What is claimed is:
1. A computer-implemented method for modeling a wireless communications system, wherein the wireless communications system includes at least one transmitter and at least one receiver located at a distance from the transmitter, the method comprising:
(a) modeling, in the computer, a radio frequency (RF) signal’s propagation between the transmitter and the receiver;
(b) determining, in the computer, an effect from at least one body of water residing between the transmitter and the receiver on the modeled radio frequency (RF) signal’s propagation; and
(c) outputting, from the computer, a signal strength value for the modeled RF signal based on the determined effect from the body of water residing between the transmitter and receiver.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises using line-of-sight calculations to determine the RF signal’s strength and the effect from the body of water on the RF signal’s strength.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the RF signal is represented as a theoretical ray in the computer, and a reflection point of the ray is located where the ray intersects land and water.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises predicting the RF signal’s propagation in a first case where the receiver is visible to the transmitter.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predicting step is affected if the body of water is detected along a straight-line path from the transmitter to the receiver.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises predicting the RF signal’s propagation in a second case where the receiver is not visible to the transmitter.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the predicting step is affected if the body of water is detected along a straight-line path from the transmitter to the receiver.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is on the body of water, and the transmitted’s antenna height above average mean sea level is less than or equal to the receiver’s antenna height, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
SignalOAL6 dB
wherein OAL is an Open Area Loss:
OAL4943.5*log10 (D in feet5280)
and D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is on the body of water, and the transmitter’s antenna height above average mean sea level is greater than the receiver’s antenna height, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
SignalOAL20 log (TxHtMoHtHtAGL)
wherein OAL is an Open Area Loss:
OAL4943.5*log10 (D in feet5280)
TxHt is the transmitter’s antenna height above average mean sea level, MoHt is the receiver’s antenna height, and HtAGL is the transmitter’s antenna elevation above ground level, and D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is not line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, and the receiver is on the body of water, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
SignalOALShadow Loss
wherein OAL is an Open Area Loss:
OAL4943.5*log10 (D in feet5280)
D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver, and the Shadow Loss is a loss due to knife-edge diffraction around obstacles.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is not line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, and the receiver is on the body of water, then calculating the signal strength according to a basic Lee model.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are not blocked, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
Signal4620 log (4DW)
wherein D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver, and W is a wavelength of the RF signal.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are both blocked from the receiver, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
(i) find Shadow Loss for a point that blocks the receiver from the RF signals reflected by land, and
(ii) SignalPath LossShadow Loss
wherein the Shadow Loss is that loss due to knife-edge diffraction around obstacles.
14. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land are blocked from the receiver and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are not blocked from the receiver, then calculating the signal strength using the basic Lee model.
15. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land are not blocked from the receiver and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are blocked from the receiver, then calculating the signal strength using a basic Lee model.
16. An article of manufacture embodying logic for modeling a wireless communications system, wherein the wireless communications system includes at least one transmitter and at least one receiver located at a distance from the transmitter, the logic comprising:
(a) modeling, in a computer, a radio frequency (RF) signal’s propagation between the transmitter and the receiver;
(b) determining, in the computer, an effect from at least one body of water residing between the transmitter and the receiver on the modeled radio frequency (RF) signal’s propagation; and
(c) outputting, from the computer, a signal strength value for the modeled RF signal based on the determined effect from the body of water residing between the transmitter and receiver.
17. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the determining step comprises using line-of-sight calculations to determine the RF signal’s strength and the effect from the body of water on the RF signal’s strength.
18. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the RF signal is represented as a theoretical ray in the computer, and a reflection point of the ray is located where the ray intersects land and water.
19. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the determining step comprises predicting the RF signal’s propagation in a first case where the receiver is visible to the transmitter.
20. The article of manufacture of claim 19, wherein the predicting step is affected if the body of water is detected along a straight-line path from the transmitter to the receiver.
21. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the determining step comprises predicting the RF signal’s propagation in a second case where the receiver is not visible to the transmitter.
22. The article of manufacture of claim 21, wherein the predicting step is affected if the body of water is detected along a straight-line path from the transmitter to the receiver.
23. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is on the body of water, and the transmitter’s antenna height above average mean sea level is less than or equal to the receiver’s antenna height, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
SignalOAL6 dB
wherein OAL is an Open Area Loss:
OAL4943.5*log10 (D in feet5280)
and D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver.
24. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is on the body of water, and the transmitter’s antenna height above average mean sea level is greater than the receiver’s antenna height, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
SignalOAL20 log (TxHtMoHtHtAGL)
wherein OAL is an Open Area Loss:
OAL4943.5*log10 (D in feet5280)
TxHt is the transmitter’s antenna height above average mean sea level, MoHt is the receiver’s antenna height, and HtAGL is the transmitter’s antenna elevation above ground level, and D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver.
25. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is not line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, and the receiver is on the body of water, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
SignalOALShadow Loss
wherein OAL is an Open Area Loss:
OAL4943.5*log10 (D in feet5280)
D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver, and the Shadow Loss is a loss due to knife-edge diffraction around obstacles.
26. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is not line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, and the receiver is on the body of water, then calculating the signal strength according to a basic Lee model.
27. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are not blocked, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
Signal4620 log(4DW)
wherein D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver, and W is a wavelength of the RF signal.
28. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are both blocked from the receiver, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
(i) find Shadow Loss for a point that blocks the receiver from the RF signals reflected by land, and
(ii) SignalPath LossShadow Loss
wherein the Shadow Loss is that loss due to knife-edge diffraction around obstacles.
29. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land are blocked from the receiver and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are not blocked from the receiver, then calculating the signal strength using the basic Lee model.
30. The article of manufacture of claim 16, wherein the determining step comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land are not blocked from the receiver and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are blocked from the receiver, then calculating the signal strength using a basic Lee model.
31. A computer-implemented system for modeling a wireless communications system, wherein the wireless communications system includes at least one transmitter and at least one receiver located at a distance from the transmitter, comprising:
(a) a computer;
(b) means, performed by the computer, for modeling a radio frequency (RF) signal’s propagation between the transmitter and the receiver;
(c) means, performed by the computer, for determining an effect from at least one body of water residing between the transmitter and the receiver on the modeled radio frequency (RF) signal’s propagation; and
(d) means, performed by the computer, for outputting a signal strength value for the modeled RF signal based on the determined effect from the body of water residing between the transmitter and receiver.
32. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for determining comprises means for using line-of-sight calculations to determine the RF signal’s strength and the effect from the body of water on the RF signal’s strength.
33. The system of claim 31, wherein the RF signal is represented as a theoretical ray in the computer, and a reflection point of the ray is located where the ray intersects land and water.
34. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for determining comprises means for predicting the RF signal’s propagation in a first case where the receiver is visible to the transmitter.
35. The system of claim 34, wherein the means for predicting is affected if the body of water is detected along a straight-line path from the transmitter to the receiver.
36. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for determining comprises means for predicting the RF signal’s propagation in a second case where the receiver is not visible to the transmitter.
37. The system of claim 36, wherein the means for predicting is affected if the body of water is detected along a straight-line path from the transmitter to the receiver.
38. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for determining comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is on the body of water, and the transmitter’s antenna height above average mean sea level is less than or equal to the receiver’s antenna height, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
SignalOAL6 dB
wherein OAL is an Open Area Loss:
OAL4943.5*log10 (D in feet5280)
and D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver.
39. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for determining comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is on the body of water, and the transmitter’s antenna height above average mean sea level is greater than the receiver’s antenna height, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
SignalOAL20 log(TxHtMoHtHtAGL)
wherein OAL is an Open Area Loss:
OAL4943.5*log10 (D in feet5280)
TxHt is the transmitter’s antenna height above average mean sea level, MoHt is the receiver’s antenna height, and HtAGL is the transmitter’s antenna elevation above ground level, and D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver.
40. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for determining comprises:
if the receiver is not line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, and the receiver is on the body of water, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
SignalOALShadow Loss
wherein OAL is an Open Area Loss:
OAL4943.5*log10 (D in feet5280)
D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver, and the Shadow Loss is a loss due to knife-edge diffraction around obstacles.
41. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for determining comprises:
if the receiver is not line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, and the receiver is on the body of water, then calculating the signal strength according to a basic Lee model.
42. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for determining comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are not blocked, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
Signal4620 log(4DW)
wherein D is a distance between the transmitter and the receiver, and W is a wavelength of the RF signal.
43. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for determining comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are both blocked from the receiver, then calculating the signal strength according to the following:
(i) find Shadow Loss for a point that blocks the receiver from the RF signals reflected by land, and
(ii) SignalPath LossShadow Loss
wherein the Shadow Loss is that loss due to knife-edge diffraction around obstacles.
44. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for determining comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land are blocked from the receiver and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are not blocked from the receiver, then calculating the signal strength using the basic Lee model.
45. The system of claim 31, wherein the means for determining comprises:
if the receiver is line-of-sight visible to the transmitter, the receiver is not on the body of water, the body of water is located between the transmitter and the receiver, and the paths of the RF signals reflected by land are not blocked from the receiver and the paths of the RF signals reflected by the body of water are blocked from the receiver, then calculating the signal strength using a basic Lee model.
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. An end cap for a pressure vessel, the pressure vessel having the end cap and a housing, wherein the end cap comprises at least one connecting part for connecting the end cap to the housing by engaging a counterpart of the housing, wherein the at least one connecting part comprises a number of recesses, the number of recesses being formed on surfaces of the at least one connecting part facing the counterpart of the housing to provide at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel, when the end cap is plugged on said housing.
2. The end cap according to claim 1, wherein the at least one connecting part of the end cap is a slot of a key and slot joint, wherein the at least one slot comprises the number of recesses.
3. The end cap according to claim 1, wherein at least one first recess and at least one second recess of the number of recesses are arranged opposite each other with respect to the at least one connecting part, thus forming said at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel, when the end cap is plugged on said housing.
4. The end cap according to claim 1, wherein at least one first recess and at least one second recess of the number of recesses are offset from each other with respect to the at least one connecting part, thus forming said at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel, when the end cap is plugged on said housing.
5. The end cap according to claim 1, wherein the recesses are sized so as to be sealable by welding the end cap to the housing.
6. A housing for a pressure vessel, the pressure vessel comprising the housing and an end cap, wherein the housing comprises at least one counterpart for connecting the end cap to the housing by engaging a connecting part of the end cap, wherein the at least one counterpart comprises a number of recesses, the number of recesses being formed on surfaces of the at least one counterpart facing the connecting part of the end cap to provide at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel, when said end cap is plugged on said housing.
7. The housing according to claim 6, wherein the at least one counterpart is a key of a key and slot joint, wherein the at least one key comprises the number of recesses.
8. The housing according to claim 6, wherein at least one first recess and at least one second recess of the number of recesses are arranged opposite each other with respect to the at least one counterpart, thus forming at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel, when the end cap is plugged on said housing.
9. The housing according to claim 6, wherein at least one first recess and at least one second recess of the number of recesses are offset from each other with respect to the at least one counterpart, thus forming at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel, when the end cap is plugged on said housing.
10. The housing according to claim 6, wherein the recesses are sized so as to be sealable by welding the end cap to the housing.
11. A pressure vessel comprising a housing and at least one end cap which is configured to close at least one opening of the housing, the end cap including at least one connecting part, the housing including at least one corresponding counterpart, wherein the at least one end cap can be plugged to said housing by engaging said at least one connecting part of the end cap in said at least one corresponding counterpart of the housing, and welded, wherein the at least one connecting part comprises a number of recesses, the number of recesses being formed on surfaces of the at least one connecting part facing the counterpart to provide at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel when the end cap is plugged on said housing.
12. A pressure vessel comprising a housing and at least one end cap which is configured to close at least one opening of the housing, wherein the at least one end cap can be plugged on said housing by engaging at least one connecting part of the end cap in at least one corresponding counterpart of the housing, and welded, wherein the at least one counterpart comprises a number of recesses, the number of recesses being formed on surfaces of the at least one counterpart facing the connecting part of the end cap to provide at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel, when said end cap is plugged on said housing.
13. A method for leak testing a pressure vessel comprising a housing and at least one end cap which is configured to close at least one opening of the housing, the end cap including at least one connecting part, the housing including at least one corresponding counterpart, wherein the at least one end cap can be plugged to said housing by engaging said at least one connecting part of the end cap in said at least one corresponding counterpart of the housing, and welded, wherein the at least one connecting part comprises a number of recesses, the number of recesses being formed on surfaces of the at least one connecting part facing the counterpart to provide at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel when the end cap is plugged on said housing, the at least one end cap not being properly connected to the housing, the method comprising the following steps: employing a test fluid, and checking whether a fluid flow of the test fluid is passing at a location at which the at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel has been originally formed, and interpreting detection of such a fluid flow to indicate that the end cap has not yet been properly welded on the housing of the pressure vessel.
14. A method for checking a connection between at least one first tubular member and at least one second tubular member for leak tightness, the at least one first tubular member being configured to close at least one opening of the at least one second member via at least one connecting part of the first member and at least one corresponding counterpart of the second member, and to be plugged and then welded on said at least one second member via the at least one connecting part of the first member and the at least one counterpart of the second member, providing a number of recesses at least one of the at least one connecting part and the at the at least one counterpart, the number of recesses being arranged so as to form at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the connected members when the at least one first member is not yet properly welded on the at least one second member, submitting the connected members to leak testing, and detecting flow of leak testing fluid through the at least one fluid passage.
15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the at least one first member is an end cap and the at least one second member is a housing of at least one of a diffusion device and a filtration device and the at least one connecting part and the at least one corresponding counterpart form a key and slot joint, so that a method is provided for checking a connection between the at least one end cap and the housing of the at least one of a diffusion device and a filtration device for leak tightness, the at least one end cap being configured to close at least one opening of the housing via the at least one key and slot joint and to be plugged and then welded on said housing via the at least one key and slot joint, wherein a number of recesses are provided at the at least one key and slot joint, the number of recesses being arranged so as to form at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the device when the end cap is not yet properly welded on the housing, flow of leak testing fluid through the at least one fluid passage serving as an indication that the end cap is not yet properly welded on the housing when the device is submitted to an appropriate leak testing.
16. The end cap according to claim 2 wherein at least one first recess and at least one second recess of the number of recesses are arranged opposite each other with respect to the at least one connecting part, thus forming said at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel, when the end cap is plugged on said housing.
17. The end cap according to claim 2 wherein at least one first recess and at least one second recess of the number of recesses are offset from each other with respect to the at least one connecting part, thus forming said at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel, when the end cap is plugged on said housing.
18. The end cap according to claim 3 wherein at least one first recess and at least one second recess of the number of recesses are offset from each other with respect to the at least one connecting part, thus forming said at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel, when the end cap is plugged on said housing.
19. The end cap according to claim 16 wherein at least one first recess and at least one second recess of the number of recesses are offset from each other with respect to the at least one connecting part, thus forming said at least one fluid passage between an inside and an outside of the pressure vessel, when the end cap is plugged on said housing.
20. The end cap according to claim 2 wherein the recesses are sized so as to be sealable by welding the end cap to the housing.