Abstract:
Methods and apparatus for improving the sensing performance of a capacitive touch screen sensing device. The electrical potential of conductive structures proximate capacitive touch pads of the sensing device is altered to compensate for the effect of parasitic capacitance, based on external conditions such as water on the touch screen or an intervening user worn glove. The compensation for parasitic capacitance improves the signal to noise ratio and therefore the sensing performance of the device.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/377,837, filed Aug. 27, 2010, and entitled CAPACITIVE TOUCH SCREEN HAVING DYNAMIC CAPACITANCE CONTROL AND IMPROVED TOUCH-SENSING, said application being hereby fully incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to capacitive touch sensing technologies. More specifically, the invention relates to capacitive touch sensing screens such as those used in mobile phones and other digital appliances. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Touch screens are electronic visual displays that can detect the presence and location of a touch on the surface of the display area. Touching of the display is generally done with a finger or hand. Touch screens operate under a variety of electronic, acoustic or optical principals. This application is concerned with capacitive touch screens. 
     Capacitive touch screen panels generally include an insulator, such as glass, coated with a transparent conductor, such as copper or indium tin oxide (ITO). Because the human body is also a conductor, touching the touch screen results in a measurable change in capacitance. The change in capacitance caused by the touch is localized and registered to a particular location on the touch screen. 
     Capacitive touch sensing technologies including discrete touch pads and multi-touch screens have recently gained great acceptance in products ranging from cell phones to large display monitors. Many believe the success of these technologies is a direct result of the improved user interaction as experienced by the users. 
     One benefit of using a solid state touch sensing technology is its virtually unlimited life. Unlike mechanical alternatives which have moving components that wear with time in repeated use, a solid state touch sensing screen has no such limitation. Solid state touch sensing screens rarely fail and users worry little about a broken user interface. Capacitive touch sensors can be integrated underneath a single solid sealed surface, such as glass or molded plastic, which makes the sensitive components inside the product separated from and largely immune from the outside environment. This is very difficult and costly to achieve with mechanical alternatives. Thus, capacitive touch screen technologies provide great benefits for products that are used in harsh outdoor environments, industrial facilities and other locations that are subject to dirt and moisture. 
     In a typical implementation of a capacitive touch sensing device, the target touch sensing pad, which is typically a square, rectangular or circular area of copper or indium tin oxide (ITO) on a carrier such as glass reinforced epoxy laminate (FR4), printed circuit board (PCB) or polyethylene terephthalate. (PET). The target touch sensing pad is actively charged then permitted to passively discharge at a rate which is proportional to its natural capacitance. The rate of discharge of the target touch sensing pad is measured using one of several well known methods. When a finger or other conductive appendage is placed over the touch sensing pad, the presence of the finger increases the capacitance of that pad by adding to the pad&#39;s natural capacitance. In this state, the touch sensing pad is able to hold more charge and as a result takes longer to discharge. By measuring the difference in the time it takes to discharge a particular touch sensing pad in the two states, one can determine if the pad is being touched or not. 
     The amount of increase in capacitance when a finger is placed against the touch sensing pad varies dependent upon the design and construction of the touch sensing pad. The greater the capacitive coupling between the finger and the touch sensing pad, the greater the change in capacitance. Conversely, the less the coupling between the finger and the touch sensing pad the less the change in capacitance due to the touch. Higher changes in capacitance when the touch sensing pad is touched yield a higher signal to noise ratio (SNR) which translates to better performance of the touch sensing pad. The proportion of increase in capacitance of the touch sensing pad when it is touched by a finger is a function of the natural capacitance of the pad and the added capacitance provided by the presence of the finger. Accordingly, if the pad has low natural capacitance coupled with a better coupling to a human finger, better sensitively and performance to touch will be demonstrated. 
     The natural capacitance of a touch sensing pad is determined by several factors. The choice of materials used in construction of the pad including but not limited to the material of the carrier (which is the dielectric substrate to which the conductive sensor is attached), the protective substrate (which is the surface behind which the sensor is protected) and the conductors. The placement of other conductors around the touch sensing pad and the electrical potential on those conductors also affects the natural capacitance of the touch sensing pad. The coupling between the conductor and the protective substrate also affects the natural capacitance of the touch sensing pad. There are many other factors and this list should not be considered to be exhaustive. Accordingly, the approach of seeking lower natural capacitance with better coupling to a human finger inherently fixes and affects the natural capacitance of the touch sensing pad. This also limits the ability to affect the SNR without completely altering the construction of the sensor. Altering the construction of the sensor is difficult and expensive and can even be impossible. The presence of these limitations tends to lead to poorly performing or very expensive solutions. Accordingly, there is room for the improvement in the area of capacitance touch sensing screens. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention involve the selective manipulation of electrical potential, and accordingly, the effect of capacitance associated with structures in and around a touch screen or elements of the touch screen such as the sensing pads. Embodiments of the present invention may include the use of electrically manipulated conductive surfaces (EMCS). In one embodiment of the invention, EMCS are strategically placed conductive surfaces that can be electrically manipulated by, for example, controlling their electrical potential or charge. EMCS can be purposely applied to affect the capacitance of the touch sensing pad by changing the electrical potential of the EMCS in ways that affect the sensitivity and performance of that touch sensing pad. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, EMCS can be implemented as other touch sensing pads that can be electrically manipulated. When this is done, time multiplexing of a plurality of touch sensing pads as sensors or EMCS yields similar results and allows precise tuning of the natural capacitance of each touch sensing pad. Each conductive pad is charged and monitored for rate of discharge in a predetermined sequence as touch is sensed. Inactive pads that are not being used for touch sensing and that are adjacent to the active sensing pad can be used as EMCS by controlling their charge level relative to the active sensing pad. Effective use of EMCS enables the ability to adjust the relative charge and capacitance of the touch sensing pads dynamically and to optimize it for desired performance. 
     A typical capacitive touch screen includes a substrate on which an adhesive is applied, a touch pad made from a printed circuit board (PCB) is then adhered to the substrate with the adhesive. Traces, other conductors, a processor, and other electrical components may be formed on, or attached to, the PCB. 
     Parasitic capacitance is the unavoidable and usually unwanted capacitance that exists between the parts of an electronic component or circuit simply because of the proximity of conductive parts to each other. All actual circuit elements such as inductors, diodes and transistors have internal capacitance which can cause their actual behavior to depart from that of ideal circuit elements. Parasitic capacitance can also exist between closely spaced conductors such as wires or printed circuit board traces. 
     A typical touch pad may have a natural capacitance of approximately ten picofarads (pf). Adjacent traces on the printed circuit board, other conductive artifacts and the protective substrate, among other things, add parasitic capacitance. The additional parasitic capacitance results in a net increase of the overall capacitance of a touch pad beyond the natural capacitance of the touch pad alone. This concept is depicted in  FIG. 3 . The increase in overall capacitance caused by parasitic capacitance can range from a few picofarads (pf) to any practical upper limit. 
     A typical example touch pad that is a part of a touch screen may, for example, be structured as a disk 14 mm in diameter. At this size, the typical human finger can completely cover the surface area of the touch pad when the finger is placed on the top of the touch pad. This helps to maximize capacitive coupling between the finger and the touch pad and generates a high signal to noise ratio. The increase in capacitance resulting from the presence of the finger on the touch pad can be as much as approximately five pf. Dependent upon the influence of parasitic capacitance on the touch pad, such a five pf addition in capacitance caused by the presence of the finger over the touch pad can result in an increase overall capacitance of 50 percent, assuming a natural capacitance of 10 pf. If the magnitude of added parasitic capacitance is high, however, the overall capacitance will be increased by significantly less than 50 percent. If the parasitic capacitance is exceptionally high, the percentage increase in capacitance created by placement of the finger over the touch pad can approach zero, in which case, the presence of a finger touch cannot be detected. Such a large increase in parasitic capacitance can result from, for example, the presence of water or other conductive substances on the surface of the touch screen pad. 
     An example touch screen pad in accordance with the invention, which includes EMCS, is depicted in  FIG. 4 . In this example embodiment, the EMCS disposed around the various touch screen pads is coupled to electronics by which the electrical potential, and thereby the effective capacitance between the EMCS and the touch screen pad can be manipulated. By adjusting the potential on the EMCS, the alteration of the natural capacitance of the touch pad by the presence of a finger can be manipulated to increase or decrease the effect that the presence of the finger has when coupling to the touch pad. 
     For example, if the natural capacitance of the touch pad is approximately 10 pf and the parasitic capacitance adds another 10 pf, the presence of the finger over the touch pad adds an additional 5 pf, then the change due to the presence of the finger is an increase of 25%. In accordance with the invention, however, EMCS are used to reduce or compensate for the parasitic capacitance. When the parasitic capacitance is reduced and if the natural capacitance and the added capacitance of the presence of the finger remain the same, there is a net increase in the percentage effect of the finger as compared to the sum of the natural capacitance in the parasitic capacitance, hence, a larger signal to noise ratio (SNR) which leads to better sensing and greater design flexibility in accordance with the invention. 
     According to embodiments of the invention, changes in the effective amount of parasitic capacitance affecting sensing function on a touch screen can be altered strategically. For example, the amount of net total capacitance (natural capacitance plus parasitic capacitance) affecting the sensing function can be uniformly altered according to expected conditions. For example, if it is expected that water might be present on the screen, the electrical potential of the touch sensing elements and the other components that might induce parasitic capacitance can be equalized, such that the change in overall net capacitance induced by the presence of a layer of water on the screen is reduced or virtually eliminated. In such cases where the additional capacitance induced by the water is reduced, the amount of capacitance change induced by the finger of a user touching the screen is relatively greater, thereby improving responsiveness and performance of the touch screen. 
     In other cases the amount of capacitance change induced by a user touch might be expected to be decreased from that which might be expected to be induced by close proximity of the user&#39;s finger with the touch sensor. For example, a glove worn by the user might result in the user&#39;s finger being disposed further from the touch sensor, thereby decreasing the amount of additional capacitance the user&#39;s finger adds to the system. In such cases, it is advantageous to increase the sensitivity of the touch screen by reducing the overall capacitance of the touch screen (natural plus parasitic capacitance) thereby increasing the relative amount of change induced by the user touch and easing detection. 
     Accordingly, an advantage of certain embodiments of the invention is that manipulation of effective capacitance enables greater touch screen design flexibility to account for known external conditions such as the presence of water on the touch screen or a user wearing thick gloves. 
     Another advantage of certain embodiments is a touch screen device with a higher signal to noise ratio, offering improved ability to detect small changes in capacitance due to a user touch. 
     Another advantage of certain embodiments is the ability to dynamically adjust sensing performance of the touch pad to compensate for design constraints or known external conditions. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, a method of improving the sensing performance of a capacitive touch screen device including at least one capacitive touch pad element, the method includes selectively altering a magnitude of an electrical potential of at least one electrically conductive structure proximate the at least one capacitive touch pad element based on an electrical potential of the at least one capacitive touch pad element, to alter an effective capacitance of the at least one capacitive touch pad element, and subsequently detecting a user touch of the at least one capacitive touch pad element. In an embodiment, the electrical potential of the at least one electrically conductive structure is altered to substantially match the electrical potential of the at least one capacitive touch pad element. In an alternative embodiment, the electrical potential of the at least one electrically conductive structure is altered to a magnitude substantially different from the electrical potential of the at least one capacitive touch pad element. The method may further include disposing a plurality of electrically conductive elements proximate the at least one capacitive touch pad element. The electrical potential of each of the plurality of electrically conductive elements may be altered based on the electrical potential of the at least one capacitive touch pad element. In another embodiment, the capacitive touch screen may includes a plurality of capacitive touch pad elements, and a plurality of electrically conductive elements may be disposed proximate each capacitive touch pad element of the plurality. The at least one electrically conductive element may be another capacitive touch pad element disposed proximate the at least one capacitive touch pad element. 
     In other embodiments a capacitance touch sensing device includes a plurality of capacitive touch sensing pads operatively coupled with a processor for sensing a user touch, at least one electrically conductive element disposed proximate each one of the plurality of capacitive touch sensing pads, and apparatus for selectively altering a magnitude of an electrical potential of the conductive elements based on a magnitude of an electrical potential of the capacitive touch sensing pads and based on an expected external condition. The expected external condition may be the presence of water on the capacitive touch sensing device, and the electrical potential of the electrically conductive elements may be altered to substantially match the electrical potential of the capacitive touch sensing pads. In other embodiments, the expected external condition may be a user glove intervening between a user&#39;s finger and the capacitive touch sensing pads, and the electrical potential of the electrically conductive elements may be altered to substantially match the electrical potential of the capacitive touch sensing pads. 
     In an embodiment, the electrically conductive elements may be other capacitive touch pads of the plurality of capacitive touch pads. In other embodiments, the electrically conductive elements are conductive structures separate from the capacitive touch pads. The electrically conductive elements may be formed on a same substrate as the capacitive touch pads. 
     In another embodiment, a method of compensating for parasitic capacitance in a capacitive touch screen device including at least one capacitive touch pad element includes selectively altering a magnitude of an electrical potential of at least one electrically conductive structure proximate the at least one capacitive touch pad element based on an electrical potential of the at least one capacitive touch pad element, and subsequently detecting a user touch of the at least capacitive touch pad element. 
     In an embodiment, the electrical potential of the at least one electrically conductive structure is altered to substantially match the electrical potential of the at least one capacitive touch pad element. In another embodiment the electrical potential of the at least one electrically conductive structure is altered to a magnitude substantially different from the electrical potential of the at least one capacitive touch pad element. The method may further include disposing a plurality of electrically conductive elements proximate the at least one capacitive touch pad element. The electrical potential of each of the plurality of electrically conductive elements may be altered based on the electrical potential of the at least one capacitive touch pad element. 
     In another embodiment, the capacitive touch screen includes a plurality of capacitive touch pad elements, and a plurality of electrically conductive elements is disposed proximate each capacitive touch pad element of the plurality. The at least one electrically conductive element may be another capacitive touch pad element disposed proximate the at least one capacitive touch pad element. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments of the present invention may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic plan view of an example touch pad display according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic elevational view of the example touch pad display of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of an example prior art touch pad display depicting the presence and effect of parasitic capacitance; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of an exemplary touch pad display including electrically manipulated conductive surfaces according to an embodiment of the invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view of an exemplary touch pad display including electrically manipulated conductive surfaces according to an alternative embodiment of the invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a block schematic diagram of a touch pad sensing device according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     While the present invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the present invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present invention as expressed in the appended claims. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , capacitive touch sensing screen device  10  generally includes substrate  12 , adhesive  14 , touch sensing screen  16 , PCB substrate  18 , traces  20  and a controlling processor in the form of integrated circuit  22 . Processor  22  or other electronic components are coupled to traces  20  to control and manipulate the charge on structures of capacitive touch sensing screen  10  as is known in the art. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a typical prior art capacitive touch sensing screen  16  includes first touch pad  24 , second touch pad  26 , third touch pad  28 , touch pad conductors  30  coupled to traces  20 , metal bracket  32  and screw  34 . Metal bracket  32  and screw  34  are generally at chassis ground potential. Parasitic capacitance  36  is depicted in  FIG. 3 . Parasitic capacitance  36  exists between various conductive parts of the circuit because of the proximity of conductive parts to each other. In  FIG. 3 , parasitic capacitance is depicted as existing between first touch pad  24 , second touch pad  26  and third touch pad  28  as well as between first touch pad  24  and metal bracket  32  between third touch pad  28  and screw  34  and between conductors  30 . Parasitic capacitance may also be added by other elements, such as other conductive artifacts, and the protective substrate itself. 
     In the prior art touch screen of  FIG. 3 , the magnitudes of the parasitic capacitances  36  are unpredictable. For example, the magnitude of any one of the parasitic capacitances  36  may range from zero up to 10 pf or more. Assuming a natural capacitance of the touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 , of about 10 pf, the additive effect of the parasitic capacitance might make the net capacitance of the touch screen  10  as much as 20 pf or more. Assuming a finger touch adds another 5 pf, the total change in capacitance due to a finger touch would be only about 25% (5 pf/20 pf), or possibility even less. As such, the SNR is very low and the usable detectable range of change in capacitance is limited to about 25%. This loss of information limits the ability to sense fine changes in capacitance, such as for example, when the touch pad is used with gloves or when it is wet. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 6 , a first example embodiment of the invention is depicted in which touch pad  16  includes including electrically manipulated conductive surfaces (EMCS)  38  according to an embodiment of the invention. EMCS elements  38  can be formed from the same material as touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 , for example ITO, or can be any other suitable conductive material. EMCS elements  38  can be formed on the same substrate as the touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 , or can be placed on a separate adjacent substrate. EMCS elements  38  are coupled through conductors  41  to electrical power supply  50  through potential adjustment apparatus  52 . Potential adjustment apparatus  52  may be any suitable known circuitry capable of altering an output electrical potential applied to conductors  41  in response to a signal from processor  22 . Alternatively, potential adjustment apparatus  52  may be omitted and conductors  41  may be coupled directly with processor  22 , with processor  22  effecting the desired potential adjustments. 
     Manipulated capacitances  40  exist between EMCS  38  and first touch pad  24 , second touch pad  26  and third touch pad  28  as depicted in  FIG. 4 . In accordance with embodiments of the invention, the electrical potential applied to EMCS  38  is manipulated and controlled relative to the electrical potential of first touch pad  24 , second touch pad  26  and third touch pad  28 , thereby manipulating the effective capacitive value of manipulated capacitances  40 . Because the electrical potential applied to EMCS, and therefore the effective value of manipulated capacitances  40 , is actively controlled, the sensitivity of first touch pad  24 , second touch pad  26  and third touch pad  28  can be adjusted, and the effect of additional parasitic capacitances, for example, caused by water on the surface of touch capacitance sensing screen  10  can be mitigated or negated. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , in a first example of a strategy for mitigating the effect of water on touch screen  10 , EMCS elements  38  are set to the same electrical potential as first touch pad  24 , second touch pad  26 , and third touch pad  28 . For instance, if first touch pad  24 , second touch pad  26 , and third touch pad  28 , are operated with a +2.0 VDC potential, EMCS elements  38  are all charged at the same +2.0 VDC potential. Since there is no difference in potential between first touch pad  24 , second touch pad  26 , third touch pad  28 , and EMCS elements  38 , manipulated capacitances  40  are effectively set to zero. Hence, assuming each touch pad  24 ,  26 ,  28 , has a natural capacitance of 10 pf, the reduction of any parasitic capacitance component to effectively zero makes the net capacitance of touch screen  10  essentially equal to the 10 pf natural capacitance of the touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 . Any parasitic capacitance added by a layer of water on touch screen  10  will not affect sensing performance, since it adds capacitance equally to touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 , and EMCS elements  38 , and these are all at the same electrical potential. When a finger touch is made to any of touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 , assuming the finger touch adds 5 pf, the touched pad will appear to have a total capacitance of 15 pf, a 50% increase from its natural capacitance of 10 pf. This effectively doubles the SNR from the prior art touch screen without EMCS, even when water is present on touch screen  10 . 
     A similar strategy can be beneficial when compensating for the attenuation of capacitive coupling due to a user wearing gloves. The increased distance of a user&#39;s finger from the touch pad because of the thickness of a glove can result in a decreased magnitude of capacitive coupling between the user&#39;s finger and the touch pad. For example, a user&#39;s finger touch may result in only a 2 pf increase in net capacitance of the touch screen when the user is wearing a glove, as opposed to a 5 pf increase when the user touches the screen with a bare finger. In the case of the prior art touch pad of  FIG. 3 , wherein parasitic capacitances amounting to 10 pf add to the 10 pf natural capacitance of the touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 , for a total capacitance of 20 pf, the change in capacitance of 2 pf would amount to only a 10% change—an amount of change difficult to distinguish from changes due to noise. 
     In the EMCS embodiment of  FIG. 4 , however, with the electrical potential of the EMCS elements  38  set to the same electrical potential as the touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 , thereby eliminating the effect of parasitic capacitance, each touch pad  24 ,  26 ,  28 , has an overall capacitance equal to its natural capacitance of 10 pf. In this case, the 2 pf change due to a user touch through a glove amounts to a 20% change in capacitance, which is much easier to distinguish from changes due to noise. 
     EMCS can also be beneficially employed in a case where the change in capacitance due to a user touch is actually too large to be effectively measured by the hardware associated with the touch screen. This causes signal clipping—or in other words loss of signal/information. By applying an appropriate potential to the EMCS elements  38 , it becomes possible to limit the change due to touch while preserving signal integrity and stability. This makes it possible to reliably infer smaller changes due to the reduced gain and also makes it possible to apply capacitive sensing to a much broader set of products. 
     Referring again to  FIG. 4  and assuming the same natural capacitance of touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 , of 10 pf, the electrical potential of EMCS elements  38  can be set at one-half the electrical potential of touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 . In an example embodiment, this can result in a manipulated capacitance  40  value of 5 pf, thereby establishing the overall net capacitance of touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 , at 15 pf. If the added capacitance from a user touch is assumed to be 5 pf, then the result is a 25% change in capacitance, which may better accommodate the sensing range of a processor coupled to the touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 . 
     In a further embodiment, these and other such beneficial strategies can be selectively employed dynamically in response to sensed conditions. For example, if a signal clipping condition is detected by the processor, the electrical potential of the EMCS elements  38  can be reduced by an algorithm programmed in the processor to a level where signal clipping no longer occurs, but that is still at a level high enough to negate the effects of parasitic capacitance, thereby optimizing the SNR of the touch screen. 
     Similarly, using known methods and apparatus for detecting the presence of water, an algorithm programmed in the processor can increase the electrical potential applied to EMCS elements  38  from a level where manipulated capacitances  40  are non-zero to a level equal to the potential of touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 , so as to make manipulated capacitances  40  effectively zero. Hence, the effect of water on touch screen  10  can be effectively addressed dynamically when it occurs. 
     In another embodiment of the invention depicted in  FIG. 5 , first touch pad  24 , third touch pad  28 , and adjacent conductive structures such as metal bracket  32  and screw  34  can act as EMCS elements, such that manipulated capacitances  42  are established. As each touch pad  24 ,  26 ,  28 , is scanned in turn by the processor to detect capacitance change, the electrical potentials of the adjacent touch pads can be adjusted to a desired level, such as described above, so as to affect sensing performance. For example, when second touch pad  26  is active, the electrical potentials of first touch pad  24  and third touch pad  28  can be adjusted to affect the sensitivity of second touch pad  26 . In a case where water is present on the screen for example, the potentials of first touch pad  24  and third touch pad  28  can be adjusted to match the potential of second touch pad  26 , thereby making manipulated capacitance  42  effectively zero. In addition, if metal bracket  32  and screw  34  are isolated from chassis ground, the same electrical potential can be applied to these elements as to touch pads  24 ,  26 ,  28 , through conductor  44 , thereby making effectively zero the manipulated capacitance  42  due to these elements. Thus, EMCS can be used to adjust the capacitances of touch sensing pads dynamically and optimized the capacitances of the touch sensing pads for desired sensitivity, even where no separate dedicated EMCS elements are used. 
     The foregoing descriptions present numerous specific details that provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the invention. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various embodiments, having been disclosed herein, may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, components as are known to those of ordinary skill in the art have not been described in detail herein in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present invention. It is to be understood that even though numerous characteristics and advantages of various embodiments are set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of various embodiments, this disclosure is illustrative only. Other embodiments may be constructed that nevertheless employ the principles and spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, this application is intended to cover any adaptations or variations of the invention.