Abstract:
An apparatus for recycling a combustion exhaust into environmentally acceptable gases, where the exhaust is forced to pass through at least one electric arc, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide in the exhaust are eliminated via their combustion or decomposition by said electric arc, carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the exhaust are decomposed by the electric arc into oxygen, carbon and nitrogen to restore the oxygen depleted by fossil fuel combustion and converted into said gases, carbon and other particulates are removed by suitable filters, and a recycled exhaust released into the atmosphere is composed of nontoxic and nonpolluting gases with percentages of breathable oxygen and ozone bigger than those of the original exhaust. Various embodiments are provided that allow the use of the invention to: recycle automotive exhaust; purify urban air; and reduce global warming via large scale recycling of green house gases contained in our atmosphere into oxygen and other environmentally acceptable substances.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention deals with novel and efficient means for recycling toxic and polluting combustion exhaust into environmentally acceptable substances. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Our planet is facing progressively cataclysmic climactic events caused by pollutants released by a disproportionate combustion of fossil and other fuels of various nature, such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, biodiesel, ethanol, etc., due to the daily use of about one billion cars, one million trucks, one hundred thousand planes, plus an unknown number of agricultural and military vehicle and a very large number of fossil fueled electric power plants throughout our planet. This disproportionate consumption causes the following serious environmental problems: 
         [0003]    1) The “green house effect”, also known as “global warming”, caused by the release into our atmosphere of an estimated one million metric tons of carbon dioxide CO2 per day as a byproduct of said fossil fuel combustion; 
         [0004]    2) The “oxygen depletion” caused by the permanent removal of breathable oxygen from our atmosphere and its convention into CO2 that cannot be any longer recycled by plant due to its disproportionate volume as well as the dramatic decrease of forests throughout the planet; 
         [0005]    3) The release in our atmosphere of unprecedented amounts of carcinogenic substances contained in hydrocarbons HC contained in said exhaust, plus toxic gases such as carbon monoxide CO, nitrogen oxides NO2, NO3, etc. generically written NOx, and other toxic gases. 
         [0006]    Numerous industrial efforts have been implemented in recent times to contain such alarming release of pollutants in our atmosphere such as: automobiles have been equipped with catalytic converters to reduce the HC content in car exhausts, European petroleum companies produce the “green electricity” consisting of ordinary gasoline with hydrogen added via physical and chemical processes, and other means. 
         [0007]    However, the above environmental problems have remained basically unsolved by available means to recycle combustion exhaust and in certain cases said problems have been enhanced. For instance catalytic converters do indeed reduce or eliminate HC via their combustion, but, in so doing, they “increase”, rather than decrease, the emission of “green gases” such as CO2. Moreover, catalytic converters need to reach full operating temperatures of the order of 800 degrees F. prior to their ability to process HC, which operating temperature generally requires 10 to 15 minutes of driving time, during which no HC processing occurs at all. Therefore, when cars are used for city commuting, 20 to 30 minutes of their daily two ways trips occur with the maximal release of contaminants in the air. 
         [0008]    The above scenario identifies the first objectives achieved by this invention, consisting in apparatus for the recycling of automotive exhaust that: 1) Is operative at the instant of starting any engine; 2) Separates CO2 into carbon and oxygen to eliminate the production of green houses gases while restoring breathable oxygen in the exhaust; and 3) Eliminates carcinogenic HC contaminants as well as toxic CO and NOx gases either via their combustion as it is the case for HC, or via the decomposition into atomic constituents and their recombination into naturally occurring gases, as it is the case of CO and NOx. 
         [0009]    After an exhaustive, expensive and time consuming search among all applicable means, this invention is based on the use of electric arcs because they are notoriously the most effective and efficient in the separation of molecules into their atomic constituents with no meaningful alternative, while being effective and efficient in triggering the combustion of un-combusted components of the exhaust. Next, this invention is based on flowing the exhaust of any engine through a number of arrays of electric arcs pre-set in the achievement of the desired quality of the exhaust. 
         [0010]    After extensive search, the sole known and applicable prior art is that of U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,966 issued to this inventor, although this patent deals with the new PlasmaArcFlow™ Process consisting in flowing “liquids” through submerged electric arcs and not with “gases” as needed in this invention. Also, the utility of device described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,966 is in the conversion of liquid waste into a combustible fuel, and not in the use of electric arcs for recycling combustion exhaust as in this invention. Nevertheless, apart from the differences in structure, operation and utility, the physical and chemical principles in the decomposition of liquid and/or gas molecules, hereon generically referred to as fluid molecules, of this invention and U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,966 are the same because in all cases electric arcs separates said molecules into atoms and then form plasma of mostly ionized atoms around the tip of the electrodes. The flowing of fluid through the arc, as in said PlasmaArcFlow Process is necessary for efficiency and utility. 
         [0011]    Even though the recycling of automotive exhaust is a dramatic contribution to the environment, the same recycling remains insufficient for a global solution of the serious environmental problems currently afflicting our planet. 
         [0012]    In fact, despite the number of automobiles equipped with the exhaust recycler proposed in this invention, urban air will remain highly contaminated with carcinogenic and toxic gases while suffering from local oxygen depletion that cause health problems. Consequently, a necessary complement of this invention is the “Urban Air Purifier”, namely, an apparatus that essentially sucks urban air and releases only environmentally acceptable gases, including most importantly the restoration of the natural oxygen percentage, as described in the specifications below. 
         [0013]    Even in the limited assumption that all vehicles in the planet are equipped with the invention herein proposed, our atmosphere remains with a large excess of green gas, CO2, that society will be forced to confront sooner or later due to its cataclysmic implications, such as the entire State of Florida being submerge by the melting of ice in the poles and consequential increase of the level of the oceans. Consequently, the third and final complement of this invention is the “Green Gas Recycler”, namely, an apparatus that converts CO2 into carbon and oxygen, as described in the specifications below. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    In these specifications we shall use: the terms “molecular separation” to denote the separation of a given gas from a gaseous mixture; the terms “molecular decomposition” to denote the breakdown of a molecule into its atomic constituents; the terms “molecular ionization” or “atomic ionization” to denote the stripping by the current of an electric arc of at least one of the peripheral electrons, thus resulting in ions as conventionally intended in physics; and “green house gas” to denote carbon dioxide and other gases responsible for the ongoing global warming; and “toxic gases” to denote any gas that is harmful to life. 
         [0015]    With reference first to the recycling of automotive combustion exhaust, the main operating principles of this invention are the following. A conventional exhaust pipe as currently available in the underside of a car is connected to the apparatus of this invention that is also housed in said undercarriage without decreasing the clearance from the ground, which apparatus comprises: the delivery of the combustion exhaust to a pump that, in turn, delivers said exhaust along one or more exhaust pipes depending on requirements described below, and compresses said exhaust through a number of Venturi, namely, progressive restrictions on flow ending in an area surrounding an electric arc; the so treated combustion exhaust exits from the forced passage through the electric arcs is made to recombine into one or more pipes, then flow through a back pressure regulator; and is finally released in the environment. 
         [0016]    A first advantage of the apparatus or this invention with respect to conventional catalytic converters is that the latter cause a back pressure against the natural release of the exhaust with a known damage to the proper operation of the engine. On the contrary, the apparatus of this invention can be computer controlled to create a vacuum between the exhaust manifold and said pump, with consequential facilitation, rather than restriction in the release of the exhaust and better operating conditions of the engine due to decreased engine temperature, elimination of backfires, and other advantages. 
         [0017]    The reason for the compression of the combustion exhaust in the apparatus section between the pump and the back pressure regulator is that the efficiency of electric arcs in molecular separation, here defined as the numerical value of the ratio between the number of molecules that are processed and the used electric power, is proportional to the density of the fluid processed. Of course, the highest efficiency is obtained for the processing of liquids via electric arcs as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,966. Evidently, it is not possible to liquify the combustion exhaust due to its temperature as well as because of lack of utility due to very high costs. Compression of said exhaust then remains the only possible solution with industrial and consumer utility. Recommended operating pressures for ordinary automobiles should be restricted to about 1,000 psi with admitted peak of a maximum of 5,000 psi corresponding to the maximal pressure currently allowed by the U. S. Department of Transportation for automotive containers. Needless to say, lower or bigger operating pressures are also possible, with the smallest possible efficiency occurring for operation at atmosphere pressure. 
         [0018]    Another important feature of the specifications of this invention is that, to maximize said efficiency, different arc arrays, that is, sequences of electric arcs in parallel connection as shown in  FIG. 1 , are recommended for different functions, as follows: 
         [0019]    A) A first array of electric arcs is devoted to the easiest task, the recycling of the hydrocarbons (HC) in the exhaust. The recycling essentially occurs via the combustion of the un-combusted components of the HC as well as their molecular separation. This first process also has the function of initiating the ionization process and increasing the gas temperature, thus decreasing the power needed by the subsequent electric arcs, with consequential increase of the efficiency. This first arc array is essentially intended to replace the catalytic converters with the advantages of being active immediately following the engine start up, providing molecular decompositions that are impossible for a conventional catalytic converter as well known. 
         [0020]    B) A second array of electric arcs is dedicated to the recycling of carbon monoxide CO that is a natural byproduct of fuel exhaust as well as of the HC combustion caused by the preceding first array of electric arcs. This second recycling occurs in part via the molecular separation of CO into carbon and oxygen atoms, with the residual part being given by the combustion of CO into CO2 permitted by the local mixture of CO and O2 traversed by an electric arc. Note that at this stage the percentage of CO2 in the exhaust is predicted to increase rather than decrease. Note also that the function of this second array is completely lacking in current catalytic converters or other means of recycling combustion exhaust. 
         [0021]    C) A third array of electric arcs is specifically dedicated to the molecular separation of CO2 via its separation into carbon C and oxygen atoms, the latter recombining themselves into O2 as well as ozone O3, Note that O2 and O3 are released into the atmosphere; O3 is notoriously beneficial to health; and the carbon is trapped by a suitable final filter prior to final release of the processed exhaust. Note that this function too is completely lacking in catalytic converters as well as any other existing recycling of combustion exhaust. 
         [0022]    D) A fourth array of electric arcs is dedicated to the recycling via the molecular separation of NOx as well as of residual CO2 not recycled by the preceding arrays as well as to the increase of O3 in the final release of treated exhaust since O3 occurs naturally when O2 from preceding arrays is exposed to the electric arcs. Note, again, that this fourth function is equally missing in catalytic converters as well as any other available recycling of combustion exhaust. 
         [0023]    The apparatus is completed by exhaust analyzers, a compensating tank, a pipe with related valve and pump for the recirculation of the exhaust in the event of insufficient treatment until the achievement of the desired environmental quality of the treated exhaust, and other components identified in detail in the figures and in the specifications below. 
     
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0024]    In the accompanying drawings, 
           [0025]      FIG. 1  depicts a schematic of a preferred embodiment for recycling combustion exhaust; 
           [0026]      FIG. 2  depicts a cross-sectional view of one of the arc modules perpendicular to an exhaust flow; 
           [0027]      FIG. 3  depicts a schematic cross-sectional view of one of the arc modules along the direction of an exhaust flow; 
           [0028]      FIG. 4  depicts a schematic of an Urban Air Purifier; and 
           [0029]      FIG. 5  depicts a schematic of a Green Gas Recycler. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0030]      FIG. 1  depicts an example of a preferred embodiment for the recycling of automotive combustion exhaust comprising: a standard 2″ automotive exhaust pipe  1  as commercially available in existing cars; exhaust pump  2 ; separation of the original pipe  1  into four 1″ exhaust pipes  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ; four arrays of electric arc assemblies also called modules  7 - 10 ,  11 - 14 ,  15 - 18 , and  19 - 22  described in detail in  FIGS. 2 ,  3  presented below, interconnected also by corresponding 1″ pipes as shown in  FIG. 1 ; recirculation pipe  150  with related valve  151  and pump  152 ; compensating tank  700  connected to recirculating pipe  150  via valve  701 ; recombination of said 1″ pipes into a 2″ exhaust pipe  23 ; exhaust analyzers  200 ,  501 - 504 ; back pressure regulator  24 ; final cartridge filter  800  to trap carbon and other particulates; and final exhaust pipe  801  for the release of the recycled exhaust in the atmosphere. The apparatus is then completed by power unit  300  delivering the current to said arc modules via electric connections  26 - 29 , and computer  301  for the automatic control and management of the operations. 
         [0031]      FIG. 2  depicts an example of a cross-sectional view of an arc module perpendicular to the direction of flow comprising: electrodes  50 ,  51  in thoriated tungsten or other temperature resistant conductor such as carbon-composites with ⅛″ OD and 3″ length incorporating washers  52 ,  53  with ½″ OD and ⅛″ thickness for locking said electrodes in a position allowing for ⅜″ gap  55 ; and a synthered or cast component  100  in ceramic, phenolic or similar insulating, pressure and temperature resistant material incorporating electrodes  50 ,  51  with their retaining washers  52 ,  53 , and such to restrict the exhaust flow in the area  54  surrounding the electric arc and consisting of about ¼″ ID and ½″ length. 
         [0032]      FIG. 3  depicts an example of a cross-sectional view of an arc module along the direction of flow comprising: 1″ pipe  57  and its continuation  58  after the arc module; means  59 ,  50  for fastening said pipes  57 ,  58  to a 4″ long synthered insulating component  100  internally housing a Venturi as illustrated in the figure that progressively restricts the exhaust to flow through area  54  surrounding electrodes  50 ,  51 . 
         [0033]    The operation of the above preferred embodiment for the recycling of automotive exhaust is the following. Immediately after engine start up, computer  301  disconnects pump  2  and backpressure regulator  24  while jointly activating all arrays of electric arcs  7 - 22  as well as activating exhaust analyzers  200 ,  500 - 504 . In this case, the combustion exhaust is treated by the passages through the various arc arrays at the pressure of a conventional exhaust system that is slightly bigger than atmospheric pressure, such as 1.5 psi. 
         [0034]    As soon as the final exhaust analyzer  200  detects the presence of undesired percentages of CO and/or CO2, and/or NOx and/or HC, computer  301  progressively activates: pump  2  to create a vacuum in the exhaust manifold for improved engine efficiency as indicated earlier; back pressure regulator  24  to increase the pressure in the apparatus up to 1,000 psi; and recirculation system  150  by opening the related valve  151  and activating pump  152 . In this way no combustion exhaust is released to the environment until it reaches values of CO, CO2, NOx and HC pre-set in computer  301 , at which point the latter decreases the pressure in back pressure regulator  24  to allow the release of the recycled exhaust in the atmosphere. 
         [0035]    It is evident that the computer controls of this invention have to be programmed to achieve the same pre-set quality of the exhaust for all possible engine uses. This invention achieves this important result by operating the apparatus at pressures increasing with the engine power output. This implies that the operating pressure of the apparatus when the engine is at idle or in slow commuter use is expected to be of about 500 psi. With the increase of the engine power output and consequential increase of the volume of the produced exhaust, computer  301  increases the flow of pump  2  and decreases the released exhaust via the increase of back pressure in regulator  24 , while activating the recirculation system  150 . This feature is readily permitted for the apparatus herein considered due to the high compressibility of all gases, including combustion exhaust. Finally, under maximal rpm of the engine for protracted periods of time, the full 5,000 psi pressure is expected to be reached for an automobile of average size thus allowing maximal efficiency in the processing of the exhaust. 
         [0036]    A 5 gallon high pressure compensating tank  700  with related valve  701  connected to recirculation pipe  150  is added in the event of rapid surges of engine rpm. In this case, computer  301  opens valve  701  allowing tank  700  to be filled up with the short term surge of exhaust and its processing without a necessary increase of pressure in back pressure regulator  24 . 
         [0037]    As indicated earlier, power  300  may consist of an ordinary dynamometer available in conventional engines or, depending on the desired quality of the exhaust, power unit  300  may consist of a specially designed electric generator added to an internal combustion engine with up to 5 Kw in power for an average size automobile, which special power unit is capable of: 1) delivering a 15,000 V DC electric current to the arc modules; and/or 2) delivering a DC current to the arc arrays pulsating with a resonating frequency of at least one of the gaseous components of the exhaust, that is, at least one resonating frequency of the CO, or CO2, or NOx or HC molecules constituting the exhaust; or 3) delivering a 15,000 V AC 60 Hz current; or 4) delivering an AC current with frequency given by at least one resonating frequency of at least one gaseous component of the exhaust. More advanced systems require different power units for each array, such as one with a resonating frequency of the CO molecule, one with a resonating frequency of the CO2 molecule and one with a resonating frequency of the NOx molecule. These different power units are not depicted in the figures because trivial for the skilled in the art and commercially available in any case. 
         [0038]    It is evident that the pipes following the first array of electric arcs will experience an increase of temperature due to the combustion of the un-combusted components of the exhaust. However, the apparatus is exposed to the flow of air available in the undercarriage of a running car that is expected to be sufficient for cooling or, in any case, for operation at a temperature not bigger than that of catalytic converters that is of the order of 800 degrees F. In the event needed, heat radiating fins or shields can be added to the apparatus, although they are not expected to be needed as it is the case of the conventional catalytic converters. 
         [0039]    Needless to say, the apparatus of  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3  does not solely apply for the recycling of automotive exhaust because it applies generically for the processing of any combustion exhaust. An illustrative case is that of a fossil fueled electric power plant in which case the apparatus of  FIG. 1  is placed vertically with the final exhaust pipe  800  at the top. Then, pipe  1  may be given by a cement fluke of about 20′ in internal diameter, individual pipes  3 - 6  may be constituted by cement pipes of 5′ internal diameter, power unit  300  may be given by a 200 Kw unit, with corresponding increase in the pump sizes, back pressure regulator, exhaust analyzers, etc. The differentiation of pump  2  into different pumps one per each pipe  3 - 6  may also be advantageous for large electric power plants, although it is not indicated in the figure because trivial for the skilled in the art and based on commercially available components in any case. 
         [0040]      FIG. 4  presents a schematic view of a preferred embodiment of the Urban Air Purifier comprising three high pressure vessels also called stations: Station  901  for sucking contaminated urban air, molecular or other separation from said air of nitrogen, oxygen and helium with their return to the atmosphere; Station  902  for the recycling of HC, CO, CO2 and NOx gases into natural gases also released in the atmosphere; and Station  903  for the final processing of residual gases into a clean burning combustible gaseous fuel plus carbon and other particulates removed by suitable filters. 
         [0041]    More particularly, to reach numerical values of a specific embodiment, it is here assumed that the urban air to be purified contains about 5% contaminants and has about 5% local oxygen depletion. Under these assumptions, the Urban Air Purifier of  FIG. 4  is set to recycle contaminated urban air containing 73% nitrogen, rather than the conventional 80%, 16% oxygen rather than the conventional 21%, and about 1% Helium, the remaining 10% being constituted by CO2, CO, HC, NOX and other contaminants, as well as conventional gaseous components of air in small or very small percentages, such as hydrogen.. Needless to say, the above data are purely illustrative and any person skilled in the art can easily adjust the apparatus to different percentages of contaminants. This adjustment is necessary because the contamination. of urban air varies dramatically from, city to city. 
         [0042]    Under the above indicated assumptions of contaminants, the apparatus of  FIG. 4  includes: urban air inlet  904  having the ID of at least 4′; a 100 Kw pump  925  compressing the urban air to 5,000 psi at the rate of at least 1,000 scf per minute referred to said air compressed at 5,000 psi; module  905  separating nitrogen from said urban air at the projected rate of about 730 scf per minute at said compressed specifications via molecular separation processes, pressure swing adsorption or other industrially available process and then releasing the so separated nitrogen into the atmosphere via outlet  908 ; module  906  for the separation of oxygen at the projected rate of about 160 scf per minute and the release of oxygen and ozone via outlet  909 ; module  907  for the separation of helium at the projected rate of about 100 scf per minute and its release into the atmosphere via outlet  910 ; release of the remaining 100 scf per minute at 5,000 psi compression into Station  902  via one way check valve  911 ; apparatus  912  essentially identical in structure but with proportionate increase in size as that of  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3  for the combustion of HC, and the molecular separation of CO, CO2 and NOx; release in the atmosphere of the so produced oxygen via outlet  913  and release of the ozone via outlet  914 ; filter  915  for the removal of particulates produced by the preceding apparatus; release of the residual gases into Station  903  via one way check valve  916 ; 30 Kw pump  917  for compressing the residual gases up to 5,000 psi; pressure resistant module  918  for the separation of combustible gases, such as CO and H2 with their decomposition; final release of said combustible gas via outlet pipe  921  to an outside tank not indicated in the figure following passage through 1 micron filter  919  and back pressure regulator  920 ; recirculation pipe  922  for noncombustible gases separated by module  918  and their return to module  912  via pump  923  and valve  924 ; the above three stations being completed by at least one electric generator as in the preceding apparatus of  FIGS. 1 ,  2   3  and related automatic controls not depicted in  FIG. 4  to avoid redundancies. 
         [0043]    The operations of the above Urban Air Purifier are completely automatic and remote controlled with automatic shut off in the event of any malfunction and paging of the operator. Initiation of operations occurs by activating pump  925  to suck urban air from an area free of solid contaminants and compress it up to the specified requirements of molecular separation, here set at 5,000 psi, with recirculating valve  924  closed and back pressure regulator  920  set at 5,000 psi. Then, Recycling stations  905 ,  906 ,  907 ,  912  and  918  perform their respective functions as specified above by releasing into our atmosphere nitrogen, oxygen, helium and ozone while filter  915  removes carbon and other particulates. No combustible gaseous fuel is released from outlet pipe  921  during the initiation of operation. With the increase of the operations including the recirculation modes comprised in modules  912  and  918 , there is the initiation of production of a final combustible gaseous fuel that, when detected by gas analyzers as described in the preceding embodiment, is released through outlet pipe  921  by computer operated reduction of pressure in the back pressure regulator  919 . At that point the computer also opens valve  924  and activates motor  923  for the recirculation of contaminated residual gases in Station  903 . Cartridges in filters  907  and  919  are periodically replaced as per specifications of their manufacturers. Operations can then continue 24 hours a day and are interrupted automatically only in the event of lack of flow causes by clocking up of pipes or other possible malfunctions. 
         [0044]      FIG. 5  depicts a preferred embodiment of the Green Gas Recycler and comprises: 100′ diameter air inlet  950 ; 500 Kw compressor  95  capable of sucking five millions scf of atmospheric air per minute and compressing it to 5,000 psi through pipe  952  into CO2 separator station  953  sending said CO2 gas to the rest of the apparatus, while releasing via outlet pipe  954  all remaining components; the PlasmaArcFlow modules  955 ,  956 ,  957  as in  FIGS. 2 ,  3  although with all dimension increased fifty times placed in series for the molecular separation of CO2; a CO2 gas analyzer  958 ; at least one filter  959 ; a back pressure regulator  960 ; final exhaust pipe  961 ; recirculation pipe  962  with pump  963  and valve  964 ; compensating tank  965  connected to recirculation pipe  962  with valve  966 ; plus various analyzers sensors and controls not shown in the figure because trivial for the skilled in the art. 
         [0045]    The operations of the Green Gas Recycler is completely automatic with remote controls. Computer  969  starts pump  951  by activating electric power system  967  representing either an electric generator or the grid depending on location, sets back pressure regulator  960  to 5,000 psi, activates molecular separation module  953  with consequential transfer of CO2 to the rest of the apparatus and release of the remaining component into the atmosphere, and initiates the arcs in modules  955 ,  956 ,  957  by activating the AC or DC electric power  968 . If CO2 analyzer  958  senses insufficient decomposition of CO2, computer  969  activates recirculation pipe  962  by opening valve  964  and starting electric motor  963 . When CO2 analyzer  958  senses an acceptable level of oxygen corresponding to a pre-set minimum value of CO2 of the order of 1%, computer  969  decreases the pressure in back pressure regulator  960  to allow the so produced oxygen and ozone to be released into the atmosphere through outlet  961  following removal of particulates via filter  959 . The operation the continues  24  hours a day unless halted by computer  969  because of breakdown of one of the motor or power units via sensors not shown in the figure because trivial for the skilled in the art and industrially available in any case. 
         [0046]    It should be understood that the preceding is merely a detailed description of one or more embodiments of this invention and that numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The preceding description, therefore, is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined only by the appended claims and their equivalents.