U.S. patent application number 12/789730 was filed with the patent office on 2010-09-23 for device and method for providing and displaying animated sms messages.
This patent application is currently assigned to SONY ERICSSON MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS AB. Invention is credited to William O. Camp, JR..
Application Number | 20100240405 12/789730 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38829623 |
Filed Date | 2010-09-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20100240405 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Camp, JR.; William O. |
September 23, 2010 |
DEVICE AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING AND DISPLAYING ANIMATED SMS
MESSAGES
Abstract
A device and method of creating and displaying a short message
service (SMS) message capable of attaching and displaying animated
characteristics is disclosed. To create an animated SMS message the
user responds to input prompts asking for: a mobile identification
number that identifies the receiving party, an animation flag that
determines whether the SMS message will have animation
characteristics, a content pointer location that specifies the
location of a content file resident on the receiving device, and
the actual text of the SMS message. To display an animated SMS
message the receiving device parses the SMS message to determine
how to apply the desired animation characteristics. An animation
flag is checked and the location of a content file on the receiving
device is determined. The content file is retrieved and combined
with the text of the SMS message and the combination is then
animated according to the animation type specified.
Inventors: |
Camp, JR.; William O.;
(Chapel Hill, NC) |
Correspondence
Address: |
HARRITY & HARRITY, LLP
11350 RANDOM HILLS ROAD, SUITE 600
FAIRFAX
VA
22030
US
|
Assignee: |
SONY ERICSSON MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS
AB
Lund
SE
|
Family ID: |
38829623 |
Appl. No.: |
12/789730 |
Filed: |
May 28, 2010 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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11669260 |
Jan 31, 2007 |
7756536 |
|
|
12789730 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
455/466 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 4/14 20130101; H04M
1/72439 20210101; H04M 1/72427 20210101; H04L 51/38 20130101; H04L
51/18 20130101; H04W 88/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
455/466 |
International
Class: |
H04W 4/12 20090101
H04W004/12 |
Claims
1. A method of creating a text based short message service (SMS)
message capable of attaching animated characteristics to the SMS
message, the method comprising: prompting a user to input data:
providing a mobile identification number that identifies a
receiving portable mobile communications device that is the
intended recipient of the SMS message; setting an animation flag
that determines whether the SMS message will have animation
characteristics applied to it by the receiving portable mobile
communications device; providing a content pointer location that
specifies the location of a content file resident on the receiving
portable mobile communications device; providing the text and/or
characters to be associated with the SMS message; and constructing
the SMS message using the input data.
2-42. (canceled)
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Portable mobile communications devices such as mobile phones
are becoming more sophisticated and include many new features and
capabilities. Most portable mobile communications devices include
the ability to send messages using the text or character based
short message service (SMS). SMS is popular with service providers
because it does not tax the mobile network infrastructure very
much. It is popular with subscribers because it is a fast efficient
and inexpensive means of communicating in short bursts. The
drawback to SMS messaging is its lack of robustness. File
attachments like pictures, audio files, or video clips
significantly increase the cost to the subscriber and the load on
the mobile infrastructure. If a desired content file were already
resident on a receiving device, an SMS message application could
take advantage of that knowledge and provide a means for utilizing
the content file in such a way as not to increase the cost to the
subscriber or the load on the mobile network. Standard SMS text
messages could be created that would yield graphical effects on the
receiving device thereby enhancing the user experience.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0002] In one embodiment, a method of creating, on a device, a text
based short message service (SMS) message capable of attaching
animated characteristics to the SMS message is disclosed. The
method prompts the user to input data to be used in constructing
the SMS message. The device receives user input providing a mobile
identification number that identifies a receiving portable mobile
communications device. The device sets an animation flag that
determines whether the SMS message will have animation
characteristics applied to it by the receiving portable mobile
communications device. The user inputs and the device enters a
content pointer location that specifies the location of a content
file resident on the receiving portable mobile communications
device. The user also enters and the device receives the text
and/or characters to be associated with the SMS message. The device
then constructs the SMS message using the input data. The device
can also receive user input data providing an animation type
parameter that specifies how the content file associated with the
SMS message will be animated.
[0003] The animation type includes facial expressions. In addition,
the text in the SMS message can, as an alternative to being
displayed, also be translated into an audio signal that can then be
synchronized to the animation with the mouth moving in
synchronization with the audio. The SMS message can be made to
control characteristics of the audio, via a set of parameters
stored in the receiving phone along with the picture, so that the
voice sounds like that of the person whose picture is being
animated. The SMS message can also contain other instructions that
tell the animation how to move the face, mouth, eyes, etc. The
content file can be, inter alia, a picture, an emoticon, or an
audio file.
[0004] The SMS message can be created and sent from a sending
portable mobile communications device to a receiving portable
mobile communications device over a mobile network. Or the SMS
message can be created and sent from a computer device to a
receiving portable mobile communications device over an Internet
Protocol (IP) network that is communicable with a mobile
network.
[0005] In another embodiment there is disclosed, on a portable
mobile communications device, a method of displaying a text based
short message service (SMS) message having animated characteristics
associated with the SMS message. An SMS message is received from a
mobile network. The received SMS message is then parsed to
determine how to manipulate the message to apply the desired
animation characteristics before being displayed. The parsing step
determines whether the received SMS message has been associated
with animation characteristics. And if so, determines the location
of a content file on the portable mobile communications device that
is to be associated with the received SMS message. The content file
is then retrieved and combined with the text of the SMS message.
The animation type is then applied to the combined text and content
file to create an animated SMS message.
[0006] In still another embodiment there is disclosed a portable
mobile communications device for creating and receiving a text
based short message service (SMS) message capable of attaching and
displaying animated characteristics associated with the SMS
message. The portable mobile communications device includes an SMS
application for composing, sending, receiving, and parsing an SMS
message. An RF module is included for communicating with a mobile
network to send and receive an SMS message. Content storage means
store content files to be associated with an SMS message. An
animation application applies animation characteristics to the
content file associated with an SMS message. A processor executes
the SMS application and animation application as well as
facilitating operations with the other portable mobile
communications device components. A display on the portable mobile
communications device displays the animated SMS message.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is an illustration of components of a system for
sending and receiving SMS messages between portable mobile
communications devices.
[0008] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a portable mobile
communications device capable of sending and receiving SMS messages
that can spur animation characteristics in the receiving
device.
[0009] FIG. 3 is a logic diagram illustrating the flow of data
involved in creating, sending, receiving, and displaying an
animated SMS message between two portable mobile communications
devices.
[0010] FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example of an SMS message
showing message fields and sample data for the message fields.
[0011] FIG. 5 is a flowchart detailing the process of composing and
sending an SMS message in a portable mobile communications
device.
[0012] FIG. 6 is a flowchart detailing the process of receiving,
parsing, and displaying an SMS message in a portable mobile
communications device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0013] FIG. 1 is an illustration of components of a system for
sending and receiving SMS messages between portable mobile
communications devices. A sending portable mobile communications
device 110 is capable of communicating with a receiving portable
mobile communications device 120 over a mobile network 140 by way
of a basestation 130. The type of communication capable between the
portable mobile communications devices 110, 120 can include both
voice and data. The type of communication to be discussed herein is
data communication, specifically short messaging service (SMS)
communications which is more commonly known as text messaging. SMS
messages are relatively short character based communications
similar to e-mail but over a mobile phone network 140. File
attachments are not allowed with SMS messages. If a file is
attached (e.g., a picture or audio file) to a text message between
two portable mobile communications devices 110, 120, it is
typically referred to as a multi-media message (MMS).
[0014] SMS messages are intentionally constrained in length and
limited to textual characters so as not to overly tax the mobile
network infrastructure 140 and to provide a relatively easy basis
for charging fees to users that take advantage of the service. The
present invention provides a mechanism by which an SMS message can
trigger a multi-media type response in the receiving portable
mobile communications device 120 using only text. This is achieved
by having the receiving portable mobile communications device 120
treat the text as instructions and parsing the text accordingly so
that the instructions can be carried out.
[0015] The display 150 of the receiving portable mobile
communications device 120 in FIG. 1 shows a picture of a person
with a text `callout` that is telling the user of the receiving
portable mobile communications device 120 to call the sending user.
Since FIG. 1 is static, picture animation of the display can not be
illustrated but is possible. For instance, the mouth of the user
could be made to move indicating speech.
[0016] The sending portable mobile communications device 110 sent
an SMS message to the receiving portable mobile communications
device 120 with the only text being the words "Call Me". The SMS
message was constructed with additional fields of data that, when
parsed by the receiving portable mobile communications device 120,
cause the picture to be displayed and the text to be shown in the
callout bubble. Any animation of the picture would also be included
in the SMS message.
[0017] SMS messages can also be sent from computers having Internet
Access over an IP network 160 to a receiving portable mobile
communications device 120 since the mobile network 140 can
communicate with an IP network 170.
[0018] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a portable mobile
communications device 110, 120 capable of sending and receiving SMS
messages that can spur animation characteristics in the receiving
device. At the core of the portable mobile communications device
110, 120 is a processor 210. The processor 210 is responsible for
executing a myriad of applications resident in the portable mobile
communications device 110, 120. In fact, it is not uncommon to
employ more than one processor 210 in a portable mobile
communications device 110, 120 and while the illustration in FIG. 2
indicates only a single processor 210 that is for ease of
illustration only.
[0019] The processor 210 is coupled with an SMS message application
220, an animation application 230, a content storage device (or
devices) 240, an RF module 250, output means (display, speaker)
260, and other applications 270. The RF module is also coupled with
an antenna 255 to facilitate RF communications with the mobile
network.
[0020] The SMS application 220 is invoked when the user wants to
send an SMS message or when an SMS message is received. The SMS
application 220 provides the user an interface to help compose and
send outgoing SMS messages as well as to receive, view, respond to,
or otherwise manipulate incoming SMS messages including recognizing
when a received SMS contains special animation characteristics.
[0021] The animation application 230 is coupled with the SMS
application 220 by way of the processor 210. The animation
application 230 is capable of manipulating a still picture so that
it can be displayed with animation effects on the display of a
portable mobile communications device. This feature/technology is
implemented using Sony's proprietary MotionPortrait.TM.
application, for instance. The SMS application 220 is capable of
incorporating an animation with an SMS text message.
[0022] The content storage device(s) 240 represent stored content
files including but not limited to, still photos (e.g., jpeg, gif,
etc.), video clips, audio files, audio characteristics or
parameters to synthesize an audio signal mimicking the voice
associated with the picture that synchronizes the synthesized audio
and movements of the head, mouth and eyes, or other application
specific files. The content storage device(s) 240 can be
implemented as RAM within the portable mobile communications
device, a removable storage media (e.g., a Sony memory stick,
compact flash, etc.) that can be inserted into and removed from the
portable mobile communications device, an internal hard drive,
reserved space on a SIM card, or the like.
[0023] The RF module 250 is responsible for sending and receiving
RF signals to and from the mobile network. This includes both voice
for telephone calls and data for SMS text messages. Other data RF
transmissions are and can be handled by the RF module 250 but are
outside the scope of this disclosure.
[0024] The output means 260 includes any mechanism that provides
the user with a sensory perception. This can include, but is not
limited to, a display for viewing graphics such as text and
pictures, both still and in motion as well as speaker(s) for
providing audible output. Vibrating alerts provide a tactile
sensation that can also be considered output.
[0025] Other unspecified applications 270 are included in FIG. 2
that can be associated with the portable mobile communications
device. A web-browser, for instance, may be a part of the portable
mobile communications device suite of features. An incoming SMS
message may ask the receiving user to "check out this web-site" and
provide a link thereto.
[0026] FIG. 3 is a logic diagram illustrating the flow of data
involved in creating, sending, receiving, and displaying an
animated SMS message between two portable mobile communications
devices. FIG. 3 illustrates three entities, a sending portable
mobile communications device, a receiving portable mobile
communications device, and a mobile network in between. An SMS
message is composed on the sending portable mobile communications
device 305. The sub-process of composing the SMS message as well as
a description of the contents of the SMS message are further
described in FIGS. 4 and 5. The SMS message is then sent from the
sending portable mobile communications device 310. The mobile
network receives and handles the SMS message by relaying or routing
it to the designated receiving portable mobile communications
device 315. The receiving portable mobile communications device
receives the SMS message from the mobile network 320. The SMS
message can then be opened 325 and parsed 330 on the receiving
portable mobile communications device. The sub-process of receiving
and parsing the SMS message is further described in FIG. 6.
[0027] Once parsed 330, the SMS message can be displayed 335 by the
receiving portable mobile communications device. The receiving
portable mobile communications device then affords the user an
opportunity to respond directly to the SMS message 340 if desired.
Or, the user can initiate another activity (other than a direct
response) based on the received SMS message 360. Such other
activities include, but are not limited to, placing a voice call,
starting an instant messaging (IM) session, initiating a
push-to-talk over cellular (PoC) session, etc.
[0028] FIG. 4 is an illustration of an example of an SMS message
showing message fields and sample data for the message fields. A
typical SMS message is comprised of three components: a destination
mobile identifier (recipient field) 415, a subject field 420, and
the text of the message (text of message field) 440. The present
invention adds three additional fields to the SMS message 410: an
animation flag field 425, a content pointer field 430, and an
animation type field 435.
[0029] The recipient field 415 is comprised of one or more mobile
identification numbers that indicate the recipients of the SMS
message being composed. The subject field 420 is a field that
allows the user to briefly introduce the SMS message to the
recipient. The animation flag field 425 is a binary type field that
indicates whether or not the current SMS message is to be
associated with animation when the recipient views the SMS message.
The content pointer field 430 contains a location on the receiving
portable mobile communications device where a content file, such as
a picture, to be associated with the incoming SMS message can be
found. The animation type field 435 indicates the type of animation
to be performed on the content file associated with the SMS
message.
[0030] Animation types include, but are not limited to, facial
expressions (happy, sad, mad, surprised, etc.), callout boxes for
the text (or subject) of the SMS message, motion of the content
file, special effects applied to the content file such as audio
synchronization with an animated picture, and more.
[0031] One such animation technology has been developed by Sony
Corporation and is termed MotionPortrait.TM.. MotionPortrait.TM.
generally operates as follows. At some time in the past, a picture
of the head of a person to be animated has been taken by a camera
and stored in the mobile phone. The processor in the mobile phone
executes software (which could be part of the animation
application) that identifies the location and outline of the head,
the mouth, and the eyes. The picture with this information is
stored. When the animation program is invoked, it substitutes eyes
and mouth shapes into the picture so that the eyes can be made to
look in various directions and the mouth can be made to look like
it is speaking. Also, the head can be rotated in various directions
in the image. The MotionPortrait.TM. program can also synchronize
head, mouth and eye movements with audio or music. The program can
also render a preconfigured animation associated with predefined
audio phrases instead of building them from the SMS message, where
the predefined audio phrase is simply selected by the SMS
message.
[0032] Lastly, the text of message field 440 is a field that
contains the actual textual content of the SMS message composed by
the user.
[0033] The right side of FIG. 4 illustrates an SMS text message 450
with example data placed into the fields. A cellular telephone
number 455 (in United States format) has been entered into the
recipient field to identify the receiving portable mobile
communications device. The subject field has been populated with
the phrase "What's Up" 460. The animation flag has been set to `on`
465. The content pointer field contains a memory storage address or
location of "phone/mem_stk/pictures/mary.jpg" 470 to indicate that
a picture of Mary (presumably the sender of the SMS message) will
be associated with the SMS message.
[0034] The location shown is merely exemplary as it can be anywhere
on the receiving portable mobile communications device. To
facilitate usage of the animation feature, portable mobile
communications devices that support the feature can designate a
memory area to contain the content files. This way the sending user
need not the location of the content file on the receiving portable
mobile communications device, just the file name. Moreover, there
can be a common set of content files supported by the animation
feature such as emoticons, pictures of common places like a
hospital, a church, home, etc. Users that are more familiar with
one another may include more personalized content files (personal
pictures, songs, etc.) that are known to one another.
[0035] The animation type field is set to `happy face with text
callout` 475 to indicate that the picture of Mary should be
animated to have a facial expression that is considered happy with
a comic like text call out box to indicate speech. The text of
message field contains the input "Good News. Call Me." 480. This
text will appear in the text call out box specified in the
animation type field.
[0036] FIG. 5 is a flowchart detailing the process of composing and
sending an SMS message in a portable mobile communications device.
The SMS application on the sending portable mobile communications
device is initiated by the user 510. The SMS application then
begins a series of prompts or queries requiring user input to be
placed in the SMS fields 520.
[0037] The SMS application receives user input identifying the
intended recipient portable mobile communications device 522. Using
the United States as a reference, this entails a 10 digit mobile
identification number which is more commonly known as the telephone
number. The SMS application next prompts the user on how to set the
animation flag 524. If the animation decision 526 is to animate the
SMS message, the SMS application prompts the user for a location
pointer 528 that indicates the location of a content file to be
associated with SMS message.
[0038] Since the message is to remain an SMS message which carries
a low overhead with respect to system resources and reduced user
billing, the content file is not part of the SMS message. Rather,
the content file is already on the receiving portable mobile
communications device in a known or designated location. The
sending portable mobile communications device user is responsible
for knowing where the desired content file is located on the
receiving portable mobile communications device.
[0039] To assist in this, there can be a designated memory location
common to all portable mobile communications devices that implement
the SMS applications capable of animation. This location can be the
repository of a known set of content files such as, for instance,
emoticons. In addition, if the sending and receiving portable
mobile communications device users are very familiar with one
another, personal pictures of people, pets, places, etc. can be
included in the designated area. Based on the familiarity, the
sending portable mobile communications device user can identify a
picture content file on the receiving portable mobile
communications device with high confidence.
[0040] Animated or picture SMS messages can be created to identify
locations as well as people. For instance, the sending portable
mobile communications device could send an SMS message to a
receiving portable mobile communications device with a text field
that says "Meet me here at 10:00". The text can be associated with
a picture of a specific restaurant that the users often
frequent.
[0041] Once the content file location pointer has been input 528,
the sending portable mobile communications device user can input an
animation type parameter 530 that will cause the selected content
file to be manipulated in a desired way when opened by the
receiving device. The last component of the SMS message to be input
is the actual text of the message 532. Depending on the animation
type selected, the actual text can be converted to audio by the
receiving device and output accordingly when the SMS message is
opened, or it can remain as text and appear in a callout box
associated with a picture file.
[0042] Once the sending portable mobile communications device user
has supplied the input for the SMS message, the SMS application can
construct the SMS message to be sent 540. Once constructed, the
sending portable mobile communications device user can instruct the
SMS application to send the SMS message 550 via the RF module over
the mobile network to the receiving portable mobile communications
device.
[0043] FIG. 6 is a flowchart detailing the process of receiving,
parsing, and displaying an SMS message in a portable mobile
communications device. The receiving portable mobile communications
device receives an SMS message and informs its user via the SMS
application of the event 610 with an alert of some sort. The SMS
application prompts the user whether to open and view the received
SMS message 620. Once the user instructs the SMS application to
display the SMS message, the SMS application begins the SMS message
parsing process 630. The first step in parsing the received SMS
message is to check the animation field flag setting 632. If the
animation field flag decision 634 indicates animation `on`, the
parsing process proceeds in determining the content pointer
location 636 and retrieving the content file at that location 636.
The SMS application then parses the received SMS message to
determine the type of animation to apply to the retrieved content
file 638. The SMS application then applies the animation to the
content file and merges the animated content file with the text
contained in the text of message field 640. The SMS application
then displays the received animated construction of the received
SMS message 650.
[0044] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the
present invention may be embodied as a method, system, or computer
program product. Accordingly, the present invention may take the
form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software
embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code,
etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects that
may all generally be referred to herein as a "circuit," "module" or
"system." Furthermore, the present invention may take the form of a
computer program product on a computer-usable storage medium having
computer-usable program code embodied in the medium.
[0045] Any suitable computer readable medium may be utilized. The
computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example but
not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,
infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or
propagation medium. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list)
of the computer-readable medium would include the following: an
electrical connection having one or more wires, 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), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only
memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a transmission media
such as those supporting the Internet or an intranet, or a magnetic
storage device. Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable
medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which
the program is printed, as the program can be electronically
captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other
medium, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in a
suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer
memory. In the context of this document, a computer-usable or
computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store,
communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in
connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or
device.
[0046] Computer program code for carrying out operations of the
present invention may be written in an object oriented programming
language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like. However, the
computer program code for carrying out operations of the present
invention may also be written in conventional procedural
programming languages, such as the "C" programming language or
similar programming languages. The program code 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 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).
[0047] The present invention is described below 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 program instructions. These computer
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.
[0048] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a
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 produce an article of manufacture including instruction
means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart
and/or block diagram block or blocks.
[0049] 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/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram
block or blocks.
[0050] Any prompts associated with the present invention may be
presented and responded to via a graphical user interface (GUI)
presented on the display of the portable mobile communications
device or the like.
[0051] The flowcharts 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 code, which comprises one or more
executable instructions for implementing the specified logical
function(s). It should also be noted that, in some alternative
implementations, the functions noted in the block 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 which perform the specified
functions or acts, or combinations of special purpose hardware and
computer instructions.
[0052] 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, 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 "comprises" and/or "comprising," 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.
[0053] Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and
described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art appreciate
that any arrangement which is calculated to achieve the same
purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown and
that the invention has other applications in other environments.
This application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations
of the present invention. The following claims are in no way
intended to limit the scope of the invention to the specific
embodiments described herein.
* * * * *