U.S. patent application number 12/707025 was filed with the patent office on 2011-08-18 for metadata capture for screen sharing.
This patent application is currently assigned to INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION. Invention is credited to Yuk Chan, Tin H. To, Andrew Tsang, Wei Zhou.
Application Number | 20110202854 12/707025 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43630022 |
Filed Date | 2011-08-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110202854 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chan; Yuk ; et al. |
August 18, 2011 |
Metadata Capture for Screen Sharing
Abstract
A method for metadata capture for screen sharing of a graphical
user interface (GUI) screen includes determining by a screen share
sending module a region of the GUI screen to be shared; analyzing
the GUI screen by a metadata capture module to determine metadata
relevant to the region to be shared; and sending a screen share of
the region comprising the relevant metadata to a receiver by the
screen share sending module.
Inventors: |
Chan; Yuk; (Poughkeepsie,
NY) ; To; Tin H.; (Poughkeepsie, NY) ; Tsang;
Andrew; (Poughkeepsie, NY) ; Zhou; Wei;
(Poughkeepsie, NY) |
Assignee: |
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES
CORPORATION
Armonk
NY
|
Family ID: |
43630022 |
Appl. No.: |
12/707025 |
Filed: |
February 17, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
715/762 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F 3/1454
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
715/762 |
International
Class: |
G06F 3/00 20060101
G06F003/00 |
Claims
1. A method for metadata capture for screen sharing of a graphical
user interface (GUI) screen, the method comprising: determining by
a screen share sending module a region of the GUI screen to be
shared; analyzing the GUI screen by a metadata capture module to
determine metadata relevant to the region to be shared; and sending
a screen share of the region comprising the relevant metadata to a
receiver by the screen share sending module.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the metadata relevant to the
region is located outside of the region.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the metadata relevant to the
region is located outside of a visible region of the GUI
screen.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the screen
share of the region comprising the relevant metadata by a screen
share receiving module, wherein the received screen share comprises
the relevant metadata in the same format in which it is presented
in the GUI screen.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying a list of
the relevant metadata to a sender of the screen share, receiving a
selection of a piece of the relevant metadata from the sender, and
sending the screen share of the region with selected metadata.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a set of
stored preferences to the relevant metadata, and sending the screen
share of the region with metadata designated by the set of stored
preferences.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the relevant metadata comprises
authorship of a document, confidentiality information, audit trail
information, table cell color, a persistent session ID, text
content, text font size, text line spacing, window title, whether a
window is minimized or maximized, or a search string.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the screen share is sent as part
of a web conference or chat session.
9. A system for metadata capture for screen sharing of a graphical
user interface (GUI) screen, the system comprising: a screen share
sending module configured to determine a region of the GUI screen
to be shared; a metadata capture module configured to analyze the
GUI screen to determine metadata relevant to the region to be
shared; and wherein the screen share sending module is further
configured to send a screen share of the region comprising the
relevant metadata to a receiver.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein the metadata relevant to the
region is located outside of the region.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the metadata relevant to the
region is located outside of a visible region of the GUI
screen.
12. The system of claim 9, further comprising a screen share
receiving module configured to receive the screen share of the
region comprising the relevant metadata, wherein the received
screen share comprises the relevant metadata in the same format in
which it is presented in the GUI screen.
13. The system of claim 9, wherein the screen share sending module
is further configured to display a list of the relevant metadata to
a sender of the screen share, receive a selection of a piece of the
relevant metadata from the sender, and send the screen share of the
region with selected metadata.
14. The system of claim 9, wherein the screen share sending module
is further configured to apply a set of stored preferences to the
relevant metadata, and send the screen share of the region with
metadata designated by the set of stored preferences.
15. The system of claim 9, wherein the relevant metadata comprises
authorship of a document, confidentiality information, audit trail
information, table cell color, a persistent session ID, text
content, text font size, text line spacing, window title, whether a
window is minimized or maximized, or a search string.
16. The system of claim 8, wherein the screen share is sent as part
of a web conference or chat session.
17. A computer program product comprising a computer readable
storage medium containing computer code that, when executed by a
computer, implements a method for metadata capture for screen
sharing of a graphical user interface (GUI) screen, wherein the
method comprises: determining by a screen share sending module a
region of the GUI screen to be shared; analyzing the GUI screen by
a metadata capture module to determine metadata relevant to the
region to be shared; and sending a screen share of the region
comprising the relevant metadata to a receiver by the screen share
sending module.
18. The computer program product according to claim 15, wherein the
metadata relevant to the region is located outside of the
region.
19. The computer program product according to claim 15, further
comprising receiving the screen share of the region comprising the
relevant metadata by a screen share receiving module, wherein the
received screen share comprises the relevant metadata in the same
format in which it is presented in the GUI screen.
20. The computer program product according to claim 15, further
comprising displaying a list of the relevant metadata to a sender
of the screen share, receiving a selection of a piece of the
relevant metadata from the sender, and sending the screen share of
the region with selected metadata.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] This disclosure relates generally to the field of screen
sharing during online communication.
[0002] Screen sharing may be used to communicate information from a
user's (or sender) graphical user interface (GUI) screen in, for
example, an online chat or web conference. The screen share may
comprise an image of the user's GUI screen that is sent to a
receiver. The GUI screen may comprise metadata, including but not
limited to confidentiality information, audit trail information,
text, table cell color, a uniform resource locator (URL) link, a
search query, or a persistent session ID. The metadata is not
captured in the screen share image; for example, metadata such as
selectable text or clickable URL links may be lost. The metadata
must be captured and shared separately.
[0003] Different types of metadata require different capturing
methods. For example, text may be highlighted and copied, table
cell color may be extracted from HTML code, a search query may be
copied from a search textbox, a URL link may be right clicked, and
"Copy Link Location" selected, a screen capture of a bitmap may be
extracted by pushing the printscreen key, or a session ID may be
invisible, with no available extraction method. A sender of a
screen share may not be able to extract more than one of type of
metadata at a time. The receiver may determine some metadata via
post processing and analysis of received screen share image, using,
for example, optical character recognition (OCR) or lexicographic
analysis. However, such analysis does not capture all types of
metadata that are present in the sender's GUI screen at the time of
the screen share, and may perform inefficiently or inaccurately.
Therefore, in an instant messaging scenario, the sender may need to
copy and paste the metadata information separately and manually to
the receiving party, which limits the usefulness of the screen
share. In a web conference scenario, the meeting host may not be
able to copy and paste metadata without interrupting the realtime
nature of the web conference.
SUMMARY
[0004] An exemplary embodiment of a method for metadata capture for
screen sharing of a graphical user interface (GUI) screen includes
determining by a screen share sending module a region of the GUI
screen to be shared; analyzing the GUI screen by a metadata capture
module to determine metadata relevant to the region to be shared;
and sending a screen share of the region comprising the relevant
metadata to a receiver by the screen share sending module.
[0005] An exemplary embodiment of a system for metadata capture for
screen sharing of a graphical user interface (GUI) screen includes
a screen share sending module configured to determine a region of
the GUI screen to be shared; a metadata capture module configured
to analyze the GUI screen to determine metadata relevant to the
region to be shared; and wherein the screen share sending module is
further configured to send a screen share of the region comprising
the relevant metadata to a receiver.
[0006] An exemplary embodiment of a computer program product
comprising a computer readable storage medium containing computer
code that, when executed by a computer, implements a method for
metadata capture for screen sharing of a graphical user interface
(GUI) screen, wherein the method includes determining by a screen
share sending module a region of the GUI screen to be shared;
analyzing the GUI screen by a metadata capture module to determine
metadata relevant to the region to be shared; and sending a screen
share of the region comprising the relevant metadata to a receiver
by the screen share sending module.
[0007] Additional features are realized through the techniques of
the present exemplary embodiment. Other embodiments are described
in detail herein and are considered a part of what is claimed. For
a better understanding of the features of the exemplary embodiment,
refer to the description and to the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Referring now to the drawings wherein like elements are
numbered alike in the several FIGURES:
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system for metadata
capture for screen sharing.
[0010] FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a method for metadata
capture for screen sharing.
[0011] FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of a GUI screen with a
region selected for screen sharing.
[0012] FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a sender interface for
metadata capture for screen sharing.
[0013] FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a receiver interface for
metadata capture for screen sharing.
[0014] FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a computer that may be
used in conjunction with systems and methods for metadata capture
for screen sharing.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0015] Embodiments of systems and methods for metadata capture for
screen sharing are provided, with exemplary embodiments being
discussed below in detail.
[0016] Capture of metadata may be performed automatically in a
screen share of a GUI screen, rather than through manual copying
and pasting by the sender. The sender may select a region within
the GUI screen for which metadata is to be extracted, or the sender
may select the entire GUI screen. Once a region of the screen is
selected, object recognition technology is applied to the selected
region, and to objects outside of the selected region that are
relevant to the selected region, to recognize and capture the
metadata. Some or all of the captured metadata may be sent to a
receiver along with the screen share, according to the sender's
preferences. The metadata may be rendered in the receiver's system
as HTML, an image map, native object, or any other desired format.
The captured metadata is ready for use by the receiver, without the
need for additional processing. Metadata may be captured across
traditional boundaries, such as windows, frames, images or tables,
and from outside of the designated metadata capture region. The
metadata may be captured and shared in a real-time, collaborative
environment, to enhance and simplify collaboration and information
sharing.
[0017] Metadata may include but is not limited to authorship
information, confidentiality information, audit trail information,
table cell color, a persistent session ID, text (including
characteristics such as content, font size, or line spacing),
window information such as title or whether the window is
minimized/maximized, or any other application specific information,
such as a search string URL for a browser application. Shared
metadata may be re-rendered in the most appropriate format with
respect to the application from which the metadata is extracted.
For example, captured metadata may be presented to appear as if it
is on its native application. Application specific support for
application windows in the screen share may be provided through
application specific plugins. For example, when sharing a Power
Point.RTM. presentation or Microsoft Office.RTM. document, metadata
such as author or last modified date may be shared. When sharing a
browser window, a mechanism may be used that that introspects the
HTML document described by a standard format such as document
object model (DOM). When sharing a webpage with persistence and
shareable sessions, the URL to access the session may also be sent
as metadata.
[0018] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system 100 for
capturing metadata for screen sharing. Sending computer system 101
comprises a GUI screen 102. A user may select some or all of GUI
screen 102 for a screen share. Screen share sending module 103
invokes metadata capture module 104 to identify the metadata
present in the selected region of GUI screen 102. Screen share
sending module 103 then applies the user's preferences to the
identified metadata, and shares the screen share with the desired
metadata with receiving computer system 106 via network 105. The
screen share and metadata are displayed to the receiver via screen
share receiving module 107, which may comprise a chat or web
conferencing application in some embodiments.
[0019] Metadata capture module 104 may implement any appropriate
GUI object navigation technology to determine properties such as
location, size, content, and visibility of objects in the GUI
screen 102. By determining each object's coordinates in the GUI
screen, metadata capture module 104 may determine if an object is
within the selected region, partially within the region, or
relevant to the selected region. The metadata capture module 104
may then capture metadata from objects determined to be within or
relevant to the selected region. Metadata capture module 104 may
implement technology including but not limited to object map from
the .NET framework, Rational Function Tester, Spy++, Public
Application Programming Interface (API), Microsoft Foundation Class
(MFC), or SpyLib in some embodiments.
[0020] FIG. 2 illustrates an embodiment of a method 200 for
capturing metadata for screen sharing. FIG. 2 is discussed with
reference to FIG. 1. In block 201, a sender selects a region of a
GUI screen 102 to be shared as a screen share. The selected region
may comprise a portion of GUI screen 102, or all of GUI screen 102.
In block 202, the selected region is analyzed by metadata capture
module 104 to identify any metadata present in the selected region,
and in any region of the GUI screen 102 relevant to the selected
region if the selected region is less than the entire GUI screen
102. Data not currently visible in the GUI screen 102, but that may
be made visible by scrolling, may also be captured. In block 203,
the sender's preferences regarding which metadata to share in the
screen share are determined and applied to the identified metadata
to determine the metadata to be shared by screen share sending
module 103. The sender preferences may be entered by the user at
the time of the screen share, by, for example, displaying a list of
available metadata to the user, or the preferences may comprise a
previously stored set of preferences. In block 204, the screen
share is transmitted by screen share sending module 103 to screen
share receiving module 107 on receiving computer system 106 along
with the metadata to be shared that was determined in block
203.
[0021] Metadata may be captured from any portion of the GUI screen
102 that is determined to be relevant to the region of the GUI
screen that is selected in block 201. FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of
a GUI screen 300 with a region 305 of the GUI screen 300 selected
for metadata capturing. GUI screen 300 comprises various objects,
including icons 301a-d and windows 302-304. The selected region 305
may be selected in any appropriate manner, for example, clicking
and dragging a mouse to form a box on a computer screen, or by
making a circular region with finger on a touch-screen device in
some embodiments. A selected region 305 may comprise any portion or
all of GUI screen 300. In FIG. 3, selected region 305 includes
portions of windows 302 and 304. Therefore, in a metadata capture
for a screen share of region 305, any metadata regarding windows
302 and 304 may be captured, whether the metadata is actually
located inside of region 305 or not, as any metadata regarding
windows 302 and 304 is relevant to objects located inside region
305. Information regarding icons 301a-d and window 303, however,
may not be captured.
[0022] The sender may designate preferences regarding the type and
amount of metadata from selected region 305 to share. This may be
accomplished via a sender interface such as is shown in FIG. 4.
FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a sender interface 400 for
capturing metadata. Interface 400 may be launched when a sender
selects a region of a GUI screen for metadata capture; however,
interface 400 is shown for illustrative purposes only, metadata
capture may be performed via any appropriate interface. Interface
400 comprises MyCapture 401, which corresponds to the selected
region of the sender's GUI screen, such as selected region 305 of
FIG. 3. MyCapture 401 comprises a web browser application having a
URL 402, a search string 403, and various clickable links such as
clickable link 404. MyCapture 401 also comprises applications
MyDisclosures 405 and Infoprint Footprint Manager 406. Available
metadata window 407 lists the metadata available in MyCapture 401,
and allows the sender to use checkboxes to designate which of the
listed metadata to send in a screen share of MyCapture 401. Once
the user has selected the desired metadata for sending with the
screen share, the user may select "Share With Metadata" button
408.
[0023] FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a receiver interface 500
for receiving a screen share 501 comprising captured metadata.
Receiver interface 500 comprises a chat window; however, receiver
interface 500 is shown for illustrative purposes only, a screen
share 501 comprising metadata may be received in type of
communication. Screen share 501 corresponds to MyCapture 401 as is
shown in FIG. 4, and comprises selectable URL link 502, copyable
search string 503, clickable link 502, and information regarding
applications 505 and 506.
[0024] Referring again to FIG. 1, the following code segment shows
an embodiment of computer code that may be embodied in metadata
capture module 104 to capture all metadata in a window:
TABLE-US-00001 Windows using the ManagedSpyLib (available for free
from MSDN): using System; using System.Text; using
System.Diagnostics; using System.Windows.Forms; using
System.Collections.Generic; using Microsoft.ManagedSpy; class
Program { static void Main(string[ ] args) { Dictionary<int,
int> topWindowCounts = new Dictionary<int, int>( );
foreach (ControlProxy proxy in ControlProxy.TopLevelWindows) { if
(!topWindowCounts.ContainsKey(proxy.OwningProcess.Id)) {
topWindowCounts.Add(proxy.OwningProcess.Id, 0); }
topWindowCounts[proxy.OwningProcess.Id]++; } foreach (int pid in
top WindowCounts.Keys) { Process p = Process.GetProcessById(pid);
Console.WriteLine("Process:"+p.ProcessName+"has"+
topWindowCount[pid].TString( ) + "top level windows"); } } }
[0025] The following code segment shows an embodiment an embodiment
of computer code that may be embodied in metadata capture module
104 to capture metadata for a button in a selected region:
TABLE-US-00002 foreach (Process p in
Process.GetProcessesByName("WindowsApplication1")) { if (p.Id !=
Process.GetCurrentProcess( ).Id) { ControlProxy proxy =
ControlProxy.FromHandle(p.MainWindowHandle); string val =
(string)proxy.GetValue("MyStringValue"); ..... } }
[0026] The above code segments are shown for illustrative purposes
only; metadata capture module 104 may implement any appropriate
metadata recognition technology.
[0027] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a computer 600 which may be
utilized by exemplary embodiments of systems and methods for
metadata capture for screen sharing as embodied in software.
Various operations discussed above may utilize the capabilities of
the computer 600. One or more of the capabilities of the computer
600 may be incorporated in any element, module, application, and/or
component discussed herein.
[0028] The computer 600 includes, but is not limited to, PCs,
workstations, laptops, PDAs, palm devices, servers, storages, and
the like. Generally, in terms of hardware architecture, the
computer 600 may include one or more processors 610, memory 620,
and one or more input and/or output (I/O) devices 670 that are
communicatively coupled via a local interface (not shown). The
local interface can be, for example but not limited to, one or more
buses or other wired or wireless connections, as is known in the
art. The local interface may have additional elements, such as
controllers, buffers (caches), drivers, repeaters, and receivers,
to enable communications. Further, the local interface may include
address, control, and/or data connections to enable appropriate
communications among the aforementioned components.
[0029] The processor 610 is a hardware device for executing
software that can be stored in the memory 620. The processor 610
can be virtually any custom made or commercially available
processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal
processor (DSP), or an auxiliary processor among several processors
associated with the computer 600, and the processor 610 may be a
semiconductor based microprocessor (in the form of a microchip) or
a macroprocessor.
[0030] The memory 620 can include any one or combination of
volatile memory elements (e.g., random access memory (RAM), such as
dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory
(SRAM), etc.) and nonvolatile memory elements (e.g., ROM, erasable
programmable read only memory (EPROM), electronically erasable
programmable read only memory (EEPROM), programmable read only
memory (PROM), tape, compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM), disk,
diskette, cartridge, cassette or the like, etc.). Moreover, the
memory 620 may incorporate electronic, magnetic, optical, and/or
other types of storage media. Note that the memory 620 can have a
distributed architecture, where various components are situated
remote from one another, but can be accessed by the processor
610.
[0031] The software in the memory 620 may include one or more
separate programs, each of which comprises an ordered listing of
executable instructions for implementing logical functions. The
software in the memory 620 includes a suitable operating system
(O/S) 650, compiler 640, source code 630, and one or more
applications 660 in accordance with exemplary embodiments. As
illustrated, the application 660 comprises numerous functional
components for implementing the features and operations of the
exemplary embodiments. The application 660 of the computer 600 may
represent various applications, computational units, logic,
functional units, processes, operations, virtual entities, and/or
modules in accordance with exemplary embodiments, but the
application 660 is not meant to be a limitation.
[0032] The operating system 650 controls the execution of other
computer programs, and provides scheduling, input-output control,
file and data management, memory management, and communication
control and related services. It is contemplated by the inventors
that the application 660 for implementing exemplary embodiments may
be applicable on all commercially available operating systems.
[0033] Application 660 may be a source program, executable program
(object code), script, or any other entity comprising a set of
instructions to be performed. When a source program, then the
program is usually translated via a compiler (such as the compiler
640), assembler, interpreter, or the like, which may or may not be
included within the memory 620, so as to operate properly in
connection with the O/S 650. Furthermore, the application 660 can
be written as an object oriented programming language, which has
classes of data and methods, or a procedure programming language,
which has routines, subroutines, and/or functions, for example but
not limited to, C, C++, C#, Pascal, BASIC, API calls, HTML, XHTML,
XML, ASP scripts, FORTRAN, COBOL, Perl, Java, ADA, .NET, and the
like.
[0034] The I/O devices 670 may include input devices such as, for
example but not limited to, a mouse, keyboard, scanner, microphone,
camera, etc. Furthermore, the I/O devices 670 may also include
output devices, for example but not limited to a printer, display,
etc. Finally, the I/O devices 670 may further include devices that
communicate both inputs and outputs, for instance but not limited
to, a NIC or modulator/demodulator (for accessing remote devices,
other files, devices, systems, or a network), a radio frequency
(RF) or other transceiver, a telephonic interface, a bridge, a
router, etc. The I/O devices 670 also include components for
communicating over various networks, such as the Internet or
intranet.
[0035] If the computer 600 is a PC, workstation, intelligent device
or the like, the software in the memory 620 may further include a
basic input output system (BIOS) (omitted for simplicity). The BIOS
is a set of essential software routines that initialize and test
hardware at startup, start the O/S 650, and support the transfer of
data among the hardware devices. The BIOS is stored in some type of
read-only-memory, such as ROM, PROM, EPROM, EEPROM or the like, so
that the BIOS can be executed when the computer 600 is
activated.
[0036] When the computer 600 is in operation, the processor 610 is
configured to execute software stored within the memory 620, to
communicate data to and from the memory 620, and to generally
control operations of the computer 600 pursuant to the software.
The application 660 and the O/S 650 are read, in whole or in part,
by the processor 610, perhaps buffered within the processor 610,
and then executed.
[0037] When the application 660 is implemented in software it
should be noted that the application 660 can be stored on virtually
any computer readable medium for use by or in connection with any
computer related system or method. In the context of this document,
a computer readable medium may be an electronic, magnetic, optical,
or other physical device or means that can contain or store a
computer program for use by or in connection with a computer
related system or method.
[0038] The application 660 can be embodied in any computer-readable
medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution
system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer-based system,
processor-containing system, or other system that can fetch the
instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or
device and execute the instructions. In the context of this
document, a "computer-readable medium" can be any means that can
store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by
or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus,
or device. The computer readable medium can be, for example but not
limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,
infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or
propagation medium.
[0039] More specific examples (a nonexhaustive list) of the
computer-readable medium may include the following: an electrical
connection (electronic) having one or more wires, a portable
computer diskette (magnetic or optical), a random access memory
(RAM) (electronic), a read-only memory (ROM) (electronic), an
erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash
memory) (electronic), an optical fiber (optical), and a portable
compact disc memory (CDROM, CD R/W) (optical). Note that the
computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable
medium, upon which the program is printed or punched, 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.
[0040] In exemplary embodiments, where the application 660 is
implemented in hardware, the application 660 can be implemented
with any one or a combination of the following technologies, which
are well known in the art: a discrete logic circuit(s) having logic
gates for implementing logic functions upon data signals, an
application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) having appropriate
combinational logic gates, a programmable gate array(s) (PGA), a
field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc.
[0041] The technical effects and benefits of exemplary embodiments
include automatic sending of metadata information in a screen
sharing application without interrupting real-time
communication.
[0042] 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.
[0043] The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and
equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the
claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or
act for performing the function in combination with other claimed
elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present
invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and
description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the
invention in the form 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 invention. The
embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the
principles of the invention and the practical application, and to
enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the
invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are
suited to the particular use contemplated.
* * * * *