What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus that provides at least one estimated effective age of a product, comprising:
at least one sensor that provides data about an environmental condition;
a device that uses said data to calculate an age acceleration factor for said product for at least one of said sensors;
at least one accumulator that provides the estimated effective age for said product, based upon said age acceleration factor; and
a display capable of presenting said estimated effective age to a user of said product.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sensor includes an analog to digital conversion function, and wherein said device that uses said data to calculate an age acceleration factor is a digital processor.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said digital processor is programmed to compute an Arrhenius estimate of said age acceleration.
4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said digital processor is programmed to compute a Coffin-Manson estimate of age acceleration.
5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said digital processor is programmed to compute a Hallberg-Peck estimate of age acceleration.
6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said accumulator is at least partially implemented in nonvolatile storage.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said nonvolatile storage is a ferroelectric memory.
8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said nonvolatile storage is a flash memory.
9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said nonvolatile storage is a hard disk.
10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said nonvolatile storage is a volatile memory element, with continuity of power provided by a battery.
11.The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said sensor produces an analog voltage output, said analog voltage output varying substantially linearly responsive to a change in temperature.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said device that uses said data to calculate an age acceleration factor for said product is a VCO, said VCO producing a VCO output signal that varies substantially exponentially responsive to a linear voltage change on an input of the VCO.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein said accumulator is a counter; said counter being implemented, at least in part, in a nonvolatile or effectively nonvolatile technology.
14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein said display is electrically coupled to selected bits of said counter.
15. A method for producing one or more estimates of effective age of a product, comprising the steps of:
sensing one or more environmental conditions;
computing an age acceleration factor for each of the environmental conditions sensed, using a model that relates the environmental condition to the age acceleration factor;
computing effective age values, using said acceleration factors;
storing said effective age values into nonvolatile storage; and
displaying said effective age values to a user of said product on a display.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of computing an age acceleration factor comprises the use of the Arrhenius equation, the Hallberg-Peck equation, or the Coffin-Manson equation.
17. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of computing effective age values further comprises the steps of:
time integrating the age acceleration factor for each of the environmental conditions sensed, resulting in an effective age for the product according to each said model;
computing a normalized effective age for some or all of the effective ages by dividing the instant effective age by a wall clock age;
computing an effective life used value for some or all of the effective ages by dividing the instant effective age by a predetermined estimate of life of the product; and
computing an effective life remaining value for some or all of the effective ages by subtracting said effective life used value from 1.
18. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of displaying said effective age values further comprises the steps of:
determining if any of said values are outside of predetermined ranges; and
alerting the user if any of said values are outside of predetermined ranges by lighting a light, sounding an audible alarm, or presenting said values on said display
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A joint cover system operable to span a gap between two surfaces, the system comprising:
a first base member including a first slot and operable to couple with a first one of the surfaces;
a second base member including a second slot and operable to couple with a second one of the surfaces;
a covering member operable to slidably engage the first slot and the second slot and thereby couple with the base members to at least partially span the gap;
an intumescent sheet;
a substantially U-shaped unitary support structure directly coupled with the intumescent sheet and having flanges operable to directly couple with the surfaces, the support structure being larger in at least one dimension than the intumescent sheet and wherein the support structure is directly coupled with the surfaces;
a first fastener which penetrates the intumescent sheet and the support structure, thereby securing the intumescent sheet and the support structure to the first one of the surfaces; and
a second fastener which penetrates the intumescent sheet and the support structure, thereby securing the intumescent sheet and the support structure to the second one of the surfaces.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the support structure includes a foil sheet.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the support structure includes a high-temperature fabric.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the intumescent sheet is attached to the support structure with a fastener.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the intumescent sheet is not positioned on the flanges.
6. The system of claim 1, further including a second intumescent sheet and a second substantially U-shaped support structure coupled with the second intumescent sheet, the second support structure having opposed flanges operable to couple with the surfaces and being larger in at least one dimension than the second intumescent sheet.
7. The system of claim 1, further including an anchor operable to penetrate the first base member and one of the flanges to couple the first base member and the support structure to one of the surfaces.