Method and apparatus for concurrent broadcast of media program and social networking derived information exchange

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

0001This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/239,766, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONCURRENT BROADCAST OF MEDIA PROGRAM AND SOCIAL NETWORKING DERIVED INFORMATION,” by Joseph Earley et al., filed Sep. 3, 2009, which application is hereby incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

00021. Field of the Invention

0003The present invention relates to systems and methods for providing media programs to viewers, and in particular to a system and method for augmenting provided media programs with qualified answers to questions from viewers live and in near real time.

00042. Description of the Related Art

0005Systems for broadcasting media programs to viewers have been available for many years. The earliest of such systems used terrestrially broadcast television signals, that were received by television sets and presented to viewers in their homes. Later, media programs were also provided by means of cable transmission, and still later, satellite transmission. These programs were typically transmitted in modulated form, using frequency or time domain multiplexing to provide different channels. These means for providing media programs have recently been augmented by the Internet. Media programs transmitted via the Internet may be ultimately transmitted by terrestrial transmission, satellite or cable transmission, copper wire, or fiber optics, but the notion of channels is instead implemented via using different uniform resource locators (URLs) for each media program.

0006Regardless of the means of transmission or providing multiple channels, the presentation of media programs, at least by means of broadcast, has been paid for by incorporating commercials into those programs. To maximize the value of the broadcasted media program, it is desired for the commercials of that media program to viewed by as many people as possible.

0007There are at least two factors that reduce the number of viewers watching the commercials broadcast with media programs. The first factor is the media program itself. The production of a media program is an expensive endeavor . . . prohibitively expensive to provide nothing but premiered media programs with each broadcast. Hence, many media programs are rebroadcasted at later times. In many cases, such rebroadcasts draw fewer viewers than the premier broadcast, thus causing reduced revenue. The second factor is the advent of digital video recorders (DVRs). Such devices allow the user to easily record a media program for later viewing, and to rapidly skip over any commercials.

0008There is a need for a system and method for transmitting media programs that enhances viewership of rebroadcasts and disincentivizes the recording of such programs for later viewing. The present invention satisfies that need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

0009To address the requirements described above, the present invention discloses a method and apparatus for presenting a media program concurrently with live commentary about the media program. In one embodiment, the method is comprised of (1) broadcasting a media program, (2) accepting first commentary from a first group with a plurality of first group members, each viewing the broadcast of the media program, (3) filtering the messages from members of the first group to identify suitable messages of interest, (4) accepting messages from a second group having a plurality of second group members, each viewing the broadcast of the media program, and (5) adding at least one of the identified suitable messages from the first group and at least one the messages from the second group to the broadcasted signal in real time to concurrently present the (a) media program, (b) at least one identified suitable message from the first group and (c) at least one messages from the second group. The second group may consist or comprise of individuals designated to have knowledge of the production of the media program and the messages from the second group comprise the responses to the identified suitable messages of interest.

0010In another embodiment, apparatus is comprised of a media program transmission system, coupled to the social networking system, (1) for transmitting a broadcast signal having the media program and a social networking integration system, (2) for accepting first messages from a first group having a plurality of first group members, each viewing a broadcast of the media program, (3) for accepting second messages from a second group having at least one second group member viewing the broadcast of the media program, (4) for filtering the messages from the first group but not the second group to identify suitable messages of interest to substantially all the members of the first group, and (5) for adding at least one of the filtered messages from the first group and the messages from the second group to the broadcasted signal in real time, thereby concurrently presenting the media program, the identified suitable messages and at least one message from the second group.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

0011Referring now to the drawings in which like reference numbers represent corresponding parts throughout:

0012<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a block diagram showing an exemplary hardware environment for practicing the present invention;

0013<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is a diagram presenting exemplary method steps that can be used to practice one embodiment of the invention;

0014<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> is a diagram presenting exemplary method steps that can be used to filter the messages from the first group to identify suitable messages of interest to other first group members;

0015<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is a diagram presenting exemplary method steps that can be used to practice a further embodiment of the invention wherein an producer selects messages for broadcast;

0016<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is a diagram showing one embodiment of the depiction of the media program augmented with live commentary; and

0017<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> is a diagram illustrating an exemplary computer system that could be used to implement elements of the present invention

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

0018In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, and which is shown, by way of illustration, several embodiments of the present invention. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

0019<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 1</figref> is a diagram depicting an enhanced broadcasting system (EBS) <b>100</b> that can be used to practice the present invention. The EBS <b>100</b> comprises a media program database <b>102</b> communicatively coupled to a media program transmission system (MPTS) <b>104</b>. The media program database <b>102</b> stores media programs, and provides them to the MPTS <b>104</b> for broadcast or other transmission. The MPTS <b>104</b> also accepts advertisements from an advertising database <b>103</b>, and incorporates those advertisements where desired in the media programs broadcast. The MPTS <b>104</b> may also accept information and media programs from other sources such as live feeds (not illustrated). The MPTS <b>104</b> provides the media programs and advertisements to the transmitter <b>106</b>, which broadcasts the media programs and advertisements to the television(s) <b>108</b> of one or more viewer(s) <b>110</b>. While the foregoing illustrates conventional terrestrial transmission, the transmission medium may be satellite, fiber optic, cable, or the Internet <b>116</b>.

0020The viewer(s) <b>110</b> can watch the media program presented on the television <b>108</b>, and if they have comments about the media program, provide such comments to the media program provider for broadcast to other viewers. This can be accomplished an interface device <b>112</b> such as a telephone <b>112</b>A or computer <b>112</b>B. Other devices such as a personal data assistant (PDA) can also be used. In one embodiment, the comments are text messages transmitted to the media program provider via an short message system (SMS) or similar protocol. In another embodiment, the comments are messages sent by computer <b>112</b>B. In either case, messages can be sent in the form of e-mails, social networking transmissions (e.g. TWITTER messages or FACEBOOK wall posts to a profile designated by the media program provider), or a chatroom hosted by the media program provider. Messages received by telephone <b>112</b>A are transmitted to a telephone receiver <b>114</b> and thence to a telephone service which provides such messages to addressed recipients, for example, via the Internet <b>116</b> or public switched telephone network (PSTN). Such messages can be transmitted directly to the media program provider (e.g. by e-mail using an address provided by the media program provider) or via a social networking service (SNS) such as TWITTER, FACEBOOK, or an chatroom host.

0021The messages are received by computer <b>120</b>. Since the messages can be received from a variety of sources, the messages are collected, compiled and processed to remove unnecessary formatting, but to preserve content. In one embodiment, the source of the message (screen name, ID, FACEBOOK name, TWITTER ID) are retained so that the identity of the individual providing the comment can be retained and presented. In another embodiment, the identity of the individual providing the comment is removed. Message collection may involve “scraping” (e.g. copying text) of the messages from a browser <b>124</b> implemented on the computer <b>120</b>.

0022The computer <b>120</b> may receive messages at a very rapid rate. Accordingly, provision is made to filter the messages to identify suitable (on topic, not including profanity or other objectionable language) messages that are most likely to be of interest to the group of viewers viewing the media program broadcast. Such filtering involves analyzing the messages for content, categorizing them, and present message categories and representative messages for selection. Preferably, this process takes place in real time or near real time. For example, if a comment or question is received about a particular scene in the media program, the value of that comment or question rapidly deteriorates after the scene has been broadcast and another scene has begun. Hence, the comment is best received, analyzed, and posted in very short order.

0023The first step in this process is analyzing the content of the received messages. This can be accomplished by parsing the messages to analyze them and removing words from the messages that are not likely to have content (e.g. words such as “the” “a” and the like), and compiling a list of the remaining words the received messages. These remaining words are then analyzed for tense, plurality and the other factors to obtain root words, and the root words are then histogrammed to determine which words are most commonly used in the messages. Since these messages are time-critical, this can be done in a first-in-first-out fashion, where the most commonly used words are identified as the most commonly used words in a preceding rolling time period. That time period can constant (e.g. 10 seconds) or can be selected based upon the scene length. For example, a longer FIFO period may be used to determine the most popular words used in comments or questions for a scene four minutes in length than one that is one minute in length.

0024Next, the messages are organized, using the most popular keywords used in the messages. For example, if one of the actors in the media program is named Bill Jones and many of the comments and/or questions arriving include the words “Bill” or “Jones”, Bill Jones may be identified as a category. Further, such messages may include other information about Bill Jones, particularly those related to the scene currently being broadcast. This other information can be used to identify sub-categories. For example, if the scene involves a dangerous stunt, a number of viewers may have asked whether the actor performed the stunt or whether a stuntperson as used. In which case, a subcategory of “stunt” may be identified, and messages having the root “stunt” (e.g. stuntman or stunting) may be placed in this category. A synonym dictionary can be used to identify equivalent keywords.

0025Since the original messages are to be broadcast along with the media program, once a category or subject of interest has been identified by analyzing the incoming message, one of more messages of interest are be either automatically selected or presented to a producer <b>126</b> for selection. This can be accomplished by presenting candidate messages, organized by category, to the producer <b>126</b>, for selection. In the process, the producer provides a final arbiter of which messages are displayed and which are not, taking into account how likely the message is to be well received or the content of the message. For example, messages having objectionable content can be identified and not chosen by the producer.

0026In one embodiment, the media program is also being concurrently viewed by a second group <b>128</b> which may consist of individuals designated by the media program provider to have knowledge about the production of the media program. Such people can include the producer, one or more of the actors, the cinematographer, for example. These individuals may be in contact with the producer <b>126</b>, providing information regarding which, if any, of the messages received from viewers <b>110</b>, the members of the second group <b>128</b> would like to respond to. For example, a viewer <b>110</b> message may ask a question regarding whether the actor Bill Jones performed the stunt in a scene. A member of the second group <b>128</b> (e.g. an actor) may wish to answer that question, and can indicate as such to the producer <b>126</b>, so that the producer can select the message having that question for broadcast. The actor may enter his response to the question by suitable input to a terminal or a computer <b>130</b> communicatively coupled to the producer's computer <b>120</b>, or such input can be verbally provided. One advantage of using the computer <b>130</b> for such input is that the actor (as well as others in the second group <b>128</b>) need not be physically present to provide answers or input. In fact, input from the second group <b>128</b> may also be provided using the same means as the viewers <b>110</b> (e.g. using a computer, cellphone, personal data assistant or other device via TWITTER, FACEBOOK, short message service messages, or the Internet). Another advantage is that this paradigm makes second group messages available to the general public, because if messages are posted to the social networking or media forum, all fans (and not just ones participating in the broadcast event) will receive the messages. Communications between the second group <b>128</b> and the producer <b>126</b> may also be implemented via an Internet on line chat room with the producer <b>126</b> and the members of the second group <b>128</b> as chat room members. This allows the producer <b>126</b> and the second group <b>128</b> to receive and coordinate messages.

0027Using the computer <b>120</b>, the producer <b>126</b> can select one or more of the incoming messages for broadcast along with the media program. The producer may submit the question or comment to the second group <b>128</b> or an individual from the second group <b>128</b>, wait for a response from the individual and select both for broadcasting with the media program, or may select the question for broadcast, accept an answer or further comment from an individual in the second group <b>128</b>, and post that answer, response, or further comment when received. Hence, the producer <b>126</b> can use the computer <b>120</b> to orchestrate the presentation of comments from the first group of individuals <b>110</b> and the second group of individuals <b>128</b>, deciding which will be presented and at which time.

0028The input from the producer <b>126</b> is provided from the computer <b>120</b> to the MPTS <b>104</b> for broadcast along with the media program. In one embodiment, the messages are combined with the media program such that when they are displayed on the user's television <b>108</b>, they are presented in a portion of the screen depicting the media program, much like a barker line. The portion of the screen dedicated to this task may be constant or varying. The messages may scroll across, vertically or horizontally. Typically, a stream of messages will comprise comments from the second group <b>128</b> about the production of the media program, questions from the first group <b>110</b> about the media program followed by answers to those questions from the second group <b>128</b>.

0029In one embodiment, the messages are provided as closed captioning, using the technology appropriate for the broadcast system. NTSC, for example, used line <b>21</b> of the vertical blanking interval. For ATSC (digital television), three streams are encoded in the video, two backwards-compatible line <b>21</b> captions and a set of up to sixty-three additional captions encoded in the EIA-708 format, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Since sixty three captions are available, it is possible to allow users to select a different stream of information than other viewers. For example, viewers interested in the actor Bill Jones may choose a particular closed captioning channel to view the text stream regarding that actor. The different channels may be used to broadcast the text stream in different languages, or other categories . . . e.g. all actors instead of a particular actor. Channels may also be used to transmit comments, questions, and responses that are appropriate for different age groups.

0030The characters may be scrolled, popped up, or painted on. With scrolling the words appear from left to right, up to one line at a time; when a line is filled, the whole line scrolls up to make way for a new line, and the line on top is erased. The captions usually appear at the bottom of the screen, but can actually be placed anywhere (subject to appropriate approval by the studio producing the media program, producers, guilds and the like) to avoid covering graphics or action. For pop-ups, the text appears anywhere on the screen as a whole, followed by additional text. Painting on refers to the caption appearing on the screen letter by letter from left to right, but ends up like a stationary block.

0031In one embodiment, the members of the second group <b>128</b> view a version of the media program a period of time before it is actually broadcast. This allows the members of the second group to be prepare themselves for questions or comments that may be coming from the first group <b>110</b>.

0032The foregoing includes the ability to perform live tweeting, respond to fan questions, or to perform scripted tweeting. With regard to live tweeting, members of the second group <b>128</b> may receive an advanced feed of comments/questions from the viewers in the first group <b>110</b>, and provide additional comments/answers by providing text responses, either by text message, twitter, or entering data into computer <b>130</b>. The advanced feed can be in the form of tweets or a chat room having individuals in the second group <b>128</b> as members. Text input from the second group members may be entered by third parties, or “handlers”. The operator <b>126</b> may simply view the tweeted message on the computer <b>120</b> and enter the message into the computer <b>120</b> for transmission to the MPTS for broadcast, or the tweeted message may be automatically entered into the computer <b>120</b> upon receipt, and transmitted upon the producer's approval.

0033The foregoing can be used by the members of the second group <b>128</b> receiving questions or comments from the first group <b>110</b> (via television <b>132</b>, computer, cellphone, personal data assistant or other device via TWITTER, FACEBOOK, short message service messages or the Internet) to respond to fan questions by receiving the incoming questions, coordinating responses in a chat room with other members of the second group <b>128</b> and the producer <b>126</b>, then performing the same operations as for live tweeting.

0034Tweeting provides a prompt immediate response, and as described below, in a broadcast environment the members of the second group <b>128</b> responding to questions from the first (audience) group <b>110</b> will have the opportunity to view the program 15 to 20 seconds before the broadcast public, thus permitting the members of the second group <b>128</b> time to prepare for questions that might arise. However, in providing a tweet in conjunction with a live broadcast there may be a need to fill dead tweet space with either canned texts or questions. These canned messages can fill in time or provide fodder for questions or comments from viewing tweeters.

0035In scripted tweeting the broadcaster prepares a series of canned tweets, such as “This is my first tweet . . . ” or “I did this stunt for the first time . . . ” in order to initiate discussion and questions from the viewing, twittering audience/For scripted tweeting, the operator <b>126</b> feeds a scripted tweet to a specific call # The call # is then communicated back to the second group <b>128</b>, whereupon the individuals in the second group <b>128</b> can send out the scripted tweet via TWITTER.

0036<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 2</figref> is a diagram presenting exemplary method steps that can be used to practice one embodiment of the invention. A signal comprising the media program is broadcasted, as shown in block <b>202</b>. One or more first messages are accepted from the first group <b>110</b> having a plurality of first group members viewing the broadcast of the media program, as shown in block <b>204</b>. In one embodiment, this is accomplished by designating a TWITTER account for the broadcast of the media program and harvesting the first messages from the TWITTER account.

0037In block <b>206</b>, the messages from members of the first group <b>110</b> are filtered to identify suitable messages of interest to other members of the first group. Messages from the second group <b>138</b> may also be filtered, but need not be.

0038In block <b>208</b>, second messages are accepted from a second group <b>128</b> having a plurality of second group members viewing the broadcast of the media program. In one embodiment, the second group consists of individuals designated (e.g. by the broadcaster) to have knowledge of the production of the media program. The messages from the second group may be responses to the identified suitable messages from the first group.

0039Finally, as shown in block <b>210</b>, at least one of the identified suitable messages from the first group <b>110</b> and at least one of the messages from the second group <b>138</b> are added to the broadcasted signal in real time, thus concurrently presenting the media program, the at least one identified messages and the message from the second group.

0040<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 3</figref> is a diagram presenting exemplary method steps that can be used to filter the messages from the first group <b>110</b> to identify suitable messages of interest to other first group <b>110</b> members. The first messages received from the first group are keyword searched, as shown in block <b>302</b>. Block <b>304</b> further identifies message keywords present in a number of first messages exceeding a threshold number of first messages. Block <b>306</b> defines a plurality of categories of messages according to the identified message keywords, and block <b>308</b> selects a representative message from at least one of the plurality of categories.

0041For example, block <b>302</b> may identify the word “stunt” as a keyword, and block <b>304</b> may further identify that the keyword “stunt” shows up in a threshold number or percentage (i.e. 20%) of the currently received first messages. Block <b>306</b> may define a category of “special effects” because the term stunts can be categorized as special effects, and block <b>308</b> may select one of the messages from the first group having the term “stunt” as a representative message.

0042<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 4</figref> is a diagram presenting exemplary method steps that can be used to practice a further embodiment of the invention wherein an administrator (such as producer <b>126</b>) selects messages for broadcast. In block <b>402</b>, the representative messages are presented to an administrator for selection. The administrator selects a message. The system accepts the message and ads the administrator-selected message to the broadacasted signal, as shown in blocks <b>404</b> and <b>406</b>.

0043<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 5</figref> is a diagram showing one embodiment of the depiction of the playback of a media program augmented with live commentary. The broadcast signal is reproduced in a media program player <b>502</b> allowing first group members <b>110</b> view the media program. The media program player may comprise the television <b>108</b>, cellphone <b>112</b>A or computer <b>112</b>B, <b>130</b>. The broadcast signal includes first window <b>504</b> in which the administrator, host, or producer <b>126</b> of the enhanced media program may enter messages or post administrator-selected messages for transmission. In the illustrated embodiment, the producer <b>126</b> has entered the text “send in your fan questions.” An administrator avatar <b>506</b> may also be presented. Second group member <b>128</b> comments are presented in second window <b>508</b>, which may answer questions posed by first group members <b>110</b> and selected by the producer <b>126</b>. If desired, a second group member avatar <b>510</b> may be presented adjacent to the second window <b>508</b>. In one embodiment, there is a single window <b>510</b> for each of the second group members, but in other embodiments, each second group member is provided with their own window.

0044<figref idrefs="DRAWINGS">FIG. 6</figref> is a diagram illustrating an exemplary computer system <b>600</b> that could be used to implement elements of the present invention. The computer <b>602</b> comprises a general purpose hardware processor <b>604</b>A and/or a special purpose hardware processor <b>604</b>B (hereinafter alternatively collectively referred to as processor <b>604</b>) and a memory <b>606</b>, such as random access memory (RAM). The computer <b>602</b> may be coupled to other devices, including input/output (I/O) devices such as a keyboard <b>614</b>, a mouse device <b>616</b> and a printer <b>628</b>.

0045In one embodiment, the computer <b>602</b> operates by the general purpose processor <b>604</b>A performing instructions defined by the computer program <b>610</b> under control of an operating system <b>608</b>. The computer program <b>610</b> and/or the operating system <b>608</b> may be stored in the memory <b>606</b> and may interface with the user and/or other devices to accept input and commands and, based on such input and commands and the instructions defined by the computer program <b>610</b> and operating system <b>608</b> to provide output and results.

0046Output/results may be presented on the display <b>622</b> or provided to another device for presentation or further processing or action. In one embodiment, the display <b>622</b> comprises a liquid crystal display (LCD) having a plurality of separately addressable pixels formed by liquid crystals. Each pixel of the display <b>622</b> changes to an opaque or translucent state to form a part of the image on the display in response to the data or information generated by the processor <b>604</b> from the application of the instructions of the computer program <b>610</b> and/or operating system <b>608</b> to the input and commands. Other display <b>622</b> types also include picture elements that change state in order to create the image presented on the display <b>622</b>. The image may be provided through a graphical user interface (GUI) module <b>618</b>A. Although the GUI module <b>618</b>A is depicted as a separate module, the instructions performing the GUI functions can be resident or distributed in the operating system <b>608</b>, the computer program <b>610</b>, or implemented with special purpose memory and processors.

0047Some or all of the operations performed by the computer <b>602</b> according to the computer program <b>610</b> instructions may be implemented in a special purpose processor <b>604</b>B. In this embodiment, some or all of the computer program <b>610</b> instructions may be implemented via firmware instructions stored in a read only memory (ROM), a programmable read only memory (PROM) or flash memory within the special purpose processor <b>604</b>B or in memory <b>606</b>. The special purpose processor <b>604</b>B may also be hardwired through circuit design to perform some or all of the operations to implement the present invention. Further, the special purpose processor <b>604</b>B may be a hybrid processor, which includes dedicated circuitry for performing a subset of functions, and other circuits for performing more general functions such as responding to computer program instructions. In one embodiment, the special purpose processor is an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

0048The computer <b>602</b> may also implement a compiler <b>612</b> which allows an application program <b>610</b> written in a programming language such as COBOL, C++, FORTRAN, or other language to be translated into processor <b>604</b> readable code. After completion, the application or computer program <b>610</b> accesses and manipulates data accepted from I/O devices and stored in the memory <b>606</b> of the computer <b>602</b> using the relationships and logic that was generated using the compiler <b>612</b>.

0049The computer <b>602</b> also optionally comprises an external communication device such as a modem, satellite link, Ethernet card, or other device for accepting input from and providing output to other computers.

0050In one embodiment, instructions implementing the operating system <b>608</b>, the computer program <b>610</b>, and/or the compiler <b>612</b> are tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, e.g., data storage device <b>620</b>, which could include one or more fixed or removable data storage devices, such as a zip drive, floppy disc drive <b>624</b>, hard drive, CD-ROM drive, tape drive, or a flash drive. Further, the operating system <b>608</b> and the computer program <b>610</b> are comprised of computer program instructions which, when accessed, read and executed by the computer <b>602</b>, causes the computer <b>602</b> to perform the steps necessary to implement and/or use the present invention or to load the program of instructions into a memory, thus creating a special purpose data structure causing the computer to operate as a specially programmed computer executing the method steps described herein. Computer program <b>610</b> and/or operating instructions may also be tangibly embodied in memory <b>606</b> and/or data communications devices <b>630</b>, thereby making a computer program product or article of manufacture according to the invention. As such, the terms “article of manufacture,” “program storage device” and “computer program product” or “computer readable storage device” as used herein are intended to encompass a computer program accessible from any computer readable device or media.

0051Of course, those skilled in the art will recognize that any combination of the above components, or any number of different components, peripherals, and other devices, may be used with the computer <b>602</b>.

0052Although the term “computer” is referred to herein, it is understood that the computer may include portable devices such as cellphones, portable MP3 players, video game consoles, notebook computers, pocket computers, or any other device with suitable processing, communication, and input/output capability.

CONCLUSION

0053This concludes the description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention. The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. It is intended that the scope of the invention be limited not by this detailed description, but rather by the claims appended hereto. The above specification, examples and data provide a complete description of the manufacture and use of the composition of the invention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, the invention resides in the claims hereinafter appended.