Wireless communication obstacles for improving wireless communications

WIRELESS COMMUNICATION OBSTACLES FOR IMPROVING WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

BACKGROUND This disclosure relates generally to wireless technology, and more particularly to wireless communication obstacles for improving wireless communication.

Communication techniques for avoiding or reducing interference between two or more communication signals have been proposed, evaluated and used. For example, time division, frequency division, and code division multiplexing of signals are transmitted so that simultaneously transmitted signals use divided time intervals, divided frequency ranges, or multiplication with orthogonal signals is applied. to organize

Also, in many wireless systems, communications are organized using the concept of cells. A signal from one cell uses a low-output signal so that interference with the signal from another cell is minimized. Communication between cells is performed using optical fibers or network infrastructures that operate using different broadcast frequency ranges. While this technology is very effective in sparsely populated areas, several technical challenges exist when applied to densely populated areas such as business centers, convention centers, hotels, universities, and sports facilities.

Interestingly, in the last two decades, controlling interference between radio signals has emerged as a powerful technique for increasing radio bandwidth, along with the concept of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) radio communication systems. Keep the emitted output constant.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure may relate to a method for improving wireless communication between wireless communication devices in a generally located wireless communication network. Exemplary methods may include placing a wireless communication obstacle at an optimal or approximately optimal location relative to the location, thereby improving one or more characteristics of wireless communication between wireless communication devices. The wireless communication obstruction may be adapted to absorb or reflect at least a portion of the communication signal, thereby preventing and/or reducing interference to wireless communication between wireless communication devices.

Some additional embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to a computer-readable storage medium encoded with computer-executable instructions executed by a processor to improve wireless communication between wireless communication devices in a wireless communication network deployed at a location. can be related Example instructions may include determining an optimal or approximately optimal location for a wireless communication obstruction relative to the location, thereby improving one or more characteristics of wireless communication between wireless communication devices at the location. The wireless communication obstruction may be adapted to absorb or reflect at least a portion of the communication signal, thereby preventing and/or reducing interference to wireless communication between wireless communication devices.

Additional embodiments of the present disclosure may relate generally to apparatus for improving wireless communication. An example apparatus may include a processor and a memory unit configured to determine an optimal or approximately optimal location relative to a location for a wireless communication obstruction, thereby improving one or more characteristics of wireless communication between wireless communication devices at the location. . The wireless communication obstruction may be adapted to absorb or reflect at least a portion of the communication signal, thereby preventing and/or reducing interference to wireless communication between wireless communication devices.

Some additional embodiments of the present disclosure may relate generally to wireless communication networks. An exemplary wireless communication network may include a wireless communication device and a wireless communication obstacle in an optimal or approximately optimal position to improve one or more characteristics of wireless communication between the wireless communication devices. The wireless communication obstruction may be adapted to absorb or reflect one or more communication signals to prevent and/or reduce interference to wireless communication between wireless communication devices.

The above summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. In addition to the exemplary aspects, embodiments and features described above, further aspects, embodiments and features will become apparent with reference to the drawings and the detailed description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The foregoing and other features of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following description and appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that these drawings illustrate only a few embodiments according to the present disclosure, and thus do not limit their scope. The present disclosure will be described more specifically and in detail using the accompanying drawings. In the drawing, 1 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for improving one or more characteristics of wireless communication between wireless communication devices in a wireless communication network deployed at a location by adding one or more wireless communication obstacles; 2 illustrates an exemplary location with a linear wireless communication obstacle; 3 shows an exemplary location with a polygonal wireless communication obstacle; 4 shows an exemplary location with a V-shaped wireless communication obstacle; 5 illustrates an exemplary location using a wireless communication obstacle to create a secure wireless communication network; 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing device arranged for wireless communication optimization; 7 is a block diagram illustrating a computer program product for a computing device, all arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, like symbols generally refer to like elements, unless the context dictates otherwise. The exemplary embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings and claims are not intended to be limiting. Other embodiments may be used and other changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the subject matter presented herein. It is evident that aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein and shown in the drawings, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are expressly contemplated herein. It forms part of

The present disclosure relates generally, among other things, to methods, apparatus, computer programs, and systems related to improving wireless communication between wireless communication devices.

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to adding one or more wireless communication obstacles to improve wireless communication between wireless communication devices in a wireless communication network. A wireless communication obstacle may absorb or reflect a communication signal to prevent interference between signals that are close in time, frequency, and/or location. By adding a wireless communication obstacle, multiple communication signals can be communicated simultaneously with reduced interference.

In one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, a wireless communication network may be deployed at a location. A wireless communication network may include two or more wireless communication devices and one or more wireless communication obstacles. Wireless communication devices may communicate by radio or optical signals. The wireless communication device may be one or more wireless user devices and one or more wireless gateways. A wireless user device may be mobile or stationary. Wireless user devices may include, but are not limited to, mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers with wireless adapters, and personal game consoles with wireless adapters. A wireless gateway may be a network device that routes packets from one wireless communication device to another device or another network via a wireless or wired communication link. The other network may be a local area network, a campus area network, a metropolitan area network, a wide area network, or a worldwide network such as the Internet. A wireless communication obstruction may be any object configured to absorb, reflect, or otherwise interfere with a communication signal generated by a wireless communication device. The wireless communication object may be treated with a material that absorbs or reflects the communication signal. The absorptive or reflective material may be a nanopaint, such as commercially available from NaturalNano, Inc. of Rochester, NY. A wireless communication object may include, but is not limited to, a wall, wireless gateway, or any object having a surface treated with nanopaint.

1 is an exemplary method for improving one or more characteristics of wireless communication between wireless communication devices in a wireless communication network deployed at a location by adding one or more wireless communication obstacles, in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure; (100) is a flowchart. The wireless communication device may be one or more wireless user devices and one or more wireless gateways. Method 100 includes one or more acts, functions, or acts depicted by blocks 102 , 104 , 106 , 108 , 110 , and/or 112 . Certain computationally intensive blocks may be executed by a computer or similarly configured processor. Processing for method 100 may begin at block 102 .

At block 102 , a two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) grid may be added over the location where the wireless communication network is deployed. The grid can then be used in blocks to define possible locations of wireless gateways and wireless communication obstructions. The grid resolution may be predetermined or received from an external source. Since a greater number of location combinations are possible with finer grid resolution, grid resolution can determine the time required to optimize or roughly optimize the location of wireless communication obstructions and wireless gateways. After block 102 , block 104 may continue.

At block 104 , a radio link model is developed for the location where the wireless communication network is deployed. The radio link model may be based on one or more statistical models for a representative environment similar to a location. Representative environments may include, but are not limited to, business buildings, hotel lobbies, showrooms, large conference rooms, open areas, and forests. A statistical model of the representative environment may be generated by collecting wireless communication data from a varying number of wireless communication devices deployed at various locations. Wireless communication data may include, but is not limited to, bandwidth, performance or reception rate, and/or transmission power. A large amount of data may be collected to create a statistical model, or data from a smaller sample may be collected and applied to a representative environment based on certain assumptions. Block 106 may continue after block 104 .

At block 106, an optimal or approximately optimal number and location of wireless gateways may be determined based on the wireless link model, with the result that the wireless gateways are placed in location. A variety of optimization techniques can be used, including iterative improvement and simulated annealing, linear programming, convex programming, and non-linear programming, although It is not limited thereto. To determine the number and location of wireless gateways, an optimization target may be set for the wireless gateways. The optimization goal is a minimum bandwidth for a wireless user device at any location, minimum performance for a wireless user device at any location, a minimum distance between a wireless user device at any location and the nearest wireless gateway, and/or any It may include, but is not limited to, fault tolerance protection, which may ensure that the wireless user equipment at the location of . The location of the wireless gateways may be optimized for a predetermined number of wireless gateways, or the number of wireless gateways may be received at block 106 from an external source. Block 108 may continue after block 106 .

At block 108, an optimal or approximately optimal number, location, and shape of wireless communication obstructions may be determined based on the wireless link model, with the result that wireless communication obstructions are placed in location. Various optimization techniques may be used, including, but not limited to, integer linear programming and/or non-linear programming. To determine the number, location, and shape of the wireless communication obstacles, optimization targets are set for the wireless communication obstacles. Optimization goals may include, but are not limited to, minimum bandwidth, minimum performance, and/or maximum transmit power. The shape of the wireless communication obstacle may be selected from a set of predetermined shapes. The location of the wireless communication obstacles may be optimized for a predetermined number of wireless communication obstacles, or the number of wireless communication obstacles may be received from an external source. Block 110 may continue after block 108 .

At block 110 , the method 100 may determine whether one or more optimization goals from blocks 106 and 108 have been met. The optimization goals of blocks 106 and 108 may be identified for data collected from the wireless communication network. If one or more optimization goals of blocks 106 and 108 are not met, block 110 may loop back to block 106 and repeat the optimization. In this return procedure, the number of wireless gateways may be increased, the number of wireless communication obstacles may be increased, and/or the optimization target may be adjusted downward. If the optimization goals of blocks 106 and 108 are met, block 112 may continue after block 110 .

At block 112 , method 100 may determine whether time has expired or whether one or more optimization goals of blocks 106 and 108 are no longer met. If either or both of these conditions are satisfied, block 102 may continue after block 112 and method 100 may be repeated. Otherwise, block 112 may revert back to that block.

2-5 illustrate example locations with various wireless communication obstructions in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. 2-5 show how wireless communication can be improved by a wireless communication obstacle. The number and location of wireless gateways and wireless communication obstacles, and/or the shape of the wireless communication obstacles, may be determined by method 100 as described above.

2 illustrates an example location 200 with a linear wireless communication obstruction 210 arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. The location 200 may include a wireless user device 202 and a wireless gateway 206 on one side of the wireless communication obstacle 210 , and a wireless user device 204 and a wireless user device 204 on the other side of the wireless communication obstacle 210 . A wireless gateway 208 may be included. The wireless communication obstacle 210 may be a linear wall coated with nanopaint for absorbing or reflecting a communication signal.

In a traditional communication method, when a wireless user device and a wireless gateway at one location use a communication signal that is close in time, frequency, and/or location, one wireless user device may communicate with one wireless gateway. . While the wireless user device 202 may communicate with the wireless gate 206 , the wireless device 204 may communicate with the wireless gateway 208 at the same time as the wireless communication obstacle 210 is capable of communicating with the two pairs of devices. This is because interference between them can be prevented or reduced. Because two pairs of devices can communicate simultaneously, in some examples, the wireless communication obstacle 210 can double the bandwidth of the wireless communication compared to conventional communication schemes.

3 illustrates an example location 300 with a polygonal wireless communication obstacle 302 arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. Polygonal wireless communication obstruction 302 may have walls 304 , 306 , and 308 joined to form a triangular structure. Region R1 may be defined by an imaginary extension of walls 304 , 308 , and region R2 may be defined by imaginary extension of wall 304 and walls 306 , 308 past wall 304 . region R3 may be defined by a virtual extension of walls 304 and 306 , and region R4 may be a virtual extension of wall 306 and walls 304 , 308 past wall 306 . may be defined by , region R5 may be defined by an imaginary extension of walls 306 , 308 , region R6 may be defined by wall 308 and walls 304 , 306 past wall 308 . can be defined by a virtual extension of Location 300 is a wireless gate 310 located approximately proximate to wall 304 in region R2, wireless gate 312 located approximately proximate to wall 306 in region R4, and region R6. A wireless gate 314 located approximately proximate to the wall 308 at User device 320 may be included. Nanopaint for absorbing or reflecting a communication signal may be applied to the polygonal wireless communication obstacle 302 .

By placing the wireless gateway proximate to the wall of the polygonal wireless communication obstacle 302 and placing the wireless user equipment in directly opposing areas of the same wall, a pair of wireless gateways and a wireless user equipment are similarly paired with a wireless gateway and concurrently with the wireless user device. For example, a pair of wireless gateway 310 and wireless user equipment 316 in area R2, a pair of wireless gateway 312 and wireless user equipment 318 in area R4, and wireless gateway 314 in area R4 and a pair of wireless user devices 320 can communicate simultaneously, because the polygonal wireless communication obstacle 302 prevents or reduces interference between these three device pairs. In either of the areas R1, R3, R5, the wireless user equipment may communicate with two wireless gateways located in close proximity to the walls defining the area. For example, a wireless user device in area R1 may communicate with wireless gateways 310 and 314 . Because three pairs of devices can communicate simultaneously, the polygonal wireless communication obstacle 302 can triple the bandwidth of wireless communication compared to the conventional communication method.

4 is an exemplary location 400 with a V-shaped wireless communication obstruction 402 arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. The location 400 includes a VIP area 408 on the concave side of the V-shaped wireless communication obstacle 402 , an open area 416 on the convex side of the V-shaped wireless communication obstacle 402 , It may include wireless gateways 410 and 412 in VIP area 408 , and wireless gateway 414 in open area 416 . The V-shaped wireless communication obstacle 402 may include a first wall 404 and a second wall 406 coupled at a corner and coated with nanopaint to absorb or reflect the communication signal.

VIP area 408 provides an area in which only a limited number of wireless communication devices can communicate. For example, a wireless user device may be located within the VIP area 408 to communicate with one or both of the wireless gateways 410 and/or 412 where the V-shaped wireless communication obstacle 402 is outside the VIP area. This is because it absorbs or reflects the communication signal from the wireless communication device. By absorbing or reflecting external communication signals, the V-shaped wireless communication obstacle 402 may increase the bandwidth within the VIP area 408 . VIP area 408 can also be created as an entirely enclosed wireless communication obstacle (eg, a room with four walls coated with nanopaint), but V-shaped wireless communication obstacle 402 is a minimal structure ( That is, two walls) can be used to provide the VIP area 408 .

5 is an example location 500 of using a wireless communication obstacle 502 to create a secure wireless communication network in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. Location 500 includes wireless gateways 506 , 508 and 510 within an enclosed space defined by wireless communication obstruction 502 , wireless gateway 512 outside of the enclosed space, and within the enclosed space. wireless user devices 514 , 518 and 520 , and wireless user devices 516 outside the enclosed space. The wireless communication obstruction 502 may have a wall and an entrance corridor 504 . The walls of the wireless communication structure 502 may be coated with nanopaint for absorbing or reflecting communication signals. Wireless gateways 506 , 508 , 510 , 512 and wireless user devices 514 , 516 , 518 , 520 may be adapted to form a wireless mesh network.

The wireless gateway 506 may be located in the lower left corner of the enclosed space, and may be walled on the east, south, and west sides. The use of directions is exemplary and is not intended to limit embodiments of the present disclosure. The wireless gateway 508 may be located in the upper left corner of the enclosed space, and may be walled on the west and north sides. The wireless gateway 510 may be located directly inside the entrance passage 504 , and the wireless gateway 512 may be located immediately outside the entrance passage 504 .

The wireless user device 514 may be located in the upper right corner of the enclosed space. Wireless user device 514 can communicate with wireless gateways 508 and 510 , but not with wireless gateway 506 , which means that the communication signal of wireless user device 514 is a nanometer in the vicinity of wireless gateway 506 . This is because it can be blocked by walls covered with paint. On the other hand, the wireless user device 520 can communicate with the wireless gateway 506 , such that the communication signal of the wireless user device 520 is not blocked by the nanopainted wall near the wireless gateway 506 . Because. By judiciously placing the wireless gateway and the nanopainted walls, communications can be restricted to specific wireless gateways and specific wireless user devices so that undesirable interference is prevented or reduced.

The location of the entrance aisle 504 and the wireless gateways 510 and 512 may be configured to prevent unnecessary wireless communications from entering the enclosed space. As described above, the wireless gateway 510 may be located at the inner end of the entrance passage 504 , and the wireless gateway 512 may be located at the outer end of the entrance passage 504 . Wireless gateway 510 or 512 may include a firewall that may be configured to block unauthorized access from outside the enclosed space. A communication signal emitted from the enclosed space may be transmitted from the wireless gateway 510 to the wireless gateway 512 , and vice versa. A wireless communication device inside the enclosed space (eg, wireless gateway 508 ) can communicate outside of the enclosed space without passing communication signals from the wireless gateway 510 to the wireless gateway 512 and vice versa. It cannot communicate with a wireless communication device (eg, wireless user device 516). A secure wireless communication network is created at location 500 by controlling the movement of communication signals inside and outside the enclosed space through the entrance passage 504 , the wireless gateway 510 , and/or the wireless gateway 512 . can be

6 is a block diagram illustrating an example computing device 600 arranged for wireless communication optimization in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. Computing device 600 includes a processor 610 , memory 620 , and one or more drives 630 . Drive 630 and associated computer storage media provide storage of computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for computer 600 . The drive 630 includes an operating system 640 , an application program 650 , an optimization program 660 for adding one or more wireless communication obstacles to a wireless communication network, and data 680 for the optimization program 660 . may include The processor 610 may load the optimization program 660 into the memory 620 , execute the optimization program 660 to change the data 680 , and store the data 680 in the drive 630 .

Computer 600 further includes a user input device 690 through which a user may enter commands and data. Input devices may include electronic digitizers, microphones, keyboards, and pointing devices collectively referred to as mice, trackballs, or touchpads. Other input devices may include joysticks, gamepads, satellite dishes, scanners, and the like.

These and other input devices may be coupled to the processor 610 through a user input interface that is coupled to a system bus, but may also be coupled by bus structures and other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port, or Universal Serial Bus (USB). . A computer, such as computer 600 , may also include other peripheral output devices, such as speakers, which may be coupled via an output peripheral interface 694 , or the like.

Computer 600 may operate in a network environment using logical connections to one or more computers, such as a remote computer coupled to network interface 696 . The remote computer may be a personal computer, server, router, network PC, peer device, or other common network node, and may include many or all of the components described above with respect to computer 600 . Network environments may include enterprise wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), intranets, and the Internet. For example, in the subject matter of this application, computer 600 may comprise a source machine to which data is being transmitted and a remote computer may comprise a destination machine, or vice versa. However, the source and destination machines need not be connected by network 608 or any other means; instead, data can be written to and read by the destination platform or any other means capable of being read by the destination platform or platforms. may be transmitted over a medium. When used in a LAN or WLAN network environment, the computer 600 may be connected to the LAN through a network interface 696 or adapter. When used in a WAN network environment, computer 600 typically includes a modem or other means for establishing communications over a WAN, such as the Internet or network 608 . It should be noted that other means of establishing a communication link between the computers may be used.

7 is a block diagram illustrating a computer program product 700 for a computing device in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. The computer program product 700 may include a set of one or more executable instructions 702 for executing the method of transmitting multiple copies described in this disclosure. The computer program product 700 may be transmitted in a signal bearing medium 704 or other similar communication medium 706 . Computer program product 700 may be recorded on computer readable medium 708 or other similar recordable medium 710 .

There is little distinction between hardware and software implementations of aspects of a system. The use of hardware or software is generally (but not always in the sense that the choice between hardware and software may be important in some contexts) is a design choice that represents a cost-effectiveness tradeoff. . There are various vehicles (eg, hardware, software and/or firmware) by which the processes and/or systems and/or other technologies described in this disclosure may be affected, with preferred means being the processes and/or systems and /or other techniques will change depending on the context in which they are used. For example, if the implementer determines that speed and accuracy are paramount, the implementer may choose primarily hardware and/or firmware means, and if flexibility is paramount, the implementer may select primarily a software implementation. Alternatively, the implementer may choose any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware.

The foregoing detailed description presents various embodiments of apparatus and/or processes by way of block diagrams, flow diagrams, and/or examples. To the extent such block diagrams, flow diagrams, and/or examples include one or more functions and/or operations, those skilled in the art will recognize that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flow diagrams, or examples may, individually and/or collectively , it will be noted that a wide variety of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof may be implemented. In one embodiment, some portions of the subject matter described in the present disclosure may be implemented through an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), or other form of integration. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure may include one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (eg, one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), one or more computer programs running on one or more processors. It is contemplated that the software and/or firmware may be embodied in an integrated circuit, in whole or in part, equally as a program (eg, one or more programs executing on one or more microprocessors), firmware, or substantially a combination thereof. The writing of code and/or the design of circuits for this will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the present disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that the mechanisms of the subject matter of the present disclosure may be distributed in various forms of program products, and examples of the subject matter of the present disclosure include a signal bearing medium used to actually perform the distribution. medium) will be understood to apply irrespective of the specific type. Examples of signal-bearing media include readable tangible media such as floppy disks, hard disk drives, CDs, DVDs, digital tapes, computer memory, and the like, digital and/or analog communication media (eg, fiber optic cables, waveguides, transmission tangible media such as, but not limited to, a wired communication link, a wireless communication link, etc.).

Those of skill in the art will recognize that, after having described apparatuses and/or processes in the manner presented in this disclosure, it is common in the art to employ engineering practices to incorporate such described apparatuses and/or processes into data processing systems. That is, at least a portion of the apparatus and/or process described in this disclosure may be integrated into a data processing system through a reasonable amount of experimentation. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a typical data processing system typically includes one or more system device housings, video display devices, memories such as volatile and nonvolatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digital signal processors, operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications. a computing object, such as a program, one or more interactive devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback that senses position and/or speed, and/or a control motor that regulates the control system. A typical data processing system may be implemented using any commercially available components such as those commonly found in data computing/communication and/or network computing/communication systems.

The subject matter disclosed herein sometimes depicts different components incorporated into or connected to different other components. It should be understood that such architectures shown are merely exemplary, and many other architectures may be implemented that achieve substantially the same functionality. Conceptually, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Accordingly, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality, irrespective of architecture or intermediate components, may be viewed as "associated" with each other such that the desired functionality is achieved. Likewise, two associated components may also be considered "operatively connected" or "operably connected" to each other to achieve a desired function, and any two components that may be so associated are also They may be viewed as "operatively connectable" to each other to achieve a desired function. Specific examples of being operatively connectable are physically compatible and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logical including, but not limited to, components capable of interacting with and/or logically interacting with.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms in this disclosure, one of ordinary skill in the art may interpret the plural as the singular or the singular as the recovery, as appropriate to the context and/or application. Various singular/plural combinations may be explicitly set forth in this disclosure for clarity.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that terms generally used in this disclosure and particularly used in the appended claims (eg, appended claims) are generally open terms (eg, the term "comprising" includes "comprising"). It will be understood, however, that the term "having" is intended to be construed as "including but not limited to", the term "comprising", etc.), but not limited thereto. It will also be understood by those skilled in the art that where a particular number of introduced claims recitations are intended, such intentions will be expressly recited in the claims, and in the absence of such recitations, no such intent. For example, to aid understanding, the appended claims below may introduce claim remarks, including the use of introductory phrases such as "at least one" and "one or more". However, the use of such a phrase implies that the introduction of a claim remark by the indefinite article "a" ("a" or "an") includes such an introduced claim remark to the object which includes such a remark. It is not to be construed as implying that the same claim is limited to a particular claim that For example, "a" should be construed likewise when it includes "at least one" or "one or more"). This also applies to the definite article used to introduce claim remarks. Moreover, even when a particular number of introduced claim recitations are expressly recited, those skilled in the art will generally recognize that such recitations are at least the recited number (e.g., simply reciting "two remarks" without other modifiers) should be construed to mean at least two entries or two or more entries. Also, where rules similar to "at least one of A, B, and C" are used, such interpretation is generally intended with the premise that those skilled in the art will understand the rule (eg, "of A, B and C"). "A system having at least one" means having A only, B only, C only, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B , and C together). Where a rule similar to "at least one of A, B or C" is used, such interpretation is generally intended with the premise that one of ordinary skill in the art will understand the rule (eg, "at least one of A, B or C"). "A system having A only, B only, C only, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, A, B, and including, but not limited to, systems with C). Also, those skilled in the art will recognize that substantially any disjunctive word and/or a phrase representing two or more alternative terms, whether or not it is in the description, claims or drawings, will refer to one of those terms, the terms It will be understood that the possibility of including either or both of the terms is contemplated. For example, the phrase "A or B" will be understood to include the possibilities of "A" or "B" or "A and B".

While various aspects and embodiments have been described in this disclosure, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments described in this disclosure have been presented for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.