Patent Publication Number: US-8979159-B2

Title: Configurable hardware unit for car systems

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims the benefits of and priority, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/560,509, filed on Nov. 16, 2011, entitled “Complete Vehicle Ecosystem;” 61/637,164, filed on Apr. 23, 2012, entitled “Complete Vehicle Ecosystem;” 61/646,747, filed on May 14, 2012, entitled “Branding of Electrically Propelled Vehicles Via the Generation of Specific Operating Sounds;” 61/653,275, filed on May 30, 2012, entitled “Vehicle Application Store for Console;” 61/653,264, filed on May 30, 2012, entitled “Control of Device Features Based on Vehicle State;” 61/653,563, filed on May 31, 2012, entitled “Complete Vehicle Ecosystem;” 61/663,335, filed on Jun. 22, 2012, entitled “Complete Vehicle Ecosystem;” 61/672,483, filed on Jul. 17, 2012, entitled “Vehicle Climate Control;” and 61/714,016, filed on Oct. 15, 2012, entitled “Vehicle Middleware;” and 61/715,699, filed Oct. 18, 2012, entitled “Vehicle Middleware.” The entire disclosures of the applications listed above are hereby incorporated by reference, in their entirety, for all that they teach and for all purposes. 
    
    
     This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/420,236, filed on Mar. 14, 2012, entitled, “Configurable Vehicle Console;” Ser. No. 13/420,240, filed on Mar. 14, 2012, entitled “Removable, Configurable Vehicle Console;” Ser. No. 13/462,593, filed on May 2, 2012, entitled “Configurable Dash Display”; Ser. No. 13/462,596, filed on May 2, 2012, entitled “Configurable Heads-Up Dash Display”; Ser. No. 13/679,459, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Vehicle Comprising Multi-Operating System”; Ser. No. 13/679,234, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Gesture Recognition for On-Board Display”; Ser. No. 13/679,412, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Car Application Store for Console”; Ser. No. 13/679,857, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Sharing Applications/Media Between Car and Phone (Hydroid)”; Ser. No. 13/679,878, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “In-Cloud Connection for Car Multimedia”; Ser. No. 13/679,875, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Music Streaming”; Ser. No. 13/679,676, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Control of Device Features Based on Vehicle State”; Ser. No. 13/678,673, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Insurance Tracking”; Ser. No. 13/678,691, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Law Breaking/Behavior Sensor”; Ser. No. 13/678,699, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Etiquette Suggestion”; Ser. No. 13/678,710, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Parking Space Finder Based on Parking Meter Data”; Ser. No. 13/678,722, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Parking Meter Expired Alert”; Ser. No. 13/678,726, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Object Sensing (Pedestrian Avoidance/Accident Avoidance)”; Ser. No. 13/678,735, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Proximity Warning Relative to Other Cars”; Ser. No. 13/678,745, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Street Side Sensors”; Ser. No. 13/678,753, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Car Location”; Ser. No. 13/679,441, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Universal Bus in the Car”; Ser. No. 13/679,864, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Mobile Hot Spot/Router/Application Share Site or Network”; Ser. No. 13/679,815, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Universal Console Chassis for the Car”; Ser. No. 13/679,476, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Vehicle Middleware”; Ser. No. 13/679,306, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Method and System for Vehicle Data Collection Regarding Traffic”; Ser. No. 13/679,369, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Method and System for Vehicle Data Collection”; Ser. No. 13/679,680, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Communications Based on Vehicle Diagnostics and Indications”; Ser. No. 13/679,443, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Method and System for Maintaining and Reporting Vehicle Occupant Information”; Ser. No. 13/678,762, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Behavioral Tracking and Vehicle Applications”; Ser. No. 13/840,240, filed on Mar. 15, 2013, entitled “Improvements to Controller Area Network Bus”; Ser. No. 13/678,773, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Location Information Exchange Between Vehicle and Device”; Ser. No. 13/679,887, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “In Car Communication Between Devices”; Ser. No. 13/679,204, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Feature Recognition for Configuring a Vehicle Console and Associated Devices”; Ser. No. 13/679,350, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Configurable Vehicle Console”; Ser. No. 13/679,358, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Configurable Dash Display”; Ser. No. 13/679,363, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Configurable Heads-Up Dash Display”; and Ser. No. 13/679,368, filed on Nov. 16, 2012, entitled “Removable, Configurable Vehicle Console”. The entire disclosures of the applications listed above are hereby incorporated by reference, in their entirety, for all that they teach and for all purposes. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Whether using private, commercial, or public transport, the movement of people and/or cargo has become a major industry. In today&#39;s interconnected world daily travel is essential to engaging in commerce. Commuting to and from work can account for a large portion of a traveler&#39;s day. As a result, vehicle manufacturers have begun to focus on making this commute, and other journeys, more enjoyable and easier. 
     Currently, vehicle manufacturers attempt to entice travelers to use a specific conveyance based on any number of features. Most of these features focus on vehicle safety or efficiency. From the addition of safety-restraints, air-bags, and warning systems to more efficient engines, motors, and designs, the vehicle industry has worked to appease the supposed needs of the traveler. Recently, however, vehicle manufactures have shifted their focus to user and passenger comfort as a primary concern. Making an individual more comfortable while traveling instills confidence and pleasure in using a given vehicle and increases an individual&#39;s preference for a given manufacturer and/or vehicle type. 
     One way to instill comfort in a vehicle is to create an environment within the vehicle similar to that of an individual&#39;s home. Integrating features in a vehicle that are associated with comfort found in an individual&#39;s home can ease a traveler&#39;s transition from home to vehicle. Several manufacturers have added comfort features in vehicles such as the following: leather seats, adaptive and/or personal climate control systems, music and media players, ergonomic controls, Internet connectivity, etc. However, because these manufacturers have added features to a conveyance, they have built comfort around a vehicle and failed to build a vehicle around comfort. Thus, the vehicle as an ecosystem has not been fully considered. 
     SUMMARY 
     There is a need for a vehicle ecosystem that can integrate both physical and mental comforts while seamlessly operating with current electronic devices to result in a totally intuitive and immersive user experience. These and other needs are addressed by the various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the present disclosure. Also, while the disclosure is presented in terms of exemplary embodiments, it should be appreciated that individual aspects of the disclosure can be separately claimed. 
     The present disclosure can provide a number of advantages depending on the particular aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. Currently, the vehicle industry is dominated by conveyances offering a separate comfort experience from a home, work, or other aspect of a traveler&#39;s life. Unfortunately, current vehicles include a series of separate devices that work together while an individual or individuals are associated with the vehicle. Technology areas and devices such as user interfaces, applications, tracking capabilities, hardware, and/or location-based communications, could be combined together, or used separately, to form a complete vehicle ecosystem. This ecosystem can provide a connected and intuitive user experience for any traveler. 
     A series of devices associated with a vehicle along with other devices can form a complete and familiar user experience. In particular, the devices, applications, interfaces, hardware, and software may combine to form a user-friendly environment while traveling or otherwise moving from one location to another and/or when a vehicle is at rest. Moreover, aspects of the present disclosure may provide communication between the vehicle and a user at any given time. Specifically, communication between a vehicle and another device may also relay information to an individual and/or group of individuals. This communication between a vehicle and at least one other device may include, but is not limited to, communication between a vehicle and: 1) at least one mobile device, 2) at least one other vehicle, 3) another system/group of devices, 4) a non-mobile device, and 5) combinations thereof. These and other advantages will be apparent from the disclosure. 
     The present disclosure describes a method executed by a vehicle system. The vehicle system can automatically determine a person is within a vehicle; automatically identify the person; determine if there is a setting to be stored for the person; and store the setting. 
     The term “ecosystem” or “vehicle ecosystem,” as used herein, refers to a community of person(s) in conjunction with the vehicle or other device components of their environment (for example, climate control, safety features, mobile devices, multimedia sources etc.), interacting as a system. 
     The term “environment” or “vehicle environment,” as used herein, refers to the surroundings or conditions in which a person operates a vehicle. 
     The term “sensor,” as used herein, refers to a converter or instrument that measures a physical quantity or quality and converts the measurement into a signal which can be read, observed, stored, and/or understood by an observer or by another instrument. 
     The term “stimulus,” as used herein, refers to some event or something external that influences an activity. 
     The term “vehicle console” and variations thereof, as used herein, generally refers to, in an automobile, the control-bearing surfaces in the center of the front of the vehicle interior. The term is applied to the area beginning in the dashboard and continuing beneath it, and often merging with the transmission tunnel which runs between the front driver&#39;s and passenger&#39;s seats of many vehicles. 
     The term “automotive navigation system” is a satellite navigation system designed for use in automobiles. It typically uses a GPS navigation device to acquire position data to locate the user on a road in the unit&#39;s map database. Using the road database, the unit can give directions to other locations along roads also in its database. Dead reckoning using distance data from sensors attached to the drivetrain, a gyroscope and an accelerometer can be used for greater reliability, as GPS signal loss and/or multipath can occur due to urban canyons or tunnels. 
     The term “bus” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to a subsystem that transfers information and/or data between various components. A bus generally refers to the collection communication hardware interface, interconnects, bus architecture, and/or protocol defining the communication scheme for a communication system and/or communication network. A bus may also be specifically refer to a part of a communication hardware that interfaces the communication hardware with the interconnects that connect to other components of the corresponding communication network. The bus may be for a wired network, such as a physical bus, or wireless network, such as part of an antenna or hardware that couples the communication hardware with the antenna. A bus architecture supports a defined format in which information and/or data is arranged when sent and received through a communication network. A protocol may define the format and rules of communication of a bus architecture. 
     The terms “communication device,” “smartphone,” and “mobile device,” and variations thereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any type of device capable of communicating with one or more of another device and/or across a communications network, via a communications protocol, and the like. Exemplary communication devices may include but are not limited to smartphones, handheld computers, laptops, netbooks, notebook computers, subnotebooks, tablet computers, scanners, portable gaming devices, phones, pagers, GPS modules, portable music players, and other Internet-enabled and/or network-connected devices. 
     The terms “head unit,” “dash,” “dashboard,” and variations thereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any panel and/or area of a vehicle disposed adjacent to an operator, user, and/or passenger. Typical dashboards may include but are not limited to one or more control panel, instrument housing, head unit, indicator, gauge, meter, light, audio equipment, computer, screen, display, HUD unit, and graphical user interface. 
     The term “electronic address” refers to any contactable address, including a telephone number, instant message handle, e-mail address, Universal Resource Locator (“URL”), Universal Resource Identifier (“URI”), Address of Record (“AOR”), electronic alias in a database, like addresses, and combinations thereof. 
     The term “head unit” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to a component of a stereo system either in a vehicle or home cinema system which provides a unified hardware interface for the various components of an electronic media system. 
     The term “communication system” or “communication network” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to a collection of communication components capable of one or more of transmission, relay, interconnect, control, or otherwise manipulate information or data from at least one transmitter to at least one receiver. As such, the communication may include a range of systems supporting point-to-point to broadcasting of the information or data. A communication system may refer to the collection individual communication hardware as well as the interconnects associated with and connecting the individual communication hardware. Communication hardware may refer to dedicated communication hardware or may refer a processor coupled with a communication means (i.e. an antenna) and running software capable of using the communication means to send a signal within the communication system. Interconnect refers some type of wired or wireless communication link that connects various components, such as communication hardware, within a communication system. A communication network may refer to a specific setup of a communication system with the collection of individual communication hardware and interconnects having some definable network topography. A communication network may include wired and/or wireless network having a pre-set to an ad hoc network structure. 
     The phrases “at least one”, “one or more”, and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C”, “at least one of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together. 
     The term “a” or “an” entity,” as used herein, refers to one or more of that entity. As such, the terms “a” (or “an”), “one or more” and “at least one” can be used interchangeably herein. It is also to be noted that the terms “comprising”, “including”, and “having” can be used interchangeably. 
     The term “automatic” and variations thereof, as used herein, refers to any process or operation done without material human input when the process or operation is performed. However, a process or operation can be automatic, even though performance of the process or operation uses material or immaterial human input, if the input is received before performance of the process or operation. Human input is deemed to be material if such input influences how the process or operation will be performed. Human input that consents to the performance of the process or operation is not deemed to be “material”. 
     The term “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, refers to any tangible storage and/or transmission medium that participate in providing instructions to a processor for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media. Non-volatile media includes, for example, NVRAM, or magnetic or optical disks. Volatile media includes dynamic memory, such as main memory. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, magneto-optical medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, and EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, a solid state medium like a memory card, any other memory chip or cartridge, a carrier wave as described hereinafter, or any other medium from which a computer can read. A digital file attachment to e-mail or other self-contained information archive or set of archives is considered a distribution medium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. When the computer-readable media is configured as a database, it is to be understood that the database may be any type of database, such as relational, hierarchical, object-oriented, and/or the like. Accordingly, the disclosure is considered to include a tangible storage medium or distribution medium and prior art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which the software implementations of the present disclosure are stored. 
     The term “desktop,” as used herein, refers to a metaphor used to portray systems. A desktop is generally considered a “surface” that typically includes pictures, called icons, widgets, folders, etc. that can activate show applications, windows, cabinets, files, folders, documents, and other graphical items. The icons are generally selectable to initiate a task through user interface interaction to allow a user to execute applications or conduct other operations. 
     The term “display,” as used herein, refers to a portion of a screen used to display the output of a computer to a user. 
     The term “displayed image,” as used herein, refers to an image produced on the display. A typical displayed image is a window or desktop. The displayed image may occupy all or a portion of the display. 
     The term “display orientation,” as used herein, refers to the way in which a rectangular display is oriented by a user for viewing. The two most common types of display orientation are portrait and landscape. In landscape mode, the display is oriented such that the width of the display is greater than the height of the display (such as a 4:3 ratio, which is 4 units wide and 3 units tall, or a 16:9 ratio, which is 16 units wide and 9 units tall). Stated differently, the longer dimension of the display is oriented substantially horizontal in landscape mode while the shorter dimension of the display is oriented substantially vertical. In the portrait mode, by contrast, the display is oriented such that the width of the display is less than the height of the display. Stated differently, the shorter dimension of the display is oriented substantially horizontal in the portrait mode while the longer dimension of the display is oriented substantially vertical. The multi-screen display can have one composite display that encompasses all the screens. The composite display can have different display characteristics based on the various orientations of the device. 
     The term “gesture,” as used herein, refers to a user action that expresses an intended idea, action, meaning, result, and/or outcome. The user action can include manipulating a device (e.g., opening or closing a device, changing a device orientation, moving a trackball or wheel, etc.), movement of a body part in relation to the device, movement of an implement or tool in relation to the device, audio inputs, etc. A gesture may be made on a device (such as on the screen) or with the device to interact with the device. 
     The term “module,” as used herein, refers to any known or later developed hardware, software, firmware, artificial intelligence, fuzzy logic, or combination of hardware and software that is capable of performing the functionality associated with that element. 
     The term “gesture recognition” or “gesture capture,” as used herein, refers to a sense or otherwise a detection of an instance and/or type of user gesture. The gesture capture can occur in one or more areas of the screen, A gesture region can be on the display, where it may be referred to as a touch sensitive display or off the display where it may be referred to as a gesture capture area. 
     A “multi-screen application,” as used herein, refers to an application that is capable of producing one or more windows that may simultaneously occupy multiple screens. A multi-screen application commonly can operate in single-screen mode in which one or more windows of the application are displayed only on one screen or in multi-screen mode in which one or more windows are displayed simultaneously on multiple screens. 
     A “single-screen application,” as used herein, refers to an application that is capable of producing one or more windows that may occupy only a single screen at a time. 
     The term “screen,” “touch screen,” or “touchscreen,” as used herein, refers to a physical structure that enables the user to interact with the computer by touching areas on the screen and provides information to a user through a display. The touch screen may sense user contact in a number of different ways, such as by a change in an electrical parameter (e.g., resistance or capacitance), acoustic wave variations, infrared radiation proximity detection, light variation detection, and the like. In a resistive touch screen, for example, normally separated conductive and resistive metallic layers in the screen pass an electrical current. When a user touches the screen, the two layers make contact in the contacted location, whereby a change in electrical field is noted and the coordinates of the contacted location calculated. In a capacitive touch screen, a capacitive layer stores electrical charge, which is discharged to the user upon contact with the touch screen, causing a decrease in the charge of the capacitive layer. The decrease is measured, and the contacted location coordinates determined. In a surface acoustic wave touch screen, an acoustic wave is transmitted through the screen, and the acoustic wave is disturbed by user contact. A receiving transducer detects the user contact instance and determines the contacted location coordinates. 
     The term “window” refers to a, typically rectangular, displayed image on at least part of a display that contains or provides content different from the rest of the screen. The window may obscure the desktop. 
     The terms “determine”, “calculate” and “compute,” and variations thereof, as used herein, are used interchangeably and include any type of methodology, process, mathematical operation or technique. 
     It shall be understood that the term “means” as used herein shall be given its broadest possible interpretation in accordance with 35 U.S.C., Section 112, Paragraph 6. Accordingly, a claim incorporating the term “means” shall cover all structures, materials, or acts set forth herein, and all of the equivalents thereof. Further, the structures, materials or acts and the equivalents thereof shall include all those described in the summary of the invention, brief description of the drawings, detailed description, abstract, and claims themselves. 
     The term “vehicle” as used herein includes any conveyance, or model of a conveyance, where the conveyance was originally designed for the purpose of moving one or more tangible objects, such as people, animals, cargo, and the like. The term “vehicle” does not require that a conveyance moves or is capable of movement. Typical vehicles may include but are in no way limited to cars, trucks, motorcycles, busses, automobiles, trains, railed conveyances, boats, ships, marine conveyances, submarine conveyances, airplanes, space craft, flying machines, human-powered conveyances, and the like. 
     The preceding is a simplified summary of the disclosure to provide an understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. This summary is neither an extensive nor exhaustive overview of the disclosure and its various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations. It is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of the disclosure but to present selected concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as an introduction to the more detailed description presented below. As will be appreciated, other aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure are possible utilizing, alone or in combination, one or more of the features set forth above or described in detail below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts an embodiment of a vehicle operating environment; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle system; 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle interior environment separated into areas and/or zones; 
         FIG. 4  depicts an embodiment of a sensor configuration for a vehicle; 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 6  another block diagram of an embodiment of a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 7A  is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture that a user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 7B  is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture that a user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 7C  is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture that a user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 7D  is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture that a user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 7E  is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture that a user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 7F  is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture that a user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 7G  is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture that a user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 7H  is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture that a user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 7I  is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture that a user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 7J  is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture that a user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 7K  is a graphical representation of an embodiment of a gesture that a user may perform to provide input to a vehicle control system; 
         FIG. 8  is a diagram of an embodiment of a data structure for storing information about a user of a vehicle; 
         FIG. 9A  is a diagram of a front view of slots in an embodiment of a universal console; 
         FIG. 9B  is a diagram of a side view of slots in an embodiment of a universal console; 
         FIG. 9C  is a diagram of a top view of slots in an embodiment of a universal console; 
         FIG. 10  is a block diagram of an embodiment of an electrical connection of a universal console; 
         FIG. 11A  is a three-dimensional view of an embodiment of a car console including universal console; 
         FIG. 11B  is a three-dimensional view of an embodiment of a car console including universal console; and 
         FIG. 11C  is a three-dimensional view of an embodiment of a car console including universal console. 
     
    
    
     In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a letter that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Presented herein are embodiments of a complete vehicle ecosystem. The ecosystem can comprise single devices or a compilation of devices. This device, or these devices, may be capable of communicating with other devices and/or to an individual or group of individuals. Further, this device, or these devices, can receive user input in unique ways. The overall design and functionality of each device provides for an enhanced user experience making the device more useful and more efficient. As described herein, the device(s) may be electrical, mechanical, electro-mechanical, software-based, and/or combinations thereof. 
     A vehicle environment  100  that may contain a vehicle ecosystem is shown in  FIG. 1 . The vehicle environment  100  can contain areas associated with a vehicle or conveyance  104 . The vehicle  104  is shown as a police car but can be any type of conveyance. The environment  100  can include at least three zones. A first zone  108  may be inside a vehicle  104 . The zone  108  includes any interior space, trunk space, engine compartment, or other associated space within or associated with the vehicle  104 . The interior environment  108  can be defined by one or more techniques, for example, geo-fencing. 
     A second zone  112  may be delineated by line  120 . The zone  112  is created by a range of one or more sensors associated with the vehicle  104 . Thus, the area  112  is exemplary of the range of those sensors and what can be detected by those sensors associated with the vehicle  104 . The rest of the environment includes all space beyond the range of the sensors and is represented by  116 . Thus, the environment  100  may have an area  116  that includes all areas beyond the sensor range  112 . The area  116  may include future locations of travel that the vehicle  104  may proceed to in the future. 
     An embodiment of a vehicle system  200  is shown in  FIG. 2 . The vehicle system  200  may consist of hardware and/or software that conduct various operations for or with the vehicle  104 . The operations can include, but are not limited to providing information to the user, receiving input from the user, and controlling the functions or operation of the vehicle  104 , etc. The vehicle system  200  can include a vehicle control system  204 . The vehicle control system  204  can be any type of computing system operable to conduct the operations as described herein. 
     The vehicle control system  204  may interact with a memory or storage system  208  that stores system data. System data  208  may be any type of data needed for the vehicle control system  204  to control effectively the vehicle  104 . An example of some of the data that may be stored by the vehicle control system  204  may be as described in conjunction with  FIG. 8 . The system data  208  can represent any type of database or other storage system. Thus, the system data  208  can be a flat file data system, an object-oriented data system, or some other data system that may interface with the vehicle control system  204 . 
     The vehicle control system  204  may communicate with a device or user interface  212 . The user interface  212  may be as described in conjunction with  FIG. 5 . The user interface  212  may be operable to receive user input either through touch input, on one or more user interface buttons, or through a graphical user interface that may include a gesture capture region, as described in conjunction with  FIG. 5 . Further, the symbol  212  can represent a device that is located or associated with the vehicle  104 . The device  212  can be a mobile device, including, but not limited to, a mobile telephone, a mobile computer, or other type of computing system or device that is either permanently located in or temporarily associated with the automobile  104 . Thus, the vehicle control system  204  can interface with the device  212  and leverage the devices computing capability to provide one or more of the features or functions as described herein. 
     The device or user interface  212  can receive input or provide information to a user  216 . The user  216  may thus interact with the vehicle control system  204  through the interface or device  212 . Further, the device  212  may include or have access to device data  220 . The device data  220  can be any type of data that is used in conjunction with the device  212 , including, but not limited to, multimedia data, preferences data, bioinformatics, data associated with the user  216 , or other types of data. The data may be stored in a device data  220  as a storage system similar to that described in conjunction with system data  208 . 
     The vehicle control system  204  may also communicate with or through a communication network  224 . The communication network  224  can represent any type of wireless or wired communication system that may be included within the vehicle  104  or operable to communicate outside the vehicle  104 . Thus, the communication network  224  can include a local area communication capability and a wide area communication capability. For example, the communication network  224  can include a Bluetooth wireless system, an 802.11G or 802.11N wireless system, a CAN bus, an Ethernet network within the vehicle  104 , or other types of communication networks that may function with or be associated with the vehicle  104 . Further, the communication network  224  can also include wide area communication capabilities, including one or more of, but not limited to, a cellular communication capability, satellite telephone communication capability, a wireless wide area network communication capability, or other types of communication capabilities that allow for the vehicle control system  204  to communicate outside the vehicle  104 . 
     The vehicle control system  204  may communicate through the communication network  224  to a server  228  that may be located in a facility that is not within physical proximity to the vehicle  104 . Thus, the server  224  may represent a cloud computing system or cloud storage that allows the vehicle control system  204  to either gain access to further computing capabilities or to storage in a location outside of the vehicle  104 . The server  228  can include a computer processor and memory and be similar to any computing system as understood to one skilled in the art. 
     Further, the server  228  may be associated with stored data  232 . The stored data  232  may be stored in any system or by any method, as described in conjunction with system data  208  and/or device data  220 . The stored data  232  can include information that may be associated with one or more users  216  or associated with one or more vehicles  104 . The stored data  232 , being stored in a cloud or in a distant facility, may be exchanged among vehicles  104  or may be used by a user  216  in different locations or with different vehicles  104 . 
     The vehicle control system  204  may also communicate with one or more sensors  236 / 242 , which are either associated with the vehicle  104  or communicate with the vehicle  104 . Vehicle sensors  242  may include one or more sensors for providing information to the vehicle control system  204  that determine or provide information about the environment  100  in which the vehicle  104  is operating. Embodiments of these sensors may be as described in conjunction with  FIG. 4 . Non-vehicle sensor  236  can be any type of sensor that isn&#39;t currently associated with the vehicle  104 . For example, non-vehicle sensor  236  can be sensors in a traffic system operated by a third party that provides data to the vehicle control system  204 . Further, the non-vehicle sensor  236  can be other types of sensors which provide information about the distant environment  116  or other information about the vehicle  104  or the environment  100 . These non-vehicle sensors  236  may be operated by third parties but provide information to the vehicle control system  204 . Examples of information that may be used by the vehicle control system  204  may include weather tracking data, user health tracking data, vehicle maintenance data, or other types of data, which may provide environmental or other data to the vehicle control system  204 . 
     An arrangement or configuration for sensors within a vehicle  104  is as shown in  FIG. 3 . The sensor arrangement  300  can include one or more areas  308  within the vehicle. An area can be a larger part of the environment inside or outside of the vehicle  104 . Thus, area one  308 A may include the area within the trunk space or engine space of the vehicle  104  and/or the front passenger compartment. Area three  308 B may include a portion of the interior space  108  of the vehicle  104 . The area N,  308 N may include the trunk space or rear compartment area, when included within the vehicle  104 . The interior space  108  may also be divided into areas. Thus, one area may be associated with the front passenger&#39;s and driver&#39;s seats, a second area may be associated with the middle passengers&#39; seats, and a third area may be associated with a rear passenger&#39;s seat. Each area  308  may include one or more sensors that are positioned or operate to provide environmental information about that area  308 . 
     Each area  308  may be further separated into one or more zones  312  within the area  308 . For example, area  1   308 A may be separated into zone A,  312   a , and zone B,  312   a . Each zone  312  may be associated with a particular portion of the interior occupied by a passenger. For example, zone A,  312   a  may be associated with a driver. Zone B,  312   b , may be associated with a front passenger. Each zone  312  may include one or more sensors that are positioned or configured to collect information about the environment or ecosystem associated with that zone or person. 
     A passenger area  308   b  may include more than two zones as described in conjunction with area  308   a . For example, area  308   b  may include three zones,  312   c ,  312   d , and  312   e . These three separate zones  312   c ,  312   d , and  312   e  may be associated with three passenger seats typically found in the rear passenger area of an automobile  104 . An area  308 N and may include a single zone  312 N as there may be no separate passenger areas but may include be a single trunk area within the vehicle  104 . The number of zones  312  is unlimited within the areas as the areas are also unlimited inside the vehicle  104 . Further, it should be noted that there may be one or areas  308  or zones  312  that may be located outside the vehicle  104  that may have a specific set of sensors associated therewith. 
     A set of sensors or vehicle components  400  associated with the vehicle  404  may be as shown in  FIG. 4 . The vehicle  104  includes, among many other components common to vehicles, wheels  407 , a power source  409  (such as an engine, motor, or energy storage system (e.g., battery or capacitive energy storage system)), a manual or automatic transmission  412 , a manual or automatic transmission gear controller  416 , a power controller  420  (such as a throttle), a vehicle control system  204 , the display device  212 , a braking system  436 , a steering wheel  440 , a power source activation/deactivation switch  444  (e.g., an ignition), an occupant seating system  448 , a wireless signal receiver  453  to receive wireless signals from signal sources such as roadside beacons and other electronic roadside devices, and a satellite positioning system receiver  457  (e.g., a Global Positioning System (“GPS”) (US), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo positioning system (EU), Compass navigation system (China), and Regional Navigational Satellite System (India) receiver). 
     The vehicle  104  includes a number of sensors in wireless or wired communication with the vehicle control system  204  and/or display device  212  to collect sensed information regarding the vehicle state, configuration, and/or operation. Exemplary sensors include wheel state sensor  460  to sense one or more of vehicle speed, acceleration, deceleration, wheel rotation, wheel speed (e.g., wheel revolutions-per-minute), wheel slip, and the like, a power source energy output sensor  464  to sense a power output of the power source  409  by measuring one or more of current engine speed (e.g., revolutions-per-minute), energy input and/or output (e.g., voltage, current, fuel consumption, and torque) (e.g., turbine speed sensor, input speed sensor, crankshaft position sensor, manifold absolute pressure sensor, mass flow sensor, and the like), and the like, a switch state sensor  468  to determine a current activation or deactivation state of the power source activation/deactivation switch  444 , a transmission setting sensor  470  to determine a current setting of the transmission (e.g., gear selection or setting), a gear controller sensor  472  to determine a current setting of the gear controller  416 , a power controller sensor  474  to determine a current setting of the power controller  420 , a brake sensor  476  to determine a current state (braking or non-braking) of the braking system  436 , a seating system sensor  478  to determine a seat setting and current weight of seated occupant, if any) in a selected seat of the seating system  448 , exterior and interior sound receivers  490  and  492  (e.g., a microphone and other type of acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor) to receive and convert sound waves into an equivalent analog or digital signal. Examples of other sensors (not shown) that may be employed include safety system state sensors to determine a current state of a vehicular safety system (e.g., air bag setting (deployed or undeployed) and/or seat belt setting (engaged or not engaged)), light setting sensor (e.g., current headlight, emergency light, brake light, parking light, fog light, interior or passenger compartment light, and/or tail light state (on or off)), brake control (e.g., pedal) setting sensor, accelerator pedal setting or angle sensor, clutch pedal setting sensor, emergency brake pedal setting sensor, door setting (e.g., open, closed, locked or unlocked) sensor, engine temperature sensor, passenger compartment or cabin temperature sensor, window setting (open or closed) sensor, one or more cameras or other imaging sensors (which commonly convert an optical image into an electronic signal but may include other devices for detection objects such as an electromagnetic radiation emitter/receiver that emits electromagnetic radiation and receives electromagnetic waves reflected by the object) to sense objects, such as other vehicles and pedestrians and optionally determine the distance, trajectory and speed of such objects, in the vicinity or path of the vehicle, odometer reading sensor, trip mileage reading sensor, wind speed sensor, radar transmitter/receiver output, brake wear sensor, steering/torque sensor, oxygen sensor, ambient lighting sensor, vision system sensor, ranging sensor, parking sensor, heating, venting, and air conditioning (HVAC) sensor, water sensor, air-fuel ratio meter, blind spot monitor, hall effect sensor, microphone, radio frequency (RF) sensor, infrared (IR) sensor, vehicle control system sensors, wireless network sensor (e.g., Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth sensor), cellular data sensor, and other sensors known to those of skill in the vehicle art. 
     In the depicted vehicle embodiment, the various sensors are in communication with the display device  212  and vehicle control system  204  via signal carrier network  480 . As noted, the signal carrier network  480  can be a network of signal conductors, a wireless network (e.g., a radio frequency, microwave, or infrared communication system using a communications protocol, such as Wi-Fi), or a combination thereof. 
     In one implementation, the control system  424  receives and reads sensor signals, such as wheel and engine speed signals, as a digital input comprising, for example, a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal. The processor  304  can be configured, for example, to read each of the signals into a port configured as a counter or configured to generate an interrupt on receipt of a pulse, such that the processor  304  can determine, for example, the engine speed in revolutions per minute (RPM) and the speed of the vehicle in miles per hour (MPH). One skilled in the art will recognize that the two signals can be received from existing sensors in a vehicle comprising a tachometer and a speedometer, respectively. Alternatively, the current engine speed and vehicle speed can be received in a communication packet as numeric values from a conventional dashboard subsystem comprising a tachometer and a speedometer. The transmission speed sensor signal can be similarly received as a digital input comprising a signal coupled to a counter or interrupt signal of the processor  304 , or received as a value in a communication packet on the network or port interface  352  from an existing subsystem of the vehicle. The ignition sensor signal can be configured as a digital input, wherein a HIGH value represents that the ignition is on and a LOW value represents that the ignition is OFF. Three bits of the port interface  352  can be configured as a digital input to receive the gear shift position signal, representing eight possible gear shift positions. Alternatively, the gear shift position signal can be received in a communication packet as a numeric value on the port interface  352 . The throttle position signal can be received as an analog input value, typically in the range 0-5 volts. Alternatively, the throttle position signal can be received in a communication packet as a numeric value on the port interface  352 . The output of other sensors can be processed in a similar fashion. 
     Other sensors may be included and position in the interior space  108  of the vehicle  104 . Generally, these interior sensors obtain data about the health of the driver and/or passenger(s), data about the safety of the driver and/or passenger(s), and/or data about the comfort of the driver and/or passenger(s). The health data sensors can include sensors in the steering wheel that can measure various health telemetry for the person (e.g., heart rate, temperature, blood pressure, blood presence, blood composition, etc.). Sensors in the seats may also provide for health telemetry (e.g., presence of liquid, weight, weight shifts, etc.). Infrared sensors could detect a person&#39;s temperature; optical sensors can determine a person&#39;s position and whether the person has become unconscious. Other health sensors are possible and included herein. 
     Safety sensors can measure whether the person is acting safely. Optical sensors can determine a person&#39;s position and focus. If the person stops looking at the road ahead, the optical sensor can detect the lack of focus. Sensors in the seats may detect if a person is leaning forward or may be injured by a seat belt in a collision. Other sensors can detect that the driver has at least one hand on a steering wheel. Other safety sensors are possible and contemplated as if included herein. 
     Comfort sensors can collect information about a person&#39;s comfort. Temperature sensors may detect a temperature of the interior cabin. Moisture sensors can determine a relative humidity. Audio sensors can detect loud sounds or other distractions. Audio sensors may also receive input from a person through voice data. Other comfort sensors are possible and contemplated as if included herein. 
     An embodiment of a vehicle control system  204  and its associated components  204  may be as shown in  FIG. 5 . In general, the device  212  includes a front screen  212  with a touch sensitive display  568 . The front screen  212  may be disabled and/or enabled by a suitable command. Moreover, the front screen  212  can be touch sensitive and can include different operative areas. For example, a first operative area, within the touch sensitive screen  212 , may comprise a touch sensitive display  568 . In general, the touch sensitive display  568  may comprise a full color, touch sensitive display. A second area within each touch sensitive screen  568  may comprise a gesture capture region  572 . The gesture capture region  572  may comprise one or more areas or regions that is outside of the touch sensitive display  568  area or screen area  212 , and that is capable of receiving input, for example in the form of gestures provided by a user. However, the one or more gesture capture regions  572  do not include pixels that can perform a display function or capability. 
     It is further anticipated that a third region of the touch sensitive screen  568  may comprise one or more configurable areas. The configurable area is capable of receiving input and has display or limited display capabilities. As can be appreciated, the configurable area may occupy any part of the touch sensitive screen  568  not allocated to a gesture capture region  572  or touch sensitive display  568 . In embodiments, the configurable area may present different input options to the user. For example, the configurable area may display buttons or other relatable items. Moreover, the identity of displayed buttons, or whether any buttons are displayed at all within the configurable area of the touch sensitive screen  568  may be determined from the context in which the device  212  is used and/or operated. In an exemplary embodiment, the touch sensitive screen  568  comprises liquid crystal display devices extending across at least the region of the touch sensitive screen  568  that is capable of providing visual output to a user, and a resistive and/or capacitive input matrix over the regions of the touch sensitive screen  568  that are capable of receiving input from the user. 
     One or more display controllers  516  may be provided for controlling the operation of the touch sensitive screen  568 , including input (touch sensing) and output (display) functions. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a touch screen controller  516  is provided for the touch screen  568 . In accordance with some embodiments, the functions of a touch screen controller  516  may be incorporated into other components, such as a processor  504 . 
     The processor  504  may comprise a general purpose programmable processor or controller for executing application programming or instructions. In accordance with at least some embodiments, the processor  504  may include multiple processor cores, and/or implement multiple virtual processors. In accordance with still other embodiments, the processor  504  may include multiple physical processors. As a particular example, the processor  504  may comprise a specially configured application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a controller, a hardwired electronic or logic circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array, a special purpose computer, or the like. The processor  504  generally functions to run programming code or instructions implementing various functions of the device  212 . 
     A device  212  may also include memory  508  for use in connection with the execution of application programming or instructions by the processor  504 , and for the temporary or long term storage of program instructions and/or data. As examples, the memory  508  may comprise RAM, DRAM, SDRAM, or other solid state memory. Alternatively or in addition, data storage  512  may be provided. Like the memory  508 , the data storage  512  may comprise a solid state memory device or devices. Alternatively or in addition, the data storage  512  may comprise a hard disk drive or other random access memory. 
     In support of communications functions or capabilities, the device  212  can include a cellular telephony module  528 . As examples, the cellular telephony module  528  can comprise a GSM, CDMA, FDMA and/or analog cellular telephony transceiver capable of supporting voice, multimedia and/or data transfers over a cellular network. Alternatively or in addition, the device  212  can include an additional or other wireless communications module  532 . As examples, the other wireless communications module  532  can comprise a Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH™, WiMax, infrared, or other wireless communications link. The cellular telephony module  528  and the other wireless communications module  532  can each be associated with a shared or a dedicated antenna  524 . 
     A port interface  552  may be included. The port interface  552  may include proprietary or universal ports to support the interconnection of the device  212  to other devices or components, such as a dock, which may include additional or different capabilities from those integral to the device  212 . In addition to supporting an exchange of communication signals between the device  212  and another device or component, the docking port (not shown) and/or port interface  552  can support the supply of power to or from the device  212 . The port interface  552  also comprises an intelligent element that comprises a docking module for controlling communications or other interactions between the device  212  and a connected device or component. 
     An input/output module  548  and associated ports may be included to support communications over wired networks or links, for example with other communication devices, server devices, and/or peripheral devices. Examples of an input/output module  548  include an Ethernet port, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1594, or other interface. 
     An audio input/output interface/device(s)  544  can be included to provide analog audio to an interconnected speaker or other device, and to receive analog audio input from a connected microphone or other device. As an example, the audio input/output interface/device(s)  544  may comprise an associated amplifier and analog to digital converter. Alternatively or in addition, the device  212  can include an integrated audio input/output device  556  and/or an audio jack for interconnecting an external speaker or microphone. For example, an integrated speaker and an integrated microphone can be provided, to support near talk or speaker phone operations. 
     Hardware buttons  280  can be included for example for use in connection with certain control operations. Examples include a master power switch, volume control, etc., as described in conjunction with  FIG. 2 . One or more image capture interfaces/devices, such as a camera, can be included for capturing still and/or video images. Alternatively or in addition, an image capture interface/device can include a scanner or code reader. An image capture interface/device can include or be associated with additional elements, such as a flash or other light source. 
     The device  212  can also include a global positioning system (GPS) receiver  536 . In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the GPS receiver  536  may further comprise a GPS module that is capable of providing absolute location information to other components of the device  212 . Other sensors  242  may also be included. For example, an accelerometer(s)/gyroscope(s) may also be included. For example, in connection with the display of information to a user and/or other functions, a signal from the accelerometer/gyroscope can be used to determine an orientation and/or format in which to display that information to the user. In some embodiments, the accelerometer/gyroscope may comprise at least one accelerometer and at least one gyroscope. 
     Embodiments of the present invention can also include one or more magnetic sensing feature. The magnetic sensing feature can be configured to provide a signal indicating the position of the device relative to a vehicle-mounted position. This information can be provided as an input, for example to a user interface application, to determine an operating mode, characteristics of the touch sensitive display  568  and/or other device  212  operations. As examples, a magnetic sensing feature can comprise one or more of Hall-effect sensors, a multiple position switch, an optical switch, a Wheatstone bridge, a potentiometer, or other arrangement capable of providing a signal indicating of multiple relative positions the touch screens are in. Alternatively, the magnetic sensing feature may comprise one or more metallic elements used by other sensors associated with the console and/or vehicle to determine whether the device  212  is in a vehicle-mounted position. These metallic elements may include but are not limited to rare-earth magnets, electromagnets, ferrite and/or ferrite alloys, and/or other material capable of being detected by a range of sensors. 
     Communications between various components of the device  212  can be carried by one or more buses  520 . In addition, power can be supplied to the components of the device  212  from a power source and/or power control module  560 . The power control module  560  can, for example, include a battery, an AC to DC converter, power control logic, and/or ports for interconnecting the device  212  to an external source of power. 
     An embodiment of one or more software modules that may be associated with the vehicle control system  204  may be as shown in  FIG. 6 . The memory  508  may store and the processor  504  may execute one or more software components. These components can include at least one operating system (OS)  616 , an application manager  662 , a console desktop  666 , and/or one or more applications  664   a  and/or  664   b  from an application store  660 . The OS  616  can include a framework  620 , one or more frame buffers  648 , one or more drivers  612 , and/or a kernel  618 . The OS  616  can be any software, consisting of programs and data, which manages computer hardware resources and provides common services for the execution of various applications  664 . The OS  616  can be any operating system and, at least in some embodiments, dedicated to mobile devices, including, but not limited to, Linux, ANDROID™, iPhone OS (IOS™), WINDOWS PHONE 7™, etc. The OS  616  is operable to provide functionality to the device  212  by executing one or more operations, as described herein. 
     The applications  664  can be any higher level software that executes particular console functionality for the user. Applications  664  can include programs such as vehicle control applications, email clients, web browsers, texting applications, games, media players, office suites, etc. The applications  664  can be stored in an application store  660 , which may represent any memory or data storage, and the management software associated therewith, for storing the applications  664 . Once executed, the applications  664  may be run in a different area of memory  608 . 
     The framework  620  may be any software or data that allows the multiple tasks running on the device to interact. In embodiments, at least portions of the framework  620  and the discrete components described hereinafter may be considered part of the OS  616  or an application  664 . However, these portions will be described as part of the framework  620 , but those components are not so limited. The framework  620  can include, but is not limited to, a Surface Cache module  628 , a Window Management module  632 , an Input Management module  636 , an Application Model Manager  642 , a Display Controller  644 , one or more frame buffers  648 , and/or an event buffer  666 . 
     The Surface Cache module  628  includes any memory or storage and the software associated therewith to store or cache one or more images of applications, windows, and/or console screens. A series of active and/or non-active windows (or other display objects, such as, a desktop display) can be associated with each display. An active window (or other display object) is currently displayed. A non-active window (or other display objects) was opened and, at some time, displayed but are now not displayed. To enhance the user experience, before a window transitions from an active state to an inactive state, a “screen shot” of a last generated image of the window (or other display object) can be stored. The Surface Cache module  628  may be operable to store a bitmap of the last active image of a window (or other display object) not currently displayed. Thus, the Surface Cache module  628  stores the images of non-active windows (or other display objects) in a data store. 
     In embodiments, the Window Management module  632  is operable to manage the windows (or other display objects) that are active or not active on each of the displays. The Window Management module  632 , based on information from the OS  616 , or other components, determines when a window (or other display object) is visible or not active. The Window Management module  632  may then put a non-visible window (or other display object) in a “not active state” and, in conjunction with the Task Management module  640  suspends the application&#39;s operation. Further, the Window Management module  632  may assign a display identifier to the window (or other display object) or manage one or more other items of data associated with the window (or other display object). The Window Management module  632  may also provide the stored information to the application  664 , or other components interacting with or associated with the window (or other display object). The Window Management module  632  can also associate an input task with a window based on window focus and display coordinates within the motion space. 
     The Input Management module  636  is operable to manage events that occur with the device. An event is any input into the window environment, for example, a user interface interactions with a user. The Input Management module  636  receives the events and logically stores the events in an event buffer  656 . Events can include such user interface interactions as a “down event,” which occurs when the screen  204  receives a touch signal from a user, a “move event,” which occurs when the screen  204  determines that a user&#39;s finger is moving across a screen(s), an “up event”, which occurs when the device  212  determines that the user has stopped touching the screen  568  etc. These events are received, stored, and forwarded to other modules by the Input Management module  636 . The Input Management module  636  may also map screen inputs to a motion space which is the culmination of all physical and virtual display available on the device. 
     The frame buffer  648  is a logical structure(s) used to render the user interface. The frame buffer  648  can be created and destroyed by the OS kernel  618 . However, the Display Controller  644  can write the image data, for the visible windows, into the frame buffer  648 . A frame buffer  648  can be associated with one screen or multiple screens. The association of a frame buffer  648  with a screen can be controlled dynamically by interaction with the OS kernel  618 . A composite display may be created by associating multiple screens with a single frame buffer  648 . Graphical data used to render an application&#39;s window user interface may then be written to the single frame buffer  648 , for the composite display, which is output to the multiple screens  204 . The Display Controller  644  can direct an application&#39;s user interface to a portion of the frame buffer  648  that is mapped to a particular display  208 , thus, displaying the user interface on only one screen  212 . The Display Controller  644  can extend the control over user interfaces to multiple applications, controlling the user interfaces for as many displays as are associated with a frame buffer  648  or a portion thereof. This approach compensates for the physical screen  212  and any other console screens that are in use by the software component above the Display Controller  644 . 
     The Application Manager  662  is an application that provides a presentation layer for the window environment. Thus, the Application Manager  662  provides the graphical model for rendering. Likewise, the Desktop  666  provides the presentation layer for the Application Store  660 . Thus, the desktop provides a graphical model of a surface having selectable application icons for the Applications  664  in the Application Store  660  that can be provided to the Window Management Module  632  for rendering. 
     Further, the framework can include an Application Model Manager (AMM)  642 . The Application Manager  662  may interface with the AMM  642 . In embodiments, the AMM  642  receives state change information from the device  212  regarding the state of applications (which are running or suspended). The AMM  642  can associate bit map images from the Surface Cache Module  628  to the applications that are alive (running or suspended). Further, the AMM  642  may provide a list of executing applications to the Application Manager  662 . 
     One or more gestures used to interface with the vehicle control system  204  may be as described in conjunction with  FIGS. 7A through 7K .  FIGS. 7A through 7H  depict various graphical representations of gesture inputs that may be recognized by the screen(s)  212 . The gestures may be performed not only by a user&#39;s body part, such as a digit, but also by other devices, such as a stylus, that may be sensed by the contact sensing portion(s) of a screen  212 . In general, gestures are interpreted differently, based on where the gestures are performed (either directly on the display  568  or in the gesture capture region  572 ). For example, gestures in the display  568  may be directed to a desktop or application, and gestures in the gesture capture region  572  may be interpreted as for the system. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 7A-7H , a first type of gesture, a touch gesture  720 , is substantially stationary on the screen  212  for a selected length of time. A circle  728  represents a touch or other contact type received at particular location of a contact sensing portion of the screen. The circle  728  may include a border  732 , the thickness of which indicates a length of time that the contact is held substantially stationary at the contact location. For instance, a tap  720  (or short press) has a thinner border  732   a  than the border  732   b  for a long press  724  (or for a normal press). The long press  724  may involve a contact that remains substantially stationary on the screen for longer time period than that of a tap  720 . As will be appreciated, differently defined gestures may be registered depending upon the length of time that the touch remains stationary prior to contact cessation or movement on the screen. 
     With reference to  FIG. 7C , a drag gesture  700  on the screen  212  is an initial contact (represented by circle  728 ) with contact movement  736  in a selected direction. The initial contact  728  may remain stationary on the screen  212  for a certain amount of time represented by the border  732 . The drag gesture typically requires the user to contact an icon, window, or other displayed image at a first location followed by movement of the contact in a drag direction to a new second location desired for the selected displayed image. The contact movement need not be in a straight line but have any path of movement so long as the contact is substantially continuous from the first to the second locations. 
     With reference to  FIG. 7D , a flick gesture  704  on the screen  212  is an initial contact (represented by circle  728 ) with truncated contact movement  736  (relative to a drag gesture) in a selected direction. In embodiments, a flick has a higher exit velocity for the last movement in the gesture compared to the drag gesture. The flick gesture can, for instance, be a finger snap following initial contact. Compared to a drag gesture, a flick gesture generally does not require continual contact with the screen  212  from the first location of a displayed image to a predetermined second location. The contacted displayed image is moved by the flick gesture in the direction of the flick gesture to the predetermined second location. Although both gestures commonly can move a displayed image from a first location to a second location, the temporal duration and distance of travel of the contact on the screen is generally less for a flick than for a drag gesture. 
     With reference to  FIG. 7E , a pinch gesture  708  on the screen  212  is depicted. The pinch gesture  708  may be initiated by a first contact  728  to the screen  212  by, for example, a first digit and a second contact  728   b  to the screen  212  by, for example, a second digit. The first and second contacts  728   a,b  may be detected by a common contact sensing portion of a common screen  212 , by different contact sensing portions of a common screen  212 , or by different contact sensing portions of different screens  212 . The first contact  728   a  is held for a first amount of time, as represented by the border  732   a , and the second contact  728   b  is held for a second amount of time, as represented by the border  732   b . The first and second amounts of time are generally substantially the same, and the first and second contacts  728   a,b  generally occur substantially simultaneously. The first and second contacts  728   a,b  generally also include corresponding first and second contact movements  736   a,b , respectively. The first and second contact movements  736   a,b  are generally in opposing directions. Stated another way, the first contact movement  736   a  is towards the second contact  736   b , and the second contact movement  736   b  is towards the first contact  736   a . More simply stated, the pinch gesture  708  may be accomplished by a user&#39;s digits touching the screen  212  in a pinching motion. 
     With reference to  FIG. 7F , a spread gesture  710  on the screen  212  is depicted. The spread gesture  710  may be initiated by a first contact  728   a  to the screen  212  by, for example, a first digit and a second contact  728   b  to the screen  212  by, for example, a second digit. The first and second contacts  728   a,b  may be detected by a common contact sensing portion of a common screen  212 , by different contact sensing portions of a common screen  212 , or by different contact sensing portions of different screens  212 . The first contact  728   a  is held for a first amount of time, as represented by the border  732   a , and the second contact  728   b  is held for a second amount of time, as represented by the border  732   b . The first and second amounts of time are generally substantially the same, and the first and second contacts  728   a,b  generally occur substantially simultaneously. The first and second contacts  728   a,b  generally also include corresponding first and second contact movements  736   a,b , respectively. The first and second contact movements  736   a,b  are generally in a common direction. Stated another way, the first and second contact movements  736   a,b  are away from the first and second contacts  728   a,b . More simply stated, the spread gesture  710  may be accomplished by a user&#39;s digits touching the screen  212  in a spreading motion. 
     The above gestures may be combined in any manner, such as those shown by  FIGS. 7G and 7H , to produce a determined functional result. For example, in  FIG. 7G  a tap gesture  720  is combined with a drag or flick gesture  712  in a direction away from the tap gesture  720 . In  FIG. 7H , a tap gesture  720  is combined with a drag or flick gesture  712  in a direction towards the tap gesture  720 . 
     The functional result of receiving a gesture can vary depending on a number of factors, including a state of the vehicle  104 , display  568 , or screen  212 , a context associated with the gesture, or sensed location of the gesture. The state of the vehicle commonly refers to one or more of a configuration of the vehicle  104 , a display orientation, and user and other inputs received by the vehicle  104 . Context commonly refers to one or more of the particular application(s) selected by the gesture and the portion(s) of the application currently executing, whether the application is a single- or multi-screen application, and whether the application is a multi-screen application displaying one or more windows. Sensed location of the gesture commonly refers to whether the sensed set(s) of gesture location coordinates are on a touch sensitive display  568  or a gesture capture region  572 , whether the sensed set(s) of gesture location coordinates are associated with a common or different display or screen  212 , and/or what portion of the gesture capture region contains the sensed set(s) of gesture location coordinates. 
     A tap, when received by an a touch sensitive display  568 , can be used, for instance, to select an icon to initiate or terminate execution of a corresponding application, to maximize or minimize a window, to reorder windows in a stack, and to provide user input such as by keyboard display or other displayed image. A drag, when received by a touch sensitive display  568 , can be used, for instance, to relocate an icon or window to a desired location within a display, to reorder a stack on a display, or to span both displays (such that the selected window occupies a portion of each display simultaneously). A flick, when received by a touch sensitive display  568  or a gesture capture region  572 , can be used to relocate a window from a first display to a second display or to span both displays (such that the selected window occupies a portion of each display simultaneously). Unlike the drag gesture, however, the flick gesture is generally not used to move the displayed image to a specific user-selected location but to a default location that is not configurable by the user. 
     The pinch gesture, when received by a touch sensitive display  568  or a gesture capture region  572 , can be used to minimize or otherwise increase the displayed area or size of a window (typically when received entirely by a common display), to switch windows displayed at the top of the stack on each display to the top of the stack of the other display (typically when received by different displays or screens), or to display an application manager (a “pop-up window” that displays the windows in the stack). The spread gesture, when received by a touch sensitive display  568  or a gesture capture region  572 , can be used to maximize or otherwise decrease the displayed area or size of a window, to switch windows displayed at the top of the stack on each display to the top of the stack of the other display (typically when received by different displays or screens), or to display an application manager (typically when received by an off-screen gesture capture region on the same or different screens). 
     The combined gestures of  FIG. 7G , when received by a common display capture region in a common display or screen  212 , can be used to hold a first window location constant for a display receiving the gesture while reordering a second window location to include a window in the display receiving the gesture. The combined gestures of  FIG. 7H , when received by different display capture regions in a common display or screen  212  or in different displays or screens, can be used to hold a first window location for a display receiving the tap part of the gesture while reordering a second window location to include a window in the display receiving the flick or drag gesture. Although specific gestures and gesture capture regions in the preceding examples have been associated with corresponding sets of functional results, it is to be appreciated that these associations can be redefined in any manner to produce differing associations between gestures and/or gesture capture regions and/or functional results. 
     Gestures that may be completed in three-dimensional space and not on a touch sensitive screen  568  or gesture capture region  572  may be as shown in  FIGS. 7I through 7K . The gestures may be completed in an area where a sensor  242 , such as an optical sensor, infrared sensor, or other type of sensor, may detect the gesture. For example, the gesture  740  in  FIG. 7I , a person may open their hand  764  and move their hand in a back and forth direction  748  as a gesture  740  to complete some function with the vehicle  104 . For example gesture  764  may change the station of the radio in the vehicle  104 . The sensors  242  may both determine the configuration of the hand and the vector of the movement. The vector and hand configuration can be interpreted to mean certain things to the vehicle control system  204  and produce different results. 
     In another example of a gesture  752  in  FIG. 7J , a user may configure their hand  764  to extend two fingers and move the hand in an up and down operation  756 . This gesture  752  may control the volume of the radio or some other function. Again, the sensors  242  may determine how the person has configured their hand gesture, and the vector of the movement. In another example of a gesture  760  shown in  FIG. 7K , a user may extend their middle three fingers at an angle 45° from straight vertical and circle the hand in a counter-clockwise motion  764 . This gesture  760  may cause the automobile to change the heat or do some other function. As can be understood by one skilled in the art, the configurations of the hand and the types of movement are variable. Thus, the user may configure the hand  764  in any way imaginable and may also move that hand  764  in any direction with any vector in three-dimensional space. 
     The gestures  740 ,  752 ,  760 , as shown in  FIG. 7I through 7K , may occur in a predetermined volume of space within the vehicle  104 . For example, a sensor  242  may be configured to identify such gestures  740 ,  752 ,  760  between the front passenger&#39;s and front driver&#39;s seats over a console area within the passenger compartment of the automobile  104 . The gestures  740 ,  752 ,  760  may be made within area  1   304   a  between zones A  312   a  and B  312   b . However, there may be other areas  308  where a user may use certain gestures, where sensors  242  may be able to determine a certain function is desired. Gestures that may be similar but used in different areas within the vehicle  104  may cause different functions to be performed. For example, the gesture  740  in  FIG. 7I , if used in zone E  312   e , may change the heat provided in zone E  312   e , but may change the station of a radio if used in zone A  312   a . Further, the gestures may be made with other body parts or, for example, different expressions of a persons&#39; face may be used to control functions in the vehicle  104 . Also, the user may use two hands in some circumstances or do other types of physical movements that can cause different reactions in the vehicle  104 . 
     An embodiment of a data structure  800  to store different settings is shown in  FIG. 8 . The data structure  800  may include one or more of data files or data objects  804 . Thus, the data structure  800  may represent different types of data bases or data storage, for example, object-oriented data bases, flat file data structures, relational database, or other types of data storage arrangements. The data file  804  may include several portions  808 - 836  representing different types of data. Each of these types of data may be associated with a user, as shown in portion  808 . 
     There may be one or more user records  840  and associated data stored within the data file  804 . The user can be any person that uses or rides within the vehicle or conveyance  104 . The user may be identified in portion  812 . For the vehicle  104 , the user may include a set of one or more features that may identify the user. These features may be the physical characteristics of the person that may be identified by facial recognition or some other type of system. In other embodiments, the user may provide a unique code to the vehicle control system  204  or provide some other type of data that allows the vehicle control system  204  to identify the user. The features or characteristics of the user are then stored in portion  812 . 
     Each user identified in portion  808  may have a different set of settings for each area  308  and/or each zone  312  within the vehicle  104 . Thus, each set of setting may also be associated with a predetermined zone  312  or area  308 . The zone  312  is stored in portion  820  and the area  308  is stored in portion  816 . 
     One or more settings may be stored in portion  824 . These settings  824  may be the configurations of different functions within the vehicle  104  that are specified by or for that user. For example, the settings  824  may be the position of a seat, the position of a steering wheel, a heating/cooling setting, a radio setting, a cruise control setting, or some other type of setting associated with the vehicle  104 . Further, in vehicles adapted to have a configurable console or a configurable dash or heads-up display, the settings  824  may also provide for how that heads-up display, dash, or console are configured for this particular user. Each setting  824  may be associated with a different area  308  or zone  312 . Thus, there may be more settings  824  for when the user is the driver and in zone A,  312 A, of area  1 ,  308 A. However, there may be similar settings  824  among the different zones  312  or areas  308  as shown in portion  824 . For example, the heating or radio settings for the user may be similar in every zone  312 . 
     The sensors  242  within the vehicle  104  may be able to either obtain or track health data in portion  828 . Health data  828  may include any type of physical characteristic associated with the user. For example, a heart rate, a blood pressure, a temperature, or other types of heath data may be obtained and stored in portion  828 . The user may have this health data tracked over a period of time to allow for statistical analysis of the user&#39;s health while operating the vehicle  104 . In this way if some function of the user&#39;s health deviates from a norm, the vehicle  104  may be able to determine there is a problem with the person and react to that data. 
     One or more gestures may be stored in portion  832 . Thus, the gestures used and described in conjunction  FIG. 7A through 7K  may be configurable. These gestures may be determined or created by the user and stored in portion  832 . A user may have different gestures for each zone  312  or area  308  within the vehicle. The gestures that do certain things while driving may do other things while in a different area  308  of the vehicle  104 . Thus, the user may use a first set of gestures while driving and a second set while a passenger. Further, one or more users may share gestures as shown in portion  832 . Each driver may have a common set of gestures that they use in zone A,  312   a . Each of these gestures may be determined or captured and then stored with their average characteristics (e.g., vector, position of gesture, etc.) in portion  832 . 
     One or more sets of safety parameters may be stored in portion  836 . Safety parameters  836  may be common operating characteristics for this driver/passenger or for all drivers/passengers that if deviated from may determine there is a problem with the driver/passenger or the vehicle  104 . For example, a certain route may be taken repeatedly and an average speed or mean speed may be determined. If the mean speed deviates by some number of standard deviations, a problem with the vehicle  104  or the user may be determined. In another example, the health characteristics or driving experience of the user may be determined. If the user drives in a certain position where their head occupies a certain portion of three-dimensional space within the vehicle  104 , the vehicle control system  204  may determine that the safety parameter includes the users face or head being within this certain portion of the vehicle interior space. If the user&#39;s head deviates from that interior space for some amount of time, the vehicle control system  204  can determine that something is wrong with the driver and change the function or operation of the vehicle  104  to assist the driver. This may happen, for example, when a user falls asleep at the wheel. If the user&#39;s head droops and does no longer occupy a certain three dimensional space, the vehicle control system  204  can determine that the driver has fallen asleep and may take control of the operation of the vehicle  204  and steer the vehicle  204  to the side of the road. In other examples, if the user&#39;s reaction time is too slow or some other safety parameter is not nominal, the vehicle control system  204  may determine that the user is inebriated or having some other medical problem. The vehicle control system  204  may then assume control of the vehicle to ensure that the driver is safe. 
     An embodiment of a universal chassis  900  for a head unit of a vehicle  104  is shown in  FIGS. 9A through 9C . The universal chassis  900  may have a structure or frame that includes a top and bottom face, two side faces, a back, and front structure. The front structure may form two or more openings or cavities  904  that are substantially similar in dimension. The cavities may be formed in the front face by at least two styles  912  and two or more rails  908 . The cavities  904  can extend through the structure of the universal chassis  900 . 
     A component or module  928  may be inserted into the cavity  904 . Each module  928  has a common size or common physical dimensions. Thus, any module  928  may be inserted into any cavity  904 . Each module  928  may have a different function or perform different operations but each has the same form factor. The modules  928  inserted in the cavities can have a same exterior configuration, although the functional performance or components within those modules  928  may be different. Thus, the chassis  900  allows for a universal system for accepting different modules  928  yet allow the builder to configure the components within the chassis  900  to perform different functions. The modules  928  can be any type of computing system, storage system, or other type of device that performs functions for the vehicle  104 . 
     The universal chassis  900  may include on the back or unexposed portion of the chassis  900 , a universal connection configuration. These connections may include a power bus  924  that includes different ports  920  connected by a single power bar  924  or other type of wiring arrangement. Thus, each module  928  can have a similar configuration that can connect to the power bus  924 . Further, the universal chassis  900  may also include an input/output bus  932 . The input/output bus  932  may have similar configurations with a connection for each cavity  904  of the universal chassis  900 . The I/O bus  932  can be any type of bus or may include several buses that may be connected to any of the modules  928 . The I/O buses may be Ethernet, a CAN bus, or other types of communication systems. 
     The universal chassis  900  may be mechanically connected to the head unit or slipped into the head unit where only the front face is available to mount devices to the head unit. The universal chassis  900  may also include connection points for a display device (e.g., touch sensitive screen  568 ) or other type of interface to cover the front of the universal chassis  900  and provide for viewing information on a user interface. 
     An electrical diagram  1000  showing the connections to the modules  928  is shown in  FIG. 10 . Here, the electrical connections to the modules  928  for the power bus  924  is shown. The power bus  924  can electrically connect to a power system  1004 , which may provide a common amount of power (i.e., common voltage and amperage) over the power bus  924 . Further, the I/O bus  932  can connect to each module  928  as shown. The I/O bus  932  may connect to the vehicle control system  204 . Thus, each module  928 , regardless of its common form factor, may connect to the vehicle control system  204  and power system  1004 . This common connection configuration allows for easy configuration, adaptation, and manipulation of the vehicle&#39;s operation. 
     Visual diagrams for how the universal bus  900  may appear in the head unit  1100  are shown in  FIGS. 11A through 11C . In  FIG. 11A , the universal chassis  900  is shown in the head unit  1100 . The screen or overlay for the universal chassis  900  is removed in  FIG. 11A , which can expose the components  928  and cavities  904  to allow for the insertion or exchange of modules  928  in the universal chassis  900 . 
     The universal chassis  900  may be configurable in that different modules  928  may be inserted in different arrangements or configurations. Thus, the user may add different modules  928  based on what functions the user desires the vehicle  104  to perform. For example, one module  928   a  may be a computing system providing different computing information. Another module  928   b  may be a storage system that can store multimedia data. Another module  928  may be a communication component that allows for different wireless communications. There may be other types of components or module  928  that may also be used in the universal chassis  900 . 
     The universal chassis  900  is also configurable for how displays or other I/O are provided to the user. In  FIG. 11B , a single screen  1104  is shown covering the entire universal chassis  900 . Thus, this one screen  1104  can provide different user interfaces to the user and be configurable visually. However, it is also possible, as shown in  FIG. 11C , to have multiple screens. In  FIG. 11C , there are two screens  1104   a  and  1104   b . A space may be provided between the screens  1104   a  and  1104   b  to provide access to one of the components  928  of the universal chassis  900 . This one component  928  may provide for different I/O or user interface inputs on the front face of the component  928 . For example, if the user desires to have mechanical radio controls, the component  928  may provide those radio controls on its face. In this way, the front face of the universal chassis is configurable and provides different mechanical and electrical connections. 
     Furthermore, while the exemplary aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations illustrated herein show the various components of the system collocated, certain components of the system can be located remotely, at distant portions of a distributed network, such as a LAN and/or the Internet, or within a dedicated system. Thus, it should be appreciated, that the components of the system can be combined in to one or more devices, such as a tablet-like device, or collocated on a particular node of a distributed network, such as an analog and/or digital telecommunications network, a packet-switch network, or a circuit-switched network. It will be appreciated from the preceding description, and for reasons of computational efficiency, that the components of the system can be arranged at any location within a distributed network of components without affecting the operation of the system. For example, the various components can be located in a switch such as a PBX and media server, gateway, in one or more communications devices, at one or more users&#39; premises, or some combination thereof. Similarly, one or more functional portions of the system could be distributed between a telecommunications device(s) and an associated computing device. 
     Furthermore, it should be appreciated that the various links connecting the elements can be wired or wireless links, or any combination thereof, or any other known or later developed element(s) that is capable of supplying and/or communicating data to and from the connected elements. These wired or wireless links can also be secure links and may be capable of communicating encrypted information. Transmission media used as links, for example, can be any suitable carrier for electrical signals, including coaxial cables, copper wire and fiber optics, and may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such as those generated during radio-wave and infra-red data communications. 
     Also, while the flowcharts have been discussed and illustrated in relation to a particular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changes, additions, and omissions to this sequence can occur without materially affecting the operation of the disclosed embodiments, configuration, and aspects. 
     In yet another embodiment, the systems and methods of this disclosure can be implemented in conjunction with a special purpose computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit element(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signal processor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such as discrete element circuit, a programmable logic device or gate array such as PLD, PLA, FPGA, PAL, special purpose computer, any comparable means, or the like. In general, any device(s) or means capable of implementing the methodology illustrated herein can be used to implement the various aspects of this disclosure. Exemplary hardware that can be used for the disclosed embodiments, configurations and aspects includes computers, handheld devices, telephones (e.g., cellular, Internet enabled, digital, analog, hybrids, and others), and other hardware known in the art. Some of these devices include processors (e.g., a single or multiple microprocessors), memory, nonvolatile storage, input devices, and output devices. Furthermore, alternative software implementations including, but not limited to, distributed processing or component/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtual machine processing can also be constructed to implement the methods described herein. 
     In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be readily implemented in conjunction with software using object or object-oriented software development environments that provide portable source code that can be used on a variety of computer or workstation platforms. Alternatively, the disclosed system may be implemented partially or fully in hardware using standard logic circuits or VLSI design. Whether software or hardware is used to implement the systems in accordance with this disclosure is dependent on the speed and/or efficiency requirements of the system, the particular function, and the particular software or hardware systems or microprocessor or microcomputer systems being utilized. 
     In yet another embodiment, the disclosed methods may be partially implemented in software that can be stored on a storage medium, executed on programmed general-purpose computer with the cooperation of a controller and memory, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, or the like. In these instances, the systems and methods of this disclosure can be implemented as program embedded on personal computer such as an applet, JAVA® or CGI script, as a resource residing on a server or computer workstation, as a routine embedded in a dedicated measurement system, system component, or the like. The system can also be implemented by physically incorporating the system and/or method into a software and/or hardware system. 
     Although the present disclosure describes components and functions implemented in the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations with reference to particular standards and protocols, the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations are not limited to such standards and protocols. Other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are in existence and are considered to be included in the present disclosure. Moreover, the standards and protocols mentioned herein and other similar standards and protocols not mentioned herein are periodically superseded by faster or more effective equivalents having essentially the same functions. Such replacement standards and protocols having the same functions are considered equivalents included in the present disclosure. 
     The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations, includes components, methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depicted and described herein, including various aspects, embodiments, configurations embodiments, subcombinations, and/or subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how to make and use the disclosed aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations after understanding the present disclosure. The present disclosure, in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations, includes providing devices and processes in the absence of items not depicted and/or described herein or in various aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations hereof, including in the absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices or processes, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease and\or reducing cost of implementation. 
     The foregoing discussion has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intended to limit the disclosure to the form or forms disclosed herein. In the foregoing Detailed Description for example, various features of the disclosure are grouped together in one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. The features of the aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations of the disclosure may be combined in alternate aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations other than those discussed above. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claims require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed aspect, embodiment, and/or configuration. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of the disclosure. 
     Moreover, though the description has included description of one or more aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations and certain variations and modifications, other variations, combinations, and modifications are within the scope of the disclosure, e.g., as may be within the skill and knowledge of those in the art, after understanding the present disclosure. It is intended to obtain rights which include alternative aspects, embodiments, and/or configurations to the extent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or not such alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions, ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publicly dedicate any patentable subject matter.