Abstract:
A heating, ventilation, and/or air conditioning (HVAC) system may include a visitor presence sensor and a visitor presence indicator. The visitor presence sensor may detect the presence of a visitor at a residence and communicate the presence of the visitor to the visitor presence indicator, which may audibly and/or visually alert a homeowner of the presence of the visitor at the residence.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/934,519 filed on Jan. 31, 2014 by John Mark Hagan and entitled “HVAC System with Visitor Presence Sensor,” the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Door chime systems and/or other visitor presence indication systems may not be well suited for adequately indicating a visitor presence in some instances. As a result, a homeowner may not be properly alerted as to the presence of a visitor at a residence. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an HVAC system according to an embodiment of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of the air circulation paths of the HVAC system of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of a method of operating an HVAC system; 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of another method of operating an HVAC system; and 
         FIG. 5  is a representation of a general-purpose processor (e.g. electronic controller or computer) system suitable for implementing the embodiments of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a schematic diagram of an HVAC system  100  according to an embodiment of this disclosure is shown. HVAC system  100  comprises an indoor unit  102 , an outdoor unit  104 , and a system controller  106 . In some embodiments, the system controller  106  may operate to control operation of the indoor unit  102  and/or the outdoor unit  104 . As shown, the HVAC system  100  is a so-called heat pump system that may be selectively operated to implement one or more substantially closed thermodynamic refrigeration cycles to provide a cooling functionality and/or a heating functionality. 
     Indoor unit  102  comprises an indoor heat exchanger  108 , an indoor fan  110 , and an indoor metering device  112 . Indoor heat exchanger  108  is a plate fin heat exchanger configured to allow heat exchange between refrigerant carried within internal tubing of the indoor heat exchanger  108  and fluids that contact the indoor heat exchanger  108  but that are kept segregated from the refrigerant. In other embodiments, indoor heat exchanger  108  may comprise a spine fin heat exchanger, a microchannel heat exchanger, or any other suitable type of heat exchanger. 
     The indoor fan  110  is a centrifugal blower comprising a blower housing, a blower impeller at least partially disposed within the blower housing, and a blower motor configured to selectively rotate the blower impeller. In other embodiments, the indoor fan  110  may comprise a mixed-flow fan and/or any other suitable type of fan. The indoor fan  110  is configured as a modulating and/or variable speed fan capable of being operated at many speeds over one or more ranges of speeds. In other embodiments, the indoor fan  110  may be configured as a multiple speed fan capable of being operated at a plurality of operating speeds by selectively electrically powering different ones of multiple electromagnetic windings of a motor of the indoor fan  110 . In yet other embodiments, the indoor fan  110  may be a single speed fan. 
     The indoor metering device  112  is an electronically controlled motor driven electronic expansion valve (EEV). In alternative embodiments, the indoor metering device  112  may comprise a thermostatic expansion valve, a capillary tube assembly, and/or any other suitable metering device. The indoor metering device  112  may comprise and/or be associated with a refrigerant check valve and/or refrigerant bypass for use when a direction of refrigerant flow through the indoor metering device  112  is such that the indoor metering device  112  is not intended to meter or otherwise substantially restrict flow of the refrigerant through the indoor metering device  112 . 
     Outdoor unit  104  comprises an outdoor heat exchanger  114 , a compressor  116 , an outdoor fan  118 , an outdoor metering device  120 , and a reversing valve  122 . Outdoor heat exchanger  114  is a spine fin heat exchanger configured to allow heat exchange between refrigerant carried within internal passages of the outdoor heat exchanger  114  and fluids that contact the outdoor heat exchanger  114  but that are kept segregated from the refrigerant. In other embodiments, outdoor heat exchanger  114  may comprise a plate fin heat exchanger, a microchannel heat exchanger, or any other suitable type of heat exchanger. 
     The compressor  116  is a multiple speed scroll type compressor configured to selectively pump refrigerant at a plurality of mass flow rates. In alternative embodiments, the compressor  116  may comprise a modulating compressor capable of operation over one or more speed ranges, the compressor  116  may comprise a reciprocating type compressor, the compressor  116  may be a single speed compressor, and/or the compressor  116  may comprise any other suitable refrigerant compressor and/or refrigerant pump. 
     The outdoor fan  118  is an axial fan comprising a fan blade assembly and fan motor configured to selectively rotate the fan blade assembly. In other embodiments, the outdoor fan  118  may comprise a mixed-flow fan, a centrifugal blower, and/or any other suitable type of fan and/or blower. The outdoor fan  118  is configured as a modulating and/or variable speed fan capable of being operated at many speeds over one or more ranges of speeds. In other embodiments, the outdoor fan  118  may be configured as a multiple speed fan capable of being operated at a plurality of operating speeds by selectively electrically powering different ones of multiple electromagnetic windings of a motor of the outdoor fan  118 . In yet other embodiments, the outdoor fan  118  may be a single speed fan. 
     The outdoor metering device  120  is a thermostatic expansion valve. In alternative embodiments, the outdoor metering device  120  may comprise an electronically controlled motor driven EEV, a capillary tube assembly, and/or any other suitable metering device. The outdoor metering device  120  may comprise and/or be associated with a refrigerant check valve and/or refrigerant bypass for use when a direction of refrigerant flow through the outdoor metering device  120  is such that the outdoor metering device  120  is not intended to meter or otherwise substantially restrict flow of the refrigerant through the outdoor metering device  120 . 
     The reversing valve  122  is a so-called four-way reversing valve. The reversing valve  122  may be selectively controlled to alter a flow path of refrigerant in the HVAC system  100  as described in greater detail below. The reversing valve  122  may comprise an electrical solenoid or other device configured to selectively move a component of the reversing valve  122  between operational positions. 
     The system controller  106  may comprise a touchscreen interface for displaying information and for receiving user inputs. The system controller  106  may display information related to the operation of the HVAC system  100  and may receive user inputs related to operation of the HVAC system  100 . However, the system controller  106  may further be operable to display information and receive user inputs tangentially and/or unrelated to operation of the HVAC system  100 . In some embodiments, the system controller  106  may comprise a temperature sensor and may further be configured to control heating and/or cooling of zones associated with the HVAC system  100 . In some embodiments, the system controller  106  may be configured as a thermostat for controlling supply of conditioned air to zones associated with the HVAC system  100 . 
     In some embodiments, the system controller  106  may selectively communicate with an indoor controller  124  of the indoor unit  102 , with an outdoor controller  126  of the outdoor unit  104 , and/or with other components of the HVAC system  100 . In some embodiments, the system controller  106  may be configured for selective bidirectional communication over a communication bus  128 . In some embodiments, portions of the communication bus  128  may comprise a three-wire connection suitable for communicating messages between the system controller  106  and one or more of the HVAC system  100  components configured for interfacing with the communication bus  128 . Still further, the system controller  106  may be configured to selectively communicate with HVAC system  100  components and/or other device  130  via a communication network  132 . In some embodiments, the communication network  132  may comprise a telephone network and the other device  130  may comprise a telephone. In some embodiments, the communication network  132  may comprise the Internet and the other device  130  may comprise a so-called smartphone and/or other Internet enabled mobile telecommunication device. 
     The indoor controller  124  may be configured to receive information inputs, transmit information outputs, and otherwise communicate with the system controller  106 , the outdoor controller  126 , and/or any other device via the communication bus  128  and/or any other suitable medium of communication. In some embodiments, the indoor controller  124  may be configured to communicate with an indoor personality module  134 , receive information related to a speed of the indoor fan  110 , transmit a control output to an electric heat relay, transmit information regarding an indoor fan  110  volumetric flow-rate, communicate with and/or otherwise affect control over an air cleaner  136 , and communicate with an indoor EEV controller  138 . In some embodiments, the indoor controller  124  may be configured to communicate with an indoor fan controller  142  and/or otherwise affect control over operation of the indoor fan  110 . In some embodiments, the indoor personality module  134  may comprise information related to the identification and/or operation of the indoor unit  102  and/or a position of the outdoor metering device  120 . 
     In some embodiments, the indoor EEV controller  138  may be configured to receive information regarding temperatures and pressures of the refrigerant in the indoor unit  102 . More specifically, the indoor EEV controller  138  may be configured to receive information regarding temperatures and pressures of refrigerant entering, exiting, and/or within the indoor heat exchanger  108 . Further, the indoor EEV controller  138  may be configured to communicate with the indoor metering device  112  and/or otherwise affect control over the indoor metering device  112 . 
     The outdoor controller  126  may be configured to receive information inputs, transmit information outputs, and otherwise communicate with the system controller  106 , the indoor controller  124 , and/or any other device via the communication bus  128  and/or any other suitable medium of communication. In some embodiments, the outdoor controller  126  may be configured to communicate with an outdoor personality module  140  that may comprise information related to the identification and/or operation of the outdoor unit  104 . In some embodiments, the outdoor controller  126  may be configured to receive information related to an ambient temperature associated with the outdoor unit  104 , information related to a temperature of the outdoor heat exchanger  114 , and/or information related to refrigerant temperatures and/or pressures of refrigerant entering, exiting, and/or within the outdoor heat exchanger  114  and/or the compressor  116 . In some embodiments, the outdoor controller  126  may be configured to transmit information related to monitoring, communicating with, and/or otherwise affecting control over the outdoor fan  118 , a compressor sump heater, a solenoid of the reversing valve  122 , a relay associated with adjusting and/or monitoring a refrigerant charge of the HVAC system  100 , a position of the indoor metering device  112 , and/or a position of the outdoor metering device  120 . The outdoor controller  126  may further be configured to communicate with a compressor drive controller  144  that is configured to electrically power and/or control the compressor  116 . 
     The HVAC system  100  is shown configured for operating in a so-called cooling mode in which heat is absorbed by refrigerant at the indoor heat exchanger  108  and heat is rejected from the refrigerant at the outdoor heat exchanger  114 . In some embodiments, the compressor  116  may be operated to compress refrigerant and pump the relatively high temperature and high pressure compressed refrigerant from the compressor  116  to the outdoor heat exchanger  114  through the reversing valve  122  and to the outdoor heat exchanger  114 . As the refrigerant is passed through the outdoor heat exchanger  114 , the outdoor fan  118  may be operated to move air into contact with the outdoor heat exchanger  114 , thereby transferring heat from the refrigerant to the air surrounding the outdoor heat exchanger  114 . The refrigerant may primarily comprise liquid phase refrigerant and the refrigerant may be pumped from the outdoor heat exchanger  114  to the indoor metering device  112  through and/or around the outdoor metering device  120  which does not substantially impede flow of the refrigerant in the cooling mode. The indoor metering device  112  may meter passage of the refrigerant through the indoor metering device  112  so that the refrigerant downstream of the indoor metering device  112  is at a lower pressure than the refrigerant upstream of the indoor metering device  112 . The pressure differential across the indoor metering device  112  allows the refrigerant downstream of the indoor metering device  112  to expand and/or at least partially convert to gaseous phase. The gaseous phase refrigerant may enter the indoor heat exchanger  108 . As the refrigerant is passed through the indoor heat exchanger  108 , the indoor fan  110  may be operated to move air into contact with the indoor heat exchanger  108 , thereby transferring heat to the refrigerant from the air surrounding the indoor heat exchanger  108 . The refrigerant may thereafter reenter the compressor  116  after passing through the reversing valve  122 . 
     To operate the HVAC system  100  in the so-called heating mode, the reversing valve  122  may be controlled to alter the flow path of the refrigerant, the indoor metering device  112  may be disabled and/or bypassed, and the outdoor metering device  120  may be enabled. In the heating mode, refrigerant may flow from the compressor  116  to the indoor heat exchanger  108  through the reversing valve  122 , the refrigerant may be substantially unaffected by the indoor metering device  112 , the refrigerant may experience a pressure differential across the outdoor metering device  120 , the refrigerant may pass through the outdoor heat exchanger  114 , and the refrigerant may reenter the compressor  116  after passing through the reversing valve  122 . Most generally, operation of the HVAC system  100  in the heating mode reverses the roles of the indoor heat exchanger  108  and the outdoor heat exchanger  114  as compared to their operation in the cooling mode. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , a schematic diagram of the air circulation paths for a structure  200  conditioned by two HVAC systems  100  is shown. The structure  200  is conceptualized as comprising a lower floor  202  and an upper floor  204 . The lower floor  202  comprises zones  206 ,  208 , and  210  while the upper floor  204  comprises zones  212 ,  214 , and  216 . The HVAC system  100  associated with the lower floor  202  is configured to circulate and/or condition air of lower zones  206 ,  208 , and  210  while the HVAC system  100  associated with the upper floor  204  is configured to circulate and/or condition air of upper zones  212 ,  214 , and  216 . 
     In addition to the components of HVAC system  100  described above, each HVAC system  100  may further comprise a ventilator  146 , a prefilter  148 , a humidifier  150 , and a bypass duct  152 . The ventilator  146  may be operated to selectively exhaust circulating air to the environment and/or introduce environmental air into the circulating air. The prefilter  148  may generally comprise a filter media selected to catch and/or retain relatively large particulate matter prior to air exiting the prefilter  148  and entering the air cleaner  136 . The humidifier  150  may be operated to adjust a humidity of the circulating air. The bypass duct  152  may be utilized to regulate air pressures within the ducts that form the circulating air flow paths. In some embodiments, air flow through the bypass duct  152  may be regulated by a bypass damper  154  while air flow delivered to the zones  206 ,  208 ,  210 ,  212 ,  214 , and  216  may be regulated by zone dampers  156 . 
     Still further, each HVAC system  100  may further comprise a zone thermostat  158  and a zone sensor  160 . In some embodiments, a zone thermostat  158  may communicate with the system controller  106  and may allow a user to control a temperature, humidity, and/or other environmental setting for the zone in which the zone thermostat  158  is located. Further, the zone thermostat  158  may communicate with the system controller  106  to provide temperature, humidity, and/or other environmental feedback regarding the zone in which the zone thermostat  158  is located. In some embodiments, a zone sensor  160  may communicate with the system controller  106  to provide temperature, humidity, and/or other environmental feedback regarding the zone in which the zone sensor  160  is located. 
     While HVAC systems  100  are shown as a so-called split system comprising an indoor unit  102  located separately from the outdoor unit  104 , alternative embodiments of an HVAC system  100  may comprise a so-called package system in which one or more of the components of the indoor unit  102  and one or more of the components of the outdoor unit  104  are carried together in a common housing or package. The HVAC system  100  is shown as a so-called ducted system where the indoor unit  102  is located remote from the conditioned zones, thereby requiring air ducts to route the circulating air. However, in alternative embodiments, an HVAC system  100  may be configured as a non-ducted system in which the indoor unit  102  and/or multiple indoor units  102  associated with an outdoor unit  104  is located substantially in the space and/or zone to be conditioned by the respective indoor units  102 , thereby not requiring air ducts to route the air conditioned by the indoor units  102 . 
     Still referring to  FIG. 2 , the system controllers  106  may be configured for bidirectional communication with each other and may further be configured so that a user may, using any of the system controllers  106 , monitor and/or control any of the HVAC system  100  components regardless of which zones the components may be associated. Further, each system controller  106 , each zone thermostat  158 , and each zone sensor  160  may comprise a humidity sensor. As such, it will be appreciated that structure  200  is equipped with a plurality of humidity sensors in a plurality of different locations. In some embodiments, a user may effectively select which of the plurality of humidity sensors is used to control operation of one or more of the HVAC systems  100 . 
     In order to facilitate detection of the presence of a visitor, at least one of the HVAC systems  100  may comprise a visitor sensor device  162 . However, in some embodiments, an HVAC system  100  may comprise multiple visitor sensor devices  162 . Additionally, each of the system controllers  106 , zone thermostats  158 , and zone sensors  160  comprise a visitor presence indicator  164 . The visitor sensor device  162  may comprise a doorbell button, a motion sensor, a camera, a microphone, a pressure sensor, and/or any other suitable device configured for manual initialization by a visitor and/or configured for automatically sensing the presence of a visitor, for example, but not limited to, near an entrance door to a home. The visitor presence indicator  164  may comprise any device suitable for providing visual, audible, tactile, and/or other indications regarding a presence of a visitor and/or lack thereof. The visitor sensor device  162  is generally configured to generate a signal in response to initialization and/or actuation by a visitor and/or in response to automatically sensing a presence of a visitor. Of course, in some embodiments, the HVAC system  100  may be controlled to adjust an automatic detection sensitivity threshold, a response criterion, and/or any other suitable parameter for selectively adjusting the HVAC system  100  operation as a function of a characteristic of the sensed object or visitor. For example, a required size, speed of movement, location of the sensed object or visitor, and/or any other parameter suitable for selectively tuning the system to respond desirably to automatically sensed objects and/or visitors may be utilized. Signals generated by the visitor sensor device  162  may be received and/or processed by at least one of the system controllers  106 , zone thermostats  158 , and zone sensors  160 . In some cases, the HVAC systems  100  may adjust a display setting of at least one of the system controllers  106 , zone thermostats  158 , and zone sensors  160  in response to the sensed visitor presence and/or more generally in response to receiving a predetermined signal from the visitor sensor device  162 . In some embodiments, the HVAC systems  100  may communicate information and/or signals regarding a visitor presence and/or lack thereof to other systems via the communication network  132 . The system controllers  106  are configured to receive information and/or signals regarding a visitor presence and/or lack thereof from the visitor presence sensor  162  which is located near an entry door to structure  200 . However, in alternative embodiments, additional and/or differently located visitor presence sensors  162  may be utilized in substantially the same manner. In some embodiments, the HVAC system  100  may communicate with a security providers (SP)  133  which may take predetermined actions in response to receiving the information and/or signals regarding a sensed visitor presence and/or lack thereof. In some embodiments, the HVAC system  100  may communicate with a customized data provider (CDP)  131 , such as home automation service provider authorized by the manufacturer of system controller  106 , which may similarly take predetermined actions in response to receiving the information and/or signals regarding a sensed visitor presence and/or lack thereof 
     The CDP  131 , the SP  133 , and/or the HVAC system  100  may also be configured to communicate with each other and/or other devices  130 , such as, telephones, smart phones, and/or personal computers. In some cases, the CDP  131  may be controlled and operated by any entity authorized to communicate with system controller  106 . Authorization for access to system controller  106  may take the form of a password, encryption, and/or any other suitable authentication method. Optionally, authorization may be disabled using system controller  106 . CDP  131  may be configured to allow for the setup of account login information to remotely configure system controller  106 . For example, the CDP  131  may provide the user an opportunity to configure system controller  106  with a large general purpose computer screen and greater number of interface features than may be available on a user interface of system controller  106 , in some cases, allowing the interface of system controller  106  to be smaller and/or eliminated entirely. 
     System controller  106  may also be configured to communicate with other Internet sites  129 . Such other Internet sites  129  may receive and/or distribute data regarding the information and/or signals regarding a visitor presence and/or lack thereof. In some cases, other Internet sites  129  may provide a private and/or secured portal to information gathered as a function of and/or related to the visitor presence and/or lack thereof. In some cases, any of the HVAC systems  100 , CDP  131 , SP  133 , other Internet sites  129 , and/or other devices  130  may generate, transfer, receive, and/or present information and/or signals ultimately related to providing visible, audible, tactile, and/or other indications regarding a visitor presence and/or lack thereof. As an example, the visitor presence sensor  162  may comprise a push button that when pressed by a visitor indicates to a system controller  106  that a visitor presence has been sensed, and the system controller  106  may communicate with the CDP  131 , the SP  133 , the other Internet site  129 , and/or the other device  130  regarding the sensed visitor presence to ultimately present an indication that a visitor presence has been sensed. In some cases, the CDP  131  and/or the SP  133  may take predetermined actions in response to receiving an indication that a visitor presence has been sensed. For example, the CDP  131  may remotely initiate a change in home automation operation, such as, but not limited to, turning on home lighting, locking and/or unlocking entrances, and/or remotely switching off water supplies and/or other utilities. In some cases, the SP  133  may initiate a call to a police station to report the sensed visitor presence. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a flowchart of a method  300  of operating an HVAC system such as HVAC system  100  is shown. The method  300  may begin at block  302  by providing an HVAC system controller such as system controller  106  that comprises a visitor presence indicator such as a visitor presence indicator  164 . In some embodiments, the system controller provided may comprise a wall mountable thermostat comprising a touch screen display/interface. The method  300  may continue at block  304  by operating the HVAC system controller to receive information and/or a signal indicating that a visitor presence has been sensed. In some cases, the system controller may initially operate a visual display at a first intensity in which a first amount of light is emitted and/or a first amount of energy is consumed by the visual display and wherein the display is displaying information not generally associated with the heating and/or cooling operation of the HVAC system. For example, the visual display may be presenting a picture slide show intended for enjoyment by an occupant of a home and the visual display may generally not be prompting a user to enter control parameters into the system controller  106 . The method  300  may continue at block  306  by discontinuing and/or altering the visual display operation in response to whether a visitor presence has been sensed by a visitor presence sensor of the HVAC system. In some embodiments, the display operation may be discontinued so that a different amount of light amount is emitted and/or a second different amount of energy is consumed by the display as a function of visually displaying an indication that a visitor presence has been sensed. In some embodiments, the visual indication that a visitor presence has been sensed may comprise emitting a visual image and/or video of the location in which the visitor presence was sensed so that viewing the display allows the viewer to visually confirm who and/or what the visitor is. In some embodiments, the visual display may be accompanied by and/or replaced by an audible indicator that a visitor presence has been sensed. For example, a bell, buzzer, audio stream, and/or any other suitable audible indication may be provided via the visitor presence indicator. In some embodiments, multiple HVAC systems  100  may be configured to communicate visitor presence sensing information between each other so that visitor presence information provided by any visitor presence sensor of a first HVAC system may form some of the basis upon which one or more visitor presence indicators of at least one of the first HVAC system and a second HVAC system are selectively operated. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4 , a flowchart of a method  400  of operating an HVAC system such as HVAC system  100  is shown. The method  400  may begin at block  402  by providing an HVAC system comprising a visitor presence sensor, such as visitor presence sensor  162 , and a visitor presence indicator, such as a visitor presence indicator  164  carried by a system controller, a zone thermostat, and/or a zone sensor. The method  400  may continue at block  404  by operating the HVAC system to communicate information regarding sensed visitor presence and/or lack thereof to a remote system, such as, but not limited to, another HVAC system, CDP  131 , SP  133 , other Internet site  129 , and/or other devices  130 . 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a typical, general-purpose processor (e.g., electronic controller or computer) system  1300  that includes a processing component  1310  suitable for implementing one or more embodiments disclosed herein. In addition to the processor  1310  (which may be referred to as a central processor unit or CPU), the system  1300  might include network connectivity devices  1320 , random access memory (RAM)  1330 , read only memory (ROM)  1340 , secondary storage  1350 , and input/output (I/O) devices  1360 . In some cases, some of these components may not be present or may be combined in various combinations with one another or with other components not shown. These components might be located in a single physical entity or in more than one physical entity. Any actions described herein as being taken by the processor  1310  might be taken by the processor  1310  alone or by the processor  1310  in conjunction with one or more components shown or not shown in the drawing. 
     The processor  1310  executes instructions, codes, computer programs, or scripts that it might access from the network connectivity devices  1320 , RAM  1330 , ROM  1340 , or secondary storage  1350  (which might include various disk-based systems such as hard disk, floppy disk, optical disk, or other drive). While only one processor  1310  is shown, multiple processors may be present. Thus, while instructions may be discussed as being executed by a processor, the instructions may be executed simultaneously, serially, or otherwise by one or multiple processors. The processor  1310  may be implemented as one or more CPU chips. 
     The network connectivity devices  1320  may take the form of modems, modem banks, Ethernet devices, universal serial bus (USB) interface devices, serial interfaces, token ring devices, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) devices, wireless local area network (WLAN) devices, radio transceiver devices such as code division multiple access (CDMA) devices, global system for mobile communications (GSM) radio transceiver devices, worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) devices, and/or other well-known devices for connecting to networks. These network connectivity devices  1320  may enable the processor  1310  to communicate with the Internet or one or more telecommunications networks or other networks from which the processor  1310  might receive information or to which the processor  1310  might output information. 
     The network connectivity devices  1320  might also include one or more transceiver components  1325  capable of transmitting and/or receiving data wirelessly in the form of electromagnetic waves, such as radio frequency signals or microwave frequency signals. Alternatively, the data may propagate in or on the surface of electrical conductors, in coaxial cables, in waveguides, in optical media such as optical fiber, or in other media. The transceiver component  1325  might include separate receiving and transmitting units or a single transceiver. Information transmitted or received by the transceiver  1325  may include data that has been processed by the processor  1310  or instructions that are to be executed by processor  1310 . Such information may be received from and outputted to a network in the form, for example, of a computer data baseband signal or signal embodied in a carrier wave. The data may be ordered according to different sequences as may be desirable for either processing or generating the data or transmitting or receiving the data. The baseband signal, the signal embedded in the carrier wave, or other types of signals currently used or hereafter developed may be referred to as the transmission medium and may be generated according to several methods well known to one skilled in the art. 
     The RAM  1330  might be used to store volatile data and perhaps to store instructions that are executed by the processor  1310 . The ROM  1340  is a non-volatile memory device that typically has a smaller memory capacity than the memory capacity of the secondary storage  1350 . ROM  1340  might be used to store instructions and perhaps data that are read during execution of the instructions. Access to both RAM  1330  and ROM  1340  is typically faster than to secondary storage  1350 . The secondary storage  1350  is typically comprised of one or more disk drives or tape drives and might be used for non-volatile storage of data or as an over-flow data storage device if RAM  1330  is not large enough to hold all working data. Secondary storage  1350  may be used to store programs or instructions that are loaded into RAM  1330  when such programs are selected for execution or information is needed. 
     The I/O devices  1360  may include liquid crystal displays (LCDs), touch screen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches, dials, mice, track balls, voice recognizers, card readers, paper tape readers, printers, video monitors, transducers, sensors, or other well-known input or output devices. Also, the transceiver  1325  might be considered to be a component of the I/O devices  1360  instead of or in addition to being a component of the network connectivity devices  1320 . Some or all of the I/O devices  1360  may be substantially similar to various components disclosed herein. 
     At least one embodiment is disclosed and variations, combinations, and/or modifications of the embodiment(s) and/or features of the embodiment(s) made by a person having ordinary skill in the art are within the scope of the disclosure. Alternative embodiments that result from combining, integrating, and/or omitting features of the embodiment(s) are also within the scope of the disclosure. Where numerical ranges or limitations are expressly stated, such express ranges or limitations should be understood to include iterative ranges or limitations of like magnitude falling within the expressly stated ranges or limitations (e.g., from about 1 to about 10 includes, 2, 3, 4, etc.; greater than 0.10 includes 0.11, 0.12, 0.13, etc.). For example, whenever a numerical range with a lower limit, Rl, and an upper limit, Ru, is disclosed, any number falling within the range is specifically disclosed. In particular, the following numbers within the range are specifically disclosed: R=Rl+k*(Ru−Rl), wherein k is a variable ranging from 1 percent to 100 percent with a 1 percent increment, i.e., k is 1 percent, 2 percent, 3 percent, 4 percent, 5 percent, . . . 50 percent, 51 percent, 52 percent, . . . , 95 percent, 96 percent, 97 percent, 98 percent, 99 percent, or 100 percent. Moreover, any numerical range defined by two R numbers as defined in the above is also specifically disclosed. Use of the term “optionally” with respect to any element of a claim means that the element is required, or alternatively, the element is not required, both alternatives being within the scope of the claim. Use of broader terms such as comprises, includes, and having should be understood to provide support for narrower terms such as consisting of, consisting essentially of, and comprised substantially of. Accordingly, the scope of protection is not limited by the description set out above but is defined by the claims that follow, that scope including all equivalents of the subject matter of the claims. Each and every claim is incorporated as further disclosure into the specification and the claims are embodiment(s) of the present invention.