U.S. patent application number 14/838883 was filed with the patent office on 2016-12-22 for apparatus and method for making ice for a refrigerator.
The applicant listed for this patent is Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corporation. Invention is credited to Sung Jin YANG.
Application Number | 20160370057 14/838883 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57079627 |
Filed Date | 2016-12-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20160370057 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
YANG; Sung Jin |
December 22, 2016 |
APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MAKING ICE FOR A REFRIGERATOR
Abstract
An apparatus for making ice for a refrigerator. The apparatus
includes an ice making compartment configured to accommodate an ice
tray and to store ice therein, and a first refrigerant pipe
configured to move cold air that is circulated by a refrigeration
cycle. At least one side surface of the ice making compartment is
made of an iron plate material. One side surface of the ice tray is
formed within a body comprising a cooling plate, wherein the
cooling plate comes in direct contact with a side wall comprising
the iron plate material. The first refrigerant pipe is attached to
an outer surface of the side wall comprising the iron plate
material by an aluminum tape.
Inventors: |
YANG; Sung Jin; (Seoul,
KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Dongbu Daewoo Electronics Corporation |
Seoul |
|
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
57079627 |
Appl. No.: |
14/838883 |
Filed: |
August 28, 2015 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F25C 1/04 20130101; F25D
23/068 20130101; F25D 11/02 20130101; F25C 5/22 20180101; F25D
2323/021 20130101 |
International
Class: |
F25C 1/04 20060101
F25C001/04; F25D 17/06 20060101 F25D017/06; F25D 11/02 20060101
F25D011/02 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 16, 2015 |
KR |
10-2015-0085075 |
Claims
1. An apparatus for making ice for a refrigerator, comprising: an
ice making compartment configured to accommodate an ice tray and to
store ice therein; and a first refrigerant pipe configured to move
cold air that is circulated by a refrigeration cycle, wherein at
least one side surface of a side wall of the ice making compartment
is made of an iron plate material, one side surface of the ice tray
is formed within a body comprising a cooling plate, wherein the
cooling plate comes in direct contact with the side wall comprising
the iron plate material, and the first refrigerant pipe is attached
to an outer surface of the side wall comprising the iron plate
material by an aluminum tape.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a second
refrigerant pipe configured to move the cold air that is circulated
by the cooling cycle, wherein an upper wall of the ice making
compartment is made of an iron plate material, and the second
refrigerant pipe is attached to the outer surface of the upper wall
by an aluminum tape.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the side wall, an upper wall,
and a lower wall of the ice making compartment are made of an iron
plate material.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein ribs for maintaining an
isolation thickness are attached to a lower wall of the ice making
compartment and a side wall that opposes the side wall comprising
the iron plate material.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the ribs make the ice making
compartment spaced apart from a liner, wherein the ribs define an
isolation thickness.
6. A method for making ice for a refrigerator, comprising:
providing a refrigerant that is circulated by a cooling cycle to a
first refrigerant pipe; transferring cold air by heat conduction
from the first refrigerant pipe to at least one side wall of an ice
making compartment; and transferring the cold air by heat
conduction from the at least one side wall of the ice making
compartment to a cooling plate that is formed in a body with one
side surface of an ice tray accommodated in the ice making
compartment, wherein the at least one side surface of the ice
making compartment is made of an iron plate material, the cooling
plate comes in direct contact with a side wall of the iron plate
material, and the first refrigerant pipe is attached to an outer
surface of the side wall of the iron plate material by an aluminum
tape.
7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: providing the
refrigerant that is circulated by the cooling cycle to a second
refrigerant pipe; transferring cold air by heat conduction from the
second refrigerant pipe to an upper wall of the ice making
compartment; and transferring the cold air by thermal convection
from the upper wall into the ice making compartment, wherein the
upper wall is made of an iron plate material, and the second
refrigerant pipe is attached to an outer surface of the upper wall
by an aluminum tape.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the side wall, an upper wall, and
a lower wall of the ice making compartment are made of an iron
plate material
9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: attaching ribs for
maintaining an isolation thickness to a lower wall of the ice
making compartment and a side wall that opposes the side wall
comprising the iron plate material.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the ribs make the ice making
compartment spaced apart from a liner, wherein the ribs define an
isolation thickness.
11. A refrigerator, comprising: a freezer chamber located within a
main body of the refrigerator; a refrigeration chamber located
within the main body of the refrigerator; and an apparatus for
making ice, wherein the apparatus comprises: an ice making
compartment configured to accommodate an ice tray and to store ice
therein; and a first refrigerant pipe configured to move cold air
that is circulated by a refrigeration cycle, wherein at least one
side surface of a side wall of the ice making compartment is made
of an iron plate material, one side surface of the ice tray is
formed within a body comprising a cooling plate, wherein the
cooling plate comes in direct contact with the side wall comprising
the iron plate material, and the first refrigerant pipe is attached
to an outer surface of the side wall comprising the iron plate
material by an aluminum tape.
12. The refrigerator of claim 11, further comprising: a second
refrigerant pipe configured to move the cold air that is circulated
by the cooling cycle, wherein an upper wall of the ice making
compartment is made of an iron plate material, and the second
refrigerant pipe is attached to the outer surface of the upper wall
by an aluminum tape.
13. The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein the side wall, an upper
wall, and a lower wall of the ice making compartment are made of an
iron plate material.
14. The refrigerator of claim 11, wherein ribs for maintaining an
isolation thickness are attached to a lower wall of the ice making
compartment and a side wall that opposes the side wall comprising
the iron plate material.
15. The refrigerator of claim 14, wherein the ribs make the ice
making compartment spaced apart from a liner, wherein the ribs
define an isolation thickness.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application claims priority to and the benefit
of the Republic of Korea Patent Application Serial Number
10-2015-0085075, having a filing date of Jun. 16, 2015, filed in
the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is
herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a refrigerator,
and more particularly to an apparatus and a method for making ice
for a refrigerator.
BACKGROUND
[0003] A refrigerator unit is an apparatus intended to store food
items at low temperatures. The refrigerator unit may store foods in
a frozen or refrigerated state according to the type of food
intended to be stored.
[0004] The interior of the refrigerator unit is cooled by cold air
that is constantly supplied. The cold air is constantly generated
through a heat exchanging operation with a refrigerant based on a
refrigeration cycle. The cycle includes a process of compression,
condensation, expansion, evaporation. The cold air supplied to the
inside of the refrigerator unit is evenly transferred to the inside
of the refrigerator by convection to store food, drink, and other
items in the refrigerator at a desired temperature.
[0005] Generally, a main body of the refrigerator has a
rectangular, parallelepiped shape which is open at a front surface.
The front surface may provide access to a refrigeration chamber and
a freezer chamber located within the body of the refrigerator unit.
Further, hinged doors may be fitted to the front side of the main
body in order to selectively open and/or close openings to the
refrigeration chamber and freezer chamber. In addition, multiple
drawers, shelves, receiving boxes, and the like may be provided in
the refrigeration chamber and the freezer chamber within the
refrigerator unit that are configured for optimally storing various
foods, drinks, and other items within a storage space inside the
refrigerator unit.
[0006] Traditionally, refrigerator units were configured as a top
mount type refrigerator in which a freezer chamber is positioned
above a refrigeration chamber. Recently, bottom freezer type
refrigerator units position the freezer chamber below the
refrigeration chamber to enhance user convenience. In the bottom
freezer type refrigerator unit, the more frequently used
refrigeration chamber is advantageously positioned at the top so
that a user may conveniently access the refrigeration chamber
without bending over at the waist, as previously required by the
top mount type refrigerator unit. The less frequently used freezer
chamber is positioned at the bottom.
[0007] However, since the freezer chamber is positioned at the
lower portion, a bottom freeze type refrigerator unit may lose its
design benefits when a user wants to access the lower freezer
chamber on a more frequent basis. For example, prepared ice that is
stored in the freezer chamber may be a popular item accessed
frequently by a particular user. In a bottom freeze type
refrigerator unit, since the freezer chamber is positioned below
the refrigeration chamber, the user would have to bend over at the
waist in order to open the freezer chamber door to access the
ice.
[0008] In order to solve such a problem, bottom freezer type
refrigerators may include a dispenser configured for dispensing ice
that is provided in a refrigeration chamber door. In this case, the
ice dispenser is also positioned at the upper portion of the
refrigerator unit, and more specifically is located above the
freezer chamber. In this case, an ice machine for generating ice
may be provided in the refrigeration chamber door or in the
interior of the refrigeration chamber.
[0009] An ice making method for the ice machine may be classified
into two types: indirect cooling and direct cooling. An indirect
cooling type makes ice by cooling an ice tray that contains water
by forced convection supplying cold air to the ice machine. A
direct cooling type makes ice by allowing a refrigerant pipe to
come into direct contact with the ice tray or water. The indirect
cooling type has a drawback in that the cooling speed is lower than
that of the direct cooling type. In contrast, the direct cooling
type ice making method has an advantage that its cooling speed is
quite higher than that of the indirect cooling type ice making
method. However, since the refrigerant pipe is arranged in an ice
making room in the direct cooling type, the structure of the ice
making room becomes complicated. As such, it becomes difficult to
manufacture a refrigerator unit following the direct cooling type.
Also, because of the complexity, it is difficult to perform work in
the ice making room. The difficult manufacturing process severely
affects the manufacturing rate of building a direct cooling type
refrigerator unit, and also causes the manufacturing cost of the
refrigerator unit to be increased. Further, since the refrigerant
pipe is arranged inside the ice making room, storage capacity of
the ice making room is reduced to that extent.
SUMMARY
[0010] In view of the above, embodiments of the present invention
provide an apparatus and a method for making ice for a refrigerator
unit that is capable of improving the rate of making ice, which
improves ice making speed and increases the amount of ice made in a
period. Further, embodiments of the present invention provide a
compact apparatus for making ice through the arrangement of a
refrigerant pipe on the outside of an ice making compartment.
[0011] In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention,
there is provided an apparatus for making ice for a refrigerator
unit. The apparatus may include an ice making compartment
configured to accommodate an ice tray and to store ice therein; and
a first refrigerant pipe configured to move cold air that is
circulated by a refrigeration cycle. At least one side surface of
the ice making compartment is made of an iron plate material. Also,
one side surface of the ice tray is formed in a body with a cooling
plate, wherein the cooling plate comes in direct contact with a
side wall of the iron plate material. Further, the first
refrigerant pipe is attached to an outer surface of the side wall
of the iron plate material by aluminum tape.
[0012] In accordance with another embodiment of the present
invention, a method for making ice for a refrigerator includes:
providing a refrigerant that is circulated by a refrigeration cycle
to a first refrigerant pipe; transferring cold air by heat
conduction from the first refrigerant pipe to at least one side
wall of an ice making compartment; and transferring the cold air by
heat conduction from the at least one side wall of the ice making
compartment to a cooling plate that is formed in a body with one
side surface of an ice tray accommodated in the ice making
compartment. At least one side surface of the ice making
compartment is made of an iron plate material, wherein the cooling
plate comes in direct contact with a side wall of the iron plate
material. Also, the first refrigerant pipe is attached to an outer
surface of the side wall of the iron plate material by aluminum
tape.
[0013] In accordance with another embodiment, a refrigerator is
disclosed and includes a freezer chamber located within a main body
of the refrigerator, and a refrigeration chamber located within the
main body of the refrigerator. The refrigerator includes an
apparatus for making ice. The apparatus includes an ice making
compartment configured to accommodate an ice tray and to store ice
therein; and a first refrigerant pipe configured to move cold air
that is circulated by a refrigeration cycle. At least one side
surface of a side wall of the ice making compartment is made of an
iron plate material. One side surface of the ice tray is formed
within a body comprising a cooling plate. The cooling plate comes
in direct contact with the side wall comprising the iron plate
material. The first refrigerant pipe is attached to an outer
surface of the side wall comprising the iron plate material by an
aluminum tape.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The objects and features of the present invention will
become apparent from the following description of embodiments given
in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are
incorporated in and form a part of this specification and in which
like numerals depict like elements, in which:
[0015] FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator, according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for making
ice, according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0017] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus for making ice
illustrated in FIG. 2, according to an embodiment of the present
invention;
[0018] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for making
ice, according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for making ice,
according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0020] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for making
ice, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] Reference will now be made in detail to the various
embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are
illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While described in
conjunction with these embodiments, it will be understood that they
are not intended to limit the disclosure to these embodiments. On
the contrary, the disclosure is intended to cover alternatives,
modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the
spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended
claims. Furthermore, in the following detailed description of the
present disclosure, numerous specific details are set forth in
order to provide a thorough understanding of the present
disclosure. However, it will be understood that the present
disclosure may be practiced without these specific details. In
other instances, well-known methods, functions, constituents,
procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as
not to unnecessarily obscure aspects and/or features of the present
disclosure.
[0022] FIG. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator unit 1, in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0023] In particular, as shown in FIG. 1, the refrigerator unit 1
may include a main body 2 having therein a food storage space, and
is configured for forming an external appearance or exterior. A
barrier 4 is configured for partitioning the food storage space
formed in the interior cavity of main body 2, used for storing food
and drink contained therein, into a refrigeration chamber R at the
top thereof, and a freezer chamber F at the bottom thereof. One or
more doors may be configured to selectively isolate the interiors
of the chambers from the surrounding environment. For example,
refrigeration chamber doors 3 are provided at both front edges of a
front surface of the main body 2, and are configured through
rotation thereof for selectively shielding the refrigeration
chamber R through contact in part with sides of the refrigerator
unit. A freezer chamber door 5 is configured for shielding a front
opening portion of the freezer chamber F.
[0024] In this embodiment, although the apparatus 10 for making ice
is illustrated as being provided on one side of an upper portion of
the refrigeration chamber R, the location is provided merely for
illustration purposes only. Alternatively, the apparatus 10 for
making ice may be installed in different position within the
interior of the refrigeration chamber R, or at a different
position, such as the refrigeration chamber door 3, and the
like.
[0025] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus for making
ice for a refrigerator according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0026] An apparatus 10 for making ice for a refrigerator according
to an embodiment of the present invention includes an ice making
compartment 120 and a refrigerant pipe 160. The ice making
compartment is provided in a case 110 that is configured to form
the external appearance of the refrigerator unit 1, in one
embodiment. The refrigerant pipe 160 is configured to circulate a
refrigerant implementing a cooling or refrigeration cycle. The ice
making compartment 120 accommodates an ice tray 130 that generates
ice, and stores the ice.
[0027] At least one side wall 150a of the ice making compartment
120 may be composed of a material having high thermal conductivity
and high stiffness, for example, an iron plate material. However,
if needed, in addition to the one side wall 150a of the ice making
compartment 120, the other side wall 150d, an upper wall 150b, and
a lower wall 150c of the ice making compartment 120 may also be
made of an iron plate material.
[0028] In one embodiment, one side surface of the ice tray 130 may
be manufactured in a body having a cooling plate 140. The cooling
plate 140 may be an aluminum cooling plate, in one embodiment. The
cooling plate 140 may come in contact with the side wall 150a
comprising the iron plate material of the ice making compartment
120.
[0029] A refrigerant pipe 160 may be attached to an outer surface
of the side wall 150a comprising the iron plate material of the ice
making compartment 120 by an aluminum tape 170. Accordingly, cold
air that is generated by the refrigerant pipe 160 is transferred by
heat conduction to the cooling plate 140 of the ice tray 130. The
ice tray 130 comes in contact with the side wall 150a comprising
the iron plate material of the ice making compartment 120, wherein
the side wall 150a comes in contact with the refrigerant pipe 160
and the cold air that is generated. As such, the side surface of
the ice tray 130 is directly cooled by heat conduction using the
cold air. That is, the apparatus 10 for making ice of a
refrigerator unit 1 according to an embodiment of the present
invention can generate ice by the cold air that is transferred by
heat conduction through the refrigerant pipe 160, the side wall
150a comprising the iron plate material of the ice making
compartment 120, and the cooling plate 140 formed in a body
including the side surface of the ice tray 130.
[0030] Further, in order to create an insulation wall of the ice
making compartment 120 between a liner 190 and the apparatus 10 for
making ice for a refrigerator unit according to an embodiment of
the present invention, a plurality of ribs 180 for maintaining an
insulation thickness may be installed on the lower wall 150c and
the side wall 150d of the ice making compartment 120. Each of the
ribs 180 may be configured to come in contact with the liner 190.
Through these ribs 180, the lower portion and the side portion of
the apparatus 10 for making ice are configured to be spaced apart
from the liner 190 by a distance equal to the length of a
corresponding rib 180. In one embodiment, urethane is installed
(e.g., through a foaming process) in the space surrounding the ice
making compartment 120 to form the insulation wall of the ice
making compartment 120.
[0031] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus 10 for making
ice illustrated in FIG. 2, in accordance with one embodiment of the
present disclosure.
[0032] As illustrated in FIG. 3, all walls of the ice making
compartment 120 may be made of an iron plate material, in one
embodiment. In another embodiment, only the side wall 150a that
comes in contact with the cooling plate 140, that is formed within
a body including the side surface of the ice tray 130, may be made
of an iron plate material.
[0033] In another embodiment, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3
illustrating the apparatus 10 for making ice, the refrigerant pipe
160 is arranged on the outside of the ice making compartment 120.
As such, an internal structure of the ice making compartment 120
can be simplified, and the storage capacity of the ice making
compartment 120 can be increased.
[0034] In addition, since there is no need for cold air supply
ducts that are used to supply the cold air to the ice making
compartment 120, there is a reduction in the number of components
of the refrigerator unit. As such, because there are less
components, productivity of manufacturing the refrigerator units
can be improved. In addition, because there are less components,
the cost to manufacture each refrigerator unit may be reduced.
[0035] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an apparatus 10 for
making ice, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is similar to FIG. 2 except that an additional refrigerant
pipe 165 is included in the upper wall 150b of the ice making
compartment 120. As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 2, the
refrigerant pipe 160 is attached to only the side wall 150a of the
ice making compartment 120, wherein the side wall 150a comes in
contact with the cooling plate 140 that is formed within a body
comprising the side surface of the ice tray 130.
[0036] However, as illustrated in FIG. 4, a refrigerant pipe 165
may also be attached to an outer surface of the upper wall 150b of
the ice making compartment 120. In one implementation, the
refrigerant pipe 165 may be attached to an outer surface of the
upper wall 150b of the ice making compartment 120 by an aluminum
tape 170. As shown, the upper wall 150b of the ice making
compartment 120 may be formed of an iron plate material having high
thermal conductivity. Once the refrigerant pipe 165 is attached to
the outer surface thereof, cold air that is transferred from the
refrigerant pipe 165 to the upper wall 150b is also transferred
into the ice making compartment 120. As such, cold air is
circulated in the whole ice making compartment 120 by thermal
convection, so that the ice can be better generated in the ice tray
130.
[0037] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram chart illustrating a method for
making ice, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The structures and features of the components of the apparatus 10
for making ice according to the embodiment described in FIG. 2 will
now be described in relation to the flow diagram of FIG. 5.
[0038] The method for making ice as illustrated in FIG. 5 includes:
providing a refrigerant that is circulated by a cooling or
refrigeration cycle to a first refrigerant pipe 160 (S210);
transferring cold air by heat conduction from the first refrigerant
pipe 160 to at least one side wall 150a of an ice making
compartment 120 (S220); and transferring the cold air by heat
conduction from the at least one side wall 150a of the ice making
compartment 120 to a cooling plate 140 that is formed within a body
comprising one side surface of an ice tray 130 accommodated in the
ice making compartment 120 (S230).
[0039] In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 2, at least one side
wall 150a of the ice making compartment 120 may be composed of an
iron plate material. Also, the cooling plate 140 may come in
contact with the side wall 150a comprising the iron plate material.
Further, the first refrigerant pipe 160 may be attached to an outer
surface of the side wall 150a comprising the iron plate material by
an aluminum tape 170.
[0040] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for making
ice according to an embodiment of the present invention. The
structures and features of the components of the apparatus 10 for
making ice according to the embodiment described in FIG. 4 will now
be described in relation to the flow diagram of FIG. 6.
[0041] The method for making ice as illustrated in FIG. 6 includes:
providing a refrigerant that is circulated by a cooling or
refrigeration cycle to a first refrigerant pipe 160 (S310);
transferring cold air by heat conduction from the first refrigerant
pipe 160 to at least one side wall 150a of an ice making
compartment 120 (S320); transferring the cold air by heat
conduction from the at least one side wall 150a of the ice making
compartment 120 to a cooling plate 140 that is formed within a body
comprising one side surface of an ice tray 130, wherein the ice
tray 130 is accommodated in the ice making compartment 120 (S330);
providing the refrigerant that is circulated by the cooling or
refrigeration cycle to a second refrigerant pipe 165 (S340);
transferring the cold air by heat conduction from the second
refrigerant pipe 165 to an upper wall 150b of the ice making
compartment 120 (S350); and transferring the cold air by thermal
convection from the upper wall 150b into the interior of the ice
making compartment 120 (S360).
[0042] In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the at least side
wall 150a and the upper wall 150b of the ice making compartment 120
may be made of the iron plate material. The cold air is transferred
from the refrigerant pipe 160 to the ice tray 130 through the side
wall 150a and the cooling plate 140 by thermal conduction. Also,
the cold air of the refrigerant pipe 165 is transferred to the
upper wall 150b of the ice making compartment 120 through heat
conduction, and the cold air is transferred by thermal convection
into the ice making compartment 120, wherein the cold air is
circulated through convection. Accordingly, the advantages of both
the direct cooling type and the indirect cooling type in methods
for ice making can be used.
[0043] As described above, the apparatus and the method for making
ice for a refrigerator unit according to the embodiments of the
present invention can improve the speed of making ice, and increase
the amount of ice made within a period of time.
[0044] Further, since the refrigerant pipe is arranged on the
outside of the ice making compartment, the apparatus for making ice
can be simplified.
[0045] Also, since an apparatus for making ice is more compact due
to the outside location of the refrigerant piping, the storage
capacity of the apparatus for making ice and/or the refrigerator
unit can be increased.
[0046] Further, since cold air supply ducts for supplying the cold
air to the ice making compartment are not required, thereby
lessening the number of components and the complexity of a
refrigerator unit, productivity of manufacturing refrigerator units
can be improved. Also, because the improved refrigerator unit has
less components and is less complex, the cost of manufacturing the
refrigerator unit is lessened.
[0047] While the present invention has been described with respect
to the preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited
thereto. It will be understood that a person having ordinary skill
in the art to which the present invention pertains may substitute
and change components without any limitation and these
substitutions and changes also belong to the scope of the present
invention. The illustrative discussions above are not intended to
be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms
disclosed. It should be construed that the present invention has
the widest range in compliance with the basic idea disclosed in the
invention. Many modifications and variations are possible in view
of the above teachings. Although it is possible for those skilled
in the art to combine and substitute the disclosed embodiments to
embody the other types that are not specifically disclosed in the
invention, they do not depart from the scope of the present
invention as well. The embodiments were chosen and described in
order to best explain the principles of the invention and its
practical applications, to thereby enable others skilled in the art
to best utilize the invention. Further, it will be understood by
those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may
be made without departing from the scope of the invention as
defined in the following claims.
[0048] The process parameters and sequence of steps described
and/or illustrated herein are given by way of example only and can
be varied as desired. For example, while the steps illustrated
and/or described herein may be shown or discussed in a particular
order, these steps do not necessarily need to be performed in the
order illustrated or discussed. The various example methods
described and/or illustrated herein may also omit one or more of
the steps described or illustrated herein or include additional
steps in addition to those disclosed.
[0049] Embodiments according to the invention are thus described.
While the present disclosure has been described in particular
embodiments, it should be appreciated that the invention should not
be construed as limited by such embodiments.
* * * * *