Abstract:
Lock assemblies having cylinders with interchangeable cores are provided. In one embodiment a lock assembly comprises a cylinder including a keyway and a core. Also, the lock assembly includes a first driver operatively connected to the cylinder. In particular, key cuts of the core are changeable without removing the cylinder from the driver.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119 of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/918,311, filed on Dec. 19, 2013, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein 
     
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0002]    The present disclosure relates generally to lock mechanisms, and more particularly, to lock assemblies for use with lock cylinders of interchangeable core cylinder types. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    Numerous types of cylinders for locks are known and popularly used for various applications. For example, locks known in the industry as “interchangeable core cylinder” locks are used to provide a lock wherein the core cylinder can be removed from the lock housing through the use of a control key. A different interchangeable core cylinder can then be inserted into the lock housing, whereby the user can quickly and easily change a lock or locks without calling a locksmith. 
         [0004]    Certain types of interchangeable core cylinders allow the same core to be rekeyed and reused for a predetermined number of rekeying procedures. However, for the rekeying procedure, the control key must be rotated at least 180 degrees. Currently, multiple small format interchangeable core (SFIC) showcase and cabinet lock housings only turn about 90 degrees due to internal lock mechanisms. Typically, this means the interchangeable core cylinder must be removed from the locking assembly, rekeyed to accommodate a new key and then re-installed in the locking assembly, increasing the time and complexity of the rekeying process. 
         [0005]    Therefore, a need exists for interchangeable core lock assemblies that can be rekeyed without removing the interchangeable core cylinder from the lock assembly. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    Lock assemblies for use with lock cylinders of interchangeable core cylinder types are provided. Embodiments of the present disclosure provide the ability for both an operating key and a rekeying key to turn 180 degrees to unlock and lock. The rekeying key enables the interchangeable core to be changed to a different set of key cuts to operate with a new operating key compared with a previous operating key used to operate the core installed in the lock housing without the necessity of changing to a differently keyed core. 
         [0007]    In one implementation, a lock assembly comprises a housing, a cylinder, and a driver. The housing includes at least one cylindrical bore. The cylinder is mounted within the at least one cylindrical bore of the housing. The cylinder includes a keyway and an interchangeable core. The driver is at least partially mounted within the housing and is operatively connected to the cylinder. The driver includes a first part configured to rotate at least about 180 degrees and the interchangeable core is configured to be rekeyed while remaining in the housing. 
         [0008]    In another implementation, a lock assembly comprises a cylinder including a keyway and a core. Also, the lock assembly includes a first driver operatively connected to the cylinder. In particular, key cuts of the core are changeable without removing the cylinder from the driver. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which: 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a plunger type locking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the plunger type locking assembly of  FIG. 1  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  is a side view of the plunger type locking assembly of  FIG. 1  installed in a support structure; 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a plunger type locking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0014]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a driver employed in the plunger type locking assembly of  FIG. 4  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0015]      FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view of the driver of  FIG. 5  employed in the plunger type locking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0016]      FIG. 7  is an exploded view of the driver of  FIG. 5  employed in the plunger type locking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0017]      FIG. 8  is another exploded view of the driver of  FIG. 5  employed in the plunger type locking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0018]      FIG. 9A  is a perspective view of a drive slab employed in the driver of  FIG. 5  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0019]      FIG. 9B  is a top view of the drive slab shown in  FIG. 9A ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 10A  is a perspective view of a rod employed in the driver of  FIG. 5  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0021]      FIG. 10B  is a bottom view of the rod shown in  FIG. 10A ; 
           [0022]      FIG. 10C  is a left side view of the rod shown in  FIG. 10A ; 
           [0023]      FIG. 10D  is a right side view of the rod shown in  FIG. 10A ; 
           [0024]      FIGS. 11A-C  illustrate a back view, side view, and front view, respectively, of the plunger type locking assembly of  FIG. 4  in an unlocked state in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0025]      FIGS. 12A-C  illustrate a back view, side view, and front view, respectively, of the plunger type locking assembly of  FIG. 4  in a locked state in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0026]      FIG. 13A  is a perspective view of a cam lock in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0027]      FIG. 13B  is an exploded view of the cam lock of  FIG. 13A ; 
           [0028]      FIG. 14  is a front perspective view of a ratchet type locking assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0029]      FIG. 15  is an exploded view of the ratchet type locking assembly of  FIG. 14  in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0030]      FIGS. 16A-C  illustrate a top view, bottom view, and side view, respectively, of a conventional driver for a ratchet type locking assembly; 
           [0031]      FIGS. 17A-C  illustrate a top view, bottom view, and side view, respectively, of a driver for the ratchet type locking assembly of  FIG. 14  in accordance with the present disclosure; 
           [0032]      FIGS. 18A-D  illustrate bottom views of the ratchet type locking assembly of  FIG. 14  in operation in accordance with the present disclosure; 
           [0033]      FIG. 19  is an exploded view of a ratchet type locking assembly in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
           [0034]      FIG. 20  illustrates a bottom view of the ratchet type locking assembly of  FIG. 19  in accordance with the present disclosure; 
           [0035]      FIG. 21  is a front elevational view of the ratchet type locking assembly of  FIG. 14 ; 
           [0036]      FIG. 22  is a rear elevational view of the ratchet type locking assembly of  FIG. 14 ; 
           [0037]      FIG. 23  is a top plan view of the ratchet type locking assembly of  FIG. 14 ; 
           [0038]      FIG. 24  is a right side view of the ratchet type locking assembly of  FIG. 14 ; 
           [0039]      FIG. 25  is a bottom plan view of the ratchet type locking assembly of  FIG. 14 ; and 
           [0040]      FIG. 26  is a left side view of the ratchet type locking assembly of  FIG. 14 . 
       
    
    
       [0041]    It should be understood that the drawings are for purposes of illustrating the concepts of the disclosure and are not necessarily the only possible configuration for illustrating the disclosure. 
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0042]    Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the present disclosure in unnecessary detail. 
         [0043]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-4 , a lock assembly  10  of the “interchangeable core” type is generally depicted. The lock assembly  10  shown may also be referred to as a plunger type lock assembly. It is to be appreciated that the teachings of the present disclosure may apply to other types of locks including drawer locks, showcase locks, cam locks, latch locks, padlocks, etc. The lock assembly  10  includes a housing  12 , an assembly plate  14  and an interchangeable core cylinder  16  disposed in the housing  12 . The interchangeable core cylinder  16  is placed in the housing  12  and has a shape similar to that of two intersecting cylinders. As is known in the art, the upper cylinder  44  generally houses a pin structure of the lock, while the lower cylinder  46  accommodates the keyway  20  of the lock. The pin structure of upper cylinder  44  extends into the keyway of lower cylinder  46  to provide locking action. 
         [0044]    Typically, the interchangeable core cylinder  16  has a locking lug (not shown) which holds the cylinder in place in the housing and which, as is known in the art, is actuated by a control key (not shown) to remove the interchangeable core cylinder  16  from the housing  12  of the lock. The locking lug is disposed against a ledge means which is provided in the housing  12  for use with the interchangeable core cylinder  16 . When the interchangeable core cylinder  16  is to be removed, the control key is used which withdraws the locking lug into the interchangeable core cylinder  16  and allows the cylinder  16  to be pulled out of the housing  12 . In an operation mode, an operating key is disposed in the keyway  20  to actuate a bolt  18  for locking and unlocking the lock assembly  10 . 
         [0045]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , the lock assembly  10  may be mounted in a support structure  22 , e.g., a door, door jam, etc. When the lock assembly  10  is actuated into a locked position, the bolt  18  extends from a rear surface of the assembly plate  14  into a cavity  26  of a receiving structure  24 . 
         [0046]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , an exploded view of the lock assembly  10  in accordance with the present disclosure is illustrated. The housing  12  includes an upper bore  30 , a middle bore  32  and a lower bore  34 . The upper bore  30  and middle bore  32  are configured to receive the interchangeable core cylinder  16 . The lower bore  34  is configured to be disposed over a receiving member  28  coupled to the assembly plate  14 . Spring  38 , pin  40 , and fastener member  42  are coupled to the receiving member  28  to actuate the assembly plate  14  for unlocking the assembly  10 , details of which will be described below. Fastener member  42  is secured to the housing  12  via pin  41  when aperture  43  of fastener member  42  aligns with aperture  45  of the housing  12 . 
         [0047]    A driver  36 , e.g., a lost motion driver, provides a transmission force from the interchangeable core cylinder  16  to the bolt  18 . Referring to  FIGS. 5-10D , the driver  36  is illustrated in more detail. The driver  36  includes a rod portion  48  which is rotatably mounted to a drive slab  50  via, for example, a screw  52 . Additionally, the screw  52  enables the rod portion  48  to be spaced apart from the drive slab  50  at different distances to accommodate different size locks and/or housings. The drive slab  50  includes a first prong or stud  54  and a second prong or stud  56  extending from a lower surface  59  of the drive slab  50 . The first and second prongs  54 ,  56  are inserted into receiving apertures (not shown) disposed on a rear surface of the lower cylinder  46  of the interchangeable core cylinder  16 . The rod portion  48  of the driver  36  is coupled to the bolt  18  in such a manner that when a key is inserted into keyway  20  and rotated, the prongs  54 ,  56  of the driver  36  are rotated which in turn drives the rod portion  48  to extend the bolt  18 . 
         [0048]    By rotatably mounting the rod portion  48  to the drive slab  50 , a rekeying key disposed in the keyway  20  may turn 180 degrees allowing for rekeying of the interchangeable core  16  without removing the core from the housing  12 . It is to be appreciated that an operating key also has a range of motion of 180 degrees to actuate the bolt  18 . The 180 degree rotation is enabled by providing an undercut  49  in a lower portion of the rod  48 . A post  51  of the drive slab  50  moves within the undercut  49  as the prongs  54 ,  56  are rotated via a key inserted into the core  16 . The post  51  rides within the undercut  49  to give the driver  36  the lost motion needed to allow the driver  36  to work 180 degrees, i.e., the rod portion  48  does not rotate while the post  51  rides freely in the undercut. 
         [0049]    As the front part of the driver  36  moves (i.e., the prongs  54 ,  56  being rotated via a key), the post  51  of the driver  36  will move within an arc  57  (as shown in  FIG. 10B ) of the undercut  49  of the rod portion  48  from a first end  55  of the undercut  49  until the post  51  makes contact with the stopping point at a second end  53  of the undercut  49 . Then, the rest of the driver  36  is allowed to move to release the sleeve contact with the outer mounting plate. It is to be appreciated that the arc  57  defined by ends  53 ,  55  is approximately 193 degrees, however, other arc lengths are contemplated to be within the scope of the present disclosure. 
         [0050]    A pin  58  is used for the actual rotation of the rod  48 . When assembled, the bolt  18  is disposed over an upper portion  60  of the rod  48 . The bolt  18  is secured to the upper portion  60  via, for example, a set screw which is coupled to aperture  62 . The pin  58  will make contact with the inside of the lock housing to control the range of rotation of the rod  48  and the bolt  18 . This is what allows the lock to open. 
         [0051]    Referring to  FIGS. 11 and 12 , operation of the locking assembly  10  is illustrated, where  FIGS. 11A-11C  illustrate an unlocked state and  FIGS. 12A-12C  illustrate a locked state.  FIG. 11A  illustrates a rear view of the assembly plate  14 . Assembly plate  14  includes two apertures  64  for receiving screws to secure the assembly plate  14  to support structure  22 . The plate  14  further includes a bolt aperture  66  which is configured to have the same shape as the peripheral shape of bolt  18 . In the unlocking state as shown in  FIG. 11B , the plate  14  is biased away from the housing  12  via spring  38  interacting with receiving member  28 . Referring to  FIG. 11C  where the core  16  has been removed to illustrate the motion of the driver  36 , the pin  58  makes contact with a first side of an inner surface of housing  12  to prevent the pin  58  from further traveling in direction A. 
         [0052]    To place the locking assembly  10  into the locked position, the housing  12  is pushed toward the plate  14  in the direction of arrow B shown in  FIG. 12B . As shown in  FIG. 12B , the bolt  18  extends outward from the plate  14  until the housing  12  comes into contact with plate  14 . A key placed in the keyway  20  of core cylinder  16  is then employed to lock the bolt  18  in place. By rotating the key in the counter-clockwise direction, the prongs  54 ,  56  of the driver  36  will rotate in the direction of arrow C, as shown in  FIG. 12C . The drive slab  50  will rotate until post  51  comes into contact with end  55 . Upon the post  51  contacting end  55 , the rod portion  48  will then rotate in the counter-clockwise direction until pin  58  contacts a second side of the inner surface of housing  12 . The rotation of the rod portion  48  causes the bolt  18  to rotate so the outer periphery of the bolt  18  does not align with aperture  66  to prevent the plate  14  from being biased away from the housing  12 , thus locking the bolt  18  in place. 
         [0053]    It is to be appreciated that the housing  12  may be configured in shapes other then that shown in  FIG. 1 . For example, the housing may be configured in a substantially cylindrical shape when, for example, the cylindrical lock is employed as a glass mount plunger lock. It is further to be appreciated that the rod and bolt may be configured in various other shapes to achieve the teachings of the present disclosure, for example, circular, hex, square rectangular, etc. In one embodiment, the bolt may be configured as a “T” bolt. 
         [0054]      FIGS. 13A and 13B  illustrate another embodiment of a lock assembly  70  according to the teaching of the present disclosure, where  FIG. 13A  is a perspective view and  FIG. 13B  is an exploded view. The lock assembly  70  has an “interchangeable core” and is configured as a cam lock. According to other embodiments, the lock assembly  70  may be used as showcase locks, cabinet locks, drawer locks, latch locks, etc. The lock assembly  70  includes a housing  72 , a cam  74  and an interchangeable core cylinder  82  disposed in the housing  72 . The interchangeable core cylinder  82  is placed in the housing  72  and has a shape similar to that of two intersecting cylinders. The upper cylinder  76  generally houses a pin structure of the lock assembly  70 , while the lower cylinder  78  accommodates a keyway  80  of the lock. The pin structure of upper cylinder  76  extends into the keyway  80  of lower cylinder  78  to provide locking action. 
         [0055]    The interchangeable core cylinder  82  may include a locking lug (not shown) which holds the cylinder in place in the housing and which, as is known in the art, is actuated by a control key (not shown) to remove the interchangeable core cylinder  82  from the housing  72  of the lock. The locking lug may be disposed against a ledge which is provided in the housing  72  for use with the interchangeable core cylinder  82 . When the interchangeable core cylinder  82  is to be removed, the control key is used which withdraws the locking lug into the interchangeable core cylinder  82  and allows the cylinder  82  to be pulled out of the housing  72 . 
         [0056]    In an operation mode, an operating key is disposed in the keyway  80  to actuate a bolt  90  connected to the cam  74 . Rotation of the cam  74  allows for locking and unlocking of the lock assembly  70 . In some embodiments, the lock assembly  70  may be mounted in a structure (e.g., an entry door, a cabinet door, a drawer, a sliding showcase door, etc.). When the lock assembly  70  is actuated into a locked position, the cam  74  is rotated into a slot of a frame structure (not shown). To unlock the lock assembly  70 , the cam  74  is rotated in the opposite direction until it is outside the slot. 
         [0057]    Referring to  FIG. 13B , an exploded view of the lock assembly  70  in accordance with the present disclosure is illustrated. The housing  72  includes an upper bore  84  and a lower bore  86 . The upper bore  84  and lower bore  86  are configured to receive the interchangeable core cylinder  82 . One or more springs, pins, and fastening members (not shown) may be used to hold a driver  88  within the lower bore. 
         [0058]    The driver  88  may be a lost motion driver and may be configured like driver  36  shown in  FIGS. 5-10 . The driver  88  is configured to provide a transmission force from the interchangeable core cylinder  82  to the bolt  90  and cam  74 . The driver  88  may include two prongs that are inserted into apertures disposed in a rear surface of the lower cylinder  78  of the interchangeable core cylinder  82 . A rod portion of the driver  88  is coupled to the bolt  90  using screw  92 . The bolt  90  is attached to cam  74  through aperture  94 . When a properly-keyed key is inserted into keyway  80  and rotated, the prongs of the driver  88  are rotated, which in turn rotates the rod portion of the driver  88 , which in turn rotates the bolt  90  that is connected to the cam  74 . 
         [0059]    The lock assembly  70  of  FIG. 13  is configured such that when a rekeying key is disposed in the keyway  80 , the rekeying key may turn 180 degrees allowing for rekeying of the interchangeable core  82  without removing the core from the housing  72 . It is to be appreciated that an operating key to be used with the lock assembly  70  also has a range of motion of 180 degrees to actuate the cam  74 . The driver  88  may be configured similar to the driver  36  shown in  FIGS. 5-10  to allow for the 180 degree rotation of rekeying key and operating key. 
         [0060]    It is to be appreciated that the housing  72  may be configured in shapes other then that shown in  FIG. 13A . In one embodiment, the housing  72  may include a threaded surface on its cylindrical body where a barrel nut may be employed to secure the housing  72  to a support structure. It is further to be appreciated that the rod portion of driver  88  and bolt  90  may be configured in various other shapes to achieve the teachings of the present disclosure, for example, circular, hex, square rectangular, etc. 
         [0061]    Referring to  FIGS. 14 and 15 , a ratchet lock assembly  100  of the “interchangeable core” type is generally depicted. The lock assembly  100  includes a lock mechanism  102  and locking bar  104 . The locking bar  104  is formed with a hook  105  on one end and a serrated edge  107  on the other end for engaging a mechanism internal to the lock mechanism  102 , as will be described below. The lock mechanism  102  includes a housing  106  having a front surface  120  configured to receive an interchangeable core cylinder (not shown) in aperture  103 , i.e., the interchangeable core cylinder is front-loaded. 
         [0062]    The rear portion  122  of housing  106  includes a bore  124  configured to receive a first driver  125 . The first driver  125  includes first and second prongs  126 ,  128  to be coupled with the interchangeable core cylinder disposed in the housing  106 . The first driver  125  further includes a first cam  130  for providing a transmission force to a second driver  112 . As will be described in relation to  FIG. 17 , the second driver  112  includes a groove or channel on a rear surface configured to accept the first cam  130 . The second driver  112  further includes a second cam  132  for actuating spring  134  which is configured to engage the serrated edge  107  of the locking bar  104 . A bracket  136  secures the first and second drivers  125 ,  112  into the housing  106  via screws  138 . An end plate  108  is coupled to the housing  106  via screws  140 . It is to be appreciated that the rear portion  122  of the housing includes first and second recesses  114 ,  116  to allow the locking bar  104  to pass through the lock mechanism  102  when fully assembled. 
         [0063]    Referring to  FIGS. 16A-16C , a conventional second driver  144  is illustrated. Driver  144  includes a first surface  146  having a groove or channel  148  and a second surface  150  including a cam  152 . In operation, the first cam  130  of first driver  125  will ride in channel  148  to actuate the driver  144  in a rotatable motion. The rotation of the driver  144  causes cam  152  to rotate and engage spring  134 . However, due to the shape of the channel  148 , the first driver  125  may only rotate approximately 45 degrees which subsequently limits the motion of the key to approximately the same range. Due to its limited motion, the only way to rekey the interchangeable core cylinder would be to remove it. 
         [0064]    By providing the second driver  112  in accordance with the present disclosure as shown in  FIGS. 17A-17C , the motion, or rotation, of the control key disposed in a keyway of the interchangeable core cylinder is extended to approximately 180 degrees. Referring to  FIGS. 17A-17C , the second driver  112  includes a first surface  156  having a groove or channel  158  and a second surface  160  including the second cam  132 . In operation, the first cam  130  of first driver  125  will ride in channel  158  to actuate the second driver  112  in a rotatable motion. As can be seen in  FIG. 17A , channel  158  includes a first leg  162  joined by a second leg  164  at a predetermined angle, e.g., an angle of about 125 degrees. The second leg  164  includes a notch  166 . The notch  166  is provided to give clearance to the second cam  132  that is moving in the channel  158 , therefore allowing the second cam  132  to move freely in the channel  158  to not lock up inside causing a lockout issue. By providing such a channel  158 , the second cam  132  will rotate the same distance as the cam  152  of driver  144 ; however, the first cam  130  will travel a longer distance in channel  158  allowing the first driver  125  to rotate about 180 degrees; thus, the key may also rotate 180 degrees. By allowing the keyway of the lower cylinder to rotate about 180 degrees, the interchangeable core may be rekeyed without removing the core from the housing. In the various embodiments of the present disclosure, the operating key and the rekeying key will both move at least about 180 degrees. 
         [0065]    Referring to  FIGS. 18A-18D , several views of the operation of the second driver  112  are illustrated, where  FIGS. 18A and 18C  illustrate operation of the driver  112  with the locking bar  104  removed and  FIGS. 18B and 18D  illustrate operation with the locking bar in place. A view of the locked state is shown in  FIGS. 18A and 18B , which illustrate an unbiased position of the spring  134 . In this position, the second cam  132  is not touching the spring and an edge  142  of the spring  134  is in position to selectively engage the serrated edge  107  of the locking bar  104 . As the key cylinder of the interchangeable core cylinder is rotated, the second cam  132  engages the spring  134 , as shown in  FIGS. 18C and 18D , to lift the edge  142  of the spring  134  from the serrated edge  107 , allowing unlocking of the locking mechanism. This allows free movement of the locking bar  104  to withdraw the locking bar from the locking mechanism. 
         [0066]    Referring to  FIGS. 19 and 20 , a ratchet lock assembly  200  of the “interchangeable core” type in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. The embodiment of  FIG. 19  is similar to the embodiment of  FIG. 15  except for a few differences. The bracket  136  shown in  FIG. 15  is used to secure the first and second drivers  125 ,  112 . In the embodiment of  FIG. 19 , this part is replaced with bracket  210 .  FIG. 20  shows a bottom view of the ratchet lock assembly  200  with the bracket  210  connected to the housing  106  via screws  138 . Instead of the conventional “L” shaped bracket, the bracket  210  includes a notch  212  that accommodates the second cam  132  to allow a greater range of rotation of the second driver  112 . Also, by using bracket  210  having notch  212 , the conventional driver  144  shown in  FIG. 16  can be used in place of the driver  112  of  FIG. 17 . 
         [0067]    It is to be appreciated that the various features shown and described are interchangeable, that is a feature shown in one embodiment may be incorporated into another embodiment. 
         [0068]    While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. 
         [0069]    Furthermore, although the foregoing text sets forth a detailed description of numerous embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope of the invention is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end of this patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplary only and does not describe every possible embodiment, as describing every possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible. One could implement numerous alternate embodiments, using either current technology or technology developed after the filing date of this patent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims. 
         [0070]    It should also be understood that, unless a term is expressly defined in this patent using the sentence “As used herein, the term ‘______’ is hereby defined to mean . . . ” or a similar sentence, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, either expressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, and such term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on any statement made in any section of this patent (other than the language of the claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at the end of this patent is referred to in this patent in a manner consistent with a single meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to not confuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term be limited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning. Finally, unless a claim element is defined by reciting the word “means” and a function without the recital of any structure, it is not intended that the scope of any claim element be interpreted based on the application of 35 U.S.C. §112, sixth paragraph.