Abstract:
Segments for a video are transmitted in payload units with a supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message within which is embedded display adaptation information that may be employed to control display brightness and thereby reduce power consumption during display of the respective segment. The display adaptation information includes at least a maximum pixel brightness that may be used to scale pixel brightness to maximum and correspondingly reduce backlighting for liquid crystal displays, or to adjust the supply voltage for OLED displays. The display adaptation information may optionally include a minimum pixel brightness, a pixel histogram step size, and an indicator of scaling method.

Description:
[0001]    This application hereby incorporates by reference U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/636,549, filed Apr. 20, 2012, entitled “DISPLAY POWER REDUCTION USING EXTEND NAL UNIT HEADER INFORMATION,” U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/636,543, filed Apr. 20, 2012, entitled “DISPLAY POWER REDUCTION USING EXTEND SEI INFORMATION,” AND U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/636,561, filed Apr. 20, 2012, entitled “PERCEPTUAL LOSSLESS DISPLAY POWER REDUCTION.” 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates generally to reduction of energy consumption in wireless mobile communication devices and, more specifically, to content-based display adaptation control for video content displayed on a wireless mobile communication device. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    In recent years, display resolution on mobile devices has advanced significantly, to where 720p or even higher super liquid crystal display (LCD) or OLED organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays are or soon will be mainstream for smart phones and tablets. However, such high display resolution requires much more energy for rendering, especially for video where high frequency frame buffering and display panel refresh are indispensable. 
         [0004]    For LCD displays, power consumption is a monotonic function of the backlighting brightness level; for OLED displays, power consumption is controlled by the supply voltage as well as the display content itself. While a brightness control is already implemented on some mobile devices, those controls typically must be adjusted prior to issuing a new job—that is, before starting playback of a video. For example, brightness may be set at 100%, 50%, or even 25% prior to watching a video, but cannot be changed dynamically without interrupting playback of the video. In addition, since power consumption is determined by the supply voltage and input image for OLED displays, current implementations do not provide a mechanism for adapting the voltage. 
         [0005]    There is, therefore, a need in the art to improve mobile device displays by allowing either LCD display backlighting brightness or OLED supply voltage to be adapted according to the content being displayed, saving significant display energy. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    Segments for a video are transmitted in payload units with a supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message within which is embedded display adaptation information that may be employed to control display brightness and thereby reduce power consumption during display of the respective segment. The display adaptation information includes at least a maximum pixel brightness that may be used to scale pixel brightness to maximum and correspondingly reduce backlighting for liquid crystal displays, or to adjust the supply voltage for OLED displays. The display adaptation information may optionally include a minimum pixel brightness, a pixel histogram step size, and an indicator of scaling method. 
         [0007]    Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, where such a device, system or part may be implemented in hardware that is programmable by firmware or software. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and its advantages, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals represent like parts: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a high level diagram illustrating a network within which devices may implement dynamic, content-based display power reduction according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure; 
           [0010]      FIG. 1A  is a front view of wireless device from the network of  FIG. 1  within which dynamic, content-based display adaptation and corresponding power reduction may be implemented according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 1B  is a high level block diagram of the functional components of the wireless device illustrated in  FIG. 1A ; 
           [0012]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate display adaptation preserving brightness using display adaptation information embedded within SEI messages for dynamic, content-based display adaptation and corresponding power reduction according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0013]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  illustrate SEI message insertion within a video data bitstream for dynamic, content-based display adaptation and corresponding power reduction according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0014]      FIG. 4  is a high level flow diagram for a process of encoding video using SEI message insertion for dynamic, content-based display adaptation and corresponding power reduction according to one embodiment of the present disclosure; and 
           [0015]      FIG. 5  is a high level flow diagram for a process of video decoding and display based on SEI messages inserted for dynamic, content-based display adaptation and corresponding power reduction according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0016]      FIGS. 1 through 5 , discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present disclosure in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the present disclosure may be implemented in any suitably arranged wireless communication system. 
         [0017]    The metadata used for display adaptation can be embedded into the video stream as the supplemental enhancement information (SEI) message. 
         [0018]    In the present disclosure, display adaptation is embedded within the video content information using a Supplemental Enhancement Information (SEI) message, which is then parsed at the decoder to help with display power reduction. For LCD displays, the display brightness is adjusted, while for OLED displays, the display supply voltage is adapted. Elements in this extended SEI message can be derived at the encoder during video encoding. 
         [0019]    Display adaptation is defined by enabling an SEI message (i.e., display_adaptation( )) that can be inserted into stream frame by frame, or group of pictures (GOP) by GOP, scene by scene, or even time interval by time interval, depending on the underlying applications and the hardware capability. By comparison with a frame-level solution, GOP, a scene or time interval based approach requires less overhead for message insertion. For processors that do not support high-frequency display adaptation, e.g., every 33 millisecond (ms) for a 30 Hertz (Hz) video, GOP, scene or time interval based schemes are better than a frame based solution. Nonetheless, the concept is explained herein primarily using a frame level solution. 
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a high level diagram illustrating a network within which devices may implement dynamic, content-based display adaptation and corresponding power reduction according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. The network  100  includes a content encoder data processing system  101  including an encoder controller configured to encode video content in accordance existing procedures, but with display adaptation information embedded within NALU header(s) as described in further detail below. The content encoder  101  is communicably coupled to (or alternatively integrated with) a content server data processing system  102 , which delivers video content to user devices. The content server  102  is coupled by a communications network, such as the Internet  103  and a wireless communications system including a base station (BS)  104 , for delivery of the video content to a user device  105 , which may also be referred to as user equipment (UE) or a mobile station (MS). As noted above, the user device  105  may be a “smart” phone or tablet device capable of functions other than wireless voice communications, including at least playing video content. Alternatively, the user device  105  may be a laptop computer or other wireless device having an LCD or OLED display and benefitting from dynamic, content-based display power reduction during playback of videos, such as any device that is primarily battery-powered during at least periods of typical operation. 
         [0021]      FIG. 1A  is a front view of wireless device from the network of  FIG. 1  within which dynamic, content-based display adaptation and corresponding power reduction may be implemented according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIG. 1B  is a high level block diagram of the functional components of that wireless device. User device  105  is a mobile phone and includes a backlit LCD (which includes the optional luminance source depicted in  FIG. 1B ) or OLED display  106 . A processor  107  coupled to the display  106  controls content displayed on the display. The processor  107  and other components within the user device  105  are powered by a battery (not shown), which may be recharged by an external power source (also not shown), or alternatively may be powered by the external power source. A memory  108  coupled to the processor  107  may store or buffer video content for playback by the processor  107  and display on the display  106 , and may also store a video player application (or “app”)  109  for performing such video playback. The video content being played may be received, either contemporaneously (e.g., overlapping in time) with the playback of the video content or prior to the playback, via transceiver  110  connected to antenna  111 . As described above, the video content may be received in wireless communications from a base station  104 . In the exemplary embodiment, the video content received by mobile device  105  for playback therein and display on display  106  includes display adaptation information embedded within SEI message(s). The display adaptation information is employed by processor  107  to set display controls  112  for the optional luminance source and display  106 . 
         [0022]    In International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Telecommunication Standardization Section (ITU-T) Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) standard H.264 Advanced Video Coding (AVC, also referred to as Motion Picture Experts Group 4 Part 10 or “MPEG-4 Part 10”) and its extensions, each SEI message(s) are inserted in the payload bitstream as described in further detail below. A new SEI message with payloadType=47 as shown in TABLE I below. (The choice of payloadType=47 is merely for the purposes of illustration in this example; any previously unspecified payloadType value could be used instead). Each time the SEI message is encountered in the bitstream, the decoder parses that SEI message and enables the frame-level, GOP-level, scene-level or time interval-level display adaptation as defined in TABLE II. 
         [0023]    The current definition of the SEI message is modified by extension to support embedding of display adaptation related information. TABLE I shows the extended SEI message for H.264/AVC and its extensions (modifications shown in italics in TABLE I): 
         [0000]                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              TABLE I                           De-               scrip-           C   tor                                    sei_payload( payloadType, payloadSize ) {                if( payloadType = = 0 )                buffering_period( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 1 )                pic_timing( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 2 )                pan_scan_rect( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 3 )                filler_payload( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 4 )                user_data_registered_itu_t_t35(   5               payloadSize )                else if( payloadType = = 5 )                user_data_unregistered( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 6 )                recovery_point( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 7 )                dec_ref_pic_marking_repetition(   5               payloadSize )                else if( payloadType = = 8 )                spare_pic( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 9 )                scene_info( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 10 )                sub_seq_info( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 11 )                sub_seq_layer_characteristics(   5               payloadSize )                else if( payloadType = = 12 )                sub_seq_characteristics( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 13 )                full_frame_freeze( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 14 )                full_frame_freeze_release( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 15 )                full_frame_snapshot( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 16 )                progressive_refinement_segment_start(   5               payloadSize )                else if( payloadType = = 17 )                progressive_refinement_segment_end(   5               payloadSize )                else if( payloadType = = 18 )                motion_constrained_slice_group_set(   5               payloadSize )                else if( payloadType = = 19 )                film grain characteristics( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 20 )                deblocking_filter_display_preference(   5               payloadSize )                else if( payloadType = = 21 )                stereo_video_info( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 22 )                post_filter_hint( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 23 )                tone_mapping_info( payloadSize )   5                    else if( payloadType = = 24 )                scalability_info( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in Annex G                */                else if( payloadType = = 25 )                sub_pic_scalable_layer( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex G */                else if( payloadType = = 26 )                non_required_layer_rep( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex G */                else if( payloadType = = 27 )                priority_layer_info( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex G */                else if( payloadType = = 28 )                layers_not_present( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex G */                else if( payloadType = = 29 )                layer_dependency_change( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex G */                else if( payloadType = = 30 )                scalable_nesting( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in Annex G                */                else if( payloadType = = 31 )                base_layer_temporal_hrd( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex G */                else if( payloadType = = 32 )                quality_layer_integrity_check( payloadSize ) /*   5                    specified in Annex G */                else if( payloadType = = 33 )                redundant_pic_property( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex G */                else if( payloadType = = 34 )                tl0_dep_rep_index( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in Annex                G */                else if( payloadType = = 35 )                tl_switching_point( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in Annex                G */                else if( payloadType = = 36 )                parallel_decoding_info( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex H */                else if( payloadType = = 37 )                mvc_scalable_nesting( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex H */                else if( payloadType = = 38 )                view_scalability_info( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex H */                else if( payloadType = = 39 )                multiview_scene_info( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex H */                else if( payloadType = = 40 )                multiview_acquisition_info( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified                in Annex H */                else if( payloadType = = 41 )                non_required_view_component( payloadSize ) /*   5                    specified in Annex H */                else if( payloadType = = 42 )                view_dependency_change( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex H */                else if( payloadType = = 43 )                operation_points_not_present( payloadSize ) /*   5                    specified in Annex H */                else if( payloadType = = 44 )                base_view_temporal_hrd( payloadSize ) /*   5               specified in                Annex H */                else if( payloadType = = 45 )                frame_packing_arrangement( payloadSize )   5                      else if (  payloadType = = 47  )                  display   —   adaptation (  payloadSize  )  /*     5                 specified for                    display adaptation */                  Else                reserved_sei_message( payloadSize )   5                    if( !byte_aligned( ) ) {                bit_equal_to_one /* equal to 1 */   5   f(1)           while( !byte_aligned( ) )                    bit_equal_to_zero /* equal to 0 */   5   f(1)                }            }                    
TABLE II shows the display adaptation SEI message syntax in H.264/AVC (modifications shown in italics in TABLE II):
 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                 TABLE II 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 C 
                 Descriptor 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                   display   —   adaptation (  payloadSize  )  {   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 
                   display 
                   — 
                   scaling 
                   — 
                   method 
                 
                 5 
                 f(4) 
               
               
                   
                 
                   distortion 
                   — 
                   percentage 
                 
                 5 
                 f(7) 
               
               
                   
                   if ( display=scaling   —   method ==   
               
               
                   
                   BRIGHTNESS   —   PRESERVED )  {   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 
                   max 
                   — 
                   pixel 
                   — 
                   value 
                 
                 5 
                 f(8) 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                   } else if ( display=scaling   —   method ==   
               
               
                   
                   CONTRAST   —   PRESERVED )  {   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 
                   max 
                   — 
                   pixel 
                   — 
                   value 
                 
                 5 
                 f(8) 
               
               
                   
                 
                   min 
                   — 
                   pixel 
                   — 
                   value 
                 
                 5 
                 f(8) 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                   } else if ( display=scaling   —   method ==   
               
               
                   
                   PERCEPTUAL   —   LOSSLESS )  {   
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 
                   pixel 
                   — 
                   hist 
                   — 
                   stepsize 
                 
                 5 
                 f(8) 
               
               
                   
                 
                   max 
                   — 
                   pixel 
                   — 
                   value 
                 
                 5 
                 f(8) 
               
               
                   
                 
                   min 
                   — 
                   pixel 
                   — 
                   value 
                 
                 5 
                 f(8) 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 
                   } 
                 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0024]    As evident from TABLE II, three different types of display adaptation (“display_scaling_method”) are contemplated: display adaptation preserving brightness of the pixels (“BRIGHTNESS_PRESERVED”); display adaptation preserving contrast (“CONTRAST_PRESERVED”); and perceptually lossless display adaptation (“PERCEPTUAL_LOSSLESS”). Display adaptation preserving brightness takes a single value as a parameter: the maximum pixel brightness value (“max_pixel_value”) within a histogram of pixel brightness values for a reconstructed frame encoded with the respective NALU header. Display adaptation preserving contrast rightness takes as parameter both the maximum pixel brightness value and the minimum pixel brightness value (“min_pixel_value”) within the histogram of pixel brightness values for the reconstructed frame. Perceptually lossless display adaptation, preserving both brightness and contrast, takes three parameters: the maximum and minimum pixel brightness values (“max_pixel_value”) within the histogram and the step size (“pixel_hist_stepsize”) of pixel brightness values used in generating the histogram. 
         [0025]    In ITU VCEG and International Standards Organization (ISO)/International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) Motion Pictures Expert Group (MPEG) Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC) standard H.265 High Efficiency Video Coding (HVEC), both SEI and video usability information (VUI) metadata are permitted. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will understand how the above-described techniques may be readily adapted for use with HVEC streams. 
         [0026]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  illustrate display adaptation preserving brightness using display adaptation information embedded within SEI messages for dynamic, content-based display adaptation and corresponding power reduction according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. Before decoding every frame, the SEI message is parsed to extract the maximum pixel value used to scale up a current reconstructed frame by (255/max_pixel_value). Let p(i) indicate the original brightness of an i-th pixel value (in raster scan order) in a histogram of pixel brightness for a reconstructed frame as illustrated in  FIG. 2A , then the scaled pixel brightness pnew(i) for that pixel in the scaled frame histogram illustrated in  FIG. 2B  is (for 8-bit pixel brightness values): 
         [0000]        p new( i )= p ( i )* Y,   (1)
 
         [0000]    where Y=(255/max_pixel_value) and max_pixel_value is the parameter specified in the SEI message as described above. As apparent by comparison on  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the histogram is shifted by linear scaling. 
         [0027]    Meanwhile, by increasing the pixel brightness, a lower brightness backlighting (for LCD displays) or a lower supply voltage (for OLED displays) may be used for a net reduction in energy. That is, for LCD displays the scaled pixel brightness is employed together with a reduced backlighting brightness. The scaled value may be set at the ratio (max_pixel_value/255)*100%. That is, the scaled backlighting brightness bnew is: 
         [0000]        b new= b/Y,   (2)
 
         [0000]    where b is the original backlighting brightness, and the scaled supply voltage is: 
         [0000]        V new= V/Y,   (3)
 
         [0000]    where V is the original supply voltage. To further reduce energy, the maximum pixel value may be further altered to allow some pixel distortion (i.e., saturated after scaling), but without any perceptual difference, i.e., 
         [0000]      max_pixel_value=(1−distortion_percentage)*max_pixel_value.  (4)
 
         [0000]    The parameter min_pixel_value may be similarly employed, together with max_pixel_value, for adaptation when scaling in CONTRAST_PRESERVED mode. The range between maximum and minimum pixel brightness may both be adjusted to maintain contrast. Likewise, the parameters min_pixel_value and pixel_hist_stepsize, together with max_pixel_value, for adaptation when scaling in CONTRAST_PRESERVED mode. The range between maximum and minimum pixel brightness and the distribution of pixel brightness may all be adjusted. While linear scaling of backlight brightness and supply voltage are assumed above, in actual implementations the scaling could be non-linear. Either linear or non-linear adjustment may be implemented through a look-up table, which may be constructed by measuring the display power at different levels of the backlight brightness or supply voltage. 
         [0028]      FIGS. 3A and 3B  illustrate SEI message insertion within a video data bitstream for dynamic, content-based display adaptation and corresponding power reduction according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.  FIG. 3A  illustrates frame-based SEI message insertion, while  FIG. 3B  illustrates GOP-based SEI message insertion. Similar insertion schemes may be employed for scene-based or time interval-based SEI message insertion. 
         [0029]    For LCD displays with separate backlighting of each of the red (R), green (G) and blue (B) color channels, pixel brightness scaling and backlighting brightness reduction as described above may be implemented separately for the pixel and backlighting brightness of each of the RGB colors individually. To the extent that separate supply voltages are employed for red, green and blue LEDs within an OLED display, pixel brightness scaling and supply voltage reduction as described above may be implemented separately for each RGB color. In that manner, different color components may be individually adapted. 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  is a high level flow diagram for a process of encoding video using SEI message insertion for dynamic, content-based display adaptation and corresponding power reduction according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The process is performed by the encoder controller within encoder  101 . The same process may be employed for encoding video regardless of whether intended for delivery to a device supporting display adaptation, since devices not supporting display adaptation may simply ignore display adaptation information embedded in the SEI messages. The process  400  begins with receiving pixel data for a frame, GOP, scene or time interval segment of the video being encoded (step  401 ). 
         [0031]    The histogram of pixel brightness is determined for the video data of the segment being processed (step  402 ), including determination of at least max_pixel_value, and optionally also min_pixel_value and pixel_hist_stepsize. An SEI message is generated for the segment of video data being processed (step  403 ), with the scaling method and appropriate parameters included. The SEI message is then inserted into the payload stream in association with the corresponding segment data, and the encoded video data is transmitted (step  404 ). If the video encoding is incomplete (step  405 ), another iteration of the process is performed for the pixel data for the next frame, GOP, scene or time interval segment of the video being encoded. 
         [0032]      FIG. 5  is a high level flow diagram for a process of video decoding and display based on SEI messages inserted for dynamic, content-based display adaptation and corresponding power reduction according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The process is performed by user equipment  105 . The process  500  begins with receiving an SEI message and associated payload for a frame, GOP, scene or time interval segment of the video being decoded (step  501 ). The scaling method and parameter(s) are extracted from the SEI message (step  502 ), and the pixel brightness and the supply voltage is adapted (for an OLED display) or the pixel and backlighting brightness are adapted (for an LCD display) based on the scaling method and parameter(s) (step  503 ). The video content decoded from the payload for the corresponding frame, GOP, scene or time interval segment is displayed with the adapted display settings (step  504 ). If the video decoding is incomplete (step  505 ), another iteration of the process is performed for the next frame, GOP, scene or time interval segment of the video being decoded. 
         [0033]    Display adaptation using an SEI message based on a brightness preserved algorithm is exemplified in the above disclosure. Such an algorithm requires the maximum pixel value to remain the same as in the embedded information. However, the principles disclosed are not limited to only such implementation. In another embodiment, any information derived from the video encoder may be embedded as part of the SEI message to help the display adaptation, such as both minimum and maximum pixel brightness values, or even the histogram distribution. 
         [0034]    The present disclosure will make products, such as smartphones and tablets, much more power efficient while reducing the data cost, thus improving the user experience for mobile streaming applications. 
         [0035]    While each process flow and/or signal sequence depicted in the figures and described above depicts a sequence of steps and/or signals, either in series or in tandem, unless explicitly stated or otherwise self-evident (e.g., a signal cannot be received before being transmitted) no inference should be drawn from that sequence regarding specific order of performance, performance of steps or portions or transmission of signals thereof serially rather than concurrently or in an overlapping manner, or performance the steps or transmission of signals depicted exclusively without the occurrence of intervening or intermediate steps or signals. Moreover, those skilled in the art will recognize that complete processes and signal sequences are not illustrated or described. Instead, for simplicity and clarity, only so much of the respective processes and signal sequences as is unique to the present disclosure or necessary for an understanding of the present disclosure is depicted and described. 
         [0036]    Although the present disclosure has been described with exemplary embodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art. It is intended that the present disclosure encompass such changes and modifications as fall within the scope of the appended claims.