126 can be implemented thereon. In such a situation, features of the computing platform could be representative of a single instance of hardware or multiple instances of hardware executing across multiple of instances (e.g., distributed) of hardware (e.g., computers, routers, memory, processors, or a combination thereof). Alternatively, the computing platform 110 could be implemented on a single dedicated server or workstation on which the alarm receiver 126 can be implemented.

The alarm receiver 126 can include an interface 128 to receive the maintenance alarms 122. The alarm transmitter 108 (e.g., a PI-server server local to the HMD network) can communicate with the alarm receiver 126 (e.g., a PI-server server local to the corporate network) using the interfaces 118 and 128. Thus, the interfaces 118 and 128 can provide an interface system (e.g., a PI-to-PI interface) over which the maintenance alarms 122 can be delivered to the network 104. While the example of FIG. 1 shows the alarm receiver 126 with a single interface, there can be any number of interfaces, each using a respective data diode similar to the data diode 124 to receive maintenance alarms (in some instances similar to the maintenance alarms 122) from any number of networks that have been segregated from other (external) networks.

In some examples, the interface 128 can provide the received maintenance alarms 122 to an alarm analyzer 130. The alarm analyzer 130 can evaluate the maintenance alarms to determine whether personnel should be alerted (e.g., to investigate or carry out maintenance associated with a location or section for which the alarm was generated). For example, the alarm analyzer 130 can determine if any of the maintenance alarms 122 are critical alarms by evaluating the maintenance alarms 122 (e.g., a measurement or sensor value) relative to a threshold or range. The alarm analyzer 130 can group or categorize the critical alarms by area, for example, by using alarm location information. In some examples, the alarm analyzer 130 can determine an overall area category performance. The pipeline network can be segregated into several areas that can be under supervision or control of different departments. Each department performance can be monitored by the alarm analyzer 130 to determine, but not limited to, how many alarm per area (department), which can correspond to the overall area category performance. In some examples, the alarm analyzer 130 can determine how frequent alarms occur per department, and how often that department exceeds a key performance indicator (KPI). In some examples, the alarm analyzer 130 can determine if a particular location or section is exhibiting a high level of critical alarms. For example, if the particular location or section has a maintenance alarm generated periodically (e.g., every hour, day, etc.) and a count of the generated maintenance alarms exceeds a threshold, as determined by the alarm analyzer 130, this can be an indication that the particular location or section requires attention or maintenance.

The alarm receiver 126 includes an alert generator 132. The alarm analyzer 130 can notify the alert generator 132 of each location or section (or address) that requires maintenance or investigation, and the alert generator 132 can output an alert 134. In some examples, the alert 134 is a short message service (SMS) message, an email, or a different type of messaging channel. In some examples, the alert generator 132 has a list of contacts (e.g., emails, phone numbers, etc.) and uses the list of contacts to send the alert 134 to devices/computers of these contacts. In some examples, the alert can be provided to a controller 136. The controller 136 can be implemented as software, hardware, or a combination thereof. The controller 136 can cause or initiate maintenance of a system 138 based on the alert 134. The system can be one of an equipment, a tool, and a device of a pipeline network. For example, the controller 136 can cause a system to initiate a cleaning procedure, which can include or cause notifying appropriate personnel. In some examples, the controller 136 can cause the pipeline department to see the alert 134 and acknowledge it through a system or application (e.g., PI AlarmView).

In some examples, the alarm transmitter 108 can provide a spreadsheet that includes the maintenance alarms 122 through the interfacing system by the data diode 124 to the alarm receiver 126. A window task scheduler can be used to open the spreadsheet, and the alarm analyzer 130 (e.g., in some examples implemented as a script) extracts data for analysis according to one or more examples, as disclosed herein. The alarm analyzer 130 can count each maintenance alarm, analyze each maintenance alarm (individually or collectively) and generate a report based on its analysis, which can be rendered on an output device, as disclosed herein.

By using the data diode 124 to provide one-way data flow from the network 102 to the network 104 maintains the physical separation of the networks 102 and 104 while permitting maintenance alarms 122 to be extracted from the network 102 without human intervention. Thus, in examples in which the network 102 is an HMD network and the network 104 is a corporate network, for example, in the oil and/or gas industry, would allow a pipeline department to receive the maintenance alarms 122 directly from the SCADA system 120 by using the alarm transmitter 108, as the alarm transmitter 108 maintains a similar maintenance alarm database as the SCADA system 120. Thus, by using the system 100, allows the pipeline department to receive the maintenance alarms 122 and not detract HMD planners from attending to operational alarms that may require immediate action. The system 100 does not jeopardize the security of the network 102 or the network's firewall of remote terminal units (RTUs) connection from penetration.

FIG. 2 is an example of a pipeline network communication system 200 that can be used to measure and capture operational conditions of a pipeline network, which can include pipelines (referred to in the example of FIG. 2 as “Pipelines”) and power substations (referred to in the example of FIG. 2 as “Power Substations”). The system 200 includes RTU's, wherein each respective RTU is identified as “RTU” in the example of FIG. 2. Each RTU can be used to collect data or information about the pipeline network and transmit the collected data (through a remote connection) to a central control location, such as an OCC SCADA system 202. The OCC SCADA system 202 can be on an HMD network 204, which can be implemented similarly to the network 102, as shown in FIG. 1. Thus, reference can be made to the example of FIG. 1 in the example of FIG. 2. The OCC SCADA system 202 can be implemented similarly to the SCADA system 120, as shown in FIG. 1.

The OCC SCADA system 202 can include a SCADA human machine interface (HMI). The OCC SCADA system 202 can evaluate the collected data to output one or more maintenance and operational alarms, as disclosed herein. The OCC SCADA system 202 can include a maintenance alarm database 206 and an operational alarm database 208. The alarm transmitter 108, as shown in FIG. 1, can be implemented on the HMD network 204 and access maintenance alarms, such as the maintenance alarms 122, as shown in FIG. 1, from the maintenance alarm database 206. Access can include requests or retrieval operations. The HMD network 204 can include a firewall 210 or be protected by the firewall 210, which, in some examples, can be implemented as a physical device to prevent outside access by intruders. A data diode 212 can be used to provide directional access to the HMD network 204 by a corporate PI system 214 on a corporate network 216. In some examples, the data diode 212 can include a first data diode to provide directional access to the HMD network 204 from the corporate network 216, and a second data diode. The second data diode can be used to provide directional access to some data (e.g., specific data) from the corporate network 216 in order to monitor the facilities (226). The corporate network 216 can be connected to another corporate network 218, which is shown with reference numeral 220. A facilities PI system 222 can be connected to the corporate network. The corporate network 218 can be connected to a plant network 224 to which a facilities PAS system 226 is connected. A data diode as used herein can be referred to as a security device that manages physical segregation of networks. As such, the data diode can control or ensure specific data is exchanged between networks, such as disclosed herein.

The plant network 224 can be protected by a firewall 230, which can be implemented as a physical device to prevent outside access by intruders. A data diode 228 can be used to provide directional access to the plant network 224 by the facilities PI system 222 on the corporate network 218. In some examples, the data diode 212 and 228 can be implemented as the data diode 124. In some examples, the alarm receiver 126, as shown in FIG. 1, can be implemented at a corporate side (e.g., connected to the corporate network 216) or facility side (e.g., connected to the corporate network 218) and can be used to access maintenance alarms 122 from the network 204, which is physically separated from the corporate networks 216 and/or 218 according to one or more examples, as disclosed herein.

In view of the foregoing structural and functional features described above, example methods will be better appreciated with reference to FIGS. 3-4. While, for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the example methods of FIGS. 3-4 are shown and described as executing serially, it is to be understood and appreciated that the present examples are not limited by the illustrated order, as some actions could in other examples occur in different orders, multiple times and/or concurrently from that shown and described herein. Moreover, it is not necessary that all described actions be performed to implement the methods.

FIG. 3 is an example of a method 300 for configuring an isolated network (e.g., the network 102, as shown in FIG. 1) for alarm data (e.g., maintenance alarms 122, as shown in FIG. 1) access. Thus, reference can be made to one or more examples of FIGS. 1-2 in the example of FIG. 3. The method 300 can begin at 302 by segregating, at a SCADA system (e.g., the SCADA system 120, as shown in FIG. 1), maintenance alarms and operational alarms into respective first and second databases (e.g., the databases 206 and 208, as shown in FIG. 2). The SCADA system can be coupled to the isolated network. At 304, the isolated network can be configured with an alarm transmitter (e.g., alarm transmitter 108, as shown in FIG. 1) to provide one or more maintenance alarms of the maintenance alarms from the first database of the SCADA system. At 306, another network (e.g., the network 104, as shown in FIG. 1) can be configured with an alarm receiver (e.g., the alarm receiver 126, as shown in FIG. 1) to receive the one or more maintenance alarms and output an alert (e.g., the alert 134, as shown in FIG. 1) based on the alarm data. At 308, the isolated network can be coupled to the other network with a data diode (e.g., the data diode 124, as shown in FIG. 1). The data diode can be used to provide the one or more maintenance alarms from the isolated network to the other network and block any data from being provided from the other network to the isolated network to maintain this network's isolation.

FIG. 4 is an example of a method 400 for notifying a user (e.g., one or more personnel) of maintenance. Thus, reference can be made to one or more examples of FIGS. 1-3 in the example of FIG. 4. The method 400 can begin (identified with “Start” in FIG. 4) at 402 by receiving an alarm from instrumentation of a SCADA system from RTU. In some examples, the RTU can provide the alarm, while in other instances, the RTU can provide data to the SCADA system which can analyze the data and output the alarm. At 404, the alarm is identified to determine whether the alarm is an operational alarm or a maintenance alarm. At 406, the determined alarm (and associated data in some instances) is routed to (e.g., stored in) an appropriate database. For example, at 406, the operational alarm is routed to an operational database, and the method 400 proceeds to 408. At 408, the operational alarm (e.g., in some instances a signal) is transferred to a SCADA human machine interface (HMI) for monitoring and control (e.g., by an HMD planner). At 410, one or more alarm configurations can be carried out by the SCADA system.

In examples in which the determined alarm is a maintenance alarm, the method 400 proceeds from 406 to 414. At step 414, the maintenance alarm (e.g., in some instances a signal) can be transferred from a maintenance alarm database to a database (referred to as “historian database” in FIG. 4) of an alarm transmitter (e.g., the alarm transmitter 108, as shown in FIG. 1). The SCADA system and the alarm transmitter are coupled to a first network that is isolated from an outside world (or other networks) (identified as “Due to firewall restriction” in the example of FIG. 4).

At 416, the maintenance alarm is provided using a PI-interface (e.g., the interface 118, as shown in FIG. 1) of the alarm transmitter by a data diode (e.g., the data diode 124, as shown in FIG. 1) to a PI-interface (e.g., the interface 128, as shown in FIG. 1) of an alarm receiver (e.g., the alarm receiver 126, as shown in FIG. 1). The alarm receiver is located on a different network than the alarm transmitter. At 418, the maintenance alarm can be accessed through the PI-PI interface between a corporate network and HMD network without impacting a critical infrastructure (e.g., the isolated CDS). At 420, the maintenance alarm can be visualized using a graphical user interface (GUI) through PI Vision.

In some examples, the alarm transmitter 108 can provide a spreadsheet that includes the maintenance alarm (e.g., the maintenance alarm 122, as shown in FIG. 2). At 422, a window task scheduler can be used to open the spreadsheet. At 242, machine readable code, which can be scripted using Visual Basic, which can correspond to the alarm analyzer, or a portion thereof, can be executed (start running) extract data (e.g., the maintenance alarm) from spreadsheet. In some instances, the PI-server is the alarm receiver 126. In some instances, the interface 128 can be implemented as a stand-alone module and thus separate from the alarm receiver 126. In these examples, the stand-alone module is the PI-server and provides data to the alarm receiver 126. At 426, the alarm receiver analyzes the maintenance alarm (or alarms) and provides a report, and/or outputs an alert (e.g., the alert 134, as shown in FIG. 1) based on its analysis. At 428, the alarm receiver causes an email to be sent to recipients by invoking Microsoft Outlook® based on the alert.

While the disclosure has described several exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes can be made, and equivalents can be substituted for elements thereof, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications will be appreciated by those skilled in the art to adapt a particular instrument, situation, or material to embodiments of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, or to the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, reference in the appended claims to an apparatus or system or a component of an apparatus or system being adapted to, arranged to, capable of, configured to, enabled to, operable to, or operative to perform a particular function encompasses that apparatus, system, or component, whether or not it or that particular function is activated, turned on, or unlocked, as long as that apparatus, system, or component is so adapted, arranged, capable, configured, enabled, operable, or operative.

In view of the foregoing structural and functional description, those skilled in the art will appreciate that portions of the embodiments may be embodied as a method, data processing system, or computer program product. Accordingly, these portions of the present embodiments may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware, such as shown and described with respect to the computer system of FIG. 5. Thus, reference can be made to one or more examples of FIGS. 1-4 in the example of FIG. 5.

In this regard, FIG. 5 illustrates one example of a computer system 500 that can be employed to execute one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Computer system 500 can be implemented on one or more general purpose networked computer systems, embedded computer systems, routers, switches, server devices, client devices, various intermediate devices/nodes or standalone computer systems. Additionally, computer system 500 can be implemented on various mobile clients such as, for example, a personal digital assistant (PDA), laptop computer, pager, and the like, provided it includes sufficient processing capabilities.

Computer system 500 includes processing unit 502, system memory 504, and system bus 506 that couples various system components, including the system memory 504, to processing unit 502. Dual microprocessors and other multi-processor architectures also can be used as processing unit 502. System bus 506 may be any of several types of bus structure including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. System memory 504 includes read only memory (ROM) 510 and random access memory (RAM) 512. A basic input/output system (BIOS) 514 can reside in ROM 512 containing the basic routines that help to transfer information among elements within computer system 500.

Computer system 500 can include a hard disk drive 516, magnetic disk drive 518, e.g., to read from or write to removable disk 520, and an optical disk drive 522, e.g., for reading CD-ROM disk 524 or to read from or write to other optical media. Hard disk drive 516, magnetic disk drive 518, and optical disk drive 522 are connected to system bus 506 by a hard disk drive interface 526, a magnetic disk drive interface 528, and an optical drive interface 530, respectively. The drives and associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of data, data structures, and computer-executable instructions for computer system 500. Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk and a CD, other types of media that are readable by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks and the like, in a variety of forms, may also be used in the operating environment; further, any such media may contain computer-executable instructions for implementing one or more parts of embodiments shown and disclosed herein. A number of program modules may be stored in drives and RAM 510, including operating system 532, one or more application programs 534, other program modules 536, and program data 538. In some examples, the application programs 534 can include one or more modules (or block diagrams), or systems, as shown and disclosed herein. Thus, in some examples, the application programs 534 can include the maintenance alarm transmitter 108 or the alarm receiver 126, as shown in FIG. 1. A separate computing system such as the computing system 500 can be used for implementing the alarm transmitter 108 and the alarm receiver 126.

A user may enter commands and information into computer system 500 through one or more input devices 540, such as a pointing device (e.g., a mouse, touch screen), keyboard, microphone, joystick, game pad, scanner, and the like. These and other input devices are often connected to processing unit 502 through a corresponding port interface 542 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, serial port, or universal serial bus (USB). One or more output devices 544 (e.g., display, a monitor, printer, projector, or other type of displaying device) is also connected to system bus 506 via interface 546, such as a video adapter.

Computer system 500 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer 548. Remote computer 548 may be a workstation, computer system, router, peer device, or other common network node, and typically includes many or all the elements described relative to computer system 500. The logical connections, schematically indicated at 550, can include a local area network (LAN) and a wide area network (WAN). When used in a LAN networking environment, computer system 500 can be connected to the local network through a network interface or adapter 552. When used in a WAN networking environment, computer system 500 can include a modem, or can be connected to a communications server on the LAN. The modem, which may be internal or external, can be connected to system bus 506 via an appropriate port interface. In a networked environment, application programs 534 or program data 538 depicted relative to computer system 500, or portions thereof, may be stored in a remote memory storage device 554.

Although this disclosure includes a detailed description on a computing platform and/or computer, implementation of the teachings recited herein are not limited to only such computing platforms. Rather, embodiments of the present disclosure are capable of being implemented in conjunction with any other type of computing environment now known or later developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing, memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or interaction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may include at least five characteristics, at least three service models (e.g., software as a service (SaaS, platform as a service (PaaS), and/or infrastructure as a service (IaaS)) and at least four deployment models (e.g., private cloud, community cloud, public cloud, and/or hybrid cloud). A cloud computing environment can be service oriented with a focus on statelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.

FIG. 6 is an example of a cloud computing environment 600 that can be used for implementing one or more modules and/or systems in accordance with one or more examples, as disclosed herein. Thus, reference can be made to one or more examples of FIGS. 1-5 in the example of FIG. 6. As shown, cloud computing environment 600 can include one or more cloud computing nodes 602 with which local computing devices used by cloud consumers (or users), such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA), cellular, or portable device 604, a desktop computer 606, and/or a laptop computer 608, may communicate. In some examples, the cloud computing environment 600 can include a corporate network, as disclosed herein. Thus, the one or more nodes 602 can be used to implement the alarm receiver 126, as shown in FIG. 1. In some examples, the portable device 604, the desktop computer 606 or the laptop computer 608 is used to implement the alarm receiver 126.

The computing nodes 602 can communicate with one another. In some examples, the computing nodes 602 can be grouped (not shown) physically or virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community, Public, or Hybrid clouds, or a combination thereof. This allows the cloud computing environment 600 to offer infrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloud consumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computing device. The devices 604-608, as shown in FIG. 6, are intended to be illustrative and that computing nodes 602 and cloud computing environment 600 can communicate with any type of computerized device over any type of network and/or network addressable connection (e.g., using a web browser). In some examples, the one or more computing nodes 602 are used for implementing one or more examples disclosed herein.

In some examples, the cloud computing environment 600 can provide one or more functional abstraction layers. It is be understood that the cloud computing environment 600 need not provide all of the one or more functional abstraction layers (and corresponding functions and/or components), as disclosed herein. For example, the cloud computing environment 600 can provide a hardware and software layer that can include hardware and software components. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers; servers; blade servers; storage devices; and networks and networking components. In some embodiments, software components include network application server software and database software.

In some examples, the cloud computing environment 600 can provide a virtualization layer that provides an abstraction layer from which the following examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers; virtual storage; virtual networks, including virtual private networks; virtual applications and operating systems; and virtual clients. In some examples, the cloud computing environment 1900 can provide a management layer that can provide the functions described below. For example, the management layer can provide resource provisioning that can provide dynamic procurement of computing resources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks within the cloud computing environment. The management layer can also provide metering and pricing to provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computing environment 600, and billing or invoicing for consumption of these resources. In one example, these resources may include application software licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloud consumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources. The management layer can also provide a user portal that provides access to the cloud computing environment 1900 for consumers and system administrators. The management layer can also provide service level management, which can provide cloud computing resource allocation and management such that required service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning and fulfillment can also be provided to provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated in accordance with an SLA.

In some examples, the cloud computing environment 600 can provide a workloads layer that provides examples of functionality for which the cloud computing environment 600 may be utilized. Examples of workloads and functions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping and navigation; software development and lifecycle management; virtual classroom education delivery; data analytics processing; and transaction processing. Various embodiments of the present disclosure can utilize the cloud computing environment 600.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computer program product at any possible technical detail level of integration. The computer program product may include a computer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention. The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for use by an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmitted through a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can be downloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computer readable storage medium or to an external computer or external storage device via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, a wide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprise copper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in each computing/processing device receives computer readable program instructions from the network and forwards the computer readable program instructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium within the respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations of the present invention may be assembler instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, or either source code or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages. The computer readable program instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readable program instructions by utilizing state information of the computer readable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects of the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computer implemented process, such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

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 various embodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions for implementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks 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. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware based systems that perform the specified functions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, for example, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “contains”, “containing”, “includes”, “including,” “comprises”, and/or “comprising,” and variations thereof, when used in this specification, 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. In addition, the use of ordinal numbers (e.g., first, second, third, etc.) is for distinction and not counting. For example, the use of “third” does not imply there must be a corresponding “first” or “second.” Also, as used herein, the terms “coupled” or “coupled to” or “connected” or “connected to” or “attached” or “attached to” may indicate establishing either a direct or indirect connection, and is not limited to either unless expressly referenced as such. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “possesses,” and the like are used in the detailed description, claims, appendices and drawings such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim. The term “based on” means “based at least in part on.” The terms “about” and “approximately” can be used to include any numerical value that can vary without changing the basic function of that value. When used with a range, “about” and “approximately” also disclose the range defined by the absolute values of the two endpoints, e.g. “about 2 to about 4” also discloses the range “from 2 to 4.” Generally, the terms “about” and “approximately” may refer to plus or minus 5-10% of the indicated number.

What has been described above include mere examples of systems, computer program products and computer-implemented methods. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combination of components, products and/or computer-implemented methods for purposes of describing this disclosure, but one of ordinary skill in the art can recognize that many further combinations and permutations of this disclosure are possible. The descriptions of the various embodiments have been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.

Certain embodiments have also been described herein with reference to block illustrations of methods, systems, and computer program products. It will be understood that blocks of the illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the illustrations, can be implemented by computer-executable instructions. These computer-executable instructions may be provided to one or more processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus (or a combination of devices and circuits) to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor, implement the functions specified in the block or blocks.

These computer-executable instructions may also be stored in computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory result in an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.