DRYDOCKING SYSTEMS WITH SENSOR ARRAY AND RELATED METHODS

Description

BACKGROUND

Technical Field

This disclosure relates generally to drydocking systems and methods. Embodiments of this disclosure related to systems and methods for making measurements of a vessel using a sensor array.

Description of Related Technology

Drydocking is the process of utilizing a dry dock in order to place a vessel from the water onto dry land. A dry dock is a basin or structure (fixed or mobile) that can be flooded with water or submerged into the water where a vessel can be maneuvered into the dry dock. The water in the dry dock is then drained or the dry dock is raised out of the water to allow for dry access to underside of the vessel. Drydocking can be used in the construction, maintenance, and repair of ships, boats, and other vessels.

There is a desire for improved systems and methods that provide for accurately and safely drydocking a vessel.

SUMMARY OF CERTAIN INVENTIVE ASPECTS

The innovations described in the claims each have several aspects, no single one of which is solely responsible for its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of the claims, some prominent features of this disclosure will now be briefly described.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system with transverse alignment detection, the drydocking system including: a plurality of dry dock blocks including one or more keel blocks and one or more side blocks; a first sensor array integrated with the one or more keel blocks, the first sensor array including a first plurality of sensors; a second sensor array integrated with the one or more side blocks, the second sensor array including a second plurality of sensors; and a processing circuit in communication with the first sensor array and the second sensor array, the processing circuit configured to: detect contact between a vessel and at least one block of the plurality of dry dock blocks; and determine transverse alignment of the vessel with the drydocking system based at least partly on one or more signals from at least one of the first sensor array or the second sensor array.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the first sensor array is configured to detect the vessel crushing on at least one of the one or more keel blocks, and the processing circuit is configured to generate data associated with the vessel crushing on the one or more keel blocks.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, further including a user interface configured to present an indication of the transverse alignment together with a representation of the drydocking system.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the first sensor array is configured to provide outputs having values indicative of the vessel approaching, the vessel touching down, and the vessel crushing the one or more keel blocks.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the first plurality of sensors includes contact sensors.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the first plurality of sensors include linear sensors.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the first plurality of sensors includes lever arm sensors.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the first plurality of sensors include contactless sensors.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the first plurality of sensors are integrated with a single keel block.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the first plurality of sensors are integrated with two or more keel blocks.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system with transverse alignment detection, the drydocking system including: one or more surfaces; a sensor array integrated with the one or more surfaces, the sensor array including a plurality of sensors; and a processing circuit in communication with the sensor array, the processing circuit configured to determine transverse alignment of a vessel with the drydocking system based at least partly on one or more signals from the plurality of sensors.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the plurality of sensors includes linear sensors.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the plurality of sensors includes a first sensor, the first sensor including a first sensing element, a spring, and a probe.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the one or more surfaces include a surface of a dry dock block of the drydocking system.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, wherein the one or more surfaces include at least one of a surface of a dry dock deck or a surface of a dry dock wall.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a drydocking system, further including a contactless sensor configured to detect the vessel, wherein the contactless sensor is in communication with the processing circuit, and wherein the plurality of sensors include contact sensors.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method of transverse alignment detection during drydocking, the method including: sensing, with a sensor array integrated with one or more surfaces of a drydocking system, a vessel contacting the drydocking system during drydocking; determining transverse alignment of the vessel with the drydocking system based on said sensing; and providing transverse alignment information based on said determining.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the sensor array is integrated with one or more dry dock blocks.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, further including generating data indicative of crushing the one or more dry dock blocks based on said sensing.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, wherein the sensor array is configured to provide outputs having values indicative of the vessel approaching, the vessel touching down, and the vessel crushing the one or more dry dock blocks.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, further including presenting a representation of the drydocking system on a display with the transverse alignment information from said providing.

In some aspects, the techniques described herein relate to a method, further including wirelessly communicating with the sensor array.

For purposes of summarizing the disclosure, certain aspects, advantages and novel features of the innovations have been described herein. It is to be understood that not necessarily all such advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment. Thus, the innovations may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of this disclosure will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a vessel first contacting a sensor array of a drydocking system according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams of front and side views of the vessel fully compressing the sensor array of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of the sensor array of FIG. 1 detecting transverse misalignment of a vessel according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a diagram of a drydocking system that includes a combination of contact and contactless sensors detecting a vessel according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4B is a diagram of the drydocking system of FIG. 4A that includes contact sensors that are fully compressed by the vessel according to an embodiment.

FIG. 5A is a diagram of a drydocking block with an integrated sensor array.

FIG. 5B illustrates the sensor array detecting an approaching vessel. FIG. 5C illustrates the sensor array detecting the vessel touching down. FIG. 5D illustrates the sensor array detecting the crush of soft cap as the vessel loads onto the dry dock blocks.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams of drydocking blocks containing various layouts of a sensor array of linear sensors according to embodiments.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams of drydocking blocks containing various layouts of a sensor array of lever arm sensors according to embodiments.

FIGS. 8A-8D are diagrams of various sensor arrays integrated with a block of a drydocking system according to embodiments.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example layout of a dry dock according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example layout of a dry dock according to another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram showing an example method of a vessel contacting a sensor array of contact sensors according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram showing an example method of a vessel contacting a sensor array of contactless sensors according to an embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing an example method of a sensor array of contact or contactless sensors measuring the crush of the vessel according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are example data flow diagrams of sensor arrays in drydocking systems according to embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating components of an example computing device that can be used to implement the various components and methods described herein according to embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS

The following description of certain embodiments presents various descriptions of specific embodiments. However, the innovations described herein can be embodied in a multitude of different ways, for example, as defined and covered by the claims. In this description, reference is made to the drawings where like reference numerals can indicate identical or functionally similar elements. It will be understood that elements illustrated in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. Moreover, it will be understood that certain embodiments can include more elements than illustrated in a drawing and/or a subset of the elements illustrated in a drawing. Further, some embodiments can incorporate any suitable combination of features from two or more drawings. Any suitable principles and advantages of the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented together with each other. The headings provided herein are for convenience only and are not intended to affect the meaning or scope of the claims.

Drydocking is a process for maintaining and/or servicing vessels. Various problems may exist or arise when drydocking the vessel. For example, when the vessel contacts and rests upon the dry dock blocks, divers may submerge into potentially dangerous water conditions to manually check the alignment of the vessel in certain drydocking systems. Such a system can put divers at risk of physical injury by being near the vessel due to low visibility, hazardous materials, tight spaces, and possibility of known/unknown active suctions from the vessel. Additionally, such a system can involve divers verifying which blocks the vessel has contacted on the dry dock. Typically, divers do not monitor the vessel's landing until after the vessel (e.g., a ship) has already landed on the blocks. Another method of aligning the vessel transversely involves visual alignment systems utilized by dock personnel from above the waterline.

Other solutions relate to a sensor on a block of the dry dock. Such a sensor can allow users to know when the vessel contacts the dry dock blocks. However, this sensor may not be able to determine further indications such as the vessel alignment, clearance, etc.

Drydocking systems disclosed herein can include a block contact indicator system to detect a vessel's hull alignment to the vessel supports during a drydocking or undocking. The vessel supports can be referred to as blocks. Drydocking systems of this disclosure can detect when the vessel comes into contact with one or more of the blocks and also measure one or more of vertical clearance, transverse clearance, longitudinal alignment, transverse alignment, and softwood crush.

Blocks can be set, then the block contact indicator system can be initialized and calibrated. The dock can be flooded and the vessel can be hauled in. The vessel's position can be accurately monitored throughout the evolution starting as early as when the vessel is first entering the dry dock. As the vessel approaches the point of landing, the sensor readout can show decreasing vertical clearance and can provide feedback on the transverse positioning. The sensors can be used to determine when contact has been made and can provide information on centering and loading as the vessel starts to touch down. The system can detect crush during and after the vessel has landed.

Aspects of this disclosure relate to an array of sensors used in drydocking. An array of sensors can be integrated with one or more surfaces of a drydocking system, such as but not limited to one or more drydocking blocks and/or one or more of the walls, deck, and breasting poles of the dry dock. The array of sensors can be used to detect transverse alignment of the vessel to the drydocking system (e.g., to the drydocking block). The array of sensors can also be used in place of divers to measure one or more of the vessel's vertical clearance, transverse clearance, longitudinal alignment, or softwood crush relative to the drydocking blocks. By utilizing a sensor array, accurate and timely readouts of which dry dock blocks the vessel contacts can be generated compared to a single sensor. Transverse alignment data can also be generated. In addition, the drydocking system can monitor the vessel's landing as soon as the vessel approaches and/or begins to contact the dry dock blocks.

The array of sensors can detect the vessel's position as the vessel comes within range (e.g., for an array of contactless sensors) and/or begins making physical contact with the array of sensors (e.g., for an array of contact sensors). The array of sensors can provide an accurate measurement of the vessel's positioning while the vessel touches down and begins producing crush onto the soft wood of the dry dock blocks. The array of sensors can be contact sensors, such as but not limited to linear sensors, rotary sensors, and/or lever arm sensors. In some embodiments, the array of sensors can be contactless sensors, such as but not limited to sonar and/or lasers. Contactless sensors can be referred to as touchless sensors.

Sensors can be included on one or more blocks of a drydocking system. In some instances, sensors can be included on every block of the drydocking system. A single sensor or multiple sensors can be positioned on some or all keel blocks and side blocks of the drydocking system. Multiple sensors can be arranged in an array to measure transverse alignment. For example, one keel block can include two or more sensors to port to measure port transverse alignment, and the next keel block can include two or more sensors to starboard to measure starboard transverse alignment. The sensors can be positioned in strategic locations to measure one or more of transverse alignment, longitudinal alignment, vertical clearance, or side clearance. For example, if a sensor on the port side of the dry dock is not being depressed, this can indicate that the vessel is out of alignment to starboard side. Sensors can also be positioned on one or more other areas within the dry dock, including the dock floor, the dock wall (e.g., a wing wall), or on other items such as a breasting pole. A sensor array can be split and placed on multiple blocks to the same effect. The sensors can be arranged in any suitable 1-dimensional, 2-dimensional, or 3-dimensional array.

Any suitable sensors can be used for detecting contact and/or transverse alignment. Example sensors include contact sensors and contactless sensors. Contact sensors, such as linear sensors, can detect a vessel from physical contact with the vessel. Contactless sensors, such as laser devices or sonar sensors, can detect a vessel without making physical contact with the vessel. Various sensor types can be used in combination to achieve different goals. For example, linear sensors can be integrated with the blocks to gather fine-tuned data once the hull is close to the blocks and a sonar device on the dry dock deck can be used to gather rougher distance measurements while the blocks are further away from the hull of the vessel.

A linear sensor is a linear transmitter that may be mounted on one or more drydocking blocks in the dry dock. The linear sensor may be waterproof to at least a maximum depth of one hundred feet, for example. As the vessel's keel approaches the drydocking blocks, a probe located on the top of the linear sensor can begin to depress once the probe contacts the vessel's keel. As the vessel continues to lower and cause the linear sensor to compress more, data indicative of the contact (e.g., in either voltage and/or resistance) can be sent from the linear sensor to a processing circuit (e.g., a microcontroller). The microcontroller can convert a voltage and/or resistance reading from the linear sensor into a distance and/or percentage. The distance and/or percentage reading can then be sent to a computing device causing display of or otherwise presenting the measurement values on a user interface. Similar physical measurement tools to a linear sensor can include a rotary sensor, a lever arm, and/or any other physical measurement tool. The other contact sensors (e.g., rotary sensor and/or lever arm sensor) may work the same as or similar to the linear sensor.

A sonar sensor may be a device similar to a depth finder. The sonar sensor may be oriented to face the water's surface to detect the vessel's descent. The sonar sensor may be placed on the drydocking blocks. The sonar sensor may alternatively be placed on the dock walls, the dry dock floor, or other obstructions within the confines of the dry dock to measure clearances. The sonar sensor is a contactless sensor that can allows the sonar sensor to measure much further distances compared to the linear sensor or other similar physical measurement tools. The sonar sensor can detect further distances because the sonar sensor can emit sound waves and measure the time for the sound waves to return to the sonar sensor after “contacting” the vessel. In contrast, a linear sensor is a contact sensor that detects when the vessel contacts the linear sensor. Similarly to a linear sensor, the sonar sensor may then send a measurement to a microcontroller.

A laser device can be used to measure longer distances than a physical measurement tool such as a linear sensor. A laser device can transmit a laser beam that can be pointed towards the approaching vessel. The laser device can then interpret a measurement of the distance based on the time it takes for the reflected light to return or by measuring phase shifts. A laser device can be positioned on one or more of the dock walls, the dry dock floor, dry dock blocks, or one or more other locations within the confines of the dry dock. Additionally, or alternatively, the laser device can also be placed on the drydocking blocks similarly to a linear sensor or other physical measurement tool.

Several factors, such as water turbidity, ambient light, and the condition of the vessel's surface can inhibit either a laser or a sonar. Accordingly, different situations may result in a different measurement tool (linear sensor, sonar, or laser) being advantageous. A combination of various types of sensors and probes can be used to overcome potential inhibitors. For example, a sonar device can be placed on the dock floor and dock walls to measure as the vessel approaches the drydocking blocks, while linear sensors are also placed on the drydocking blocks to allow for a more precise measurement once the vessel begins to make contact. Further details are provided below with respect to FIGS. 1-15. Any suitable principles and advantages disclosed with reference to these figures can be implemented together with each other.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a drydocking system 100 in which a vessel 102 is in contact with a sensor array of linear sensors 106 according to an embodiment. In FIG. 1, the sensor array of linear sensors 106 is detecting the vessel 102 approaching the drydocking system 100. The sensor array of linear sensors 106 are positioned on a drydocking block 104. The sensor array of linear sensors 106 can be integrated with the drydocking block in any other suitable way. The drydocking block 104 is positioned on a dock floor 108 in the drydocking system 100.

The vessel 102 may be any suitable ship or vessel. A vessel 102 may include a naval vessel (e.g., a warship or submarine), a cruise ship (e.g., an ocean liner), a waterborne structure (e.g., an oil rig), a fishing vessel, a merchant ship (e.g., a merchant marine vessel), a barge, or any other sort of ship that can be dry docked. The vessel 102 has a hull, which is the underside of a ship usually submerged when the vessel 102 is in water, and a keel, which is a main structural member that runs along the bottom of the vessel 102. In situations where a vessel 102 has a hull and a keel, the vessel 102 rests on drydocking blocks 104 of the drydocking system 100 when the water is drained.

The drydocking block 104 is a solid block that can be placed strategically within a dry dock that a vessel 102 may rest on when the dry dock is drained. The drydocking block 104 allows for the underwater hull of the vessel 102 to be repaired, inspected, and/or any have other form of maintenance to be completed. The drydocking block 104 may be constructed out of concrete, steel, or any other suitable material. The drydocking block 104 may include a soft cap 109 made of a softwood (e.g., Yellow Pine, Douglas Fir) or any other suitable soft wood alternative (e.g., rubber) used to crush and conform to any unexpected deformities from the vessel 102, dry dock floor 108, or in the dry dock blocks 104.

The sensor array of linear sensors 106 may be a set of linear transmitters or detectors that are integrated with the dry dock block 104. For example, in the drydocking system 100, the linear sensors 106 are mounted on the dry dock block 104. The sensor array of linear sensors 106 can be waterproof to any suitable depth, such as at least a maximum depth of 100 feet. This can allow for the dry dock to be filled with water during the docking and/or undocking of a vessel 102. The sensor array of linear sensors 106 may be positioned adjacently on a single drydocking block 104, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 1. In some other applications, a sensor array of linear sensors 106 may be placed strategically on two or more drydocking blocks 104.

The sensor array of linear sensors 106 can be calibrated prior to being used to detect contact with the vessel 102. The sensor array of linear sensors 106 can be calibrated when the linear sensors 106 are fully extended and depressed to the top of the block, establishing a baseline for a processing circuit.

In the absence of contact, the sensor array of linear sensors 106 can provide a low signal as an off scale zero indication. Once the vessel 102 contacts the sensor array of linear sensors 106, the sensor array of linear sensors 106 can begin transmitting a measurement reading to a computing device via a microcontroller and/or sub-microcontrollers. More details regarding a computing device, microcontroller, and sub-microcontrollers will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B. The sensor array of linear sensors 106 may output measurements of voltage and/or resistance, for example.

The dock floor 108 is the bottom portion of a dry dock. The dock floor 108 may be constructed out of concrete, steel, or one or more other similarly sturdy materials. Once drained, the dock floor 108 can be accessible for dock personnel and/or other maintenance workers to make repairs, inspect, and/or complete any other form of maintenance to the vessel 102. When the dry dock is flooded, the dock floor 108 can be completely submerged, allowing the vessel 102 to enter the dry dock. When the water is drained, the vessel 102 can rest upon the drydocking block 104 and other drydocking blocks secured to the dock floor 108.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams of front and side views, respectively, of the vessel 102 of FIG. 1 fully compressing the sensor array of linear sensors 106 on the dry dock block 104 according to embodiment. The linear sensors 106 are fully compressed in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The vessel 102 is fully resting on the drydocking block 104 and beginning to exhibit a crunch onto the soft cap 109 of the drydocking block 104. FIG. 2A is similar to FIG. 1, except that in FIG. 2A the vessel 102 is fully resting on the drydocking block 104 and the linear sensors 106 are fully depressed. The linear sensors 106 can provide voltage and/or resistance reading indicative of the vessel fully resting on the drydocking block 104.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a drydocking system 300 in which the sensor array of FIG. 1 is detecting transverse misalignment of a vessel 102 according to an embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 3, a drydocking system 300 can include a dry dock block 104 with an integrated sensor array (e.g., of linear sensors 106), a dock floor 108, and dock walls 302. The vessel 102 is not typically considered part of a drydocking system. A transverse misalignment of a vessel 102 can occur when the center of the vessel 102 is not aligned with a middle of the drydocking block 104. A transverse misalignment of the vessel 102 may result in the vessel 102 coming into contact with the dock wall 302 of the dry dock, the dock floor 108 of the dry dock, and/or a state of overall instability that may result in damage to the vessel 102 or adverse conditions for the dock personnel and other maintenance workers around the vessel 102.

The dock walls 302 of a dry dock are the vertical sides of the dry dock. The dock walls 302 may be utilized to stabilize the vessel 102 when the water is fully drained. Similar to the dock floor 108, the dock walls 302 may be constructed out of concrete, steel, or one or more other similarly sturdy materials.

FIG. 4A is a diagram of drydocking system 400 that includes contactless sensors 405 detecting a vessel 102 according to an embodiment. A dry-docking system may utilize a combination of different sensors to measure the position of the vessel 102 in different scenarios. The drydocking system 400 is like the drydocking system 300 of FIG. 3, except that the drydocking system 400 (1) additionally includes contactless sensors 402 and (2) includes an array of a different type of sensors. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the vessel 102 is approaching a drydocking block 104. Lever arm sensors 702 (e.g., as will be described with reference to FIGS. 7A and/or 7B below) are integrated with the dry dock block 104 in the drydocking system 400. The dry dock also includes contactless sensors 402. The contactless sensors 402 can be utilized to measure the distance of the vessel 102 from the dry dock as the vessel 102 approaches the drydocking block 104. The lever arm sensors 702 can then be used for more precise measurements once the blocks are close to the vessel 102.

The contactless sensors 402 may be placed strategically along or otherwise integrated with the dock floor 108 and dock walls 302 of the dry dock. The contactless sensors 402 can detect the vessel 102 without physically contacting the vessel 102. A buffer distance may be incorporated into the measurement of the contactless sensors 402 located on the dock floor 108 to account for the distance between the floor of the dock floor 108 and the top of the drydocking block 104 where the vessel 102 rests once the vessel 102 is drydocked.

The contactless sensors 402 located on the dock floor 108 may be used to measure the one or more of transversal alignment, vertical clearance, transverse clearance, longitudinal alignment, softwood crush relative to the drydocking blocks, distance to the drydocking block 104, or any other similar measurement associated with the vessel 102. Contactless sensors 402 located on the dock floor 108 can be calibrated by subtracting or otherwise accounting for the block height from the distance measurement.

The contactless sensors 402 located on the dock walls 302 of the dry dock may be used to measure one or more of the ships transverse clearance, longitudinal alignment, or any other similar measurement associated with the vessel 102. The contactless sensors 402 located on the dock walls 302 may be calibrated by ensuring that they are properly functioning. When measuring transversal alignment, a measured distance of 0 can indicate proper alignment in certain instances, while any other value, positive or negative, can indicate that the vessel is transversely misaligned in such instances.

FIG. 4B is a diagram of the drydocking system 400 of FIG. 4A in which the vessel 102 is resting on the drydocking block 104. In FIG. 4B, the contact sensors (e.g., lever arm sensors 702) are fully compressed. In this example, the lever arm sensors 702 being fully compressed indicates that the vessel 102 is fully resting on the drydocking block 104 and is properly aligned. The contactless sensors 402 located on the dock floor 108 and dock walls 302 can also provide similar readouts to a processing circuit. The contactless sensors 402 can provide a redundant measurement. This can verify dock personnel that it is now safe to drain the dry dock and begin maintenance.

Drydocking systems disclosed herein include sensor arrays that can detect transverse alignment of a vessel. Such sensor arrays can otherwise improve reliability of contact detection by verifying contact on multiple points of a drydocking system and/or using multiple sensors. A sensor array can be included on one or more keel blocks of a drydocking system. Alternatively or additionally, a sensor array can be included on one or more side blocks of a drydocking system. Any suitable number of sensors can be included in a sensor array.

Sensor arrays disclosed herein can generate data indicative of a variety of different vessel positions. For example, a sensor array can detect and quantify a ship or other vessel approaching. An example of this is shown in FIG. 5B. As another example, a sensor array can detect and quantify a ship or other vessel touching down on a drydocking block. An example of this is shown in FIG. 5C. As one more example, a sensor array can detect and quantify a ship or other vessel crushing on a drydocking block. An example of this is shown in FIG. 5D. A load on a block can be determined based on contact on the block. A display can present a representation of drydocking blocks and their status. The display can present a 2-dimensional representation, for example, as shown in FIG. 9 in certain applications. The display can present a 3-dimensional representation, for example, as shown in FIG. 10 in some applications.

FIG. 5A is a diagram of a drydocking block 104 with an integrated sensor array 107. The illustrated sensor array 107 includes contact sensors. FIG. 5B illustrates the sensor array 107 detecting an approaching vessel 102. In FIG. 5B, the sensor array 107 is detecting the vessel 102 approaching but not yet in contact with an upper surface of the drydocking block 104. FIG. 5C illustrates the sensor array 107 detecting the vessel touching down. In FIG. 5C, sensors of the sensor array 107 are further depressed compared to in FIG. 5B to a point where the sensors indicate that the vessel 102 is in contact with the upper surface of the drydocking block 104. FIG. 5D illustrates the sensor array detecting the crush of the vessel 102 on the drydocking block 104. As shown in FIG. 5D, the probes of sensors of the sensor array 107 are below the upper surface of the drydocking block 104. In this position, these sensors can generate one or more output signals indicating the vessel 102 crushing the drydocking block 104.

The sensor array 107 can provide transverse alignment information based on which sensors are detecting contact with the vessel 102. In the example of FIGS. 5B to 5D, the vessel 102 is transversely aligned and the middle sensors of the sensor array 107 are detecting contact with the vessel 102. When the vessel 102 is misaligned, one or more sensors of the sensor array 107 more toward one side of the drydocking block 104 can detect contact with the vessel 102. The sensor array 107 can provide transverse alignment information indicating misalignment in such a case.

FIG. 6A is a diagram of a drydocking block 104 containing a sensor array of linear sensors 106. In this example, three linear sensors 106 are secured to the drydocking block 104. Any suitable combination of one or more linear sensors 106 may be secured to any one or more drydocking block 104. The three linear sensors 106 may be secured to the drydocking block 104 in such a way as to extend a distance above the soft cap 109.

Each linear sensor 106 can include a sensor probe 602, a spring 604, a sensing element 606, and a mounting bracket 608. A sensing assembly can include the sensor probe 602, the spring 604, and the sensing element 606. A sensor probe 602 may be a soft cap attached to a sensing element 606 via a spring 604. A sensor probe 602 can be made of any suitable material. The sensor probe 602 can be a high density polyethylene (HDPE) probe, for example. Alternatively, the sensor probe 602 can be any other form of suitable material (e.g., a softwood probe, a foam fender-type floating probe, a rubber fender-type floating probe, etc.). With certain types of probes, a sensing assembly for a linear sensor can be implemented without a spring. The sensor probe 602 may be positioned above the soft cap 109 of the drydocking block 104. Once the vessel 102 makes contact with the sensor probe 602, the linear sensor 106 will no longer provide an output indicative of no contact with the vessel 102 (e.g. return a low off scale zero signal) and can begin transmitting an output indicative of contact with the vessel 102 (e.g., output resistance/voltage measurements caused by the vessel 102 compressing the sensor probe 602). The sensor probe 602 can be able to compress to a distance below the soft cap 109 of the drydocking block 104 to allow the linear sensor 106 to measure the crush.

In the illustrated sensor probe 602, the spring 604 can connect to the sensor probe 602 and the sensing element 606. The spring 604 can allow the sensor probe 602 to be compressed by force associated with contact from the vessel 102. The spring 604 is capable of being compressed to a distance below the soft cap 109 of the drydocking block 104, allowing the linear sensor 106 to measure the crush.

The sensing element 606 can measure the pressure of the vessel 102 imparted onto the sensor probe 602. The sensing element 606 may measure the pressure in voltage and/or resistance, for example. The sensing element 606 may be connected to and send the measurement readings to any suitable processing circuit, such as a microcontroller and/or sub microcontroller via cables and/or a wireless connection.

The mounting bracket 608 can integrate the linear sensor 106 with the drydocking block 104. For example, the mounting brackets 308 can secure and connect the linear sensors 106 to the drydocking block 104. The mounting bracket 608 may be a wooden structure around the linear sensor 106 and secured to the drydocking block 104. Alternatively, the mounting bracket 608 may be a metal mounting that encompasses the linear sensor 106 and is secured to the drydocking block 104, for example, via screws.

The soft cap 109 can be a section of soft wood (e.g., Yellow Pine, Douglas Fir) or any other suitable soft wood alternative (e.g., rubber) placed on top of the drydocking block 104. The soft cap 109 can be compressed by the vessel 102 as the vessel 102 descends. The soft cap 109 can allow for compression to measure crush. Crush is the amount the vessel 102 “crushes” the softwood. By measuring the crush, a dock personnel can determine how much wear and/or damage was done to the drydocking block 104 and/or the dry dock. Knowing the damage to the drydocking block 104 allows the dock personnel to know when a drydocking block 104 may become too damaged to safely continue using on the dry dock.

Additionally or alternatively, the sensor array of linear sensors 106 may be positioned as shown in FIG. 6B. FIG. 6B is a diagram of a sensor array of linear sensors 106 positioned among a plurality of drydocking blocks 104. In this example, the sensor array of linear sensors 106 is positioned such that two linear sensors 106 are integrated with the first drydocking block 104, and two other linear sensors 106 are integrated with the second drydocking block 104. The first drydocking block 104 and the second drydocking block 104 can be implemented in accordance with any suitable principles and advantages described herein. The positioning of the sensor array of linear sensors 106 in FIG. 6B can provide similar to or better measurements as compared to the placement of the sensor array of linear sensors 106 in FIG. 6A. In some embodiments, the sensor array of linear sensors 106 may be positioned along two or more adjacent drydocking blocks 104, for example, as shown in FIG. 6B.

The placement of the sensor array of linear sensors 106 is not limited to the placements shown in FIG. 6A or 6B. For example, the linear sensors 106 included in the sensor array of linear sensors 106 may be so separated as to have only one linear sensor 106 placed on one drydocking block 104 for each of the linear sensors 106 included in the sensor array of linear sensors 106. As another example, the linear sensors 106 included in the sensor array of linear sensors 106 may be so separated as to have one linear sensor 106 placed on the first drydocking block 104, two linear sensors 106 placed on the second drydocking block 104, and have the remaining linear sensors 106 placed on a third drydocking block 104. The sensor array of linear sensors 106 may be arrange in any suitable way as to allow any one or more linear sensors 106 to be placed on any one or more drydocking blocks 104. Moreover, a sensor array can be implemented from any other sensors or any other combination of sensors in accordance with any suitable principles and advantages of a sensor array discussed with reference to linear sensors.

FIG. 7A is a diagram of lever arm sensors 702 integrated with a drydocking block 104 according to an embodiment. The lever arm sensor 702 can function similar to the linear sensors 106. In FIGS. 7A and 7B, the lever arm sensor 702 has an elongated sensor probe 704, an angled spring 706, and an angled sensor 708.

The elongated sensor probe 704 functions similarly to the sensor probe 602, except the elongated sensor probe 704 is connected to the angled spring 706 at or near the center of the elongated sensor probe 704 and the elongated sensor probe 704 is longer than the sensor probe 602. Also, one end of the elongated sensor probe 704 is connected to the drydocking block 104 at a pivot point, resulting in the elongated sensor probe 704 measuring the vessel 102 at an angle. When the vessel 102 compresses the elongated sensor probe 704, the elongated sensor probe 704 can rotate around the pivot point connected to the drydocking block 104. The elongated sensor probe 704 can compress below the soft cap 109 of the drydocking block 104 in order to allow the lever arm sensor 702 to measure crush.

The sensor array with a lever arm design of linear sensors 702 shown in FIG. 7A includes one lever arm sensor 702 on each side of the drydocking block 104. This allows each lever arm sensor 702 to measure an amount of compression on each of the lever arm sensors 702 individually. This sensor array of lever arm sensors 702 allows for similar measurements as provided by the sensor array of linear sensors 106.

Additionally or alternatively, the sensor array of lever arm sensors 702 may be positioned as shown in FIG. 7B. FIG. 7B is a diagram of a sensor array of lever arm sensors 702 integrated with adjacent drydocking blocks 104. By utilizing this placement of lever arm sensors 702, a drydocking system can obtain similar measurements as the placement of lever arm sensors 702 shown in FIG. 7A. For example, separating the individual alternately designed linear sensors 702 onto adjacent drydocking blocks 104 can allow for the system to obtain a wider measurement of the compression of the vessel 102 onto that area of the dry dock. FIG. 7B shows the first and second drydocking blocks 104 containing lever arm sensors 702 as adjacent. However, the placement of the lever arm sensors 702 is not limited to that shown in FIG. 7B. For example, a lever arm sensor 702 may be placed on a first drydocking block 104, a second lever arm sensor 702 may be placed on a second drydocking block 104, and a third lever arm sensor 702 may be placed on a third drydocking block 104.

Additionally or alternatively, a lever arm sensor 702 may integrated with a first drydocking block 104, no lever arm sensor 702 may be placed on a second drydocking block 104 that is adjacent to the first drydocking block 104, and a second lever arm sensor 702 may be placed on a third drydocking block 104. One or more lever arm sensors 702 can be integrated with two or more drydocking blocks 104 in accordance with any suitable principles and advantages discussed with reference to FIG. 7B.

Contactless sensors may be placed on or otherwise integrated with the dock floor 108 and/or dock walls 302. Alternatively or additionally, contactless sensors may be placed on or otherwise integrated with the drydocking block 104, for example, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate example contactless sensors. FIG. 8A shows an array of laser sensors 802 that can be integrated with the drydocking block 104 similar to a contact sensor (e.g., linear sensors 106). Unlike the linear sensors 106, the laser sensors 802 need not come into contact with the vessel 102. Accordingly, the laser sensors 802 can be positioned below an upper surface of the drydocking block 104 to ensure that the vessel 102 does not come in contact with laser sensors 802. The laser sensors 802 can emit laser light and detect reflected laser light to sense a vessel 102 or another object.

Alternatively or additionally, the laser sensors 802 may be integrated with the dock floor 108 and/or dock walls 302. For example, the laser sensors 802 can implement the contactless sensors 402 of the drydocking system 400 of FIGS. 4A and 4B. Positioning the array of laser sensors 802 directly onto the drydocking blocks 104 may provide the same or similarly accurate measurements to positioning the array of laser sensors 802 onto the dock floor 108 and/or dock walls 302. FIG. 8A shows an array of five laser sensors 802. An array of laser sensors 802 can include any suitable number of two or more laser sensors 802 integrated with the drydocking block 104.

Additionally or alternatively, similarly to the contact sensors shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the array of laser sensors 802 may be positioned on or otherwise integrated with two or more drydocking blocks 104. This can provide a wider range of measurements in certain applications.

FIG. 8B shows an array of sonar sensors 812 integrated with the drydocking block 104 according to an embodiment. The array of sonar sensors 812 may function similarly to the array of laser sensors 802 as described above, expect that the sonar sensors 812 can send and detect sound instead of laser light. The array of sonar sensors 812 may alternatively or additionally be integrated with the dock floor 108 and/or dock walls 302. For example, the sonar sensors 802 can implement the contactless sensors 402 of FIGS. 4A and 4B.

Additionally or alternatively, any other suitable form of contactless sensor (e.g., radar, LiDAR, etc.) may be used in a similar manner as the array of laser sensors 802 and/or array of sonar sensors 812 of FIGS. 8A and 8B, respectively, and/or the contactless sensors 402 of FIGS. 4A and 4B.

Other forms of contact sensors may be used in place of the linear sensors 106. FIGS. 8C and 8D illustrate two other example contact sensors integrated with a drydocking block 104. For example, in FIG. 8C the lever arm sensor 702 as described in FIGS. 7A and 7B is shown in an array of lever arm sensors 822 integrated with the drydocking block 104. The array of lever arm sensors 822 may be positioned in such a way as only the pivot point directly connects to the drydocking block 104, and the elongated sensor probe 704 extends outwards from the drydocking block 104. The array of lever arm sensors 822 may offer more precise measurement readings than the lever arm sensor 702 as there are more lever arm sensors 822 utilized. The array of lever arm sensors 822 may be positioned on one drydocking block 104 or alternatively may be positioned on multiple drydocking block 104 similar to other contact sensors such as those described in FIGS. 6A-B.

As another example, FIG. 8D illustrates an example rotary sensor 832 contact sensor. The rotary sensor 832 may work similar to the previously described contact sensors (e.g., linear sensors 106). The rotary sensor 832 attaches to the drydocking block 104 via its fulcrum and measures the compression of the vessel 102 via an elongated sensor probe. The rotary sensor 832 may allow for compression below the soft cap 109 to measure the crush.

The sensor array of rotary sensors 832 may be positioned on one drydocking block 104 as shown in FIG. 8D. The rotary sensor 832 may also be positioned on two or more drydocking blocks 104, for example, similar to the lever arm sensor 702 described above in FIG. 7B.

FIG. 9 shows an example 2-dimensional (2-D) layout of a dry dock 900 according to an embodiment. The example dry dock 900 may include a plurality of drydocking blocks 904 with integrated sensors. Each of the drydocking blocks 904 can include an array of sensors. The array of sensors may include contact sensors. The array of sensors may include contactless sensors. The array of sensors can include one or more contact sensors and/or one or more contactless sensors. The plurality of drydocking blocks 904 with integrated sensors may be located on the dry dock to contact certain touchpoints of the vessel 102, including various points of the keel, the hull, and the bow, the stern, the port, and the starboard sides of the vessel 102. The dry dock 900 may also include a plurality of contactless sensors 402 positioned on the dock floor 108 and/or the dock walls 302.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a 3-dimentionsonal (3-D) perspective view of a layout of the dry dock 900 of FIG. 9. A display can present the view of FIG. 9 in certain applications. A display can present the view of FIG. 10 in some applications. These views can be used to visualize the position of a vessel in the dry dock 900.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of an example method 1100 of detecting the vessel 102 contacting an array of contact sensors (e.g., linear sensors 106, rotary sensor 832, etc.) and providing related information. The method 1100 begins at block 1104. At block 1104, the vessel 102 contacts the array of contact sensors. For example, the vessel 102 may contact the array of linear sensors 106 of FIG. 2A.

At block 1106, the contact sensor begins outputting an indication of the vessel 102 being in contact with a drydocking block from the contacting vessel 102. The contact sensor can be included in a sensor array. Continuing the above example, the linear sensor 106 can provide a voltage/resistance output indicating that the vessel 102 is in contact with the sensor probe 602. Each linear sensor 106 in the array of linear sensors linear sensors 106 can measure contact with the vessel 102 separately. Accordingly, the system allows for more contact points between the vessel 102 and the array of sensors, enabling more reliable readings of the positioning of the vessel 102. For example, in FIG. 6A, if the right most linear sensor 106 can have a higher resistance reading compared to the leftmost linear sensor 106, and the system can determine that the vessel 102 is transversely misaligned on the drydocking block 104 (e.g., as shown in FIG. 3).

At block 1108, the microcontroller converts the voltage output from the contact sensor into a more readable unit of measurement (e.g., distance). Any other output of the contact sensor can alternatively or additionally be used. A microcontroller is described below with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B. Any other suitable processing circuit can implement the functionality of the microcontroller.

At block 1109, the microcontroller can determine transverse alignment of the vessel 102. The microcontroller can use outputs from two or more contact sensors to determine transverse alignment.

At block 1110, the distance measurement is displayed or otherwise presented via a user interface. A user interface 1406 display is described below with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B. Alternatively or additionally, the output can be presented audibly or in any other suitable manner.

FIG. 12 is an example method 1200 of the vessel 102 contacting the drydocking block 104 where contactless sensors 402 (e.g., laser sensors 802, sonar sensors 812, etc.) can be used to determine contact of the vessel 102 and/or transverse alignment of the vessel 102. The method 1200 begins at block 1204. At block 1204, the vessel 102 comes into the range of one or more contactless sensors 402. For example, the contactless sensors 402 may receive measurements from the vessel 102 as shown in FIG. 4A.

In some instances, the contactless sensor 402 can generate measurements from the vessel 102 before the vessel 102 contacts the drydocking block 104. At block 1206, the contactless sensors 402 can provide an output associated with position of the vessel 102. The measurement can be in a unit that may depend on the type of contactless sensors 402 used. For example, the sonar sensors 812 may measure in time the sonar sound waves propagate to the vessel 102 and return to the sonar sensors 812.

At block 1208, similar to block 1108 as described in FIG. 11, the microcontroller can convert output from the contactless sensors 402 into a more readable unit of measurement (e.g., distance). The microcontroller can determine transverse alignment at block 1209 from one or more outputs of the contactless sensors 402.

At block 1210, a user interface can display or otherwise present an output of the drydocking system. The output can represent which drydocking block(s) 104 are in contact with the vessel 102. The output can represent transverse alignment of the vessel 102. An example user interface is described with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of an example method 1300 of the system measuring the crush on the soft cap 109, for example, as described in FIGS. 6A-B. The crush on the soft cap 109 may be measured by contact sensors and/or contactless sensors. In some instances, contact sensors (e.g., linear sensors 106), can provide a more accurate readout of the crush. The method 1300 begins at block 1304.

At block 1304 the vessel 102 contacts a sensor (or comes into range of a contactless sensor). At block 1306 the sensors output a measurement (e.g., of the resistance/voltage in the case of a contact sensor such as linear sensors 106 and/or the time output in the case of contactless sensors 402). At block 1308 a microcontroller can convert the sensor data into distance.

At block 1310, the microcontroller can calculate the crush of the vessel 102 onto the soft cap 109. A measurement of the crush onto the soft cap 109 is described below with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B. At block 1312, the crush value may be displayed or otherwise presented via a user interface. The user interface or another circuitry may also store the calculated crush so that the user can track over time the amount of crush the drydocking block 104 has experienced. The drydocking system and/or the user can then monitor the wear/damage the drydocking block 104 has accumulated to determine when to replace the drydocking block. An example user interface display is described in further detail below with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B.

FIGS. 14A and 14B are example diagrams that illustrate data flow in a drydocking system 1400. The array of sensors can include any suitable sensors 1401. These sensors can be contactless sensors or contact sensors in accordance with any suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein.

The array of sensors may connect to the microcontroller 1404 via connections 1402. The connections 1402 may be hard-wired cables (e.g., any suitable transmission cable) and/or may be a wireless connections (e.g., wireless links such as a wireless local area network or wireless personal area links). In applications where the connections 1402 are wired connections, the connections 1402 can be submerged along with the dry dock. The system may run on relatively low voltage power (e.g., 50V or less) so that divers may still safely operate in the vicinity of the drydocking blocks 104 without restrictions.

The connections 1402 may be cables installed in rough service environments (e.g., high pressure, corrosive environments, etc.). In such applications, proper materials should be used for the rough service environment (e.g., aluminum instead of steel). Additionally or alternatively, utilizing armored cables may strengthen the protection. The connections 1402 may also be sectioned (i.e. connectable pieces of cable) to allow for ease of transportation, setup, and takedown. The wired and/or wireless connections 1402 may be permanent fixtures in the dry dock or may be temporary connections that can be removed or replaced.

The array of sensors may connect to the microcontroller 1404, for example, as shown in FIG. 14A. The microcontroller 1404 may receive signals (e.g., resistance outputs) from the array of sensors via the connections 1402. For example, if a contact sensor sends resistance data to the microcontroller 1404, the microcontroller 1404 can then convert the contact signals from the array of contact sensors into measurements such as distance or percentage. In another example, if a contactless sensor such as sonar sensors 812 sends measurements as to time for sonic soundwaves to return to the sonar sensors 812, the microcontroller 1404 can calculate the distance and/or percentage from the vessel 102 to the sonar sensors 812. If multiple sensors are arranged in an array, the microcontroller 1404 can receive multiple similar measurements of an area and can determine data such as a transverse alignment data.

The microcontroller 1404 is an example of a processing circuit. Any other suitable processing circuit can alternatively or additionally be used to process outputs of the sensors 1401. Such a processing circuit can provide transverse alignment information.

Additionally or alternatively, the microcontroller 1404 can also measure the amount of crush on the soft cap 109. For example, if a linear sensors 106 outputs a measurement of a distance for the vessel 102 that exceeds a certain threshold (e.g., indicting that a probe is depressed beyond an upper surface of a drydocking block), that would indicate the soft cap 109 is exhibiting crush. The microcontroller 1404 can determine the amount of crush on the soft cap 109 by calculating using a spring constant equation F(x)=kx and/or a stress-strain graph (e.g., measuring the deformation of the soft cap 109). The microcontroller 1404 can thus determine the crush distance and the force applied to the drydocking block 104 by the vessel 102.

The microcontroller may then provide data for presentation via the user interface 1406 via the connections 1402. The user interface 1406 may display or otherwise present data from the microcontroller 1404 to a user. Such data can include without limitation the distance outputs calculated by the microcontroller 1404 for each of the array of sensor locations on the dry dock, transverse alignment data, or the like. In some instances, the user interface 1406 can include a display. Such a display can output views like shown in FIG. 9 and/or FIG. 10 with contact and/or transverse alignment data. For example, the user interface 1406 can present measurements for each drydocking block 104 of the plurality of drydocking blocks 904 with integrated sensors in the view of FIG. 9. This display allows the user to see which part of the vessel 102 is transversely aligned, has an uneven balance of pressure, etc.

FIG. 14B is an example diagram of a drydocking system 1410 with data flow that functions like the drydocking system 1400 in some aspects such as the array of sensors, the microcontroller 1404, and the user interface 1406. In the drydocking system 1410, a first sensor array includes contactless sensors that are sonar sensors 812 and a second sensor array includes linear sensors 106. The drydocking system 1410 also includes a sub microcontrollers 1408. The sub microcontrollers 1408 may take raw data from the array of sensors and process and/or interpret the data before sending a signal to the main microcontroller 1404. For example, a strong current may slightly depress the linear sensors 106, in this scenario, it can be desirable for the microcontroller 1404 to not begin measuring the depression data and sending the data to the user interface 1406. Accordingly, in this example, the sub microcontrollers 1408 may be used to first receive data from the array of sensors and determine the vessel 102 is the source of the pressure and then send the data to the microcontroller 1404. The sub microcontrollers 1408 can perform any suitable processing of the microcontroller 1404 of the drydocking system 1400 of FIG. 14A.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a general architecture of a computing device 1500 implementing one or more of the components of the systems described herein. The general architecture of the computing device 1500 depicted in FIG. 15 includes an arrangement of computer hardware and software that may be used to implement aspects of the present disclosure. The hardware may be implemented on physical electronic devices, as discussed in greater detail below. The software may be implemented by the hardware described herein. The computing device 1500 may include many more (or fewer) elements than those shown in FIG. 15. It is not necessary, however, that all of these conventional elements be shown in order to provide an enabling disclosure. Additionally, the general architecture illustrated in FIG. 15 may be used to implement one or more of the other components illustrated in FIG. 15.

As illustrated, the computing device 1500 includes a processing unit 1502, a network interface 1504, a computer readable medium drive 1506, and an input/output device interface 1508. The network interface 1504 may provide connectivity to one or more networks or computing systems. The processing unit 1502 may thus receive information and instructions from other computing systems or services via the network. The processing unit 1502 can include a processing circuit to determine (1) contact of a vessel with one or more drydocking blocks and (2) transverse alignment of the vessel in accordance with any suitable principles and advantages disclosed herein. The processing unit 1502 may also communicate to and from memory 1510 and further provide output information for the user interface 1406 via the input/output device interface 1508. The input/output device interface 1508 may also accept input from an optional input device (not shown).

The memory 1510 may contain computer program instructions (grouped as units in some embodiments) that the processing unit 1502 executes in order to implement one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The memory 1510 corresponds to one or more tiers of memory devices, including (but not limited to) RAM, 3D XPOINT memory, flash memory, magnetic storage, cloud storage objects or services, block and file services, and the like.

The memory 1510 may store an operating system 1512 that provides computer program instructions for use by the processing unit 1502 in the general administration and operation of the computing device 1500. The memory 1510 may further include computer program instructions and other information for implementing aspects of the present disclosure. For example, in some embodiments, the memory 1510 includes a user interface unit 1514 that generates user interfaces for display upon a computing device.

Each of the processes, methods, and algorithms described in the preceding paragraphs may be embodied in, and fully or partially automated by, code modules executed by one or more computer systems or computer processors comprising computer hardware. The code modules may be stored on any type of non-transitory computer-readable medium or computer storage device, such as hard drives, solid state memory, optical disc, and/or the like. The systems and modules may also be transmitted as generated data signals (for example, as part of a carrier wave or other analog or digital propagated signal) on a variety of computer-readable transmission mediums, including wireless-based and wired/cable-based mediums, and may take a variety of forms (for example, as part of a single or multiplexed analog signal, or as multiple discrete digital packets or frames). The processes and algorithms may be implemented partially or wholly in application-specific circuitry. The results of the disclosed processes and process steps may be stored, persistently or otherwise, in any type of non-transitory computer storage such as, for example, volatile or non-volatile storage.

The various features and processes described above may be used independently of one another or may be combined in various ways. All combinations and sub-combinations are intended to fall within the scope of this disclosure. In addition, certain methods or processes blocks may be omitted in some implementations. The methods and processes described herein are also not limited to any particular sequence, and the blocks or states relating thereto can be performed in other sequences that are appropriate. For example, described blocks or states may be performed in an order other than that specifically disclosed, or multiple blocks or states may be combined in a single block or state. The example blocks or states may be performed in serial, in parallel, or in some other manner. Blocks or states may be added to or removed from the disclosed example embodiments. The example systems and components described herein may be configured differently than described. For example, elements may be added to, removed from, or rearranged compared to the disclosed example 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 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.

Any process descriptions, elements, or blocks in the flow diagrams described herein and/or depicted in the attached figures should be understood as potentially representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps in the process. Alternate implementations are included within the scope of the embodiments described herein in which elements or functions may be deleted, executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those skilled in the art.

Any suitable method operations may be executed on the computing devices in response to execution of software instructions or other executable code read from a tangible computer readable medium. A tangible computer readable medium is a data storage device that can store data that is readable by a computer system. Examples of computer readable mediums include read-only memory, random-access memory, other volatile or non-volatile memory devices, compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), magnetic tape, flash drives, and optical data storage devices.

It should be emphasized that many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments, the elements of which are to be understood as being among other acceptable examples. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure. The foregoing description details certain embodiments. It will be appreciated that no matter how detailed the foregoing appears in text, the systems and methods can be practiced in many ways. As is also stated above, it should be noted that the use of particular terminology when describing certain features or aspects of the systems and methods should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being re-defined herein to be restricted to including any specific characteristics of the features or aspects of the systems and methods with which that terminology is associated.

The articles “a” and “an” are used herein to refer to one or to more than one (for example, at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, “an element” means one element or more than one element.

The terms “about” or “around” as used herein refer to a quantity, level, value, number, frequency, percentage, dimension, size, amount, weight or length that is within error of available measurement techniques.

Unless the context indicates otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” “include,” “including” and the like are to generally be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” “for example,” “such as” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. The word “coupled”, as generally used herein, refers to two or more elements that may be either directly connected, or connected by way of one or more intermediate elements. Likewise, the word “connected”, as generally used herein, refers to two or more elements that may be either directly connected, or connected by way of one or more intermediate elements. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where the context permits, words in the above Detailed Description using the singular or plural number may also include the plural or singular number, respectively.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Indeed, the novel systems and methods described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. Any suitable combination of the elements and/or acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope of the disclosure.