Abstract:
A method and system providing simultaneous data entry for a computer system having both on-screen keyboard entry and mechanisms for handwriting recognition entry. In one embodiment, a portable or palmtop computer system contains a flat panel display screen capable of displaying thereon a keyboard image (“virtual keyboard”). Characters can be entered into the computer system by a user interacting with (e.g., tapping) the displayed characters of the virtual keyboard. The computer system also provides a handwriting recognition mechanism (e.g., digitizer pad) whereby characters are recognized based on a user drawing strokes on the pad. In accordance with the present invention, the virtual keyboard and the handwriting recognition mechanism are simultaneously active for data entry. Therefore, the computer system can accept character entry from the handwriting recognition mechanism while the virtual keyboard is displayed and active and capable of providing character entry itself. Specifically, from the virtual keyboard, the user is allowed to either tap the individual buttons, representing characters, on the screen to enter data or the user can enter data via the handwriting recognition mechanism. Since both methods are active simultaneously, the user does not have to switch between them. The present invention gives a user increased flexibility in the manual entry of characters to the computer system.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of data entry methods and systems for computer systems. The present invention can relate to the field of palmtop computers and handwriting recognition systems. Specifically, the present invention discloses a flexible data input system that can accept data from simultaneously active systems including a handwriting recognition system and a virtual keyboard system. 
     2. Related Art 
     As the components required to build a computer system have reduced in size, new categories of computer systems have emerged. One of the new categories of computer systems is the “palmtop” computer system. A palmtop computer system is a computer that is small enough to be held in the hand of a user and can be “palm-sized.” Most palmtop computer systems are used to implement various Personal Information Management (PIM) applications such as an address book, a daily organizer and electronic notepads, to name a few. 
     Since palmtop computer systems are very small, full-sized keyboards are generally not efficient input devices. Palmtop computers using keyboards have keyboard devices that are so small that a user cannot touch-type. Furthermore, to use a keyboard device, a user must either place the palmtop computer system down onto a flat surface, so the user can type with both hands, or the user holds the palmtop computer system with two hands and types with thumbs only. 
     Instead of a keyboard device, some palmtop computers utilize a touch screen and display an image of a small keyboard thereon. When a particular button is pressed or tapped, a small keyboard image is displayed on the display screen. The user then interacts with the on-screen small keyboard image to enter characters, usually one character at a time. To interact with the displayed keyboard image, the user taps the screen location of a character with a pen. That corresponding character is then recognized and added to a data entry field, also displayed on the screen. 
     Instead of using a keyboard device or a displayed keyboard, many palmtop computers employ a pen and a digitizer pad as an input system. The pen and digitizer pad combination works well for palmtop computers because the arrangement allows a user to hold the palmtop computer system in one hand while writing with the pen onto the digitizer pad with the other hand. 
     A number of palmtop computer systems that rely on the pen and digitizer pad combination as the primary means of input have been introduced to the market. Most of these pen-based palmtop computer systems provide some type of handwriting recognition system whereby the user can write words and letters on the digitizer pad with a stylus. The palmtop computer system then converts the user&#39;s handwriting into a machine readable format such as ASCII code characters. Examples of pen-based palmtop computer systems that provide handwriting recognition include the Apple Newton (trademark) device and the Tandy Zoomer (trademark) device. 
     Consumer acceptance of many pen based palmtop computer systems has been limited due to the poor performance of handwriting recognition systems. When a human reads a handwritten message, the human uses various clues to decipher the handwriting such as the known spelling of words, the known subject of the message, the writer&#39;s character writing style, and knowledge of English grammar. Since it is very difficult to teach a computer system all these subtle handwriting recognition heuristics, most handwriting recognition systems only rely on the writer&#39;s input strokes and a dictionary of common words. Using such limited information, such handwriting recognition systems often yield inaccurate results. 
     Some handwriting recognition techniques divide the recognition task into steps for identifying individual characters. Another handwriting recognition system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,889,888, issued on Mar. 30, 1999 entitled, “Method and Apparatus for Immediate Response Handwriting Recognition System that Handles Multiple Character Sets.” This character recognition system recognizes a large number of different characters with less effort on the user&#39;s part (e.g., fewer “mode change” strokes). This US patent is incorporated herein by reference. 
     Some palmtop computer systems have been introduced that utilize both the handwriting recognition system, as described above, and also have the capability of generating a displayed keyboard. However, these computer systems allow only one means of input to be active at any time. For instance, if the user is entering characters using the handwriting recognition mechanisms, then the on-screen keyboard is not displayed and is not active. Moreover, if the on-screen keyboard image is displayed, then the handwriting recognition mechanisms are disabled. As a result, current palmtop computer systems can be relatively inflexible in the ways in which data is manually entered from a user standpoint. This is particularly disadvantageous for experienced users that interact well with the handwriting recognition system. It would be advantageous, then, to provide a more flexible user data entry system for palmtop computer systems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, what is needed is a flexible mechanism and process for entering character data into a palmtop computer system. An embodiment of the present invention provides a data entry system wherein a handwriting recognition mechanism and an on-screen virtual keyboard are simultaneously active and capable of data entry. Since both methods are active simultaneously, the user does not have to switch between them. The present invention gives a user increased flexibility in the manual entry of characters to the palmtop computer system. The present invention provides these advantages and others not specifically mentioned above but described in the sections to follow. 
     A method and system are described for providing simultaneous data entry for a computer system having both on-screen keyboard entry and mechanisms for handwriting recognition entry. In one embodiment, a portable or palmtop computer system contains a flat panel display screen capable of displaying thereon a keyboard image (“virtual keyboard”). Characters can be entered into the computer system by a user interacting with (e.g., tapping) the displayed characters of the virtual keyboard. The computer system also provides a handwriting recognition mechanism (e.g., digitizer pad) whereby characters are recognized based on a user drawing strokes on the pad. In accordance with the present invention, the virtual keyboard and the handwriting recognition mechanism are simultaneously active for data entry. Therefore, the computer system can accept character entry from the handwriting recognition mechanism while the virtual keyboard is displayed and active and capable of providing character entry itself. Specifically, from the virtual keyboard, the user is allowed to either tap the individual buttons, representing characters, on the screen to enter data or the user can enter data via the handwriting recognition mechanism. Since both methods are active simultaneously, the user does not have to switch between them. The present invention gives the user increased flexibility in the manual entry of characters to the computer system. 
     More specifically, an embodiment of the present invention includes a computer system comprising a processor coupled to a bus; a screen coupled to the bus and for displaying thereon a virtual keyboard image, the virtual keyboard image comprising characters and a first data entry field, the screen also for registering selection of a first character in response to a stylus contacting a screen location displaying the first character; and a handwriting recognition pad coupled to the bus and for providing information to the processor for recognizing a second character in response to the stylus being stroked on the handwriting recognition pad wherein the handwriting recognition pad and the virtual keyboard image are both simultaneously active for accepting manual data entry and wherein the first and second characters are displayed in the first data entry field. Embodiments include the above and wherein the computer system is a portable computer system. 
     Embodiments include the above and wherein the screen is a flat panel display screen and wherein further the handwriting recognition pad comprises a button for causing the screen to display the virtual keyboard image in response to being tapped by the stylus. Embodiments include the above and wherein the handwriting recognition pad comprises: a first region upon which the stylus draws alphabetic characters for recognition by the processor; and a second region upon which the stylus draws numeric characters for recognition by the processor. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is system illustration of a palmtop computer system connected to other computer systems and the Internet via a cradle device. 
     FIG. 2A is a top side perspective view of a palmtop computer system that can be used as a platform for the data entry embodiments of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2B is a bottom side perspective view of the palmtop computer system of FIG.  2 A. 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the components of the palmtop computer system of FIG.  2 A. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the cradle device for connecting the palmtop computer system to other systems via a communication interface. 
     FIG. 5 is a logical block diagram of the palmtop computer system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 6 illustrates a display screen showing a data entry window and a virtual keyboard window and also illustrates a handwriting recognition pad on the palmtop computer system in accordance with embodiments the present invention. 
     FIG. 7A illustrates an exemplary virtual keyboard image for the entry of alphabetic and other characters by user interaction with the screen of the palmtop computer system. 
     FIG. 7B illustrates an exemplary virtual keyboard image for the entry of numeric and other characters by user interaction with the screen of the palmtop computer system. 
     FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram of steps of a data entry process in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 9 illustrates a flow diagram of steps of another data entry process in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     In the following detailed description of the present invention, a portable or hand-held computer system capable of simultaneously accepting manual entered character data from user selection on an on-screen virtual keyboard mechanism and from user interaction with a handwriting recognition mechanism, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details or with equivalents thereof. In other instances well known methods, procedures, components, and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present invention. 
     NOTATION AND NOMENCLATURE 
     Some portions of the detailed descriptions which follow are presented in terms of procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolic representations of operations on data bits that can be performed on computer memory. These descriptions and representations are the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. A procedure, computer executed step, logic block, process, etc., is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of steps or instructions leading to a desired result. The steps are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated in a computer system. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. 
     It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussions, it is appreciated that throughout the present invention, discussions utilizing terms such as “processing” or “computing” or “translating” or “calculating” or “determining” or “scrolling” or “displaying” or “recognizing” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system&#39;s registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices. 
     MULTIPLE SIMULTANEOUSLY ACTIVE DATA ENTRY MEANS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a system  50  that can be used in conjunction with the data entry system of the present invention. System  50  comprises a host computer system  56  which can either be a desktop unit as shown, or, alternatively, can be a laptop system  58 . Optionally, one or more host computer systems can be used within system  50 . Host computer systems  58  and  56  are shown connected to a communication bus  54 , which in one embodiment can be a serial communication bus, but could be of any of a number of well known designs, e.g., a parallel bus, Ethernet Local Area Network (LAN), etc. Optionally, bus  54  can provide communication with the Internet  52  using a number of well known protocols. 
     Importantly, bus  54  is also coupled to a cradle  60  for receiving and initiating communication with a palmtop (“palm-sized”) portable computer system  100  of the present invention. Cradle  60  provides an electrical and mechanical communication interface between bus  54  (and anything coupled to bus  54 ) and the computer system  100  for two way communications. Computer system  100  also contains a wireless infrared communication mechanism  64  for sending and receiving information from other devices. 
     FIG. 2A is a perspective illustration of the top face  100   a  of one embodiment of the palmtop computer system of the present invention. The top face  110   a  contains a display screen  105  surrounded by a bezel or cover. A removable stylus  80  is also shown. The display screen  105  is a touch screen able to register contact between the screen and the tip of the stylus  80 . The stylus  80  can be of any material to make contact with the screen  105 . The top face  100   a  also contains one or more dedicated and/or programmable buttons  75  for selecting information and causing the computer system to implement functions. The on/off button  95  is also shown. 
     Importantly, FIG. 2A also illustrates a handwriting recognition pad or “digitizer” containing two regions  106   a  and  106   b . Region  106   a  is for the drawing of alphabetic characters therein for automatic recognition and region  106   b  is for the drawing of numeric characters therein for automatic recognition. The stylus  80  is used for stroking a character within one of the regions  106   a  and  106   b . The stroke information is then fed to an internal processor for automatic character recognition. Once characters are recognized, they are typically displayed on the screen  105  for verification and/or modification. 
     FIG. 2B illustrates the bottom side  100   b  of one embodiment of the palmtop computer system of the present invention. An optional extendible, antenna  85  is shown and also a battery storage compartment door  90  is shown. A communication interface  108  is also shown. In one embodiment of the present invention, the serial communication interface  108  is a serial communication port, but could also alternatively be of any of a number of well known communication standards and protocols, e.g., parallel, SCSI, Firewire (IEEE 1394), Ethernet, etc. 
     FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the palmtop computer system  100  in accordance with one implementation. System  100  contains a front cover  210  having an outline of region  106  and holes  75   a  for receiving buttons  75   b . A flat panel display  105  (both liquid crystal display and touch screen) fits into front cover  210 . Any of a number of display technologies can be used, e.g., LCD, FED, plasma, etc., for the flat panel display  105 . A battery  215  provides electrical power. A contrast adjustment (potentiometer)  220  is also shown. On/off button  95  is shown along with an infrared emitter and detector device  64 . A flex circuit  230  is shown along with a PC board  225  containing electronics and logic (e.g., memory, communication bus, processor, etc.) for implementing computer system functionality. The digitizer pad is also included in PC board  225 . A midframe  235  is shown along with stylus  80 . Position adjustable antenna  85  is shown. 
     A radio receiver/transmitter device  240  is also shown between the midframe and the rear cover  245  of FIG.  3 . The receiver/transmitter device  240  is coupled to the antenna  85  and also coupled to communicate with the PC board  225 . In one implementation the Mobitex wireless communication system is used to provide two way communication between system  100  and other networked computers and/or the Internet via a proxy server. 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective illustration of one embodiment of the cradle  60  for receiving the palmtop computer system  100 . Cradle  60  contains a mechanical and electrical interface  260  for interfacing with serial connection  108  (FIG. 2B) of computer system  100  when system  100  is slid into the cradle  60  in an upright position. Once inserted, button  270  can be pressed to initiate two way communication between system  100  and other computer systems coupled to serial communication  265 . 
     FIG. 5 illustrates circuitry of computer system  100 , some of which can be implemented on PC board  225 . Computer system  100  includes an address/data bus  100  for communicating information, a central processor  101  coupled with the bus for processing information and instructions, a volatile memory  102  (e.g., random access memory RAM) coupled with the bus  100  for storing information and instructions for the central processor  101  and a non-volatile memory  103  (e.g., read only memory ROM) coupled with the bus  100  for storing static information and instructions for the processor  101 . Computer system  110  also includes an optional data storage device  104  (e.g., memory stick) coupled with the bus  100  for storing information and instructions. Device  104  can be removable. As described above, system  100  also contains a display device  105  coupled to the bus  100  for displaying information to the computer user. PC board  225  can contain the processor  101 , the bus  100 , the ROM  103  and the RAM  102 . 
     Also included in computer system  110  of FIG. 5 is an optional alphanumeric input device  106  which in one implementation is a handwriting recognition pad (“digitizer”) having regions  106   a  and  106   b  (FIG.  2 A), for instance. Device  106  can communicate information and command selections to the central processor  101 . System  110  also includes an optional cursor control or directing device  107  coupled to the bus for communicating user input information and command selections to the central processor  101 . In one implementation, device  107  is a touch screen device incorporated with screen  105 . Device  107  is capable of registering a position on the screen  105  where the stylus makes contact. The display device  105  utilized with the computer system  110  may be a liquid crystal device, cathode ray tube (CRT), field emission device (FED, also-called flat panel CRT) or other display device suitable for creating graphic images and alphanumeric characters recognizable to the user. In the preferred embodiment, display  105  is a flat panel display. 
     Signal communication device  108 , also coupled to bus  100 , can be a serial port for communicating with the cradle  60 . Device  108  can also include an infrared communication port. 
     FIG. 6 is a front view of the palmtop computer system  100  with several display windows open on screen  105 . An embodiment of the present invention allows a user increased flexibility in the manual entry of characters. The user has the choice of displaying a virtual keyboard image on display  105  and entering characters by selecting one of the displayed characters of the virtual keyboard image. At the same time the virtual keyboard image is displayed, the user can also manually enter characters by using the handwriting recognition pad and stylus  80 . 
     Window  310  is part of a generic application program executing on system  100 . Window  310  is a data entry window in that the application program is requesting information to be entered by a user. The information requested and the application program could be any information and any program. In one implementation of the present invention, when the antenna  85  (FIG. 2B) is flipped up by a new user, an information window  310  automatically opens and queues the user to input certain information to identify the user and a user account. This can also cause virtual keyboard window  315  to automatically open also. Alternatively, a security application can be invoked each time the system  100  is turned on. Window  310  (and window  315 ) would then be automatically displayed to ask for a password from the user. Typically, data entry window  310  has at least one data entry field  312  for accepting character data therein. 
     When a user taps button  520  or button  325  with the stylus  80 , a virtual keyboard window  315  opens on screen  105  along with data entry window  310 . 
     In other embodiments, window  315  can be automatically opened upon an application executing without requiring any other activation or interaction by a user. Virtual keyboard window  315  contains a virtual keyboard image containing a plurality of separate virtual keys, each key representing a character. In the preferred embodiment, window opens over window  310  which can still be viewed partially in FIG.  6 . In other embodiments, windows  310  and  315  can be displayed simultaneously in various degrees of partial viewing for either window. While the virtual keyboard image is displayed, if the stylus  80  contacts a virtual key, its character is displayed onto a data entry field on screen  105 . In accordance with the present invention, while the virtual keyboard image is displayed, the user can also stroke a character within pad  106  (either region  106   a  or  106   b ). The recognized character is then also placed into the displayed data entry field. This process can be repeated. 
     Importantly, the user can alternate between entering characters using the virtual keyboard image or pad  106  without closing the virtual keyboard window  315 . In accordance with the present invention, both the virtual keyboard image and the handwriting recognition pad remain simultaneously active to accept manual characters from a user. This is a particularly useful data entry system because novice users may want to enter data using the virtual keyboard image while other users well acquainted with the handwriting recognition system prefer to use pad  106  for the entry of data. Since the application program generating the data entry window  310  may not be aware of the skill level of the user, offering multiple data entry capabilities, at the same time, is a desired and advantageous feature for system  100 . 
     FIG. 7A illustrates an exemplary keyboard virtual image  315   a  that can be displayed within window  315  (FIG. 6) when button  320  is activated or when an application automatically causes its display. Keyboard virtual image  315   a  represents alphabetic characters  420  which are arranged in the familiar QWERTY format of a standard American typewriter. Some punctuation characters and a capital shift key are also provided. Virtual keyboard image  315   a  also contains its own data entry field  410  for accepting characters. The cursor is currently in the “username” data entry field thereby making this field the active data entry field. It is appreciated that while image  315   a  is displayed on screen  105 , a user can enter data via pad  106  and the recognized characters from the handwriting recognition system will be displayed within the active data entry field  410  (e.g., the one having the cursor associated therewith). Data can then be entered into the active data entry field using either the virtual keyboard image  315   a  or pad  106  without closing the virtual keyboard window  315  (FIG.  6 ). 
     FIG. 7B illustrates another virtual keyboard image  315   b  that can be displayed within window  315 . If on screen button  440  (FIG. 7A) is tapped, or if button  325  (FIG. 6) is tapped, then a separate virtual keyboard image  315   b  is generated representing numeric characters  480  and other punctuation characters  460  and  490 . Typically, this virtual keyboard image  315   b  is displayed within the same screen location as image  315   a  thereby obscuring image  315   a  from view or causing image  315   a  to be removed. If button  430  is tapped, then virtual keyboard image  315   a  (FIG. 7A) is displayed again. Virtual keyboard image  315   b  of FIG. 7B contains data entry fields  410  which function in the analogous way as the fields of FIG.  7 A. Specifically, data can be entered into the active data entry field  410  of FIG. 7B using either the virtual keyboard image  315   b  or pad  106  without closing the virtual keyboard window  315  (FIG.  6 ). 
     It is appreciated that if button  450  of either image  315   a  or  315   b  is selected, then an international virtual keyboard image is selected that is similar to virtual keyboard image  315   a  except international symbols and punctuation are displayed. The international virtual keyboard image also contains buttons  430 ,  440  and  450  and optionally a done button  470 . Like the numeric keyboard image, the international keyboard image is displayed within the same screen region as image  315   a.    
     It is also appreciated that whenever the on screen done button  470  is selected in either virtual keyboard image  315   a  or  315   b , or the international image, the data contained within the data entry fields is then complete and provided to the application program. In one embodiment, when the done button  470  is selected, any data within the active data entry field of the virtual keyboard window  315  is transferred into the appropriate data entry field  312  of application window  315  (FIG.  6 ). 
     FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating steps of a generic process  500  in accordance with the present invention for multiple simultaneous active data entry mechanisms for a palmtop computer system. Process  500  can be realized as computer stored instructions that are executed by processor  101 . At step  510 , an application program generates a window on screen that requests user data to be entered therein. The application window may contain a data entry field or fields (or queue) for receiving this data. At step  515 , the user invokes the virtual keyboard window which displays a virtual keyboard image therein. The virtual keyboard window can be invoked by pressing button  320  or  325  (FIG.  6 ). 
     Steps  520 ,  525  and  530  are simultaneously active to receive manually entered character data. At step  520 , the user selects a particular character of the virtual keyboard image displayed. This registers a character. Alternatively, while the virtual keyboard image is displayed and active, at step  525 , the user can draw or stroke a character on pad  106  causing a character to be recognized. Alternatively, while the virtual keyboard image is displayed and active, at step  530  the user can utilize an alternative form of character entry, such as voice recognition, to enter a new character. 
     Regardless of the data entry step employed, at step  535 , the new character is displayed on screen  105  within the data entry field. In one embodiment, the data entry field is located within the application data input field. In another embodiment, the data entry field is within the virtual keyboard window. At step  540 , the process  500  checks if the done key is pressed. If not, then processing returns to steps  520 ,  525  and  530 , which are simultaneously active, to get the next character. Until the done key is pressed, characters can alternatively be entered from the virtual keyboard, from the pad  106  or from voice recognition. If the done key is pressed, then processing enters step  545  where the new characters are entered to the application. If the data entry queue of step  535  is located within the virtual keyboard window, then at step  545  the characters are copied into the data entry queue of the application window. Importantly, the present invention offers multiple simultaneous active data entry mechanisms for increased flexibility and user ease. 
     FIG. 9 illustrates a particular process  600  in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention that is used with a palmtop computer having a wireless connection. Most of the steps of process  600  can be realized as computer stored instructions that are executed by processor  101 . At step  610 , the antenna on the palmtop computer is raised. This can be done at the first time the unit is employed. This causes, at step  615 , a sign-on application program to be invoked. The sign-on application program requests certain user identification and account information to be entered so that wireless communication can be established for the user. At step  615 , as part of this process, the virtual keyboard image is displayed on screen  105 . This is done because the user may be a novice and not yet familiar with the handwriting recognition process. Steps  520 - 530  of FIG. 9 are analogous to those described with respect to FIG.  8 . Steps  520 - 530  of FIG. 9 give the same data entry flexibility to the user so that the handwriting recognition features can be used for entering characters while the virtual keyboard image is displayed. This is useful for users that are familiar and more comfortable with the handwriting recognition mechanism of data entry. At step  620 , the entered character is displayed in a data entry field of the virtual keyboard window. This process continues to obtain more characters until the done key is pressed and recognized at step  630 . Until the done key is pressed, characters can alternatively be entered from the virtual keyboard, from the pad  106  or from voice recognition. 
     At step  640 , the characters of the data input field of the virtual keyboard window are copied into the sign-on application. The data entry process can then be repeated for other fields of the sign-on application. 
     The preferred embodiment of the present invention, a portable or hand-held computer system capable of simultaneously accepting manual entered character data from user selection on an on-screen virtual keyboard mechanism and from user interaction with a handwriting recognition mechanism, is thus described. While the present invention has been described in particular embodiments, it should be appreciated that the present invention should not be construed as limited by such embodiments, but rather construed according to the below claims.