Patent Publication Number: US-2023133822-A1

Title: Systems and methods for charging electrical energy storage systems

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/000,720, filed on Mar. 27, 2020, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The present disclosure relates generally to electrical and hybrid vehicles, especially to systems for charging the electrical energy storage of such vehicles. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     In the field of electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), typical chargers charge the batteries of the vehicles from a utility power grid. This method of charging such vehicles may be non-economical and create higher dependency on the utility power grid. In some cases, an energy storage system is used to store the energy when it is more economical to do so, and then the energy is discharged to the vehicles at an agreed time and for desired duration. A typical power grid supplies energy via an alternating current (AC) power line. Therefore, an inverter which converts AC power to direct current (DC) power to charge the energy storage system is also required. Additionally, in some examples, the energy storage system also uses DC-to-DC converters to convert the DC current from one voltage level to another voltage level to accommodate different power applications. The implementation of such inverters and converters may increase the manufacturing cost as well as the size of the energy storage system. As such, there is a need for energy storage systems that do not require such inverters or converters. 
     SUMMARY 
     Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to method for charging an electronic device using an energy storage system comprising an AC bus, a DC bus, a plurality of batteries, a plurality of breakers, a plurality of inverters, and a controller operatively coupled with the batteries and the breakers. The method includes the controller calculating an amount of power necessary to charge the electronic device, the controller operating the breakers such that the batteries of a discharging station are configured to discharge through a charging station, and the batteries charging the electronic device. 
     In some examples, the discharging station and the charging station each includes one or more racks, each rack including a battery, an inverter, a first inverter coupling the battery with the inverter, and a second inverter coupling the inverter with the DC bus. In some examples, the method further includes operating at least one of the breakers to be in an open position and reducing a number of the batteries to be discharged in the discharging station. 
     In some examples, operating the breakers include operating a first set of breakers to electrically couple the batteries of the discharging station with the AC bus, and operating a second set of breakers to electrically couple inverters of the charging station with the DC bus. Furthermore, operating the breakers may include operating a third set of breakers to electrically disconnect the batteries of the discharging station from the DC bus, and operating a fourth set of breakers to electrically disconnect batteries of the charging station from the AC bus. In some examples, the electronic device is an electric vehicle. 
     Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to energy storage systems for charging an electronic device. The energy storage system includes an AC bus, a DC bus, a plurality of batteries, a plurality of breakers, a plurality of inverters, and a controller operatively coupled with the batteries and the breakers. The controller is configured to calculate an amount of power necessary to charge the electronic device, operate the breakers such that the batteries of a discharging station are configured to discharge through a charging station, and charge the electronic device using the batteries. 
     In some examples, the discharging station and the charging station each includes one or more racks. Each rack includes: a battery, an inverter, a first inverter coupling the battery with the inverter, and a second inverter coupling the inverter with the DC bus. In some examples, the controller is further configured to operate at least one of the breakers to be in an open position and reduce a number of the batteries to be discharged in the discharging station. 
     In some examples, the breakers include a first set of breakers configured to electrically couple the batteries of the discharging station with the AC bus, and a second set of breakers configured to electrically couple inverters of the charging station with the DC bus. The controller is configured to operate the first and second sets of breakers to be in a closed-circuit configuration when the electronic device is being charged. Furthermore, the breakers may also include a third set of breakers configured to electrically couple the batteries of the discharging station from the DC bus, and a fourth set of breakers configured to electrically couple batteries of the charging station from the AC bus. The controller is configured to operate the third and fourth sets of breakers to be in an open-circuit configuration when the electronic device is being charged. 
     Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to controllers of an energy storage system for charging an electronic device. The controller is operatively coupled with a plurality of batteries, a plurality of breakers, and a plurality of inverters. The controller is configured to calculate an amount of power necessary to charge the electronic device, operate the breakers such that the batteries of a discharging station are configured to discharge through a charging station, and charge the electronic device using the batteries. 
     In some examples, the discharging station and the charging station each includes one or more racks, and each rack includes: a battery, an inverter, a first inverter coupling the battery with the inverter, and a second inverter coupling the inverter with the DC bus. In some examples, the controller is configured to operate at least one of the breakers to be in an open position and reduce a number of the batteries to be discharged in the discharging station. 
     In some examples, the breakers include a first set of breakers configured to electrically couple the batteries of the discharging station with an AC bus and a second set of breakers configured to electrically couple inverters of the charging station with a DC bus, such that the controller is configured to operate the first and second sets of breakers to be in a closed-circuit configuration when the electronic device is being charged. Furthermore, the breakers may further include a third set of breakers configured to electrically couple the batteries of the discharging station from the DC bus and a fourth set of breakers configured to electrically couple batteries of the charging station from the AC bus such that the controller is configured to operate the third and fourth sets of breakers to be in an open-circuit configuration when the electronic device is being charged. 
     While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which shows and describes illustrative embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not restrictive. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above-mentioned and other features and advantages of this disclosure, and the manner of attaining them, will become more apparent and the invention itself will be better understood by reference to the following description of embodiments of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic diagram of an energy storage system as known in the art. 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic diagram of an example of an energy storage system according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  3    shows the energy storage system of  FIG.  2    in one configuration to charge an electric vehicle according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  4    shows the energy storage system of  FIG.  3    when the electric vehicle is fully charged according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  5    shows the energy storage system of  FIG.  4    when another electric vehicle is being charged according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  6    shows the energy storage system of  FIG.  4    when batteries of the energy storage system is being charged simultaneously as the electric vehicle according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  7    is a schematic diagram of an example of an energy storage system capable of charging multiple electric vehicles simultaneously according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  8    shows the energy storage system of  FIG.  7    in one configuration to charge multiple electric vehicles according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  9    is a flow chart of a method of operating an energy storage system according to some embodiments. 
         FIG.  10    is a schematic diagram of an example of an energy storage system as implemented in an electric vehicle according to some embodiments. 
     
    
    
     Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views. The exemplifications set out herein illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and such exemplifications are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure in any manner. While the present disclosure is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. The intention, however, is not to limit the present disclosure to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the present disclosure is intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the present disclosure is practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present disclosure, and it is to be understood that other embodiments can be utilized and that structural changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents. 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. Similarly, the use of the term “implementation” means an implementation having a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, however, absent an express correlation to indicate otherwise, an implementation may be associated with one or more embodiments. Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the subject matter described herein may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. 
     For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, which are described below. The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed in the following detailed description. Rather, these exemplary embodiments were chosen and described so that others skilled in the art may utilize their teachings. 
     The terms “couples,” “coupled,” and variations thereof are used to include both arrangements wherein two or more components are in direct physical contact and arrangements wherein the two or more components are not in direct contact with each other (e.g., the components are “coupled” via at least a third component), but yet still cooperate or interact with each other. Furthermore, the terms “couples,” “coupled,” and variations thereof refer to any connection for machine parts known in the art, including, but not limited to, connections with bolts, screws, threads, magnets, electro-magnets, adhesives, friction grips, welds, snaps, clips, etc. 
     Throughout the present disclosure and in the claims, numeric terminology, such as first and second, is used in reference to various components or features. Such use is not intended to denote an ordering of the components or features. Rather, numeric terminology is used to assist the reader in identifying the component or features being referenced and should not be narrowly interpreted as providing a specific order of components or features. 
       FIG.  1    shows an example of an energy storage system (ESS)  100  as known in the art. The power is provided by a utility power grid  102  to the ESS  100 , after which an electric vehicle (EV)  104  is charged using the power stored in the ESS  100 . The ESS  100  has a common AC bus  106  on one end coupled to the grid  102  and a common DC bus  108  coupled to a DC/DC converter  114  on the other end. The AC bus  106  is coupled to a plurality of AC/DC inverters  110  to convert the current from AC to DC, and the DC bus  108  is coupled to the batteries  112  that receive the DC power from the AC/DC inverters  110  and supply the DC power through DC/DC converter  114  and then to the EV  104  to adjust the voltage level of the supplied power from the batteries  112  for the EV  104  to use, in order to accommodate for a number of different voltage levels which may be required. 
       FIG.  2    shows an example of an ESS  200  as presently disclosed according to some embodiments. The ESS  200  has a transformer  202  located between the utility power grid  102  and the ESS  200 . The ESS  200  further includes a utility breaker  204  located between the transformer  202  and an AC breaker  206  connected to the AC/DC inverters  110 . Each of the inverters  110  is connected to two DC breakers: one breaker  208  connected to the battery  112  and another breaker  210  connected to a DC bus  108 . A DC load breaker  212  is located between the DC bus  108  and the EV  104 . The set of breakers  206 ,  208 ,  210 , inverter  110 , and battery  112  are defined as a rack  214 , and each rack  214  is controlled independently using a supervisory controller  216 . Also, each of the connections referred to herein is an electrical connection, which may be implemented using wires, for example, or any other suitable means of electrical conduction. Furthermore, each of the aforementioned breakers is a circuit breaker which can be in an off position for an open circuit or an on position for a closed circuit. 
     The ESS  200  includes the supervisory controller  216  to control each of the breakers as previously mentioned using an internal algorithm, thus grouping one or more racks  214  together for charging and discharging the batteries  112  and the EV  114 , as further explained herein. The ESS  200  also includes heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)  218  as well as fire suppression feature  220  to prevent the batteries  112  from overheating and setting the system on fire. For simplicity, the controller  216 , HVAC  218 , and fire suppression feature  220  are omitted from the other figures hereinafter, although it is to be implied that any ESS may be implemented with such components as suitable and as known in the art. The controller  216  is able to provide instruction signals to each of the components such that the changes in the components are implemented synchronously. In some examples, the controller  216  is a processor such as a central processing unit (CPU). The controller  216  may also be a state machine built using a programmable logic device, a programmable logic controller, logic gates and flip flops, or relays. 
       FIG.  3    shows an example of how the ESS  200  operates according to some embodiments, when the EV  104  has a low state of charge (SOC) and the batteries  112  of the ESS  200  are sufficiently charged to provide power to the EV  104 . When the EV  104  needs power, a processing device within the EV  104  communicates with the controller  216  and sends a request for charging the EV  104 , in response to which the controller  216  may acknowledge or deny the request from the EV  104 . If the SOC of the batteries  112  in the ESS  200  is sufficiently high and the controller  216  acknowledges the request, the utility power grid  102  is disconnected from the ESS  200  by opening the utility breaker  204 , and instead the DC load breaker  212  is closed to connect the ESS  200  with the EV  104 . The controller  216  then groups the racks  214  into one of two groups: Station A  300  or Station B  302 . In this case, Station A  300  is the discharging station and Station B  302  is the charging station. 
     As disclosed herein, a “discharging” station can be defined as a station which includes a battery that discharges to provide power, whereas a battery of a “charging station” does not discharge. In some examples, the battery of the charging station may be connected to the power grid to charge, or the battery may be disconnected such that the station is used as a pathway for the electrical flow to pass through between the discharging battery and the charging vehicle. Some embodiments include equal numbers of charging stations as discharging stations. 
     Upon determining by the controller  216  that the batteries  112  in Station A have sufficiently high SOC, the controller  216  closes the DC breakers  208  and opens the DC breakers  210  in Station A  300 . This may be achieved by pre-charging the DC breaker  208  in Station A  300  to close and form a grid on the AC side using the inverters  110 , after which the rest of the inverters  110  are to synchronize and connect to the AC bus  106 . Also, in Station B  302 , the DC breakers  208  are open and the DC breakers  210  are closed. As such, the controller  216  creates an electrical path  304  from the batteries  112  in Station A  300  through the inverters  110  of Station A  300 , followed by the AC bus  106 , the inverters  110  of Station B  302 , the DC bus  108 , and the EV  104 . Electrical flow  304  is illustrated to show each of the components that electricity passes through in this case.  FIG.  4    shows the SOC for each of the batteries  112  and the battery of the EV  104  after the batteries in the EV  104  reach a desired SOC level. 
     Specifically, in some examples, the controller  216  operates by first analyzing the SOC of the EV  104  and calculates the amount of power (in kW) necessary for the EV  104 . The controller  216  then calculates if the ESS  200  is capable of supplying the power based on analyzing the SOC of the batteries  112  in the ESS  200 . Afterwards, the controller  216  operates each of the breakers as explained above to initiate power flow from the batteries  112  in the discharging station (Station A  300  in  FIG.  3   ) to the EV  104 . After the desired SOC of the EV  104  is achieved, the controller  216  acknowledges the request to disconnect the EV  104  from the ESS  200  and opens the DC load breaker  212  and the DC breakers  210  of the charging station (Station B  302  in  FIG.  4   ). 
     As shown, the electrical power is supplied as DC power from the batteries  112  in Station A  300  but is converted to AC power after passing through the inverters  110  in Station A  300 . Then, the same AC power is converted into DC power after passing through the inverters  110  in Station B  300  before being supplied to the batteries of the EV  104 . Thus, this process reduces the need for the converter  114  as shown in  FIG.  1    because the amount of power provided by the batteries may be adjusted by adjusting which of the breakers to open or close. For example, if a lower voltage level is required, one or more of the AC breakers  206  may be opened in Station A  300  such that a fewer number of batteries  112  in Station A  300  is discharging. 
       FIG.  5    shows an example of how the ESS  200  operates according to some embodiments, when another EV  502  having low SOC requests charging from the ESS  200  after the EV  104  is fully charged, further to  FIG.  4   . Because the batteries  112  in Station A  300  have low SOC after charging the previous EV  104 , the batteries  112  in Station B  302  are now used for charging the EV  502 . As such, in this case, Station B  302  is the discharging station and Station A  300  is the charging station. The breakers  210  of the discharging station (Station B  302 ) are opened, the breakers  208  of the discharging station are closed, the breakers  210  of the charging station (Station A  300 ) are closed, and the breakers  208  of the charging station are opened. Electrical flow  500  is illustrated to show each of the components that electricity passes through in this case. In effect, the controller  216  swaps the function of the stations so the same process described with reference to  FIG.  3    can be repeated using the other station. When the EV  502  reaches a desired SOC level, the charging may be terminated by opening the DC load breaker  212  as well as all the DC breakers  210  of the charging station (Station A  300 ). The controller  216  may subsequently close the utility breaker  204  to connect the ESS  200  with utility power grid  102  in order to charge the batteries  112  in both Stations A  300  and B  302 . The charging may be performed at an assigned time, for example during the night. It is understood that users can choose to charge the EVs  104  and  502  directly from the utility power grid  102  if there is a demand to charge when the ESS  200  is fully discharged or if it is more economical to charge from the utility. 
       FIG.  6    shows an example of how the ESS  200  operates according to some embodiments, when the EV  104  and the ESS  200  are simultaneously charged using the utility power grid  102 . The controller closes the utility breaker  204  such that power can be provided to the AC bus  106 . The batteries  112  of Station A  300  are shown to have lower SOC than the batteries  112  of Station B  302 . As such, the charging of the batteries  112  in Station A  300  is prioritized over the batteries  112  in Station B  302 , and thus, the controller  216  closes the breakers  208  in Station A  300  that lead to the batteries  112  and opens the breakers  210  in Station A  300  that lead to the DC bus  108 . The controller  216  also opens the breakers  208  in Station B  302  and closes the breakers  210  in Station B  302  to form an electrical flow  600  extending from the utility power grid  102  to the batteries  112  of Station A  300  and the EV  104  through Station B  302 , allowing both the batteries of Station A  300  and the EV  104  to charge simultaneously. 
       FIG.  7    shows an example of an ESS  700  according to some embodiments, when two EVs, the EV  104  and the EV  502 , can be simultaneously connected to the ESS  700 . It should be understood that although only two EVs are shown, the ESS  700  can be designed such that three or more EVs may be connected to the ESS  700  at any one time. The ESS  700  has an additional DC load breaker  702  that connects the EV  502  with the DC bus  108 . The ESS  700  also has a pair of AC tie breakers  704  and  706  located on the AC bus  106 , where each of the tie breakers  704  and  706  controls the connection of some of the components in ESS  700  with the rest of the components, i.e. breaks the electrical “tie” between two components. Similarly, a DC tie breaker  708  is located on the DC bus  108 . 
       FIG.  8    shows an example of how the ESS  700  of  FIG.  7    operates according to some embodiments. The tie breakers  704 ,  706 , and  708  split the ESS  700  into two groups of independent chargers. For example, the AC tie breaker  704  and the DC tie breaker  708  separate the left half of the ESS  700  shown in  FIG.  8    into a discharging station  800  having one or more racks  214  and a charging station  802  having one or more racks  214 . Similarly, the AC tie breaker  706  and the DC tie breaker  708  separate the right half of the ESS  700  into a discharging station  804  having one or more racks  214  and a charging station  806  having one or more racks  214 . In the example shown, the AC tie breaker  706  and the DC tie breaker  708  are opened. The breakers  208  of the stations  800  and  804  are closed and the breakers  210  of these stations are open, whereas the breakers  208  of the stations  802  and  806  are open and the breakers  210  of these stations are closed. This configuration allows for the batteries  112  of the stations  800  and  804  to discharge and provide power to the EVs  104  and  502  through the stations  802  and  806 , respectively, while the batteries  112  of the stations  802  and  806  are disconnected from the EVs  104  and  502 . This configuration can also reduce the cost of electricity because the amount of kilowatt-hours (kWh) is reduced by charging multiple loads (e.g., cars or appliances) simultaneously. 
       FIG.  9    shows a method  900  of operating an energy storage system (for example, ESS  200  or  700 ) according to some embodiments. The controller of the ESS receives a charging request from an electronic device; step  902 . The electronic device may be an electric vehicle or any other electronic device such as computing device or appliance, etc., as explained below. The controller calculates the amount of power necessary for the electronic device; step  904 . The controller may also calculate the amount of power that can be supplied by the ESS based on the SOC of the batteries in the ESS. If there is insufficient SOC in the batteries for the ESS, the controller may deny the request or have a utility power grid directly provide all the power for the electronic device. 
     The controller subsequently operates each of the breakers installed in the ESS such that the battery of one station (a discharging station) discharge through another station (a charging station); step  906 . More than one station may be capable of discharging its battery to supply power. If a station is used for discharging (i.e., the battery of the station is used to power the electronic device), said station cannot be used as a pathway for another station. How each of the breakers affects the electrical flow is shown above with respect to  FIGS.  3 ,  5 ,  6 , and  8   , although the embodiments are not limited to the examples in said figures. There may be any number of batteries (or racks) in each charging/discharging station. In some examples, the breakers may all be operated simultaneously and/or instantaneously. After the breakers are operated, the controller can then allow the ESS to charge the electronic device using the batteries from the determined station(s); step  908 . As shown above, some of the batteries may be disconnected by opening the appropriate breakers such that the voltage level may be reduced. 
       FIG.  10    shows an example of how the ESS  200  of  FIG.  2    operates according to some embodiments, in which the ESS  200  is implemented in the EV  104 . That is, instead of being a separate external component which connects with the EV  104 , the ESS  200  is part of the energy storage device of the EV  104 . For simplicity, the utility power grid  102 , the transformer  202 , and the utility breaker  204  are not shown. The EV  104  may include an ESS controller  1000  to control the breakers  206 ,  208 ,  210  that are directly coupled with the inverters  110  or batteries  112  as well as the DC load breaker  212  and an additional AC breaker  1006  of the AC bus  106 . 
     The additional AC breaker  1006  controls the electrical connection between a motor/generator  1004  of the EV  104  and the AC bus  106 . For example, the AC breaker  1006  disconnects the motor/generator  1004  from the ESS  200  when the EV  104  is being used as a charging station for the additional EV  502 , in which the DC load breaker  212  allows the batteries  112  to be connected with the EV  502  in order to charge the batteries of the EV  502 . The AC breaker  1006  may provide an additional layer of security so as to prevent the motor  1004  of the EV  104  from accidentally receiving power and activating when the ESS  200  is being used to provide power to another EV  502  or electronic device. Additionally, the EV  104  includes a motor/generator controller  1002  which controls the operation of the motor/generator  1004 . In some examples, the ESS controller  1000  may determine whether to activate/deactivate the AC breaker  1006  based on the operation of the motor/generator controller  1002 . 
     Although the examples are explained using EVs as the device which requires electrical power, it is understood that any other electronic device may be charged using the ESS as described above. For example, the electronic device may be a household appliance such as a refrigerator, electric oven, television, lamp, air conditioner, etc. when the ESS is used as a backup power source to be activated in case of a power outage or other emergencies. The electronic device may be a computing device such as a server, computer, smart device, etc. which may require higher or lower voltage level compared to the household appliances. Because of the different levels of voltage that are required for each type of electric devices, the ESS has the benefit of offering flexible and adjustable DC outputs without the need for a DC/DC converter as is previously required to accommodate a wide range of voltage levels. As explained above, a plurality of electronic devices may be charged simultaneously using the ESS. Some of the batteries of the ESS may also be charged using the utility power grid simultaneously as the rest of the other batteries of the ESS charge the electronic device(s). Any number of charging and discharging stations may be implemented as deemed suitable by the controller. In some embodiments, the reduction of DC/DC converters is advantageous in simplifying the design of the ESS for manufacture as well as reducing the size of the ESS, which may lead to reduced cost of manufacture. In some embodiments, the reduced size may be beneficial if the ESS is implemented in an electric vehicle, hybrid vehicle, and/or portable power generators in which the amount of space available is limited. The reduction of DC/DC converters may also be beneficial in reducing the risk of failure of such converters, which may be caused by degradation with use over time, for example. Furthermore, in some examples, the size of the inverters that are implemented may be adjusted such that the inverters have greater power rating (in kVA), as determined by multiplying the AC voltage by the AC current of the inverters. Faster charging is facilitated by increasing the inverters’ power rating. With greater current flowing through the system, the size of the individual components of the ESS, such as the breakers, inverters, and/or cables, may be adjusted accordingly, as suitable for the application of the ESS. 
     While this invention has been described as having exemplary designs, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. This application is therefore intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, this application is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which this invention pertains and which fall within the limits of the appended claims. 
     Furthermore, the connecting lines shown in the various figures contained herein are intended to represent exemplary functional relationships and/or physical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships or physical connections may be present in a practical system. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements. The scope is accordingly to be limited by nothing other than the appended claims, in which reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” 
     Moreover, where a phrase similar to “at least one of A, B, or C” is used in the claims, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, B or C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. 
     Systems, methods and apparatus are provided herein. In the detailed description herein, references to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic with the benefit of this disclosure in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described. After reading the description, it will be apparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement the disclosure in alternative embodiments. 
     Furthermore, no element, component, or method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.” As used herein, the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variation thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.