ENHANCED TRACTOR LOADER WITH VARIABLE SPEED CONTROL FOR ELECTRIC ACTUATION AND AUTOMATIC BUCKET LEVELING

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/359,272, filed on Jul. 8, 2022, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to devices, systems, and methods for controlling a tractor bucket loader.

BACKGROUND

Some tractors may attach front-end bucket loaders to scoop and pick up materials. Typically, the actuators that control the bucket loaders are hydraulic and lack the ability to automatically vary the speed of the actuators while adjusting the tilt of the bucket loader while the lift arms move.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example tractor with an electrically actuated front-end loader, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2A illustrates the uprights of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2B illustrates the lift arms of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2C illustrates the bucket of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2D illustrates the electric actuators of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2E illustrates wiring for the electric actuators of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2F illustrates wiring for the electric actuators of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2G illustrates wiring for the electric actuators of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2H illustrates wiring for the electric actuators of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a connecting of the upright to the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example front perspective view of the tractor of FIG. 1 without the electric actuators, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example connecting of the bucket to the long lift arm of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example connecting of the lift arms to the upright of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example connecting of the bucket to the long lift arms and to the electric actuator of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example schematic of the electric actuators and their controls for the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a flow of a process for controlling an electrically actuated bucket for a ridable tractor, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain implementations will now be described more fully below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various implementations and/or aspects are shown. However, various aspects may be implemented in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein; rather, these implementations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Like numbers in the figures refer to like elements throughout. Hence, if a feature is used across several drawings, the number used to identify the feature in the drawing where the feature first appeared will be used in later drawings.

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, algorithm, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims.

Typical front end loaders of tractors use hydraulic cylinders to raise and lower the loader and tilt the bucket. Existing systems lack the ability to vary the speed of the actuators. Such speed control for the actuators may be useful when the bucket is raised and lowered, and when the tilt of the bucket is adjusted to level the bucket while being raised and lowered. Some automatic bucket leveling systems may use hydraulically controlled loaders with mechanical linkages and control arms.

In one or more embodiments, the present disclosure uses electrically driven cylinders powered off the tractor battery to perform the mechanical motion, allowing for variable speed control of the electric actuations while adjusting the tile of the bucket based on the motion of the lift arms.

In one or more embodiments, a controller may be implemented to take advantage of the electronically controlled actuators to achieve automatic bucket leveling through logic of the controller. The use of the controller allows for user inputs to control the movement and speed of the electric actuators (e.g., through a joystick or other control mechanism). As a result, control of the bucket via the electric actuators may be improved, and the cost of implementing a bucket loader system may be reduced significantly. The actuators may be operatively connected to different portions of the bucket, for example, on both sides of the arms that lift and lower the bucket. It is important to synchronize the levels of the actuators so that, for example, the bucket is not tilted/uneven because one lift arm is higher than another. Using a feedback system that indicates the length/extension of the respective actuators at a given time, a controller may ensure bucket leveling by synchronizing the actuators. For example, when one actuator is extended further than another actuator, the controller may temporarily stop actuation of one of the actuators until the actuators are extended the same amount before continuing the actuation of the actuators.

In one or more embodiments, to implement the variable speed control of the tractor bucket using electric actuators, the tractor may use mounting brackets to attach the loader system to the frame of the tractor, and arms that pivot around the top of the mounting brackets. The arms lift and lower the bucket. A crossmember may connect the arms, providing stability and a mounting point for the actuator that may tilt/dump the bucket. Electric actuators may provide the force to lift and lower the bucket, and to tilt/dump the bucket (e.g., two actuators to lift/lower the arms, and one actuator to tilt/dump the bucket while providing automatic leveling as controlled by the controller). A wiring harness may connect the actuators to the tractor battery. The wiring harness may include switches and/or a controller to provide user control of the front end loader. In this manner, the variable speed control of the tractor bucket may be implemented on tractors without hydraulic ports.

In one or more embodiments, the control module may vary the speed of the electric actuators based on an input signal from a joystick, while also adjusting the tilt of the bucket based on the motion of the lift arms. There are many benefits to having the bucket's angle relative to the ground not change while the arms lift and lower the bucket. This would include benefits such as keeping pallets level on forks during lifting and lowering of the loader. Automatic bucket leveling systems have been implemented in the past on hydraulically controlled loaders through mechanical linkages and control arms. The controller describe herein takes advantage of the electronically controlled actuators to achieve the same automatic bucket leveling, but through logic in the controller. This significantly reduces the cost of implementing such a system.

In one or more embodiments, the joystick or other control mechanism may allow the user to raise and lower the bucket, and to rotate/tilt the bucket. The user also may use the joystick or other control mechanism to rotate/tile the bucket without having to move the arms.

The above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting. Numerous other examples, configurations, processes, etc., may exist, some of which are described in greater detail below. Example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example tractor 100 with an electrically actuated front-end loader, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, the tractor 102 (e.g., a ridable tractor) may include a bucket 104 for lifting/lowering objects, a long lift arm 106 and a long lift arm 108 for raising/lowering the bucket 104, a short lift arm 110 connected to the long lift arm 106 with a bracket 112, a short lift arm 114 connected to the long lift arm 108 with a bracket 116, a cross lift arm 118 extending between the long lift arm 106 and the long lift arm 108, an electric actuator 120 operatively connected to the short lift arm 110, an electric actuator 122 operatively connected to the short lift arm 114, and an electric actuator 124 operatively connected to the cross lift arm 118. An upright 126 may connect to and support the short lift arm 110 with a bracket 130, and an upright 128 may connect to and support the short lift arm 114 with a bracket 132.

In one or more embodiments, the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 may cause the bucket 104 to be lifted by the long lift arm 106 and the long lift arm 108, respectively, by extending, and may cause the bucket 104 to be lowered by the long lift arm 106 and the long lift arm 108, respectively, by retracting (e.g., in their electric actuation). The electric actuator 124 may cause the bucket 104 to rotate (e.g., to pick up and dump objects from the bucket 104) by extending and retracting.

FIG. 2A illustrates the uprights (the upright 126 and the upright 128) of the tractor 102 of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the upright 126 and the upright 128 each may have bolts 202 with which to connect the uprights to the tractor 102 as shown in FIG. 3. The bracket 130 may be used to connect the upright 126 to the short lift arm 110, and the bracket 132 may be used to connect the upright 128 to the short lift arm 114.

FIG. 2B illustrates the lift arms (long lift arm 106, long lift arm 108, short lift arm 110, short lift arm 114) of the tractor 102 of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the bracket 112 connects the long lift arm 106 to the 110, and the bracket 116 connects the long lift arm 108 to the short lift arm 114. The cross lift arm 118 spans between and connects to the long lift arm 106 and the long lift arm 108.

FIG. 2C illustrates the bucket 104 of the tractor 102 of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2C, the bucket 104 may include a bucket top reinforcement 204 on a top portion of the bucket 104, and bucket endplates 206 on both sides of the bucket 104.

FIG. 2D illustrates the electric actuators (electric actuator 120, electric actuator 122, electric actuator 124) of the tractor 102 of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2D, the electric actuators may extend and retract. For example, when the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 extend, they may cause the long lift arm 106 and the long lift arm 108 to raise the bucket 104. When the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 retract, they may cause the long lift arm 106 and the long lift arm 108 to lower the bucket 104. When the electric actuator 124 extends, it may cause the bucket 104 to rotate in one angular direction, and when the electric actuator 124 retracts, it may cause the bucket 104 to rotate in the opposite angular direction.

FIG. 2E illustrates wiring for the electric actuators of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2F illustrates wiring for the electric actuators of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2G illustrates wiring for the electric actuators of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2H illustrates wiring for the electric actuators of the tractor of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 2E-FIG. 2H, wiring harness 208 may include a wiring harness 208 and cables 210 with which to connect the electric actuators (electric actuator 120, electric actuator 122, electric actuator 124) to a control system (e.g., including one or more motors as shown in FIG. 8).

FIG. 3 illustrates a connecting of the upright 126 to the tractor 102 of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 3, the bolt 202 may be used to secure the upright 126 to the tractor 102. The same may occur on the other side of the tractor 102 wherein the upright 128 may be connected with the bolt 202.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example front perspective view of the tractor 102 of FIG. 1 without the electric actuators (electric actuator 120, electric actuator 122, electric actuator 124), in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example connecting of the bucket 104 to the long lift arm 106 of the tractor 102 of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 5, the connection of the long lift arm 106 to the bucket 104 may use a rotatable joint 502 so that the actuation of the electric actuator 124 causes the bucket 104 to rotate about the rotatable joint 502. The same rotatable connection may be applied to connect the long lift arm 108 to the bucket 104.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example connecting of the lift arms (long lift arm 106 and long lift arm 108) to the uprights (upright 126 and upright 128) of the tractor 102 of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 6, the upright 128 connects to the short lift arm 114 using the bracket 132, and the short lift arm 114 connects to the long lift arm 108 using the bracket 116. The electric actuator 122 is shown as connecting to the long lift arm 108 so that extension of the electric actuator 122 causes the long lift arm 108 to raise (and correspondingly lift the bucket 104), and retraction of the electric actuator 122 causes the long lift arm 108 to lower (and correspondingly lower the bucket 104). Some of the cables 210 of the wiring harness 208 also are shown connecting to the electric actuator 122 for control of the electric actuator 122, as shown and explained further with respect to FIG. 8.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example connecting of the bucket 104 to the long lift arms (long lift arm 106, long lift arm 108) and to the electric actuator 124 of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 7, the long lift arm 108 and the electric actuator 124 are shown as connecting to the bucket 104 using the rotatable joint 502. As the electric actuator 124 extends, the extension causes the bucket 104 to rotate in an angular direction, with the rotatable joint 502 allowing the rotation with respect to the long lift arm 106 and the long lift arm 108 as well. As the electric actuator 124 retracts, the retraction causes the bucket 104 to rotate in the opposite angular direction. Some of the cables 210 also are shown as connecting to the electric actuator 124 to control the electric actuator 124, as shown and explained further with respect to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example schematic of the electric actuators (electric actuator 120, electric actuator 122, electric actuator 124) and their controls for the tractor 102 of FIG. 1, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 8, the electric actuator 120, the electric actuator 122, and the electric actuator 124 are electrically connected to a control system 802 (e.g., one or more control devices) that may include one or more motor drivers, such as motor driver 804 (a regenerative motor driver) to control the electric actuator 124, and motor driver 806 (e.g., a regenerative dual motor driver) to control the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122. Some of the cables 210 may connect the electric actuator 124 to the motor driver 804, and some of the cables 210 may connect the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 to the motor driver 806.

Still referring to FIG. 8, the control system 802 may electrically connect to and be controlled by a controller 808 (e.g., a joystick, touchpad, trackball, etc.). The controller 808 may receive user inputs, such as movements in different directions, pushes, pulls, touches, etc., which may correspond to user commands to raise, lower, and rotate the bucket 104 via actuation of the electric actuators. Some commands of the controller 808 may cause the motor driver 804 to actuate the electric actuator 124 to rotate the bucket 104. Some commands of the controller 808 may cause the motor driver 806 to actuate the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 to raise or lower the bucket 104.

Still referring to FIG. 8, the motor driver 804 and the motor driver 806 may be powered by a battery 810. An ignition switch 812 may start the tractor 102, which may use a distributor 814 and a circuit breaker 816 for the control system 802.

Still referring to FIG. 8, the control system 802 (e.g., an intelligent controller) may control the long lift arm 106, the long lift arm 108, and the cross lift arm 118 of FIG. 1 by controlling the electric actuator 120, the electric actuator 122, and the electric actuator 124. Sensor 818 and sensor 820 (e.g., position feedback sensors) may provide feedback to the control system 802 (e.g., using wireless or wired communications) indicating the actuation/position of the electric actuator 120, the electric actuator 122, and/or the electric actuator 124, and/or the position of the long lift arm 106, the long lift arm 108, and/or the cross lift arm 118, depending on the placement of the sensor 818 and the sensor 820. For example, the sensor 818 and/or the sensor 820 may be positioned on or integrated into any of the electric actuator 120, the electric actuator 122, and/or the electric actuator 124. Alternatively or in addition, the sensor 818 and/or the sensor 820 may be mounted to or otherwise connected to any of the long lift arm 106, the long lift arm 108, and/or the cross lift arm 118, or any portion of the tractor 102 that would allow the sensors to detect the position of the arms and/or electric actuators.

One important aspect of the control system 802 is the synchronized actuation of the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 to avoid tilt/uneven lift of the bucket 104. The sensor 818 and/or the sensor 820 may provide real-time feedback to the control system 802 regarding the extension/retraction of the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122. When the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 are not extended/retracted to the same length at a given time, such may indicate that the bucket 104 is uneven. For example, when the electric actuator 120 is extended further than the electric actuator 122, the long lift arm 106 may be raised higher than the long lift arm 108, so the bucket 104 may be higher on its right side (e.g., the left side of the page of FIG. 1) than on its left side. To avoid this scenario, the feedback loop for the control system 802 may allow the motor driver 806 to stop actuation of one electric actuator until the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 are actuated to the same length. In the scenario where the electric actuator 120 is extended further than the electric actuator 122, when the actuators are commanded to lift the bucket 104, the motor driver 806 may stop actuating the electric actuator 120 until the electric actuator 122 extends to the same length, evening the bucket 104, and then both the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 may extend together to continue raising the bucket 104. When the actuators are commanded to lower the bucket 104 and the electric actuator 120 is extended further than the electric actuator 122, the motor driver 806 may stop actuating the electric actuator 122 until the electric actuator 120 contracts to the same length as the electric actuator 122, and then the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 may continue contracting together to lower the bucket 104.

In one or more embodiments, the control system 802 may include memory (e.g., storing executable instructions capable of causing processing circuitry to perform operations) coupled to processing circuitry capable of receiving sensor data from the sensor 818 and the sensor 820, determining whether the sensor data indicate that the bucket 104 is level or not (e.g., at a same height relative to the ground, one actuator extended longer than another actuator, etc.), and controlling the actuation of the electric actuators to level the bucket 104. The control system 802 may include one or more modules for controlling the actuators and ensuring leveling of the bucket 104. The control system 802 may receive user inputs from the controller 808 and translate the user inputs to command signals via the motor driver 804 and the motor driver 806 to actuate the electric actuators. The modules of the control system 802 may be tangible entities (e.g., hardware) capable of performing specified operations when operating. A module includes hardware. In an example, the hardware may be specifically configured to carry out a specific operation (e.g., hardwired). In another example, the hardware may include configurable execution units (e.g., transistors, circuits, etc.) and a computer readable medium containing instructions where the instructions configure the execution units to carry out a specific operation when in operation. The configuring may occur under the direction of the executions units or a loading mechanism. Accordingly, the execution units are communicatively coupled to the computer-readable medium when the device is operating. In this example, the execution units may be a member of more than one module. For example, under operation, the execution units may be configured by a first set of instructions to implement a first module at one point in time and reconfigured b y a second set of instructions to implement a second module at a second point in time.

The examples herein are not meant to be limiting.

FIG. 9 is a flow of a process 900 for controlling an electrically actuated bucket for a ridable tractor, in accordance with one or more example embodiments of the present disclosure.

At block 902, a device (or system, e.g., the control system 802 of FIG. 8) may receive user inputs from a controller (e.g., the controller 808 of FIG. 8 or another device of the tractor) of a tractor (e.g., the tractor 102 of FIG. 1). The inputs may correspond to movements of a bucket (e.g., the bucket 104) of the tractor, such as to raise, lower, and/or rotate the bucket. The inputs may be received as electrical signals from the controller, such as a joystick, touchpad, trackball, or the like.

At block 904, the device may receive sensor data (e.g., from the sensor 818 and/or the sensor 820) indicative of positions of electric actuators (e.g., the electric actuator 120, the electric actuator 122, and/or the electric actuator 124) operatively connected to lift arms (e.g., the long lift arm 106, the long lift arm 108, the short lift arm 110, the short lift arm 114, and/or the cross lift arm 118) that may raise, lower, and/or rotate the bucket. The sensor data may be received from one or more sensors on or in the electric actuators, and/or may be mounted to or otherwise connected to the lift arms to detect the position of the lift arms and/or actuation status (e.g., length/amount of extension/retraction of the electric actuators).

At block 906, the device may generate, based on the user inputs and the sensor data, actuation commands for at least one of the electric actuators to ensure that the bucket is level while moving. The sensor 818 and/or the sensor 820 may provide real-time feedback to the control system 802 regarding the extension/retraction of the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122. When the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 are not extended/retracted to the same length at a given time, such may indicate that the bucket 104 is uneven. For example, when the electric actuator 120 is extended further than the electric actuator 122, the long lift arm 106 may be raised higher than the long lift arm 108, so the bucket 104 may be higher on its right side (e.g., the left side of the page of FIG. 1) than on its left side. To avoid this scenario, the feedback loop for the control system 802 may allow the motor driver 806 to stop actuation of one electric actuator until the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 are actuated to the same length (e.g., by generating actuation commands causing one or more of the actuators to extend, retract, or remain at a current position/length).

At block 908, the device may cause actuation of the electric actuators to move the bucket and keep the bucket level. Causing the actuation may include sending the generated actuation commands to the motor driver 804 and/or the motor driver 806 to cause the actuators to move or not. In the scenario where the electric actuator 120 is extended further than the electric actuator 122, when the actuators are commanded to lift the bucket 104, the motor driver 806 may stop actuating the electric actuator 120 until the electric actuator 122 extends to the same length, evening the bucket 104, and then both the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 may extend together to continue raising the bucket 104. When the actuators are commanded to lower the bucket 104 and the electric actuator 120 is extended further than the electric actuator 122, the motor driver 806 may stop actuating the electric actuator 122 until the electric actuator 120 contracts to the same length as the electric actuator 122, and then the electric actuator 120 and the electric actuator 122 may continue contracting together to lower the bucket 104. Causing actuation of the electric actuators may include dynamically adjusting power provided to any individual electric actuator to ensure that the electric actuators move in synchronization (e.g., synchronized actuation) with one another. This will help ensure the system behaves as the intended as well as provide increased performance by enabling the use of multiple independent linear actuators without the adverse side effects normally associated with such a system (e.g., torqueing or twisting the loader in undesired ways when the actuators get out of synchronization).

In one or more embodiments, dynamic adjusting of the motion of one of the electric actuators based on the sensor data (e.g., indicating position feedback of the actuators and/or lift arms) may facilitate applications where the electric actuators are to move in complimentary fashion, such as to automatically level the bucket during a bucket lifting/lowering process. The device may adjust the motion of one electric actuator based on the motion of another electric actuator, and optionally the user input signals, to achieve the desired leveling performance. In this manner, the functionality and ease of use of the bucket may be improved without added cost or weight of mechanical linkages that may otherwise be used to achieve the leveling functionality.

In one or more embodiments, the device may limit the motion of the electric actuators based on the sensor data (e.g., indicating position feedback of the actuators and/or lift arms) to improve reliability of the tractor lift system. The device may limit the motion of the electric actuators to prevent interference that may occur from having moving parts. The device may limit the motion of the electric actuators to limit, electronically instead of mechanically (e.g., using slipper clutches), the travel of the electric actuators, prolonging the lifespan of the electric actuators and relieving adverse side effects such as decreased performance from repeated engagement (e.g., of the slipper clutches).

The examples herein are not meant to be limiting.

Various embodiments may be implemented fully or partially in software and/or firmware. This software and/or firmware may take the form of instructions contained in or on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Those instructions may then be read and executed by one or more processors to enable the performance of the operations described herein. The instructions may be in any suitable form, such as, but not limited to, source code, compiled code, interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and the like. Such a computer-readable medium may include any tangible non-transitory medium for storing information in a form readable by one or more computers, such as but not limited to read-only memory (ROM); random access memory (RAM); magnetic disk storage media; optical storage media; a flash memory, etc.

A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form (e.g., software, processing application) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Such media may take the form of, but is not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media and may include removable data storage media, non-removable data storage media, and/or external storage devices made available via a wired or wireless network architecture with such computer program products, including one or more database management products, web server products, application server products, and/or other additional software components. Examples of removable data storage media include Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Disc Read-Only Memory (DVD-ROM), magneto-optical disks, flash drives, and the like. Examples of non-removable data storage media include internal magnetic hard disks, solid state devices (SSDs), and the like. The one or more memory devices (not shown) may include volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), etc.) and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.).

Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps, which are described in this specification. The steps may be performed by hardware components or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, which may be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processor programmed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively, the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplary embodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer to particular features, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments having different combinations of features and embodiments that do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations together with all equivalents thereof.

The operations and processes described and shown above may be carried out or performed in any suitable order as desired in various implementations. Additionally, in certain implementations, at least a portion of the operations may be carried out in parallel. Furthermore, in certain implementations, less than or more than the operations described may be performed.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

As used herein, unless otherwise specified, the use of the ordinal adjectives “first,” “second,” “third,” etc., to describe a common object, merely indicates that different instances of like objects are being referred to and are not intended to imply that the objects so described must be in a given sequence, either temporally, spatially, in ranking, or any other manner.

It is understood that the above descriptions are for purposes of illustration and are not meant to be limiting.

Although specific embodiments of the disclosure have been described, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that numerous other modifications and alternative embodiments are within the scope of the disclosure. For example, any of the functionality and/or processing capabilities described with respect to a particular device or component may be performed by any other device or component. Further, while various illustrative implementations and architectures have been described in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that numerous other modifications to the illustrative implementations and architectures described herein are also within the scope of this disclosure.

Although embodiments have been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specific features and acts are disclosed as illustrative forms of implementing the embodiments. Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments could include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements, and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements, and/or steps are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input or prompting, whether these features, elements, and/or steps are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.