorestrictive, piezoelectric, Hall effect, fiber-optic, optical, electromechanical, and/or ultrasonic-type sensors, and the like.

[0031] In one example, as shown in FIG. 4, a set of one or more first sensors 101A may be disposed in one or more recesses 121 in the projection portions 116 of the adapter plate 108. Such a configuration allows the first sensors 101A to determine whether the projection portions 116 are within a threshold proximity (e.g., less than 1 inch) relative to the top flange portion 113 of the adapter frame 111 when the adapter plate 108 is inserted into the adapter frame 111 (as further shown in FIGS. 6-11), thereby allowing for the lift arm attachment safety system 100 to detect proper engagement of the adapter plate 108 with the adapter frame 111. For example, the first sensors 101A may be disposed on the adapter plate 108 and configured such that their sensor medium (e.g., light beam, electromagnetic field, mechanical switch) projects from the first sensors 101A through the recesses 123 to determine a proximity of the adapter plate 108 to the top flange portion 113 of the adapter frame 111.

[0032] Further, referring to FIG. 5, the adapter plate 108 may include one or more sensor apertures 122 through the adapter plate 108. A set of one or more second sensors 101B may be disposed on the adapter plate 108 and configured such that their sensor medium (e.g., light beam, electromagnetic field, mechanical switch) projects from the second sensors 101B through the sensor apertures 122 to determine a proximity of the adapter plate 108 to the back plate 112 of the adapter frame 111 as the adapter plate 108 is inserted into the adapter frame 111 thereby allowing for the lift arm attachment safety system 100 to further detect proper engagement of the adapter plate 108 with the adapter frame 111.

[0033] Still further, referring to FIG. 4, set of one or more third sensors 101C may be disposed on the adapter plate 108 and configured such that their sensor medium (e.g., light beam, electromagnetic field, mechanical switch) projects from the third sensors 101C across a path of movement of the locking pins 120 to detect a position of the locking pins 120. In one example, the third sensors 101C may detect if the locking pins 120 are in an extended or retracted position. In another example, the locking pin detection functionality of the third sensors 101C may be implemented in the processor 102 of FIG. 1 or in a dedicated controller for actuators for the locking mechanism 104 where the controller maintains data regarding the status of the locking pins 120 (e.g., % extended or retracted) which may be queried by other components of the lift arm attachment safety system 100.

[0034] Referring to FIGS. 6-9, operations related to engagement between the adapter plate 108 and the adapter frame 111 of the lift arm attachment 110 are shown. In FIG. 6, an operator may control the movement of the vehicle 105 or its lift arms 109 (as shown in FIG. 2) to move the adapter plate 108 forward to the adapter frame 111 such that the projection portions 116 pass under top flange portion 113. In FIG. 7, the adapter plate 108 is moved slightly upward such that the projection portions 116 are positioned within one or more recesses 123 defined between the top flange portion 113 and the back plate 112 of the adapter frame 111. In FIG. 8, the bottom end of the adapter plate 108 may be moved forward causing the projection portions 116 to rotate within the recesses 123 until, as shown in FIG. 9, the projection portions 116 abut the top flange portion 113 and the adapter plate 108 and the flange portions 119 abut the back plate 112 and the bottom flange portion 114, respectively. In FIG. 9, an operator may control the movement of the vehicle 105 or its lift arms 109 to lift the lift arm attachment 110 off the ground to fully seat the adapter plate 108 within the adapter frame 111. In FIGS. 9-12, following seating of the adapter plate 108 within the adapter frame 111, the locking mechanism 104 is in the engaged position to cause the actuators to extend the locking pins 120 through both the locking pin apertures 118 of the flange portions 119 and the locking pin apertures 115 of the bottom flange portion 114 of the adapter frame 111 so as to secure the adapter plate 108 to the adapter frame 111 of the lift arm attachment 110. In one example, the processor 102 may automatically transmit one or more control signals (e.g., following a delay period of from 1 to 10 seconds) via the locking mechanism control circuitry 103 to the locking mechanism 104 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1), responsive to a detection of the seating of the adapter plate 108 within the adapter frame 111 by the second sensors 101B, and instructing the locking mechanism 104 to extend the locking pins 120 into their locked position. Alternately, the processor 102 may receive one or more signals from the second sensors 101B indicating a detection of the seating of the adapter plate 108 within the adapter frame 111. The processor 102 may provide one or more signals to the interface device 124 causing the interface device 124 to display a notification to the operator that the adapter plate 108 within the adapter frame 111. The operator may provide a user input via the interface device 124 requesting the engagement of the locking mechanism 104. Responsive to the operator request, the processor 102 may transmit one or more control signals to the locking mechanism 104 instructing the locking mechanism 104 to extend the locking pins 120 into their locked position

[0035] FIGS. 13-19 depict logic diagrams representing the various control states of the lift arm attachment safety system 100 shown in FIG. 1 in controlling activation and deactivation of the locking mechanism 104 and the drive control system 107.

[0036] In FIG. 13, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 is shown in a state where the adapter plate 108 has not engaged the adapter frame 111 of the lift arm attachment 110 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 6) such that the first sensors 101A do not indicate that the projection portions 116 are in proximity to the top flange portion 113.

[0037] In FIG. 14, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 is shown in a state where the adapter plate 108 has engaged the adapter frame 111 of the lift arm attachment 110 (e.g., as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8) such that the first sensors 101A indicate that the projection portions 116 are in proximity to the top flange portion 113. At this point, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 may transmit one or more control signals via the vehicle drive control circuitry 106 to the drive control system 107 instructing the drive control system 107 to, for example, engage a parking brake of the vehicle 105. Preventing movement of the vehicle 105 until the lift arm attachment safety system 100 determines that the adapter plate 108 has properly engaged the adapter frame 111 of the lift arm attachment 110 and that the locking pins 120 are in place greatly reduces the risk of injury to operators of the vehicle 105 and/or other personnel in the area of the vehicle 105.

[0038] In FIG. 15, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 is shown in a state where the adapter plate 108 has been fully seated within the adapter frame 111 of the lift arm attachment 110 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 9) such that the second sensors 101B indicate that the adapter plate 108 (e.g., the flange portions 119) is in proximity to the back plate 112 (e.g., the bottom flange portion 114). At this point, either automatically or in response to a user request received via the interface device 124, the processor 102 may transmit one or more control signals via the locking mechanism control circuitry 103 to the locking mechanism 104 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 1) instructing the locking mechanism 104 to extend the locking pins 120 into their locked position.

[0039] In FIG. 16, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 is shown in a state where the third sensors 101C detect that the locking pins 120 have been fully extended into their locked position (e.g., as shown in FIG. 10). At this point, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 may transmit one or more control signals via the vehicle drive control circuitry 106 to the drive control system 107 instructing the drive control system 107 to, for example, release the parking brake of the vehicle 105 thereby allowing the operator to drive the vehicle 105 and operate the lift arms 109 knowing that the adapter plate 108 is fully seated in the adapter frame 111 and the locking pins 120 are engaged.

[0040] In FIG. 17, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 is shown in a state where an operator has provided a user input via the interface device 124 to request disengagement of the locking pins 120 so as to release the lift arm attachment 110. Following receipt of the user input via the interface device 124, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 may, again, transmit one or more control signals via the vehicle drive control circuitry 106 to the drive control system 107 instructing the drive control system 107 to, for example, engage the parking brake of the vehicle 105. Further, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 may transmit one or more control signals via the locking mechanism control circuitry 103 to the locking mechanism 104 instructing the locking mechanism 104 to retract the locking pins 120 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 9) until the third sensors 101C determine that the locking pins 120 have been fully retracted into their unlocked positions.

[0041] In FIG. 18, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 is shown in a state where, the locking pins 120 have been retracted and the adapter plate 108 has been disengaged from the adapter frame 111 of the lift arm attachment 110 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 6) such that the first sensors 101A and second sensors 101B no longer indicate that the adapter plate 108 is in proximity to the adapter frame 111. At this point, the lift arm attachment safety system 100 may transmit one or more control signals via the vehicle drive control circuitry 106 to the drive control system 107 instructing the drive control system 107 to, for example, disengage the parking brake of the vehicle 105.

[0042] One skilled in the art will recognize that the herein described components (e.g., operations), devices, objects, and the discussion accompanying them are used as examples for the sake of conceptual clarity and that various configuration modifications are contemplated. Consequently, as used herein, the specific exemplars set forth and the accompanying discussion are intended to be representative of their more general classes. In general, use of any specific exemplar is intended to be representative of its class, and the non-inclusion of specific components (e.g., operations), devices, and objects should not be taken as limiting.

[0043] The previous description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention as provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements. As used herein, directional terms such as top, bottom, over, under, upper, upward, lower, down, and downward are intended to provide relative positions for purposes of description, and are not intended to designate an absolute frame of reference. Various modifications to the described embodiments will be apparent to those with skill in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments. Therefore, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the particular embodiments shown and described, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features herein disclosed.

[0044] With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations are not expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

[0045] It is further contemplated that each of the embodiments of the method described above may include any other step(s) of any other method(s) described herein. In addition, each of the embodiments of the method described above may be performed by any of the systems described herein.

[0046] Those having skill in the art will recognize that the state of the art has progressed to the point where there is little distinction left between hardware and software implementations of aspects of systems; the use of hardware or software is generally (but not always, in that in certain contexts the choice between hardware and software can become significant) a design choice representing cost vs. efficiency tradeoffs. Those having skill in the art will appreciate that there are various vehicles by which processes and/or systems and/or other technologies described herein can be implemented (e.g., via hardware, software, and/or firmware), and that the preferred vehicle will vary with the context in which the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies are deployed. For example, if an implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly hardware and/or firmware vehicle; alternatively, if flexibility is paramount, the implementer may opt for a mainly software implementation; or, yet again alternatively, the implementer may opt for some combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. Hence, there are several possible vehicles by which the processes and/or devices and/or other technologies described herein may be implemented, none of which is inherently superior to the other in that any vehicle to be utilized is a choice dependent upon the context in which the vehicle will be deployed and the specific concerns (e.g., speed, flexibility, or predictability) of the implementer, any of which may vary. Those skilled in the art will recognize that optical aspects of implementations will typically employ optically-oriented hardware, software, and/or firmware.

[0047] The foregoing detailed description has set forth various embodiments of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. In one embodiment, several portions of the subject matter described herein may be implemented via Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other integrated formats. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the embodiments disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and/or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of being distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative embodiment of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution. Examples of a signal bearing medium include, but are not limited to, the following: a recordable type medium such as a hard disk drive, a computer memory, solid state memory, cloud-based storage, and the like; and/or a transmission type medium such as a digital and/or an analog communication medium (e.g., a fiber optic cable, a waveguide, a wired communications link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

[0048] In a general sense, those skilled in the art will recognize that the various aspects described herein which can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof can be viewed as being composed of various types of electrical circuitry. Consequently, as used herein electrical circuitry includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry having at least one discrete electrical circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integrated circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one application specific integrated circuit, electrical circuitry forming a general purpose computing device configured by a computer program (e.g., a general purpose computer configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessor configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein), electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory), and/or electrical circuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem, communications switch, or optical-electrical equipment). Those having skill in the art will recognize that the subject matter described herein may be implemented in an analog or digital fashion or some combination thereof.

[0049] Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the art to describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein, and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such described devices and/or processes into data processing systems. That is, at least a portion of the devices and/or processes described herein can be integrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount of experimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that a typical data processing system generally includes one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatile and non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digital signal processors, computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or control systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback for sensing position and/or velocity; control motors for moving and/or adjusting components and/or quantities). A typical data processing system may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially available components, such as those typically found in data computing/communication and/or network computing/communication systems. The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively associated such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as associated with each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being connected, or coupled, to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being couplable, to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.

[0050] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as open terms (e.g., the term including should be interpreted as including but not limited to, the term having should be interpreted as having at least, the term includes should be interpreted as includes but is not limited to, and the like). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases at least one and one or more to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles a or an limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases one or more or at least one and indefinite articles such as a or an (e.g., a and/or an should typically be interpreted to mean at least one or one or more); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of two recitations, without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to at least one of A, B, and C, and the like is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., a system having at least one of A, B, and C would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, and the like). In those instances where a convention analogous to at least one of A, B, or C, and the like is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., a system having at least one of A, B, or C would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, and the like). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase A or B will be understood to include the possibilities of A or B or A and B.

[0051] It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction, and arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosed subject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form described is merely explanatory, and it is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.

[0052] Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is defined by the appended claims.