U.S. patent application number 14/992460 was filed with the patent office on 2016-07-14 for air conditioner and method for controlling an air conditioner.
The applicant listed for this patent is ELECTRONICS INC.. Invention is credited to Song CHOI, Minho CHUNG, Hojong JEONG, Kwangho SHIN.
Application Number | 20160201953 14/992460 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 55080050 |
Filed Date | 2016-07-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160201953 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHUNG; Minho ; et
al. |
July 14, 2016 |
AIR CONDITIONER AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AN AIR CONDITIONER
Abstract
An air conditioner and a method for controlling an air
conditioner are provided. The air conditioner may include at least
one indoor device; an electric heat pump (EHP) outdoor device
connected to the at least one indoor device, and configured to
drive a first compressor using electric power; a gas heat pump
(GHP) outdoor device connected to the at least one indoor device,
and having an engine configured to drive a second compressor using
a burned gas; and an exhaust device connected with the engine to
discharge an exhaust gas of the engine, and configured to perform
heat exchange with an outdoor heat exchanger provided at the EHP
outdoor device.
Inventors: |
CHUNG; Minho; (Seoul,
KR) ; JEONG; Hojong; (Seoul, KR) ; SHIN;
Kwangho; (Seoul, KR) ; CHOI; Song; (Seoul,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ELECTRONICS INC. |
Seoul |
|
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
55080050 |
Appl. No.: |
14/992460 |
Filed: |
January 11, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
62/115 ; 62/160;
62/324.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25B 2313/004 20130101;
F25B 2400/06 20130101; F25B 2327/001 20130101; F25B 49/02 20130101;
F25B 13/00 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F25B 13/00 20060101
F25B013/00; F25B 49/02 20060101 F25B049/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 12, 2015 |
KR |
10-2015-0004180 |
Claims
1. An air conditioner, comprising: at least one indoor device; an
electric heat pump (EHP) outdoor device connected to the at least
one indoor device, and including a first compressor using electric
power and an outdoor heat exchanger; a gas heat pump (GHP) outdoor
device connected to the at least one indoor device, and having an
engine configured to drive a second compressor using a burned gas;
and an exhaust device connected to the engine to discharge an
exhaust gas of the engine, and configured to perform heat exchange
with the outdoor heat exchanger.
2. The air conditioner according to claim 1, wherein the exhaust
device is provided adjacent to and extends along the outdoor heat
exchanger.
3. The air conditioner according to claim 2, wherein the exhaust
device includes: a first exhaust pipe that extends from the engine
toward the EHP outdoor device; a second exhaust pipe connected to
the first exhaust pipe and provided adjacent to the outdoor heat
exchanger; and a third exhaust pipe connected to the second exhaust
pipe and configured to discharge the exhaust gas.
4. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the outdoor
heat exchanger has a distributor that extends in a lengthwise
direction of the outdoor heat exchanger.
5. The air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein the second
exhaust pipe is provided adjacent to and extends along the
distributor.
6. The air conditioner according to claim 4, wherein the second
exhaust pipe includes a distributor insertion groove into which the
distributor is inserted.
7. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the GHP
outdoor device includes a cooling water heat exchanger configured
to perform heat exchange with refrigerant introduced from the at
least one indoor device.
8. The air conditioner according to claim 7, wherein the first
exhaust pipe passes through the cooling water heat exchanger.
9. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the second
exhaust pipe has a rectangular parallelepiped shape.
10. The air conditioner according to claim 3, wherein the third
exhaust pipe includes: a connection portion connected to the second
exhaust pipe; and an exhaust gas discharging portion bent from the
connection portion.
11. The air conditioner according to claim 10, wherein the exhaust
gas discharging portion extends parallel with the outdoor heat
exchanger.
12. A method for controlling an air conditioner including at least
one indoor device; an electric heat pump (EHP) outdoor device
connected to the at least one indoor device, and including a first
compressor using electric power and an outdoor heat exchanger; a
gas heat pump (GHP) outdoor device connected to the at least one
indoor device, and having an engine configured to drive a second
compressor using a burned gas; and an exhaust device connected to
the engine to discharge an exhaust gas of the engine, the method
comprising: driving the GHP outdoor device and the EHP outdoor
device to perform a warming operation; and during the warming
operation performing heat exchange with the outdoor heat exchanger
using the exhaust device.
13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the exhaust device is
provided adjacent to and extends along the outdoor heat
exchanger.
14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the exhaust device
includes: a first exhaust pipe that extends from the engine toward
the EHP outdoor device; a second exhaust pipe connected to the
first exhaust pipe and provided adjacent to the outdoor heat
exchanger; and a third exhaust pipe connected to the second exhaust
pipe and configured to discharge the exhaust gas.
15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the outdoor heat
exchanger has a distributor that extends in a lengthwise direction
of the outdoor heat exchanger.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the second exhaust
pipe is provided adjacent to and extends along the distributor.
17. The method according to claim 15, wherein the second exhaust
pipe includes a distributor insertion groove into which the
distributor is inserted.
18. The method according to claim 14, wherein the GHP outdoor
device includes a cooling water heat exchanger configured to
perform heat exchange with refrigerant introduced from the at least
one indoor device.
19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the first exhaust
pipe passes through the cooling water heat exchanger.
20. The method according to claim 14, wherein the third exhaust
pipe includes: a connection portion connected to the second exhaust
pipe; and an exhaust gas discharging portion bent from the
connection portion.
21. Apparatus for controlling an air conditioner including at least
one indoor device; an electric heat pump (EHP) outdoor device
connected to the at least one indoor device, and including a first
compressor using electric power and an outdoor heat exchanger; a
gas heat pump (GHP) outdoor device connected to the at least one
indoor device, and having an engine configured to drive a second
compressor using a burned gas; and an exhaust device connected to
the engine to discharge an exhaust gas of the engine, the apparatus
comprising: means for driving the GHP outdoor device and the EHP
outdoor device to perform a warming operation; and means for,
during the warming operation, performing heat exchange with the
outdoor heat exchanger using the exhaust device.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119
to Korean Application No. 10-2015-0004180, filed in Korea on Jan.
12, 2015, whose entire disclosure is hereby incorporated by
reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] An air conditioner and a method for controlling an air
conditioner are disclosed herein.
[0004] 2. Background
[0005] An air conditioner is an apparatus that cools, warms, or
purifies indoor air to provide a more comfortable indoor
environment for a user. An air conditioner may be classified as an
electric heat pump (EHP) type, which uses electric power, or a gas
heat pump (GHP) type, which uses a gas fuel, such as liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to a
power source for driving a compressor. In a GHP type, an engine is
operated by burning a gas fuel, and thus, a compressor is
driven.
[0006] A conventional EHP type air conditioner is disclosed in
Korean Patent Application No. 10-2003-0077857, which is hereby
incorporated by reference. In the conventional EHP type air
conditioner, as the compressor may be easily controlled by
adjusting a supply current, it is possible to respond to a partial
load, and thus, the conventional EHP type air conditioner has high
energy efficiency. However, in the EHP type air conditioner, there
is a problem in that an outdoor heat exchanger is covered with
frost when low temperature warming is performed.
[0007] A conventional GHP type air conditioner is also disclosed in
Korean Patent Application No. 10-2003-0077857. As the conventional
GHP type air conditioner uses waste heat of the engine, it has
excellent defrosting performance, but there is a problem in that it
has low engine efficiency due to heat loss, for example.
[0008] Therefore, measures capable of providing an air conditioner
having further improved performance and efficiency are
required.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] Embodiments will be described in detail with reference to
the following drawings in which like reference numerals refer to
like elements, and wherein:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an air conditioner
according to an embodiment;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a partial view illustrating components of the air
conditioner of FIG. 1; and
[0012] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of
the air conditioner of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] In the following detailed description of embodiments,
reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part
hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration embodiments
which may be practiced. These embodiments are described in
sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice
the embodiments, and it is understood that other embodiments may be
utilized and that logical structural, mechanical, electrical, and
chemical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or
scope. To avoid detail not necessary to enable those skilled in the
art to practice the embodiments, the description may omit certain
information known to those skilled in the art. The following
detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting
sense, and the scope is defined only by the appended claims.
[0014] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an air conditioner
according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partial view illustrating
components of the air conditioner of FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 1
and 2, the air conditioner 1 may include an indoor unit or device
10 and an outdoor unit or device 100. One or a plurality of indoor
devices 10 may be provided. The one or more indoor device 10 may be
connected with the outdoor device 100, and may cool, warm or purify
indoor air.
[0015] The outdoor device 100 may be connected with the one or more
indoor device 10 and may perform compressing and expanding, for
example, of a refrigerant to allow a sufficient heat exchanging
operation of the indoor device 10. A plurality of outdoor devices
100 may be provided. Hereinafter, as an example, an embodiment
having one pair of outdoor devices 100 will be described.
[0016] The outdoor device 100 may be a combined type including an
electric heat pump (EHP) type using electric power and a gas heat
pump (GHP) type using a gas fuel, such as LPG and LNG. The outdoor
device 100 may include an EHP outdoor unit or device 200, a GHP
outdoor unit or device 300, and an exhaust unit or device 400.
[0017] The EHP outdoor device 200 may be an outdoor device operated
using an EHP and may include a first compressor 210, a first
accumulator 220, a pair of connection valves 230 and 240, a first
outdoor heat exchanger 250, a first outdoor heat exchanger control
valve 260, and a first four-way valve 270. The first compressor 210
may compress the refrigerant and may be driven by applying a
voltage. That is, when the voltage is applied to the first
compressor 210, the first compressor 210 may compress the
refrigerant. The first accumulator 220 may supply the refrigerant
to the first compressor 210. When the refrigerant flows backwards
or is introduced into the first compressor 210 as a liquid, the
first compressor 210 may be damaged, and thus, the first
accumulator 220 may temporarily store a mixture of oil and
refrigerant.
[0018] The pair of connection valves 230 and 240 may include a
connection valve 230, which may connect a pipe 232 that connects to
the first compressor 210 with a pipe 12 of the indoor device 10,
and a connection valve 240, which may connect a pipe 234 that
connects to the first outdoor heat exchanger 250 with a pipe 14 of
the indoor device 10. The first outdoor heat exchanger 250 may
evaporate or condense the refrigerant according to a cooling
operation or a warming operation of the air conditioner 1. When the
air conditioner 1 performs the cooling operation, the refrigerant
may be condensed, and when the air conditioner 1 performs the
warming operation, the refrigerant may be evaporated.
[0019] The first outdoor heat exchanger 250 may be provided with a
distributor 252. The distributor 252 may extend in a heightwise or
lengthwise direction of the first outdoor heat exchanger 250 and
may allow the refrigerant to be evenly introduced into the first
outdoor heat exchanger 250 when the refrigerant passes through the
first outdoor heat exchanger 250. As the distributor 252 is well
known, detailed description thereof has been omitted.
[0020] The first outdoor heat exchanger control valve 260 may
control a flow of the refrigerant toward the first outdoor heat
exchanger 250. As the first outdoor heat exchanger control valve
260 is well known, detailed description thereof has been
omitted.
[0021] The first four-way valve 270 may change or switch a passage
of the refrigerant flowing in the EHP outdoor device 200. As the
first four-way valve 270 is well known, detailed description
thereof has been omitted.
[0022] The GHP outdoor device 300 may be an outdoor device operated
using a GHP method and may include a second compressor 310, a
second accumulator 320, an engine 330, a pair of connection valves
340 and 345, a cooling water heat exchanger 350, a cooling water
pump 355, a second outdoor heat exchanger 360, a second outdoor
heat exchanger control valve 365, a plate type heat exchanger 370,
a plate type heat exchanger control valve 375, and a second
four-way valve 380. The second compressor 310 may compress the
refrigerant and may be operated through driving of the engine 330,
which will be described hereinafter. When a driving force is
transmitted to the second compressor 310 through the engine 330,
the second compressor 310 may compress the refrigerant, similar to
the first compressor 210.
[0023] The second accumulator 320 may supply the refrigerant to the
second compressor 310. When the refrigerant flows backwards or is
introduced into the second compressor 310 as a liquid, the second
compressor 310 may be damaged, and thus, the second accumulator 320
may temporarily store a mixture of oil and refrigerant, similar to
the first accumulator 220.
[0024] The engine 330 may transmit the driving force to the second
compressor 310 and may be operated by burning the gas fuel, such as
LPG and LNG. The GHP outdoor device 300 may be operated using the
GHP method through a burned gas from the engine 330.
[0025] The pair of connection valves 330 and 340 may include a
connection valve 340, which may connect a pipe 342 connected to the
second compressor 310 with the pipe 12 of the indoor device 10, and
a connection valve 345, which may connect a pipe 346 connected to
the second outdoor heat exchanger 360 with the pipe 14 of the
indoor device 10.
[0026] The cooling water heat exchanger 350 may cool the engine
330. The cooling water heat exchanger 350 may absorb heat of the
engine 330 overheated by the driving of the engine 330 using
cooling water.
[0027] The cooling water pump 355 may provide a flowing force to
the cooling water and may be connected with the cooling water heat
exchanger 350. Therefore, the cooling water pump 355 may supply the
cooling water to the cooling water heat exchanger 350.
[0028] The second outdoor heat exchanger 360 may evaporate or
condense the refrigerant according to the cooling operation or the
warming operation of the air conditioner 1, similar to the first
outdoor heat exchanger 250. When the air conditioner 1 performs the
cooling operation, the refrigerant may be condensed, and when the
air conditioner 1 performs the warming operation, the refrigerant
may be evaporated.
[0029] The second outdoor heat exchanger control valve 365 may
control a flow of the refrigerant toward the second outdoor heat
exchanger 360. As the second outdoor heat exchanger control valve
365 is also well known and similar to the first outdoor heat
exchanger control valve 260, detailed description thereof has been
omitted.
[0030] The plate type heat exchanger 370 may evaporate or condense
the refrigerant according to the cooling operation or the warming
operation of the air conditioner 1, similar to the second outdoor
heat exchanger 360. The plate type heat exchanger 370 may evaporate
or condense the refrigerant together with the second outdoor heat
exchanger 360. The plate type heat exchanger control valve 375 may
control the flow of the refrigerant toward the plate type heat
exchanger 370. As the plate type heat exchanger control valve 375
is well known, detailed description thereof has been omitted.
[0031] The second four-way valve 380 may change or switch a passage
of the refrigerant flowing in the GHP outdoor device 300. As the
second four-way valve 380 is also well known and similar to the
first four-way valve 270, detailed description thereof has been
omitted.
[0032] The exhaust device 400 may connect with the engine 330 to
discharge an exhaust gas of or from the engine 330 and may be
provided to pass through the first outdoor heat exchanger 250 and
to heat exchange with the first outdoor heat exchanger 250 provided
at the EHP outdoor device 200. The exhaust device 400 may be
adjacent to the first outdoor heat exchanger 250 and extend along
the first outdoor heat exchanger 250. The exhaust device 400 may
include a first exhaust pipe 410, a second exhaust pipe 420, and a
third exhaust pipe 430.
[0033] The first exhaust pipe 410 may extend from the engine 330
toward the EHP outdoor device 200. That is, the first exhaust pipe
410 may extend from the engine 330 of the GHP outdoor device 300 to
a point or position near the first outdoor heat exchanger 250 of
the EHP outdoor device 200. The first exhaust pipe 410 may extend
to the point or position near the first outdoor heat exchanger 250
of the EHP outdoor device 200 via the cooling water heat exchanger
350 of the GHP outdoor device 300.
[0034] The second exhaust pipe 420 may connect with the first
exhaust pipe 410 and may be adjacent to the first outdoor heat
exchanger 250 of the EHP outdoor device 200. The second exhaust
pipe 420 may be adjacent to the distributor 252 and extend along
the distributor 252 or may be provided at or on the distributor
252.
[0035] A distributor insertion groove 425, into which the
distributor 252 may be inserted, may be formed at or in the second
exhaust pipe 420. The distributor insertion groove 425 may be
provided at or in an outer surface of the second exhaust pipe 420
and may have a size sufficient such that the distributor 252 may be
inserted in a longitudinal direction of the second exhaust pipe
420.
[0036] The second exhaust pipe 420 may have a rectangular
parallelepiped shape provided in a heightwise direction of the
distributor 252; however, embodiments are not limited thereto. For
example, the second exhaust pipe 420 may be provided as near as
possible to the outer surface of the distributor 252, or may be
provided at the outer surface over a range or area, which may be as
wide as possible.
[0037] The third exhaust pipe 430 may connect with the second
exhaust pipe 420 to discharge the exhaust gas from the engine 330
outside. The third exhaust pipe 430 may include a connection part
or portion 432 and an exhaust gas discharging part or portion
434.
[0038] The connection portion 432 may connect with the second
exhaust pipe 420. The exhaust gas discharging portion 434 may be
formed to be bent from the connection portion 432. The exhaust gas
discharging portion 434 may be bent in a direction so as to extend
substantially parallel with the first outdoor heat exchanger 250.
The exhaust gas discharging portion 434 may be bent upward from the
connection portion 432 and extend substantially parallel with the
first outdoor heat exchanger 250.
[0039] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an operation of
the air conditioner of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 3, when the air
conditioner 1 performs the warming operation, in the EHP outdoor
device 200, a high temperature gas refrigerant may be transferred
to the indoor device 10, and a low temperature liquid refrigerant
may be introduced from the indoor device 10. The high temperature
gas refrigerant may be transferred to the indoor device 10 through
the connection valve 230 and the pipe 12 of the indoor device 10,
and the low temperature liquid refrigerant may be introduced into
the EHP outdoor device 200 through the pipe 14 of the indoor device
10 and the connection valve 240.
[0040] When the air conditioner 1 performs the warming operation,
in the GHP outdoor device 300, similar to the EHP outdoor device
200, the high temperature gas refrigerant may be transferred to the
indoor device 10, and the low temperature liquid refrigerant may be
introduced from the indoor device 10. That is, the air conditioner
1 may be driven in a combined method of the EHP method and the GHP
method.
[0041] In the EHP outdoor device 200, the low temperature liquid
refrigerant introduced into the EHP outdoor device 200 may be
evaporated in the first outdoor heat exchanger 250 via the pipe 234
and may heat exchange with air. Therefore, a temperature of the low
temperature liquid refrigerant may be increased.
[0042] When an external environment, in which the EHP outdoor
device 200 may be provided, has a low temperature and high
humidity, the first outdoor heat exchanger 250 of the EHP outdoor
device 200 may be covered with frost due to moisture in the air.
When a frosting range, or range at which frost occurs, at the first
outdoor heat exchanger 250 is widened, heat exchange with the
refrigerant may not be performed properly, and thus, an undesirable
defrosting operation may need to be performed. Due to the
defrosting operation, the warming operation may not be performed at
the indoor device 10 connected with the EHP outdoor device 200.
[0043] However, in the air conditioner 1 according to embodiments
disclosed herein, the above-described problem may not occur due to
the exhaust device 400. The exhaust gas discharged from the engine
330 may pass through the exhaust device 400. Typically, a
temperature of the exhaust gas introduced into the exhaust device
400 may be higher than a temperature of the air in the atmosphere.
The temperature of the exhaust gas may be about 60.degree. C. to
70.degree. C. The exhaust gas having the temperature of about
60.degree. C. to 70.degree. C. may be transferred to the first
outdoor heat exchanger 250 through the exhaust device 400.
[0044] The exhaust gas may pass through the first exhaust pipe 410
of the exhaust device 400, the second exhaust pipe 420 of the
exhaust device 400, and the third exhaust pipe 430 of the exhaust
device 400, and may then be discharged outside through the exhaust
gas discharging portion 434. Heat exchange between the refrigerant
flowing through the distributor 252 and the exhaust gas flowing
through the second exhaust pipe 420 may be performed through the
second exhaust pipe 420, in which the distributor 252 may be
inserted and which may be adjacent to the distributor 252.
Therefore, as the temperature of the refrigerant flowing through
the distributor 252 is increased, the frosting phenomenon may be
considerably reduced, even when the first outdoor heat exchanger
250 is provided at or in a position or environment having low
temperature and high humidity.
[0045] Thus, in the embodiments disclosed herein, when the air
conditioner 1 performs the warming operation, the frosting
phenomenon of the first outdoor heat exchanger 250 may be
prevented. Additionally, the undesirable defrosting operation may
be prevented, even though the first outdoor heat exchanger 250 of
the EHP outdoor device 200 may be exposed to an environment having
low temperature and high humidity. Therefore, in the warming
operation of the air conditioner 1, the air conditioner 1 according
to the embodiments disclosed herein may improve performance and
efficiency of the outdoor device 100.
[0046] An air conditioner according to embodiments disclosed herein
capable of further improving performance and efficiency may be
provided.
[0047] Embodiments disclosed herein provide an air conditioner
including at least one indoor unit or device; an electric heat pump
(EHP) outdoor unit or device connected with the at least one indoor
unit, and configured to drive a first compressor using electric
power; a gas heat pump (GHP) outdoor unit or device connected with
the at least one indoor unit, and having an engine configured to
drive a second compressor using a burned gas; and an exhaust unit
or device connected with the engine to discharge an exhaust gas of
the engine, and configured to perform heat exchange with an outdoor
heat exchanger provided at the EHP outdoor unit. The exhaust unit
may be disposed or provided adjacent to the outdoor heat exchanger
along the outdoor heat exchanger. The exhaust unit may include a
first exhaust pipe formed to extend from the engine toward the EHP
outdoor unit; a second exhaust pipe connected with the first
exhaust pipe and disposed adjacent to the outdoor heat exchanger;
and a third exhaust pipe connected with the second exhaust pipe and
configured to discharge the exhaust gas.
[0048] The outdoor heat exchanger may have a distributor, which may
be disposed or provided or extend in a heightwise or lengthwise
direction of the outdoor heat exchanger. The second exhaust pipe
may be disposed or provided adjacent to the distributor along the
distributor. A distributor insertion groove, in which the
distributor may be inserted, may be formed at the second exhaust
pipe.
[0049] The GHP outdoor unit may include a cooling water heat
exchanger configured to perform the heat exchange with a
refrigerant introduced from the at least one indoor unit. The first
exhaust pipe may pass through the cooling water heat exchanger at
the engine. The second exhaust pipe may have a rectangular
parallelepiped shape. The third exhaust pipe may include a
connection part or portion connected with the second exhaust pipe,
and an exhaust gas discharging part or portion formed to be bent
from the connection part. The exhaust gas discharging part may be
disposed or extend in parallel with the outdoor heat exchanger.
[0050] Even though all the elements of the embodiments are coupled
into one or operated in the combined state, the embodiments are not
limited to such. That is, all the elements may be selectively
combined with each other without departing the scope. Further, when
it is described that one comprises (or comprises or has) some
elements, it should be understood that it may comprise (or include
or have) only those elements, or it may comprise (or include or
have) other elements as well as those elements if there is no
specific limitation. Unless otherwise specifically defined herein,
all terms comprising technical or scientific terms are to be given
meanings understood by those skilled in the art. Like terms defined
in dictionaries, generally used terms needs to be construed as
meaning used in technical contexts and are not construed as ideal
or excessively formal meanings unless otherwise clearly defined
herein.
[0051] Any reference in this specification to "one embodiment," "an
embodiment," "example embodiment," etc., means that a particular
feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with
the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. The
appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification
are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Further,
when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is
described in connection with any embodiment, it is submitted that
it is within the purview of one skilled in the art to effect such
feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other ones
of the embodiments.
[0052] Although embodiments have been described with reference to a
number of illustrative embodiments thereof, it should be understood
that numerous other modifications and embodiments can be devised by
those skilled in the art that will fall within the spirit and scope
of the principles of this disclosure. More particularly, various
variations and modifications are possible in the component parts
and/or arrangements of the subject combination arrangement within
the scope of the disclosure, the drawings and the appended claims.
In addition to variations and modifications in the component parts
and/or arrangements, alternative uses will also be apparent to
those skilled in the art.
* * * * *