U.S. patent application number 13/430603 was filed with the patent office on 2013-07-25 for turbine exhaust diffuser system manways.
This patent application is currently assigned to GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY. The applicant listed for this patent is Piotr Edward Kobek, Deepesh Dinesh Nanda. Invention is credited to Piotr Edward Kobek, Deepesh Dinesh Nanda.
Application Number | 20130189088 13/430603 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 47631305 |
Filed Date | 2013-07-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130189088 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Nanda; Deepesh Dinesh ; et
al. |
July 25, 2013 |
TURBINE EXHAUST DIFFUSER SYSTEM MANWAYS
Abstract
A turbine exhaust diffuser system includes a plurality of
manways. The plurality of manways each extend between an outer wall
of the turbine exhaust diffuser system and an interior access
tunnel of the turbine exhaust diffuser system. The plurality of
manways extend between the outer wall and the access tunnel at an
angle that is not perpendicular to a central axis of the turbine
exhaust diffuser system.
Inventors: |
Nanda; Deepesh Dinesh;
(Bangalore, IN) ; Kobek; Piotr Edward; (Warsaw,
PL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Nanda; Deepesh Dinesh
Kobek; Piotr Edward |
Bangalore
Warsaw |
|
IN
PL |
|
|
Assignee: |
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
Schenectady
NY
|
Family ID: |
47631305 |
Appl. No.: |
13/430603 |
Filed: |
March 26, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
415/177 ;
415/208.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F01D 9/065 20130101;
F01D 25/30 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
415/177 ;
415/208.1 |
International
Class: |
F04D 29/54 20060101
F04D029/54; F04D 29/58 20060101 F04D029/58 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 25, 2012 |
PL |
P-397899 |
Claims
1. A turbine exhaust diffuser system, comprising: an outer wall; an
inner wall formed by a converging inner passageway, wherein turbine
exhaust is configured to flow through an area between the outer
wall and the inner wall; and a first manway extending from the
outer wall to the inner wall, wherein the first manway extends from
the outer wall to the inner wall at an angle that is not
perpendicular to a central axis of the turbine exhaust diffuser
system.
2. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 1, wherein the
angle between the first manway and the central axis is greater than
approximately 95 degrees.
3. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 1, wherein the
angle between the first manway and the central axis is between
approximately 100 and approximately 115 degrees.
4. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 1, comprising a
second manway extending from the outer wall to the inner wall,
wherein the second manway extends from the outer wall to the inner
wall at an angle that is not perpendicular to the central axis of
the turbine exhaust system.
5. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 4, comprising a
third manway extending from the outer wall to the inner wall,
wherein the third manway extends from the outer wall to the inner
wall at an angle that is not perpendicular to the central axis of
the turbine exhaust system.
6. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 5, wherein the
angles between the first, second, and third manways and the central
axis are between approximately 95 and approximately 115
degrees.
7. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 4, wherein the
second manway comprises pipes for providing lubricating fluid to a
turbine.
8. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 5, wherein the
third manway comprises pipes for providing cooling fluid to a
turbine.
9. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 1, wherein the
converging passageway is configured to allow an operator to enter
the converging passageway through an access door and move within
the converging passage.
10. A turbine exhaust diffuser system, comprising: an outer wall of
a turbine exhaust passageway; an access passageway defined by an
inner wall of the turbine exhaust passageway, wherein the access
passageway is configured to enable an operator to enter the access
passageway to perform maintenance on the turbine exhaust diffuser
system; and a plurality of manways extending from the outer wall of
the turbine exhaust passageway to the access passageway, wherein
each manway extends from the outer wall of the turbine exhaust
passageway to the access passageway at an angle that is not
perpendicular to a central axis of the turbine exhaust diffuser
system.
11. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 10, wherein the
angle between each manway and the central axis is greater than 95
degrees.
12. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 10, wherein the
angle between each manway and the central axis is between 100 and
115 degrees.
13. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 10, wherein the
access passageway comprises a conical shape having a smaller
interior diameter toward a downstream end of the access
passageway.
14. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 10, wherein the
plurality of manways comprises a first manway, a second manway, and
a third manway.
15. A turbine exhaust diffuser system, comprising: a plurality of
manways extending between an outer wall and an interior access
tunnel at an angle that is not perpendicular to a central axis of
the turbine exhaust diffuser system.
16. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 15, wherein the
angle between each of the plurality of manways and the central axis
is greater than 95 degrees.
17. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 15, wherein the
angle between each of the plurality of manways and the central axis
is between 100 and 115 degrees.
18. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 15, wherein each
of the plurality of manways comprises an upstream end and a
downstream end, the manway forming a first angle between the
upstream end and the central axis and a second angle between the
downstream end and the central axis.
19. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 18, wherein the
first angle is greater than the second angle.
20. The turbine exhaust diffuser system of claim 18, wherein the
first angle is between 95 and 110 degrees and the second angle is
between 70 and 85 degrees.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority to Poland Application No.
P-397899 filed Jan. 25, 2012, entitled "TURBINE EXHAUST DIFFUSER
SYSTEM MANWAYS" in the name of Deepesh Dinesh Nanda and assigned to
General Electric Company, which is incorporated by reference herein
in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbine
exhaust diffuser systems and, more particularly, to manways in
turbine exhaust diffuser systems.
[0003] A turbine system may include an exhaust diffuser system
coupled to a turbine section downstream of the turbine section.
Such a turbine system may be either a gas turbine system or a steam
turbine system. For example, a gas turbine system combusts a
mixture of fuel and air to generate hot combustion gases, which in
turn drive one or more turbines. In particular, the hot combustion
gases force turbine blades to rotate, thereby driving a shaft to
cause rotation of one or more loads, e.g., electrical generators,
and so forth. The exhaust diffuser system receives the exhaust from
the turbine. As the exhaust flows through diverging passages of the
exhaust diffuser system, dynamic pressure of the exhaust flow may
cause the static pressure in the exhaust diffuser system to
increase.
[0004] Exhaust diffuser systems may contain manways that extend
through the exhaust diffuser system radially from an outer wall to
an inner hub, or wall, that surrounds an access tunnel. The manways
may contain pipes that provide lubrication oil and/or cooling air
to the turbine system. The pipes extend into the access tunnel of
the exhaust diffuser system and may limit entry and/or use of the
access tunnel, such as by blocking entry through an access door.
Further, the arrangement of the manways may cause exhaust to flow
around the manways and generate wakes. Undesirable vortex shedding
may result from the wakes and may affect the structure of the
exhaust diffuser system. Further, the vortex shedding may increase
pressure loss of the exhaust diffuser system, increase noise of the
exhaust diffuser system, and decrease the overall performance of
the exhaust diffuser system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the
originally claimed invention are summarized below. These
embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed
invention, but rather these embodiments are intended only to
provide a brief summary of possible forms of the invention. Indeed,
the invention may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar
to or different from the embodiments set forth below.
[0006] In a first embodiment, a turbine exhaust diffuser system
includes an outer wall. The turbine exhaust diffuser system also
includes an inner wall formed by a converging inner passageway.
Turbine exhaust is configured to flow through an area between the
outer wall and the inner wall. The turbine exhaust diffuser system
includes a first manway extending from the outer wall to the inner
wall. The first manway extends from the outer wall to the inner
wall at an angle that is not perpendicular to a central axis of the
turbine exhaust diffuser system.
[0007] In a second embodiment, a turbine exhaust diffuser system
includes an outer wall of a turbine exhaust passageway. The turbine
exhaust diffuser system also includes an access passageway defined
by an inner wall of the turbine exhaust passageway. The access
passageway is configured to enable an operator to enter the access
passageway to perform maintenance on the turbine exhaust diffuser
system. The turbine exhaust diffuser system includes a plurality of
manways extending from the outer wall of the turbine exhaust
passageway to the access passageway. Each manway extends from the
outer wall of the turbine exhaust passageway to the access
passageway at an angle that is not perpendicular to a central axis
of the turbine exhaust diffuser system.
[0008] In a third embodiment, a turbine exhaust diffuser system
includes a plurality of manways extending between an outer wall and
an interior access tunnel at an angle that is not perpendicular to
a central axis of the turbine exhaust diffuser system.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the
present invention will become better understood when the following
detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying
drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout
the drawings, wherein:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a
gas turbine engine;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a gas
turbine exhaust diffuser system that may be used with the gas
turbine engine of FIG. 1;
[0012] FIG. 3 is a side view of an embodiment of the gas turbine
exhaust diffuser system of FIG. 2; and
[0013] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of a
gas turbine exhaust diffuser system that may be used with the gas
turbine engine of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] One or more specific embodiments of the present invention
will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise
description of these embodiments, all features of an actual
implementation may not be described in the specification. It should
be appreciated that in the development of any such actual
implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous
implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the
developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related
and business-related constraints, which may vary from one
implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that
such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but
would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication,
and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of
this disclosure.
[0015] When introducing elements of various embodiments of the
present invention, the articles "a," "an," "the," and "said" are
intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The
terms "comprising," "including," and "having" are intended to be
inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than
the listed elements.
[0016] As discussed below, certain embodiments of a turbine exhaust
diffuser system include manways that extend through the exhaust
diffuser system at an angle that is not perpendicular to a central
axis of the exhaust diffuser system. For example, the manways may
extend through the exhaust diffuser system at an angle that is
shifted within the range of approximately 5 to 25 degrees, 3 to 15
degrees, or 10 to 30 degrees from being perpendicular to the
central axis of the diffuser system (e.g., the angle between the
manways and the central axis may be within a range of approximately
95 and 115 degrees, 93 to 105 degrees, or 100 to 120 degrees).
Specifically, in certain embodiments, the manways may extend
through the exhaust diffuser system at an angle that is shifted
approximately 15 degrees from being perpendicular to the central
axis of the diffuser system. Consequently, due to the manways not
being perpendicular to the central axis of the exhaust diffuser
system, the amount of space for operator entry into an access
tunnel of the exhaust diffuser system is increased. Further, the
amplitude and frequency of vortex shedding (i.e., the unsteady flow
of exhaust around the manways) is decreased when compared to
systems that have manways perpendicular to the central axis of the
exhaust diffuser system. As such, the exhaust diffuser systems
described herein not only facilitate maintenance of the exhaust
diffuser systems by human operators, but also enhance operational
characteristics of the exhaust diffuser systems.
[0017] Turning now to the drawings and referring first to FIG. 1,
an embodiment of a gas turbine engine 100 is illustrated. The gas
turbine engine 100 extends in an axial direction 102. A radial
direction 104 illustrates a direction extending outward from a
central axis 105 of the gas turbine engine 100. Further, a
circumferential direction 106 illustrates the rotational direction
around the central axis 105 of the gas turbine engine 100. The gas
turbine engine 100 includes one or more fuel nozzles 108 located
inside a combustor section 110. In certain embodiments, the gas
turbine engine 100 may include multiple combustors 120 disposed in
an annular (e.g., circumferential 106) arrangement within the
combustor section 110. Further, each combustor 120 may include
multiple fuel nozzles 108 attached to or near a head end of each
combustor 120 in an annular (e.g., circumferential 106) or other
arrangement.
[0018] Air enters through an air intake section 122 and is
compressed by a compressor 124 of the gas turbine engine 100. The
compressed air from the compressor 124 is then directed into the
combustor section 110, where the compressed air is mixed with fuel.
The mixture of compressed air and fuel is generally burned within
the combustor section 110 to generate high-temperature,
high-pressure combustion gases, which are used to generate torque
within a turbine section 130 of the gas turbine engine 100. As
noted above, multiple combustors 120 may be annularly (e.g.,
circumferentially 106) disposed within the combustor section 110 of
the gas turbine engine 100. Each combustor 120 includes a
transition piece 172 that directs the hot combustion gases from the
combustor 120 to the turbine section 130 of the gas turbine engine
100. In particular, each transition piece 172 generally defines a
hot gas path from the combustor 120 to a nozzle assembly of the
turbine section 130, included within a first stage 174 of the
turbine section 130 of the gas turbine engine 100.
[0019] As illustrated in FIG. 1, the turbine section 130 includes
three separate stages or sections 174 (i.e., first stage or
section), 176 (i.e., second stage or section), and 178 (i.e., third
stage or section, or last turbine bucket section). Although
illustrated as including three stages 174, 176, 178, it will be
understood that, in other embodiments, the turbine section 130 may
include any number of stages. Each stage 174, 176, and 178 includes
blades 180 coupled to a rotor wheel 182 rotatably attached to a
shaft 184. As may be appreciated, each of the turbine blades 180
may be considered a turbine bucket, or a bucket. Each stage 174,
176, and 178 also includes a nozzle assembly 186 disposed directly
upstream of each set of blades 180. The nozzle assemblies 186
direct the hot combustion gases toward the blades 180 where the hot
combustion gases apply motive forces to the blades 180 to rotate
the blades 180, thereby turning the shaft 184. As a result, the
blades 180 and shaft 184 rotate in the circumferential direction
106. The hot combustion gases flow through each of the stages 174,
176, and 178 applying motive forces to the blades 180 within each
stage 174, 176, and 178. The hot combustion gases may then exit the
gas turbine section 130 into an exhaust diffuser system 188 of the
gas turbine engine 100. The exhaust diffuser system 188 reduces the
velocity of fluid flow of the exhaust combustion gases from the gas
turbine section 130, and also increases the static pressure of the
exhaust combustion gases to increase the work produced by the gas
turbine engine 100.
[0020] In the illustrated embodiment, the last turbine bucket
section 178 of the turbine section 130 includes a clearance 194
between ends of a plurality of last turbine bucket blades 195
(e.g., the last blade 180 of the gas turbine section 130) and a
stationary shroud 196 disposed about the plurality of last turbine
bucket blades 195. Further, an outer wall 198 of the exhaust
diffuser system 188 extends from the stationary shroud 196. A strut
200 is illustrated abutting the outer wall 198. Struts 200 are used
to support the structure of the exhaust diffuser section 188.
[0021] As illustrated, a manway 202 extends between the outer wall
198 and an inner wall 204 of the exhaust diffuser system 188. In
certain embodiments, the manway 202 may encompass pipes or tubes
that are used to transport fluids from outside the exhaust diffuser
system 188 for use within the exhaust diffuser system 188. The
inner wall 204 is formed by the outside of an access tunnel or
converging passageway 206. In certain embodiments, the inner wall
204 may extend at an angle 205 that is not parallel to the central
axis 105. For example, the angle 205 between the inner wall 204 and
the central axis 105 may be approximately 5 to 10 degrees, 3 to 7
degrees, or 8 to 15 degrees. As described in greater detail below,
the manway 202 extends through the exhaust diffuser system 188 at
an angle that is not perpendicular to the central axis 105. When
exhaust (e.g., the exhaust combustion gases from the gas turbine
section 130) flows through the exhaust diffuser system 188, the
exhaust flow is directed around the manway 202 to exit the exhaust
diffuser system 188. As such, the manway 202 may cause vortex
shedding to occur. However, the amplitude and frequency of the
vortex shedding may be lower in the present embodiments than in
systems with manways 202 that are perpendicular to the central axis
105. Thus, there may be a decrease in pressure loss, a decrease in
noise, and an increase in overall diffuser performance in the
present embodiments when compared to systems with manways 202 that
are perpendicular to the central axis 105.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the gas
turbine exhaust diffuser system 188. In particular, the struts 200
are disposed around the inner wall 204 of the exhaust diffuser
system 188 and extend radially 104 from the inner wall 204 to the
outer wall 198 of the exhaust diffuser system 188 and thereby
structurally support the outer wall 198 of the exhaust diffuser
system 188. When turbine exhaust flows into the exhaust diffuser
system 188, the exhaust flows through an area between the inner
wall 204 and the outer wall 198. Thus, the exhaust flows around the
struts 200, which alters the exhaust flow. Therefore, the
properties of how the exhaust flows through the exhaust diffuser
system 188 are affected by the shape and position of the struts
200. Further within the exhaust diffuser system 188, the exhaust
flows around one or more manways 202. Again, the properties of how
the exhaust flows through the exhaust diffuser system 188 are
affected by the shape and position of the manways 202, as will be
described in greater detail below. FIG. 3 is a side view of an
embodiment of the gas turbine exhaust diffuser system 188. FIG. 3
illustrates how multiple struts 200 may be arranged around the
inner wall 204 of the exhaust diffuser system 188. Further, the
manways 202 are located behind the struts 200 (within the exhaust
diffuser system 188). As illustrated, the manways 202 also extend
between the inner wall 204 and the outer wall 198 and may provide
further support between the inner wall 204 and the outer wall 198.
In particular, three manways 202 are illustrated, however, other
embodiments of the exhaust diffuser system 188 may have fewer or
more manways 202.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of an embodiment of
the gas turbine exhaust diffuser system 188. In particular, two
manways 202 are depicted, a first manway 236 and a second manway
238. As previously described, the manways 202 extend from the outer
wall 198 to the inner wall 204 and extend through an exhaust flow
area 240 through which the turbine exhaust from the turbine section
130 flows. Although the manways 202 are illustrated as having a
generally race-track shaped wall, the manways 202 walls may have
any suitable shape (e.g., cylindrical, airfoil, etc.). Further, the
shape of the manways 202 may be designed to achieve optimal flow of
exhaust around the manways 202. In certain embodiments, pipes 241
and 242 may be disposed within the manways 202 and extend from the
manways 202 into the access tunnel 206 defined within the inner
wall 204 of the exhaust diffuser system 188. As discussed above,
the pipes 241 and 242 may be used for transporting fluid to be used
by the turbine exhaust diffuser system 188. For example, the pipe
241 may be used to transport lubricating fluid (e.g., oil) through
the manway 236 to the access tunnel 206 to be used by the exhaust
diffuser system 188 (e.g., to lubricate bearings). As another
example, the pipe 242 may be used to transport cooling air or fluid
through the manway 238 to the access tunnel 206 to be used for
reducing the temperature of components within the exhaust diffuser
system 188.
[0024] The pipes 241 and 242 extend through the access tunnel 206
from an entry location 243 (e.g., where the manways 202 intersect
with the access tunnel 206) toward a strut region 244 of the access
tunnel 206. As illustrated, the access tunnel 206 forms a cone like
shape which generally increases in diameter as the access tunnel
206 extends from the entry location 243 toward the strut region
244. Therefore, a distance 246 between the pipes 241 and 242 may be
based on the entry location 243 of the pipes 241 and 242 into the
access tunnel 206. As may be appreciated, the distance 246 between
the pipes 241 and 242 may affect heat transfer that occurs between
the pipes 241 and 242. Further, the distance 246 as well as the
distances between the pipes 241 and 242 and the inner wall 204 may
affect the ability of an operator to move through the access tunnel
206, such as to perform maintenance. As such, in certain
embodiments, the manways 202 extend at an angle from the outer wall
198 toward the inner wall 204 that is not perpendicular to the
central axis 105. By extending the manways 202 at an angle not
perpendicular to the central axis 105, the location of the manways
202 may cause the pipes 241 and 242 to enter the access tunnel 206
at a location where the access tunnel 206 has a larger diameter
than if the manways 202 extended toward the access tunnel 206 at an
angle perpendicular to the central axis 105, assuming that the
manways 202 extend from the same location of the outer wall 198 in
both instances. As a result, the distance 246 may increase and
allow more space for an operator to move within the access tunnel
206. For example, the distance 246 may increase because the pipes
241 and 242 may extend from an entry location 243 where the access
tunnel 206 has a larger diameter than in other entry locations. The
larger diameter enables the pipes 241 and 242 to remain a greater
distance 246 from each other as they extend into the access tunnel
206, remain close to the inner wall 204, and extend toward the
strut region 244. In certain embodiments, heat transfer between the
pipes 241 and 242 may decrease as the distance 246 increases.
[0025] An entry distance 248 is the distance between the pipes 241
and 242 and an access door 249 (at a downstream end of the access
tunnel 206), which is used by an operator to enter the access
tunnel 206. As may be appreciated, as the entry distance 248
increases, there is greater space for the operator to enter the
access tunnel 206 through the access door 249. The entry distance
248 is greater in the present embodiments than in systems where the
manways 202 extend perpendicular to the central axis 105, again
assuming that the manways 202 extend from the same location of the
outer wall 198 in both instances.
[0026] There are generally two sides of each manway 202.
Specifically, an upstream end 250 (e.g., the side of the manway 202
closest to the struts 200) and a downstream end 252 (e.g., the side
of the manway 202 farthest from the struts 200). As illustrated,
the angle between the manways 202 and the central axis 105 may be
described using an upstream angle 254 (e.g., the angle between the
upstream end 250 and the central axis 105) or a downstream angle
256 (e.g., the angle between the downstream end 252 of the manway
202 and the central axis 105). The upstream angle 254 may be any
suitable angle greater than 90 degrees (e.g., not perpendicular),
and the downstream angle 256 may be any suitable angle less than 90
degrees (e.g., not perpendicular). For example, the upstream angle
254 may be within a range of approximately 95 to 115 degrees, 93 to
105 degrees, or 100 to 120 degrees. Specifically, the upstream
angle 254 may be approximately 105 degrees. On the other hand, the
downstream angle 256 may be within a range of approximately 65 to
85 degrees, 75 to 87 degrees, or 60 to 80 degrees. In particular,
the downstream angle 256 may be approximately 85 degrees. Further,
the upstream angle 254 and the downstream angle 256 are
supplementary angles (i.e., they combine to equal 180 degrees).
[0027] As described above, during operation of the gas turbine
engine 100, exhaust flows through the exhaust diffuser system 188.
The exhaust enters the exhaust diffuser system 188, flows around
the struts 200, then flows through the exhaust flow area 240 and
around the manways 202 before the exhaust exits the exhaust
diffuser system 188. As such, the manways 202 may cause vortex
shedding to occur. However, the amplitude and frequency of the
vortex shedding may be lower than in systems with manways 202 that
are perpendicular to the central axis 105. More specifically,
because the manways 202 are angled away from the impinging flow of
the exhaust, the amplitude and frequency of vortex shedding may be
drastically reduced as compared to perpendicular manways 202.
[0028] In summary, the technical effects of the present invention
include providing greater access for an operator to enter and
maneuver within the access tunnel 206. Further, heat transfer
between pipes within the access tunnel 206 is decreased as the
pipes are moved away from each other within the access tunnel 206.
In addition, the amplitude and frequency of the vortex shedding is
decreased (e.g., the flow of exhaust through the exhaust diffuser
system 188 is disturbed less). As a result, there may be a decrease
in pressure loss, a decrease in noise, and an increase in overall
diffuser performance in the present embodiments when compared to
systems with manways 202 that are perpendicular to the central axis
105.
[0029] This written description uses examples to disclose the
invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person
skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and
using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated
methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the
claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled
in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope
of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ
from the literal language of the claims, or if they include
equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from
the literal languages of the claims.
* * * * *