Patent Publication Number: US-11639619-B2

Title: Vehicle door handle assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0109665, filed on Aug. 28, 2020, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a vehicle door handle assembly, and more particularly, to a vehicle door handle assembly capable of reliably preventing the unwanted actuation of a handle member caused by an unwanted force in the event of a vehicle impact/collision. 
     Description of Related Art 
     A vehicle has various doors such as side doors and a back door. Each vehicle door has a vehicle door handle for opening and closing the vehicle door, and the vehicle door handle is operatively connected to a door latch mechanism. The vehicle door handle is configured to move between a rest position and an actuating position. When the vehicle door handle is in the rest position, the door latch mechanism may keep the vehicle door closed, and when the vehicle door handle is in the actuating position, the vehicle door may be allowed to open. 
     In the event of a vehicle impact/collision, an unwanted force such as inertial force caused by impact load or acceleration may be applied to the vehicle door handle, and the vehicle door handle may be inadvertently moved to the actuating position, allowing the vehicle door to open and exposing occupants to a greater risk of being expelled from the vehicle. 
     To deal with this problem, the vehicle door handle may be provided with a blocking mechanism configured for preventing the vehicle door handle from being inadvertently moved to the actuating position when the unwanted force as in the vehicle impact/collision is applied to the vehicle door handle. 
     Meanwhile, the inertia direction of the vehicle door handle during an actual vehicle impact/collision may be inconsistent and vary, and thus the existing blocking mechanism may easily lose its function. 
     The information included in this Background of the present invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the present invention and may not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing a vehicle door handle assembly configured for reliably preventing the unwanted actuation of a handle member caused by an unwanted force in the event of a vehicle impact/collision. 
     According to various aspects of the present invention, a vehicle door handle assembly may include: a handle housing disposed inside a door panel; a slider slidably mounted in the handle housing to be movable between a first position and a second position of the handle housing; a handle member pivotally connected to the slider through a connecting arm, and configured of being movable between a rest position and an actuating position with respect to the door panel; and an inertia locking mechanism including a blocking lever pivotally mounted to the handle housing, and a weight mounted on the blocking lever, wherein the inertia locking mechanism may prevent the handle member from moving to the actuating position by an unwanted force caused by the collision/impact of the vehicle. 
     The slider may move to the first position when the handle member moves to the rest position, and the slider may move to the second position when the handle member moves to the actuating position. 
     The blocking lever may move between a blocking position in which the slider is blocked from moving to the second position and an unblocking position in which the slider is allowed to move to the second position. 
     The handle housing may include a guide slot, the slider may include a guide pin slidably engaged in and guided along the guide slot, and the guide slot may have a rest-side end portion and an actuating-side end portion provided at first and second end portions of the guide slot. 
     The guide pin may be positioned in the rest-side end portion when the slider is in the first position, and the guide pin may be positioned in the actuating-side end portion when the slider is in the second position. 
     The blocking lever may block the guide slot when the blocking lever is in the blocking position thereof. 
     The blocking lever may have a blocking surface which is formed on an opposite side of the weight, and the guide pin may be stopped by the blocking surface when the blocking lever is rotated to be in the blocking position. 
     The blocking lever may be biased to the unblocking position by a first biasing member. 
     The handle housing may have a locking projection, the inertia locking mechanism may have a locking member movably connected to the blocking lever, and the locking member may be releasably engaged with the locking projection. 
     The locking member may have a locking recess configured to be releasably engaged with the locking projection and a protrusion protruding toward the guide slot. 
     The locking member may move between an advanced position in which the protrusion is advanced from the blocking lever and a retracted position in which the protrusion is retracted toward the blocking lever. 
     The locking member may be biased to the advanced position by a second biasing member. 
     The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    illustrates a vehicle door handle assembly according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, in a state in which a handle member is in a rest position; 
         FIG.  2    illustrates a state in which the handle member illustrated in  FIG.  1    is in a partially deployed position; 
         FIG.  3    illustrates an enlarged view of portion A of  FIG.  2   ; 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a state in which the handle member illustrated in  FIG.  1    is in an actuating position; 
         FIG.  5    illustrates an enlarged view of portion B of  FIG.  4   ; 
         FIG.  6    illustrates a vehicle door handle assembly according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, in a state in which a blocking lever of an inertia locking mechanism rotates to a blocking position in the event of a vehicle impact/collision; 
         FIG.  7    illustrates an enlarged view of portion C of  FIG.  6   ; 
         FIG.  8    illustrates a state in which a blocking lever of an inertia locking mechanism moves to a blocking position in a vehicle door handle assembly according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG.  9    illustrates a state in which a blocking lever of an inertia locking mechanism is locked in a blocking position in a vehicle door handle assembly according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention; 
         FIG.  10    illustrates a state of a handle member which is prevented from moving to an actuating position in a state in which the blocking lever of the inertia locking mechanism illustrated in  FIG.  9    has been locked in the blocking position; 
         FIG.  11    illustrates a vehicle door handle assembly according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, in a state in which a first guide pin moves to a protrusion of a locking member when a handle member is in a partially deployed position; 
         FIG.  12    illustrates an enlarged view of portion D of  FIG.  11   ; 
         FIG.  13    illustrates a state in which the first guide pin illustrated in  FIG.  12    presses the protrusion of the locking member, and the locking member is disengaged from a locking projection; and 
         FIG.  14    illustrates a state in which the blocking lever illustrated in  FIG.  13    moves to an unblocking position by a first biasing member. 
     
    
    
     It may be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarily to scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of various features illustrative of the basic principles of the present invention. The specific design features of the present invention as included herein, including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations, and shapes will be determined in part by the particularly intended application and use environment. 
     In the figures, reference numbers refer to the same or equivalent parts of the present invention throughout the several figures of the drawing. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of the present invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described below. While the present invention(s) will be described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments of the present invention, it will be understood that the present description is not intended to limit the present invention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the other hand, the present invention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalents and other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims. 
     Hereinafter, various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals will be used throughout to designate the same or equivalent elements. Furthermore, a detailed description of well-known techniques associated with the present invention will be ruled out in order not to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention. 
     Terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used to describe the elements in exemplary embodiments of the present invention. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element, and the intrinsic features, sequence or order, and the like of the corresponding elements are not limited by the terms. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meanings as those generally understood by those with ordinary knowledge in the field of art to which various exemplary embodiments of the present invention belongs. Such terms as those defined in a generally used dictionary are to be interpreted as having meanings equal to the contextual meanings in the relevant field of art, and are not to be interpreted as having ideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined as having such in the present application. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , a vehicle door handle assembly according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention may include a handle member  11  mounted to be movable between a rest position  31  and an actuating position  32  with respect to a door panel  5  of a vehicle door, and an inertia locking mechanism  20  preventing the handle member  11  from moving to the actuating position  32  in the event of a vehicle impact/collision. 
     The handle member  11  may be movably mounted in an opening or opened cavity of the door panel  5 . The handle member  11  may have a grip opening  11   b  allowing a user to grip, and the user may move the handle member  11  between the rest position  31  (see  FIG.  1   ) and the actuating position  32  (see  FIG.  4   ). 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  1   , the rest position  31  refers to a position in which the handle member  11  is completely received inside the door panel  5 . As an external surface  11   a  of the handle member  11  lies substantially flush with an external surface  5   a  of the door panel  5 , the handle member  11  may not be externally exposed of the door panel  5 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  4   , the actuating position  32  refers to a position in which the handle member  11  is fully deployed from the door panel  5 , and the external surface  11   a  of the handle member  11  may protrude outwardly from the door panel  5 . 
     The handle member  11  may be biased toward the rest position  31  by a biasing mechanism, and the biasing mechanism may include a spring and the like. When a force is not applied to the handle member  11 , the handle member  11  may be biased toward the rest position  31  by the biasing mechanism. As the user pulls the handle member  11  from the door panel  5  toward the exterior of the vehicle, the handle member  11  may move to the actuating position  32 . 
     The handle member  11  may be movably connected to a handle housing  13 , and the handle housing  13  may be disposed inside the door panel  5 . For example, the handle housing  13  may be detachably coupled to the inside of the door panel  5 . As various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the handle housing  13  may be one-piece construction with the inside of the door panel  5 . The handle housing  13  may have an internal space in which at least a portion of the handle member  11  is received. 
     A slider  12  may be movably mounted in the internal space of the handle housing  13 . The slider  12  may be mounted to be movable between a first position  41  and a second position  42  within the handle housing  13 , and the handle member  11  may be connected to the slider  12  through one or more connecting arms  14  and  15 . As the handle member  11  moves to the rest position  31 , the slider  12  may move to the first position  41 , and as the handle member  11  moves to the actuating position  32 , the slider  12  may move to the second position  42 . 
     The slider  12  may have one or more guide pins  12   a  and  12   b , and the handle housing  13  may have one or more guide slots  13   a  and  13   b . The guide pins  12   a  and  12   b  of the slider  12  may be guided along the guide slots  13   a  and  13   b  of the handle housing  13 . 
     According to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the slider  12  may have a first guide pin  12   a  and a second guide pin  12   b  spaced from each other. The first guide pin  12   a  and the second guide pin  12   b  may be provided at both end portions of the slider  12 , respectively. The handle housing  13  may have a first guide slot  13   a  and a second guide slot  13   b  spaced from each other. The first guide pin  12   a  of the slider  12  may be guided along the first guide slot  13   a  of the handle housing  13 , and the second guide pin  12   b  of the slider  12  may be guided along the second guide slot  13   b  of the handle housing  13 . A first connecting arm  14  and a second connecting arm  15  may connect the handle member  11  and the slider  12 . External-side end portions of the connecting arms  14  and  15  may be pivotally connected to the handle member  11 , and internal-side end portions of the connecting arms  14  and  15  may be pivotally connected to the guide pins  12   a  and  12   b  of the slider  12 , respectively. 
     The first guide slot  13   a  may have a first rest-side end portion  51   a  and a first actuating-side end portion  52   a  provided at both end portions thereof, and the second guide slot  13   b  may have a second rest-side end portion  51   b  and a second actuating-side end portion  52   b  provided at first and second end portions of the guide slot. When the handle member  11  is in the rest position  31  and the slider  12  is in the first position  41 , the guide pins  12   a  and  12   b  may be positioned in the rest-side end portions  51   a  and  51   b  of the guide slots  13   a  and  13   b , respectively. When the handle member  11  is in the actuating position  32  and the slider  12  is in the second position  42 , the guide pins  12   a  and  12   b  may be positioned in the actuating-side end portions  52   a  and  52   b  of the guide slots  13   a  and  13   b , respectively. 
     The vehicle door handle assembly  10  may be operatively connected to a door latch mechanism  90 . When the handle member  11  is in the rest position  31 , the door latch mechanism  90  may keep the vehicle door closed. That is, when the handle member  11  is in the rest position  31 , the vehicle door may be locked by the lock operation of the door latch mechanism  90 . When the handle member  11  is in the actuating position  32 , the vehicle door may be allowed to open. That is, when the handle member  11  is in the actuating position  32 , the vehicle door may be unlocked by the unlock operation of the door latch mechanism  90 . 
     According to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the slider  12  may be operatively connected to the door latch mechanism  90  through a cable or the like. As the handle member  11  moves to the rest position  31 , the slider  12  may move to the first position  41 , and thus the closing of the vehicle door may be maintained by the lock operation of the door latch mechanism  90 . As the handle member  11  moves to the actuating position  32 , the slider  12  may move to the second position  42 , and thus the vehicle door may be allowed to open by the unlock operation of the door latch mechanism  90 . 
     The inertia locking mechanism  20  may prevent the handle member  11  of the vehicle door handle assembly  10  from inadvertently actuating when an unwanted force greater than a predetermined force acts on the vehicle door handle assembly  10  during the vehicle impact/collision. For example, the unwanted force may be inertial force caused by impact load or acceleration during the vehicle impact/collision. 
     According to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the inertia locking mechanism  20  may prevent the handle member  11  from moving to the actuating position  32  in the event of the vehicle impact/collision. The inertia locking mechanism  20  may include a blocking lever  21  pivotally mounted to the handle housing  13  through a pivot pin  16 , and a weight  22  provided on the blocking lever  21 . 
     The blocking lever  21  may block at least one guide pin of the two guide pins  12   a  and  12   b  from moving to the corresponding actuating-side end portion. According to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the blocking lever  21  may block the first guide pin  12   a  from moving to the first actuating-side end portion  52   a.    
     According to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the blocking lever  21  may have a pivot boss  23  in which the pivot pin  16  is received. As the blocking lever  21  rotates around the pivot pin  16 , the blocking lever  21  may move between a blocking position (see  FIG.  9    and  FIG.  10   ) in which the slider  12  is blocked from moving to the second position  42  and an unblocking position (see  FIG.  1   ,  FIG.  2   ,  FIG.  3   ,  FIG.  4   , and  FIG.  5   ) in which the slider  12  is allowed to move to the second position  42 . 
     The blocking lever  21  may have a first portion  21   a  and a second portion  21   b  opposite each other in relation to the pivot boss  23 . The first portion  21   a  may extend from the pivot boss  23  toward the first guide pin  12   a , and the second portion  21   b  may extend from the pivot boss  23  toward the second guide pin  12   b . The first portion  21   a  may have a blocking surface  24  facing the first guide slot  13   a  and the first guide pin  12   a . The first portion  21   a  may have a guide surface  53  aligned with the first guide slot  13   a  and a slot  54  connected to the guide surface  53 . The guide surface  53  may be flat, and the slot  54  may be inclined with respect to the guide surface  53  at a predetermined angle. The weight  22  may be fixed to the second portion  21   b  so that the center of gravity of the blocking lever  21  may be biased from the center portion of the pivot pin  16  or the pivot boss  23  toward the second portion  21   b , and accordingly the blocking lever  21  may be rotated by the inertia of the weight  22 . The guide surface  53  and the slot  54  may be located below the blocking surface  24 , and the weight  22  may be on the opposite side of the blocking surface  24 , the guide surface  53 , and the slot  54 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  9    and  FIG.  10   , when the blocking lever  21  is in the blocking position, the first portion  21   a  of the blocking lever  21  may overlap a portion of the first guide slot  13   a  adjacent to the first actuating-side end portion  52   a  so that the blocking lever  21  may block the portion of the first guide slot  13   a  adjacent to the first actuating-side end portion  52   a . Accordingly, the first guide pin  12   a  may be stopped by the blocking surface  24  of the blocking lever  21  in the middle of moving to the first actuating-side end portion  52   a , and thus the first guide pin  12   a  may fail to move to the first actuating-side end portion  52   a . Since the slider  12  is blocked from moving to the second position  42 , the handle member  11  may be prevented from moving to the actuating position  32 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   ,  FIG.  2   ,  FIG.  3   ,  FIG.  4   , and  FIG.  5   , when the blocking lever  21  is in the unblocking position, the guide surface  53  and the slot  54  of the blocking lever  21  may be aligned with the first guide slot  13   a  so that the blocking lever  21  may not block the first guide slot  13   a . When the first guide pin  12   a  moves to the first actuating-side end portion  52   a , the first guide pin  12   a  may be allowed to move to the first actuating-side end portion  52   a  without being interfered with the blocking surface  24  of the blocking lever  21 , and thus the slider  12  may move to the second position  42 . 
     The blocking lever  21  may be biased toward the unblocking position (see  FIG.  1   ,  FIG.  2   ,  FIG.  3   ,  FIG.  4   , and  FIG.  5   ) by a first biasing member  35 , and the first biasing member  35  may be disposed around the pivot boss  23 . The first biasing member  35  may have a first elastic leg  36  and a second elastic leg  37 . The first elastic leg  36  may be supported to the handle housing  13  through a first support  36   a , and the second elastic leg  37  may be supported to the blocking lever  21  through a second support  37   a . The first support  36   a  may be provided on the handle housing  13 , and the second support  37   a  may be provided on the blocking lever  21 . 
     The handle housing  13  may have a locking projection  46 , and the locking projection  46  may be located below the first guide slot  13   a . A locking member  44  may be movably connected to the blocking lever  21 , and the locking member  44  may have a locking recess  44   a  releasably engaged with the locking projection  46  and a protrusion  44   b  protruding toward the first guide slot  13   a . Referring to  FIG.  9    and  FIG.  10   , as the blocking lever  21  moves to the blocking position, the locking recess  44   a  of the locking member  44  may engage with the locking projection  46 , and thus the blocking lever  21  may be locked in the blocking position. That is, in the event of the collision of the vehicle, the blocking lever  21  may be held in the blocking position by the engagement between the locking recess  44   a  of the locking member  44  and the locking projection  46 , and accordingly the first guide pin  12   a  may be stopped by the blocking surface  24  of the blocking lever  21  so that the first guide pin  12   a  may be blocked from moving to the first actuating-side end portion  52   a  of the first guide slot  13   a . Thus, the slider  12  may be blocked from moving to the second position  42 , and the handle member  11  may be prevented from moving to the actuating position  32 . 
     The locking member  44  may move between an advanced position (see  FIGS.  3 ,  5 ,  7 , and  14   ) in which the protrusion  44   b  is advanced from the blocking lever  21  and a retracted position (see  FIGS.  8  and  13   ) in which the protrusion  44   b  is retracted toward the blocking lever  21 . The locking member  44  may be biased toward the advanced position by a second biasing member  45 . The second biasing member  45  may be a coil spring disposed between the locking member  44  and the first portion  21   a  of the blocking lever  21 . As illustrated in  FIG.  13   , the first guide pin  12   a  may press the protrusion  44   b  of the locking member  44  and the second biasing member  45  may be compressed, and thus the locking member  44  may move to the retracted position. 
     The locking member  44  may have a lower inclined surface  44   c  provided on the bottom end portion thereof, and the locking projection  46  may have an inclined surface  46   c  corresponding to the lower inclined surface  44   c  of the locking member  44 . As the lower inclined surface  44   c  of the locking member  44  moves along the inclined surface  46   c  of the locking projection  46 , the locking member  44  may be engaged with or disengaged from the locking projection  46 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , when the handle member  11  is in the rest position  31 , at least a portion of the handle member  11  and the first and second connecting arms  14  and  15  may be folded into the handle housing  13 , and the slider  12  may be in the first position  41 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  2   , when the handle member  11  moves to the actuating position  32 , the handle member  11  may move to a partially deployed position  33  in which the handle member  11  is partially deployed from the door panel  5 . The first and second connecting arms  14  and  15  may be unfolded from the handle housing  13 , and the slider  12  may be in a middle position  43 . 
     Referring to  FIG.  4   , when the handle member  11  is in the actuating position  32  in which the handle member  11  is fully deployed from the door panel  5 , the first and second connecting arms  14  and  15  may be fully unfolded from the handle housing  13 , and the slider  12  may be in the second position  42 . As illustrated in  FIG.  5   , the first guide pin  12   a  may be positioned in the slot  54  of the blocking lever  21 , and thus the first guide pin  12   a  may be held by the blocking lever  21  even if the blocking lever  21  slightly pivots. 
     Referring to  FIGS.  6  to  8   , in a state in which the handle member  11  is in the rest position  31 , when an unwanted force greater than the predetermined force acts on the vehicle door handle assembly  10  in the event of a vehicle impact/collision, the blocking lever  21  may rotate in a direction indicated by arrow R due to the inertia of the weight  22  (for example, 30 G), and accordingly, the blocking lever  21  may move to the blocking position in which the first guide slot  13   a  is blocked. The lower inclined surface  44  of the locking member  44  may move down along the inclined surface  46   c  of the locking projection  46 , and the locking member  44  may move to the retracted position. 
     Accordingly, as illustrated in  FIG.  9    and  FIG.  10   , the locking recess  44   a  of the locking member  44  may engage with the locking projection  46 , and thus the blocking lever  21  may be locked in the blocking position. 
     When the user pulls the handle member  11  toward the exterior of the door panel  5  after the blocking lever  21  has been locked in the blocking position, the handle member  11  may be in the partially deployed position  33  and the slider  12  may be in the middle position  43  as illustrated in  FIG.  11   , and accordingly, the first guide pin  12   a  may press the protrusion  44   b  of the locking member  44  and the locking member  44  may move to the retracted position as illustrated in  FIG.  12   , and  FIG.  13   . As a result, the locking recess  44   a  of the locking member  44  may be disengaged from the locking projection  46 . As the locking recess  44   a  of the locking member  44  is disengaged from the locking projection  46 , the locking of the blocking lever  21  may be released. Accordingly, after the blocking lever  21  moves toward the unblocking position by the first biasing member  35  as illustrated in  FIG.  14   , the blocking lever  21  may return to the unblocking position as illustrated in  FIG.  1   . 
     As set forth above, according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention, when the unwanted force caused by the collision of the vehicle is applied, the blocking lever  21  may move to the blocking position so that the handle member  11  may be prevented from moving to the actuating position. The blocking lever  21  may be held in the blocking position by the engagement of the locking member  44  and the locking projection  46 , and thus the unwanted actuation of the handle member  11  may be prevented. 
     As the user pulls the handle member  11  toward the exterior of the vehicle after the collision of the vehicle, the locking member  44  may be disengaged from the locking projection  46  and the blocking lever  21  may return to the unblocking position. Thus, the vehicle door may be opened smoothly after the collision of the vehicle so that the driver and occupants may be safely rescued. 
     In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the handle housing  13  includes a locking groove  60  formed at an end of the second guide slot  13   b . When an unwanted force in the event of a vehicle impact/collision is applied to the vehicle door handle assembly  10 , the second guide pin  12   b  of the slider  12  may rotate outwardly in pivoting with respect to the first guide pin  12   a  of the slider  12  by the inertia of the slider  12 . However, since the locking groove  60  is formed on the second guide slot  13   b , the second guide pin  12   b  may be locked into the locking groove  60  to prevent the handle member  11  from pivotally moving toward the actuating position. 
     For convenience in explanation and accurate definition in the appended claims, the terms “upper”, “lower”, “inner”, “outer”, “up”, “down”, “upwards”, “downwards”, “front”, “rear”, “back”, “inside”, “outside”, “inwardly”, “outwardly”, “interior”, “exterior”, “internal”, “external”, “forwards”, and “backwards” are used to describe features of the exemplary embodiments with reference to the positions of such features as displayed in the figures. It will be further understood that the term “connect” or its derivatives refer both to direct and indirect connection. 
     The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described to explain certain principles of the present invention and their practical application, to enable others skilled in the art to make and utilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as well as various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended that the scope of the present invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto and their equivalents.