Detailed Description
So that the manner in which the features and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the embodiments of the disclosure, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to the appended drawings, which are included to illustrate, but are not intended to limit the embodiments of the disclosure. In the following description of the technology, for purposes of explanation, numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. However, one or more embodiments may be practiced without these details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices may be shown in simplified form in order to simplify the drawing.
The terms "first," "second," and the like in the description and claims of the embodiments of the disclosure and in the drawings described above are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It should be understood that the data so used may be interchanged as appropriate for the embodiments of the disclosure described herein. Furthermore, the terms "include" and "have," as well as any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion.
The term "plurality" means two or more, unless otherwise specified.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the character "/" indicates that the preceding and following objects are in an or relationship. For example, A/B represents: a or B.
The term "and/or" is an associative relationship that describes objects, meaning that three relationships may exist. E.g., a and/or B, represents: a or B, or A and B.
The term "correspond" may refer to an association or binding relationship, and a corresponding to B refers to an association or binding relationship between a and B.
Referring to fig. 1, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an air conditioner. This air conditioner includes: a compressor 10, an indoor heat exchanger 20, an outdoor variable-split heat exchanger 30, and a four-way valve 40. The compressor 10, the indoor heat exchanger 20, the outdoor variable-split heat exchanger 30, and the four-way valve 40 are connected to form a refrigerant circulation circuit.
The outdoor variable split flow heat exchanger 30 (hereinafter simply referred to as "outdoor heat exchanger") includes: a first liquid separator 31, a second liquid separator 32, a third liquid separator 33, a fourth liquid separator 34 and a heat exchange pipeline.
The heat exchange pipeline includes: a first heat exchange branch 35, a second heat exchange branch 36 and a third heat exchange branch 37.
The liquid collecting end of the first liquid separator 31 communicates with the indoor heat exchanger 20 through the first main pipe 50. The first main pipe 50 is provided with a first electronic expansion valve 51.
The liquid separating end of the first liquid separator 31 is communicated with the first end of the first heat exchange branch 35. The liquid separating end of the first liquid separator 31 is also communicated with the liquid collecting end of the second liquid separator 32 through a first bypass line 38. The first bypass line 38 is provided with a first check valve 381 for limiting the refrigerant in the first bypass line 38 to flow only from the first liquid separator 31 to the second liquid separator 32.
The liquid separating end of the second liquid separator 32 is in communication with a first end of a second heat exchange branch 36. The liquid separating end of the second liquid separator 32 is also communicated with the first end of the third heat exchange branch 37.
And the second end of the first heat exchange branch 35 is communicated with the liquid separating end of the third liquid distributor 33. And the second end of the second heat exchange branch 36 is communicated with the liquid separating end of the third liquid distributor 33. The liquid collecting end of the third liquid distributor 33 is communicated with the liquid separating end of the fourth liquid distributor 34 through a second bypass pipeline 39. The second bypass line 39 is provided with a second check valve 391 for limiting the refrigerant in the second bypass line 39 to flow only from the third liquid separator 33 to the fourth liquid separator 34.
A second end of the third heat exchange branch 37 is communicated with the liquid separating end of the fourth liquid separator 34. The liquid collecting end of the fourth liquid distributor 34 is communicated with the four-way valve 40 through a second main pipe 60.
When the air conditioner operates in the heating mode, the refrigerant flows in from the first main pipe 50. Under the action of the liquid separation of the first liquid separator 31 and the second liquid separator 32, the liquid flows into the first heat exchange branch 35, the second heat exchange branch 36 and the third heat exchange branch 37, respectively. Then, they join in second main pipe 60 and flow into four-way valve 40. Thus, all the heat exchange branches are connected in parallel.
When the air conditioner operates in the cooling mode, the refrigerant flows in from the second main pipe 60. Under the blocking action of the first check valve 381 and the second check valve 391, the water flows into the third heat exchange branch 37, the second heat exchange branch 36 and the first heat exchange branch 35 in sequence. And finally flows into the indoor heat exchanger 20 through the first main pipe 50. Thus, all the heat exchange branches are connected in series.
It should be noted that the heat exchange pipeline may include more heat exchange branches and liquid distributors, and the specific connection manner may be as described above, so as to implement parallel connection of more heat exchange branches in the heating mode and serial connection of more heat exchange branches in the cooling mode.
The existing defrosting modes of the outdoor unit comprise stop defrosting and non-stop defrosting.
The shutdown defrosting refers to: firstly, the compressor and the fan motor are stopped. The flow direction of the refrigerant is then switched by the four-way valve. Namely, the air conditioner is enabled to work in a refrigerating state (but the motors of the outdoor fan and the indoor fan do not rotate), high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged by the compressor enters the outdoor heat exchanger, and frost on the surface of the outdoor heat exchanger is melted in a gasification heat dissipation mode, so that the aim of defrosting is fulfilled. Most of the cooling and heating type air conditioners adopt the defrosting mode.
The defrosting without stopping the machine is that: in the heating state of the air conditioner, a part of high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor flows into the outdoor heat exchanger through the bypass electromagnetic valve to complete defrosting. Only a small part of cooling and heating type air conditioners adopt the defrosting mode.
When defrosting of the outdoor variable bypass heat exchanger 30 provided in the embodiment of the present disclosure is performed without stopping, the first electronic expansion valve 51 does not perform a throttling function. This is because: the front and rear connection pipes of the conventional electronic expansion valve are connected by capillary tubes, but the structure of the first electronic expansion valve 51 in this embodiment is changed (the structure of the first electronic expansion valve 51 in this embodiment is not the focus of this embodiment, and is not described here again), and the capillary tubes need to be removed. When the opening degree of the first electronic expansion valve 51 is adjusted to the maximum, the refrigerant flow rate is the maximum, and therefore the first electronic expansion valve 51 does not perform the throttling function. The system does not have an evaporator during non-stop defrost. When the defrosting is not stopped during operation, the exhaust temperature is reduced, and the return temperature is increased. As shown in fig. 2, the abscissa of the coordinate system represents the torque of the compressor 10, and the ordinate represents the discharge pressure/return pressure. If the moment of the compressor 10 before defrosting without stopping is the moment corresponding to the point A, the moment after opening the bypass electromagnetic valve may be changed into the moment corresponding to the point B. The exhaust temperature then remains substantially unchanged or even rises slightly back. The return air temperature rises, and the moment will become the moment corresponding to the point C. And the torque corresponding to the point A is restored after the bypass electromagnetic valve is closed. After point B, the moments are all larger than the moments corresponding to point A. The power of the compressor increases. If the duration is longer, the discharge pressure and the return pressure become higher, which may result in a loss of reliability of the compressor 10.
After the control valve 70 is additionally arranged on the heat exchange branch, the heat exchange branch provided with the control valve 70 plays a role of an evaporator. Therefore, the outlet temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger, that is, the return air temperature can be reduced. As shown in fig. 3, the torque of the compressor 10 is changed to a torque corresponding to a → D → E, which is lower than the original torque corresponding to a → B → C. Compressor power is reduced and reliability is improved.
Optionally, a control valve 70 is provided in at least one of the heat exchange branches.
If the air conditioner operates in the heating mode, the refrigerant inflow side of the outdoor heat exchanger is the right side of the outdoor heat exchanger in fig. 1. If the air conditioner operates in the cooling mode, the refrigerant inflow side of the outdoor heat exchanger is the left side of the outdoor heat exchanger in fig. 1.
If only one heat exchange branch is provided with the control valve 70, the heat exchange branch is the uppermost branch. Taking the outdoor heat exchanger provided in fig. 1 as an example, the control valve 70 is disposed on the third heat exchange branch 37. This is because if the control valve 70 is provided in the middle or lower heat exchange branch, the melted upper frost layer may flow to the non-defrosted portion. The temperature of the part without defrosting is low, so that the defrosting water can be frozen, and the subsequent heating and defrosting are influenced. When the control valve 70 is disposed in the uppermost heat exchange branch, the control valve 70 is controlled to open after the defrosting process is completed. After the frost is melted, the defrosting water can rapidly flow down and leave the outdoor heat exchanger.
Alternatively, a control valve 70 is provided on each heat exchange branch on the refrigerant inflow side of the outdoor heat exchanger in the hot mode of operation.
Optionally, the control valve 70 is a second electronic expansion valve.
As shown in fig. 4, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for controlling an air conditioner, including:
s401, the air conditioner determines its operation mode.
And S402, determining the target opening of the control valve by the air conditioner according to the operation mode.
And S403, opening the air conditioner control valve to a target opening degree.
When the air conditioner is operated, an operation mode of the air conditioner is determined, for example, a defrosting mode, a cooling mode or a heating mode without stopping the operation of the air conditioner is determined. Specifically, when the air conditioner processor receives the instruction, the instruction is analyzed, so that the related control content is obtained. The processor determines the current operating mode by parsing the content obtained in the past. And different operation modes correspond to different target opening degrees of the control valve. And after the target opening degree is determined, the control valve is controlled to be opened to the target opening degree.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, in the case where the outdoor heat exchanger has the variable bypass function, the target opening degree of the control valve is determined based on the operation mode of the air conditioner so that the target opening degree matches the operation mode. The target opening degree of the control valve is different, the refrigerant amount flowing into the heat exchange branch is different. Therefore, the flow of the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger is controlled, so that the heat exchange performance of the outdoor heat exchanger is matched with the operation mode of the air conditioner, and the operation of the air conditioner reaches a better state.
Referring to fig. 5, another method for controlling an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes:
s401, the air conditioner determines the operation mode of the air conditioner.
And S412, after the air conditioner executes the step S401, under the condition that the operation mode is the non-stop defrosting mode or the heating mode, determining the operation frequency of the compressor.
And S422, after the air conditioner executes the step S412, determining the target opening degree of the control valve according to the operation frequency.
And S432, after the air conditioner executes the step S401, when the operation mode is the cooling mode or the dehumidification mode, determining the maximum opening of the control valve as the target opening.
And S403, opening the air conditioner control valve to a target opening degree.
And if the operation mode of the air conditioner is determined to be the non-stop defrosting mode or the heating mode, further determining the operation frequency of the compressor. Then, a target opening degree of the control valve is determined according to the operating frequency of the compressor. This is because: when the air conditioner operates in the heating mode, the outdoor ambient temperature is generally low. At the moment, the outdoor heat exchanger is easy to frost during operation and refrigeration. Accordingly, the target opening degree of the control valve is determined based on the operating frequency of the compressor so that the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger matches the operating frequency of the compressor. The excessive refrigerant is prevented from flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger, the frosting risk of the outdoor heat exchanger is increased, and therefore the normal operation of the air conditioner is guaranteed.
When the air conditioner is operated in the defrosting mode without stopping, the outdoor unit operates to heat, and meanwhile, the indoor unit also operates to heat all the time. As described above, after the bypass solenoid valve is opened, the discharge temperature and the return pressure of the compressor become high, thereby affecting the reliability of the compressor. Therefore, the opening degree of the control valve is matched with the operation frequency of the compressor, namely the refrigerant quantity for defrosting is controlled to be matched with the operation frequency of the compressor, so that the exhaust temperature and the return temperature are reduced, and the reliability of the compressor is ensured.
If it is determined that the operation mode of the air conditioner is the cooling mode or the dehumidifying mode, it indicates that the outdoor ambient temperature is relatively high. There is no risk of frost formation in the outdoor heat exchanger. Therefore, the maximum opening degree of the control valve is determined as a target opening degree so that as much refrigerant as possible flows into the outdoor heat exchanger. In this way, the indoor refrigeration/dehumidification effect is guaranteed to be optimal.
Optionally, in step S422, when the operation mode of the air conditioner is the heating mode, determining a target opening degree of the control valve according to the operation frequency includes:
S=a*F+b (1)
wherein S is the target opening of the control valve, F is the operating frequency of the compressor, and a and b are constants.
When the air conditioner operates in a heating mode, the first electronic expansion valve performs primary throttling on the refrigerant. Therefore, the control valve only has the function of fine adjustment on the refrigerant flow. The refrigerant quantity of the branch where the regulating control valve is located is increased, so that the refrigerant is uniformly distributed. The higher the operating frequency of the compressor is, the higher the heating capacity of the air conditioner is, and the faster the indoor temperature reaches the set temperature. Therefore, the opening degree of the control valve needs to be controlled to increase accordingly. Specifically, the target opening degree of the control valve is calculated according to the above formula (1). Alternatively, a = 1.2-1.8, b = 200-300.
Optionally, in step S422, when the operation mode of the air conditioner is the non-stop defrosting mode, determining the target opening of the control valve according to the operation frequency includes:
the air conditioner determines an initial target opening degree of the control valve according to the operation frequency.
The air conditioner determines the maximum opening degree of the control valve as the final target opening degree under the condition that the control valve maintains the initial target opening degree for a first preset time.
In the refrigerant circulation circuit, when the first electronic expansion valve is fully opened, the control valve is the only throttling part.
If the operation mode of the air conditioner is the non-stop defrosting mode, the initial target opening degree of the control valve is determined according to the operation frequency of the air conditioner. The larger the operating frequency, the larger the initial target opening degree. Specifically, the initial target opening degree is calculated according to formula (2).
S=F+c (2)
Where S is an initial target opening degree of the control valve, F is an operation frequency of the compressor, and c is a constant. Optionally, c =100 to 150.
Thus, the target opening degree of the control valve is different, and the refrigerant amount flowing into the heat exchange branch is different. The amount of refrigerant affects the heat exchange performance of the outdoor heat exchanger, and thus affects the discharge temperature and the return temperature of the compressor. Thus, the opening degree of the control valve is adaptively increased/decreased as the operating frequency of the compressor increases/decreases. After the control valve is opened to the initial target opening degree, the uppermost heat exchange branch still plays the role of an evaporator to reduce the outlet temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger, namely, the return air temperature. This results in a reduction in the overall power of the compressor, while at the same time improving the reliability of the compressor.
And after the first preset time, determining the maximum opening of the control valve as the final target opening of the control valve. At this time, the control valve is fully opened in order to defrost the uppermost heat exchange branch. Optionally, the first preset time period is 1 to 2 minutes.
Alternatively, after the control valve is opened to the initial target opening degree, the outlet temperature Ta of the outdoor heat exchanger may also be detected. And if the Ta is more than or equal to T and lasts for the first preset time, determining the final target opening of the control valve as the maximum opening of the control valve. Wherein T is a temperature threshold and can be 3-5 ℃. Therefore, on the basis that the opening degree of the control valve is the initial target opening degree and the first preset time is maintained, whether the control valve needs to be completely opened or not is further judged by combining the outlet temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger. When Ta is more than or equal to T, the temperature of the refrigerant in the outdoor heat exchanger is higher. At this time, the control valve is fully opened, so that more refrigerant flows into the outdoor heat exchanger. On one hand, the outlet temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger can be reduced, so that the reliability of the compressor is ensured. On the other hand, the refrigerant with higher temperature can be used for defrosting the outdoor heat exchanger.
Referring to fig. 6, another method for controlling an air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes:
s601, the air conditioner determines the operation mode of the air conditioner.
And S602, determining the operating frequency of the compressor when the operating mode of the air conditioner is the heating mode.
And S603, determining the target opening of the control valve by the air conditioner according to the running frequency.
And S604, opening the air conditioner control valve to a target opening degree.
S605, the air conditioner obtains the outlet temperature difference between the uppermost heat exchange branch and the adjacent lower heat exchange branch.
And S606, the air conditioner corrects the target opening according to the outlet temperature difference.
And S607, opening the air conditioner control valve to the corrected target opening.
When the air conditioner operates in a heating mode and only the uppermost heat exchange branch positioned on the refrigerant input side is provided with the control valve, the outlet temperature difference delta T between the heat exchange branch and the adjacent lower heat exchange branch is obtained. And correcting the target opening according to the outlet temperature difference. The processor of the air conditioner is pre-stored with the correlation between the outlet temperature difference and the opening correction value. The correlation includes a correspondence between one or more outlet temperature differences and the opening correction value. The larger the outlet temperature difference is, the larger the correction value for the target opening degree is.
Optionally, when the outlet temperature difference is in the first temperature range, the opening correction value is the first correction value. And when the outlet temperature difference is in a second temperature interval, the opening correction value is a second correction value. And when the temperature difference is in a third temperature interval, the opening correction value is a third correction value. And when the temperature difference is in a fourth temperature interval, the opening correction value is a fourth correction value. And when the temperature difference is in a fifth temperature interval, the opening correction value is a fifth correction value. Wherein, the lower limit value of the former temperature interval is larger than the upper limit value of the latter temperature interval from the first temperature interval to the fifth temperature interval. The first to fifth correction values decrease in order. Alternatively, the first correction value and the second correction value are positive values. The fourth correction value and the fifth correction value are negative values. Specifically, the correlation between the outlet temperature difference and the opening correction value can be seen in table 1.
TABLE 1 correlation between outlet temperature difference and corrected opening value
Exit temperature difference Δ T (. Degree. C.)
|
Opening correction value (step)
|
ΔT>3℃
|
6
|
1℃<ΔT≤3℃
|
2
|
-1℃<ΔT≤1℃
|
0
|
-3℃<ΔT≤-1℃
|
-2
|
ΔT≤-3℃
|
-6 |
For example, if the outlet temperature difference is 2 ℃, the opening correction value is 2, and the corrected target opening of the control valve is increased by 2 steps. And if the outlet temperature difference is 0.5 ℃, the opening correction value is 0, and the target opening of the control valve is kept unchanged. If the outlet temperature is-2 ℃, the opening correction value is-2, and the corrected target opening of the control valve is reduced by 2 steps.
It should be noted that the corresponding relationship in table 1 may be adaptively adjusted according to actual needs.
Optionally, the current outlet temperature difference is obtained at intervals of a second preset time. And correcting the target opening of the control valve again according to the current outlet temperature difference. For example, if the outlet temperature difference is 2 ℃, the opening correction value is 2, and the opening of the control valve is increased by 2 steps. And after the second preset time interval, acquiring the outlet temperature difference again. And if the outlet temperature difference is 2 ℃, controlling the opening of the control valve to increase by 2 steps. Optionally, the second preset time period is 15 to 30 seconds.
Optionally, if control valves are arranged on the plurality of heat exchange branches, when the air conditioner operates in a heating mode, the control valves are arranged on the refrigerant inflow side of the outdoor heat exchanger, the uppermost heat exchange branch and the middle heat exchange branch; or the uppermost heat exchange branch and the lowermost heat exchange branch are provided with control valves; or the uppermost heat exchange branch, the middle heat exchange branch and the lowermost heat exchange branch are provided with control valves.
When the control valves are controlled to be fully opened, the control valves are sequentially controlled to be fully opened at fixed time intervals in the order from bottom to top. That is, the lower control valve is preferably fully opened, and the upper control valve is fully opened later. This is because, if the upper control valve is opened first, the upper heat exchange branch is defrosted first. The defrosted water generated after defrosting flows to the part which is not defrosted, and the frost can be generated. Therefore, the freezing condition can be avoided in the mode, and the subsequent heating and defrosting effects are ensured.
As shown in fig. 7, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides another apparatus for controlling an air conditioner, including: a first determination module 71, a second determination module 72, and a control module 73. The first determination module 71 is configured to determine an operation mode of the air conditioner. The second determination module 72 is configured to determine a target opening of the control valve based on the operating mode. The control module 73 is configured to control the control valve to open to a target opening.
By adopting the device for controlling the air conditioner, the target opening degree of the control valve can be determined based on the operation mode of the air conditioner under the condition that the outdoor heat exchanger has the variable flow dividing function, so that the target opening degree is matched with the operation mode. The target opening degree of the control valve is different, the refrigerant amount flowing into the heat exchange branch is different. Therefore, the flow of the refrigerant flowing into the outdoor heat exchanger is controlled, so that the heat exchange performance of the outdoor heat exchanger is matched with the operation mode of the air conditioner, and the operation of the air conditioner reaches a better state.
As shown in fig. 8, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an apparatus for controlling an air conditioner, including a processor (processor) 80 and a memory (memory) 81. Optionally, the apparatus may also include a Communication Interface 82 and a bus 83. The processor 80, the communication interface 82 and the memory 81 can communicate with each other through the bus 83. Communication interface 82 may be used for information transfer. The processor 80 may call logic instructions in the memory 81 to perform the method for controlling the air conditioner of the above-described embodiment.
In addition, the logic instructions in the memory 81 may be implemented in the form of software functional units and stored in a computer readable storage medium when the logic instructions are sold or used as independent products.
The memory 81 is a computer readable storage medium, and can be used for storing software programs, computer executable programs, such as program instructions/modules corresponding to the methods in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The processor 80 executes functional applications and data processing, i.e., implements the method for controlling the air conditioner in the above-described embodiment, by executing program instructions/modules stored in the memory 81.
The memory 81 may include a storage program area and a storage data area, wherein the storage program area may store an operating system, an application program required for at least one function; the storage data area may store data created according to the use of the terminal device, and the like. Further, the memory 81 may include a high-speed random access memory, and may also include a nonvolatile memory.
The embodiment of the disclosure provides an air conditioner, which comprises the device for controlling the air conditioner.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a storage medium storing computer-executable instructions configured to perform the above-described method for controlling an air conditioner.
The storage medium described above may be a transitory computer-readable storage medium or a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.
The above description and drawings sufficiently illustrate embodiments of the disclosure to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. The examples merely typify possible variations. Individual components and functions are optional unless explicitly required, and the sequence of operations may vary. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in or substituted for those of others. Furthermore, the words used in the specification are words of description for example only and are not limiting upon the claims. As used in the description of the embodiments and the claims, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Similarly, the term "and/or" as used in this application is meant to encompass any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed. Furthermore, the terms "comprises" and/or "comprising," when used in this application, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a" \8230; "does not exclude the presence of additional like elements in a process, method or apparatus comprising the element. In this document, each embodiment may be described with emphasis on differences from other embodiments, and the same and similar parts between the respective embodiments may be referred to each other. For methods, products, etc. of the embodiment disclosure, reference may be made to the description of the method section for relevance if it corresponds to the method section of the embodiment disclosure.
Those of skill in the art would appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software may depend upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the disclosed embodiments. It can be clearly understood by the skilled person that, for convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the system, the apparatus and the unit described above may refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and are not described herein again.
In the embodiments disclosed herein, the disclosed methods, products (including but not limited to devices, apparatuses, etc.) may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described apparatus embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units may be merely a logical division, and in actual implementation, there may be another division, for example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be omitted, or not executed. In addition, the shown or discussed mutual coupling or direct coupling or communication connection may be an indirect coupling or communication connection through some interfaces, devices or units, and may be in an electrical, mechanical or other form. The units described as separate parts may or may not be physically separate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located in one position, or may be distributed on multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to implement the present embodiment. In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one unit.
The flowchart and block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of systems, methods and computer program products according to embodiments of the present disclosure. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. In the description corresponding to the flowcharts and block diagrams in the figures, operations or steps corresponding to different blocks may also occur in different orders than disclosed in the description, and sometimes there is no specific order between the different operations or steps. For example, two sequential operations or steps may in fact be executed substantially concurrently, or they may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality involved. Each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustrations, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.