Patent Publication Number: US-2023138849-A1

Title: In-vehicle infotainment system connected to different types of usb devices and charging method performed by infotainment system using usb device as intermediate medium

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0146095 filed on Oct. 28, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present invention relates to a charging technology performed by an infotainment system for a vehicle using different types of USB devices as an intermediate medium. 
     2. Discussion of Related Art 
     Recently released vehicles essentially include an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system. Such an infotainment system may further provide a charging function of an external device in addition to an audio function, a video function, and a navigation function. 
     In order to provide a charging function of an external device, the infotainment system may be connected to an external device through a USB device serving as a gender. That is, a battery installed in the external device may be charged by power supplied from the infotainment system via an intermediate medium such as a USB device. 
     A USB device acting as a gender does not have a charging function and simply serves to bypass power supplied from the infotainment system and data related to charging. 
     The infotainment system and the USB device are connected by a USB cable, and it is difficult to fast charge more than 3 amperes (A) due to a voltage drop by the USB cable. 
     In addition, in order to charge the external device, the external device and the USB device are mainly connected by USB TYPE C charging cable. Accordingly, the USB device is designed to have a USB TYPE C connector that may be connected to the USB TYPE C charging cable. However, the USB TYPE C connector does not satisfy a charging current standard of 3 amperes (A) or more for high-speed charging. 
     SUMMARY 
     An aspect of the present invention is directed to providing an in-vehicle infotainment system that may be connected to different types of USB devices, regardless of a connector type of a USB device, to provide a user&#39;s desired high-speed or low-speed charging, and a method of connecting different types of USB devices to the infotainment system. 
     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a charging method performed by an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system including a USB charging unit transferring internal power for low-speed charging to a USB device through a USB cable and a switch unit transferring external power for high-speed charging to the USB device through the USB cable, including: determining, by a microcontroller unit included in the IVI system, a USB connector type of the USB device according to a connector identification signal received from the USB device; and controlling, by the micro controller unit, an operation of the USB charging unit and the switch unit to transfer the internal power or the external power to the USB device through the USB cable according to a result of determining the USB connector type. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system including: a USB charging unit outputting internal power for low-speed charging; a switch unit outputting external power for high-speed charging; and a micro controller unit determining a USB connector type of a USB device according to a connector identification signal received from the USB device through the USB cable and controlling an operation of the USB charging unit and the switch unit to transfer the internal power or the external power to the USB device through the USB cable according to a result of determining the USB connector type. 
     When the USB connector type is determined as a USB A TYPE (a.k.a., USB type A) supporting the low-speed charging, the USB charging unit may be enabled according to an enable signal from the microcontroller unit, and the enabled USB charging unit transfers the internal power to the USB device through a power supply line included in the USB cable. 
     When the USB connector type is determined as the USB A TYPE supporting the low-speed charging, the switch unit may perform a turn-off operation according to a control signal from the microcontroller unit to cut off a connection between the external power and the power supply line included in the USB cable. 
     When the USB connector type is determined as a USB C TYPE (a.k.a., USB type C) supporting the high-speed charging, the USB charging unit may be disabled according to a disable signal from the microcontroller unit, and an operation mode of the disabled USB charging unit may be switched to a bypass mode in which a charging operation is not performed. 
     When the USB connector type is determined as the USB C TYPE supporting the high-speed charging, the switch unit may perform a turn-on operation according to a control signal from the microcontroller unit to transfer the external power to the power supply line included in the USB cable. 
     The IVI system may further include: a connector connected to the USB device by the USB cable; and an ideal diode including a positive terminal connected to the USB charging unit and a negative terminal connected to the connector, wherein when the external power output from the switch unit is transferred to a power supply line connecting the negative terminal to the connector under the control of the microcontroller unit, the ideal diode may serve to cut off a current flowing to the USB charging unit to prevent the USB charging unit from being damaged by the external power. 
     The IVI system may further include: a current sensor sensing a current value flowing in a power supply line included in the USB cable, wherein the microcontroller unit may diagnose a connector connection state between a connector of the USB device based on the USB cable and a connector of the infotainment system based on the current value. 
     The USB cable may be a USB 2.0 cable. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG.  1    is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of an overall system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  2    is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of an overall system according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG.  3    is a flowchart illustrating a charging method performed by an in-vehicle infotainment system using different types of USB devices as an intermediate medium according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail to be easily embodied by those skilled in the art with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In the accompanying drawings, a portion irrelevant to a description of the present invention will be omitted for clarity. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Also, in providing description with reference to the drawings, although elements are represented by the same name, reference numeral referring to the elements may be changed, and reference numerals are merely described for convenience of description. It should not be construed that concepts, features, functions, or effects of elements are limited by reference numerals. 
       FIG.  1    is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of an overall system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , an overall system  300  according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an in-vehicle infotainment system  100  (hereinafter, referred to as an ‘infotainment system’) and a USB device  200 . 
     The infotainment system  100  is a system built in a dashboard of a vehicle and may be referred to as an ‘audio, video, navigation (AVN) unit’ or a ‘head unit’. 
     The infotainment system  100  provides, an operation function related to vehicle driving and a charging function, in addition to an audio function, a video function, and a navigation function, and the present invention focuses on the charging function among the functions provided by the infotainment system  100 . 
     The USB device  200  may be called a kind of USB gender that connects an external device such as a smartphone to the in-vehicle infotainment system  100 . The USB device  200  transfers charge power supplied from the infotainment system  100  to an external device (e.g., a smartphone). 
     The USB device  200  supports high-speed charging or low-speed charging according to a connector type connected to an external device. For example, when the USB connector type is a USB A TYPE (a.k.a., USB type A), the USB device  200  supports low-speed charging, and when the USB connector type is a USB C TYPE (a.k.a., USB type C), the USB device  200  supports high-speed charging. 
     The infotainment system  100  may selectively support any one of the high-speed charging and the low-speed charging without changing a design. That is, both high-speed charging and low-speed charging may be supported regardless of a connector type (a connector type connected to an external device) of the USB device  200 . 
     To this end, the infotainment system  100  may include a central processing unit (CPU)  110 , a power supply unit  120 , a USB charging unit  130 , an ideal diode  140 , a switch unit  150 , a microcontroller (MCU)  160 , a current sensor  170 , and a connector  180 . 
     The CPU  110  controls and manages AN operation of at least one of the peripheral components  120  to  180 . To this end, the CPU  110  exchanges data with the at least one component and processes data received from the at least one component. 
     The power supply unit  120  is a device that outputs power for low-speed charging of an external device (e.g., a smartphone) connected to the USB device  200  via the USB device  200  and may output power of, for example, 5V for low-speed charging. 
     The USB charging unit  130  is enabled or disabled according to an enable (EA) signal or a disable (DA) signal from the MCU  160 . 
     When the USB charging unit  130  is enabled, the USB charging unit  130  transfers power (e.g., 5V power for low-speed charging) supplied from the power supply unit  120 , and at the same time transfers USB communication data (e.g., data related to charging) transferred from the CPU  110  to an external device (not shown) connected to the USB connector  240  of the USB device  200  via the USB device  200 . Here, the USB charging unit  130  may configure the USB communication data to include information related to a maximum charging current that may be provided during low-speed charging or high-speed charging, and transmit the USB communication data to the external device. 
     Although not shown, the USB charging unit  130  may include, for example, a power converter and a controller for controlling the power converter. 
     The power converter steps up or steps down power for low-speed charging output from the power supply unit  120  under the control of the controller. The controller serves to control the power converter, appropriately process the USB communication data transferred from the CPU  110 , and transfers the processed USB communication data to an external device via the USB device  200 . At this time, the controller configures the USB communication data to include information related to the maximum charging current, and transfers the USB communication data to the external device via the USB device  200 , thereby notifying the external device of the maximum charging current that the USB charging unit may supply. 
     When the USB charging unit  130  is disabled, the USB charging unit  130  does not perform a charging operation (e.g., a low-speed charging operation) and bypasses data related to charging exchanged with the USB device  20  or an external device connected to the USB connector  240  of the USB device  200 . That is, the disabled USB charging unit  130  operates in a bypass mode. 
     The ideal diode  140  is a semiconductor device connected between the USB charging unit  130  and the connector  180 . A positive electrode of the ideal diode  140  is connected to the USB charging unit  130 , and a negative electrode of the ideal diode  140  is connected to the connector  180 . 
     When a forward bias voltage is applied to both ends of the ideal diode  140 , current flows from the positive electrode to the negative electrode without a voltage drop, and conversely, when a reverse bias voltage is applied to both ends, no current flows. That is, when power for low-speed charging output from the USB charging unit  130  is applied to the positive electrode of the ideal diode  140 , power for low-speed charging is transferred to the connector  180  without a voltage drop. 
     When an external power higher than the power for low-speed charging is applied to the negative electrode of the ideal diode  140 , current does not flow, and thus preventing the USB charging unit  130  from being damaged by an overvoltage according to the external power. Meanwhile, the external power may be a power used during high-speed charging, and may be, for example, a 12V power. 
     The ideal diode  140  may be replaced with a field effect transistor (FET) having a body diode, and the FET may perform a switching operation according to a control signal from the MCU  160  to be described later. The ideal diode  140  may be excluded from the design if the USB charging unit  130  can be protected from an overvoltage in a disabled state. 
     The switch unit  150  is a device that transfers external power applied from an external power device (not shown) to a power line connecting the negative electrode of the ideal diode  140  and the connector  180 . Here, the external power device may be, for example, a vehicle battery that provides power of 12V. 
     The switch unit  150  performs a switching operation (a turn-on operation or a turn-off operation) in response to a control signal (EN: enable)  161  from the MCU  160 . According to the switching operation, the switch unit  150  may transfer the external power for high-speed charging to a power line connecting the negative electrode of the ideal diode  140  and the connector  180 . 
     Since the external power for high-speed charging is not transferred to the USB charging unit  130  by the ideal diode  140 , it is transferred to the USB device  200  through a USB cable  50 , which will be described later. 
     The MCU  160  generates a control signal (CS) for controlling a switching operation of the switch unit  150  described above according to a charging mode signal received from an external device. The charging mode signal includes a high-speed charging mode signal indicating high-speed charging and a low-speed charging mode signal indicating low-speed charging. 
     When the MCU  160  receives a high-speed charging mode signal from an external device, the MCU  160  transfers a control signal EN for instructing a turn-on operation of the switch unit  150  to the switch unit  150 , and when the MCU  160  receives a low-speed charging mode signal from the external device, the MCU  160  transfers a control signal EN for instructing a turn-off operation of the switch unit  150  to the switch unit  150 . 
     The switch unit  150  performs a turn-on operation according to a control signal CS for instructing the turn-on operation from the MCU  160  and transfers an external power for high-speed charging to a power line connecting the negative electrode of the ideal diode  140  to the connector  180 . 
     The switch unit  150  cuts off transmission of external power for high-speed charging by performing a turn-off operation according to the control signal EN for instructing the turn-off operation from the MCU  160 . When the transmission of the external power for high-speed charging is cut off, power for low-speed charging output from the power supply unit  120  may be transferred to the USB device  200  by way of the ideal diode  140  and the connector  180 . 
     The external device providing the charging mode signal may be a wiring harness connected to a car body or a chassis. In this case, a car body or a chassis serves as a ground. In this case, the charging mode signal is utilized as a ground signal, and the ground signal is used as a charging mode signal indicating high-speed charging. 
     In a state in which the MCU  160  and the wiring harness are not connected, the MCU  160  transfers a control signal CS for instructing a turn-off operation to the switch unit  150 , thereby cutting off transmission of an external power for high-speed charging. 
     As such, the infotainment system  100  performs high-speed charging when connected to the vehicle body or chassis by a wiring harness, and performs low-speed charging when not connected to the vehicle body or chassis by a wiring harness. 
     The MCU  160  may generate a control signal CS for controlling the switching operation of the switch unit  150  described above according to a connector identification signal received from the USB device  200 . The connector identification signal is a signal for identifying a USB connector type supported by the USB device  200 , and includes a connector identification signal indicating USB A TYPE and a connector identification signal indicating USB C TYPE. 
     The USB device  200  having the USB A TYPE USB connector  240  supports low-speed charging, and the USB device  200  having the USB C TYPE USB connector  240  supports high-speed charging. 
     The MCU  160  transfers a control signal for instructing a turn-off operation to the switch unit  150  according to a connector identification signal indicating USB A TYPE, and transfers a control signal for instructing a turn-on operation to the switch unit  150  according to a connector identification signal indicating USB C TYPE. 
     The MCU  160  detects connector type information (or charging type information) of the USB device  200  according to the connector identification signal received from the USB device  200  and transfers the detected connector type information to the CPU  110 . 
     The CPU  110  generates USB communication data to include connector type information (or charging type information) from the MCU  160  and transfers the generated USB communication data to the USB charging unit  130 . 
     The USB charging unit  130  configures to further include maximum charging current information according to connector type information (or charging type information) in the USB communication data transferred from the CPU  110  and then transfers the same to an external device (e.g., a smartphone) connected to the USB device  200 . 
     In addition, when the MCU  160  recognizes a situation requiring high-speed charging according to the connector identification signal or the charging mode signal, the MCU  160  transfers a disable signal DEN for switching an operation mode of the USB charging unit  130  (or a controller of the USB charging unit  130 ) to a bypass mode to the USB charging unit  130 . 
     When the USB charging unit  130  is switched to the bypass mode, the USB charging unit  130  serves only to transfer data transferred from the USB charging unit  230  in the USB device  200  to be described later to the CPU  110  as it is. That is, the USB charging unit  130  switched to the bypass mode does not perform any processing on data transferred from the USB charging unit  230  in the USB device  200  as well as an operation related to charging. 
     As such, a reason for switching the USB charging unit  130  to the bypass mode is to prevent a degradation of a data communication line  54  connecting the USB charging unit  130  and the USB charging unit  230  in the USB device  200  due to mutual interference of the USB charging unit  130  and the USB charging unit  230 . 
     When the connector  180  of the infotainment system  100  and the connector  210  of the USB device  200  are connected, the current sensor  170  senses the connector connection state. For example, the current sensor  170  senses a current value flowing through the power supply line  52  included in the USB cable  50  to be described later, and transfers the sensed value to the MCU  160 . 
     The MCU  160  may diagnose the connector connection state between the infotainment system  100  and the USB device  200  based on the sensed value transferred from the current sensor  170 , and provide a diagnosis result to the user. For example, when the sensed value is less than a reference value, the MCU  160  may diagnose the connector connection state as an abnormal state, and in the opposite case, the MCU  160  may diagnose the connector connection state as a normal state. The diagnosis result may be displayed through a display device (not shown) provided in the infotainment system  100 . 
     Meanwhile, in the embodiment described above, the MCU  160  generates the control signal CS and the enable/disable signal EA/DA for controlling the switching operation of the switch unit  150  based on the connector identification signal or the charging mode signal, but the MCU  160  may also generate the control signal CS and the enable/disable signal EA/DA according to a user input input through the display device. In this case, the display device may display an input button for selecting high-speed charging or low-speed charging. 
     Hereinafter, an internal configuration of the USB device  200  will be described. 
     The USB device  200  includes a connector  210 , a dummy load  220 , a USB charging unit  230 , and a USB connector  240 . 
     The connector  210  is connected to the connector  180  of the infotainment system  100  by a USB cable  50 . Here, the USB cable  50  may be, for example, a low-cost USB 2.0 cable. In this case, the infotainment system  100  and the USB device  200  perform data communication based on a USB 2.0 communication method. 
     As such, the present invention provides an effect of supporting both low-speed charging and high-speed charging using a low-cost USB 2.0 cable, regardless of the USB connector specification of the USB device  200 . 
     The USB cable  50  includes a power supply line  50 , a data communication line  54 , and a ground line  56 . 
     Through the power supply line  50 , the infotainment system  100  may transmit power for low-speed charging (e.g., 5V) or power for high-speed charging (e.g., 12V) to the USB device  200 . The power supply unit  120 , the USB charging unit  130 , and the ideal diode  140  included in the infotainment system  100  and the USB charging unit  230  included in the USB device  200  are connected by the power supply line  50 . 
     The infotainment system  100  and the USB charging unit  230  may exchange charging-related data by the data communication line  54 . For example, the USB charging unit  110  may transmit a maximum charging current value to the USB charging unit  230  through the data line  54 . 
     The CPU  110 , the USB charging unit  130 , and the USB charging unit  230  are connected by the data communication line  54 . 
     In addition, the USB cable  50  may further include an additional line for transmitting the connector identification signal to the MCU  160  in the infotainment system  100 . Alternatively, the connector identification signal may be transferred to the MCU  160  through the data communication line  54 , in which case the design of the additional line is unnecessary. 
     The dummy load  220  is connected to a power supply line connecting the connector  210  and the USB charging unit  230 , and serves to constantly consume current flowing through the power supply line to diagnose the connector connection state. The dummy load  220  may be, for example, a resistor. 
     Although not shown, the USB charging unit  230  may include a power converter and a controller. 
     The power converter converts (steps up or steps down) power for low-speed charging or power for high-speed charging transferred from the infotainment system  100  through the connector  210  under the control of the controller, and transfers the converted power to an external device (e.g., a smartphone) connected to the USB connector  240 . 
     The controller controls the operation of the power converter and, at the same time, exchanges data (e.g., a maximum charging current value, a connector identification signal, etc.) related to charging with the CPU  100  or the USB charging unit  130  included in the infotainment system  100 , and transfers the exchanged data to an external device connected to the USB connector  240 . 
     The USB connector  240  is a connector for connecting the USB device  200  and an external device (e.g., a smartphone), and may be a USB A TYPE supporting low-speed charging or a USB C TYPE supporting high-speed charging. 
       FIG.  2    is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of an overall system according to another embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG.  2   , the overall system according to another embodiment of the present invention includes an infotainment system  100 ′ and a USB device  200 ′. 
     The infotainment system  100 ′ according to another embodiment of the present invention is the same as the infotainment system  100  shown in  FIG.  1   . Accordingly, a description of the infotainment system  100 ′ according to another embodiment of the present invention is replaced with the description of the infotainment system  100  shown in  FIG.  1   . 
     However, the USB device  200 ′ according to another embodiment of the present invention is different from the USB device  200  illustrated in  FIG.  1    in that it does not include such a module as the USB charging unit  230  shown in  FIG.  1    but operates as a bypass type. 
     Since the USB device  200 ′ operating in the bypass type does not include a special hardware component, the USB device  200 ′ has a small size and may be used as a USB device occupying a minimum space in a vehicle. 
     The MCU  160  detects a USB connector type of the USB device  200 ′ based on any one information among a connector identification signal received from the USB device  200 ′ operating as a bypass type, a charging mode signal received from a wiring harness, and a user input. 
     The MCU  160  controls the switching operation of the switch unit  150  and at the same time enables or disables the USB charging unit  130  according to the detected USB connector type. 
     In addition, the MCU  160  configures the detected USB connector type as USB connector type information and transfers the USB connector type information to the CPU  110 , and the CPU  110  transfers a maximum current value that may be provided during low-speed charging or high-speed charging to an external device (e.g., a smartphone) connected to the USB connector of the USB device  200 ′. 
     As such, even when the infotainment system  100 ′ according to another embodiment of the present invention is linked with the USB device  200 ′ operating as the bypass type, low-speed charging or high-speed charging may be freely selected to perform charging on the external device (e.g., a smartphone) connected to the USB device  200 ′. 
       FIG.  3    is a flowchart illustrating a charging method performed by the in-vehicle infotainment system using different types of USB devices as an intermediate medium according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG.  3   , in step S 310 , the connector  180  of the in-vehicle infotainment system  100  and the connector  210  of the USB device  200  are connected by the USB cable  50 . 
     Next, in step S 320 , the MCU  160  determines a USB connector type of the USB connector  240  included in the USB device  200  according to the connector identification signal received from the USB device  200  through the USB cable  50 . 
     Next, in step S 330 , the MCU  160  controls the operation of the USB charging unit  130  and the switch unit  150  to transfer the internal power or the external power to the USB device  200  through the USB cable  50  according to a result of determining the USB connector type. 
     In an embodiment, after step S 330 , when the USB connector type is determined as a USB A TYPE supporting the low-speed charging, a step of enabling the USB charging unit  130  under the control of the MCU  160  and a step of transferring the internal power from the enabled USB charging unit  130  to the USB device  200  through the power supply line  52  included in the USB cable  50  may be further performed. 
     In an embodiment, before or after the step of controlling the operation of the USB charging unit  130  and the switch unit  150 , when the USB connector type is determined as the 
     USB C TYPE supporting the high-speed charging, a step of disabling the USB charging unit  130  under the control of the MCU and a step of performing a turn-on operation under the control of the MCU  160  for the switch unit  150  to transfer the external power to the USB device  200  through the power supply line  52  included in the SUB cable  50  may be further performed. 
     In an embodiment, the step of disabling the USB charging unit under the control of the microcontroller unit may include switching an operation mode of the USB charging unit to a bypass mode in which a charging operation is not performed. 
     In an embodiment, the in-vehicle infotainment system further includes a central processing unit, and a step of transferring, by the MCU, a result of determining the USB connector type to the CPU and a step of transferring, by the CPU, a maximum charging current value that may be provided in the low-speed charging or the high-speed charging to the USB device  200  and an external device (e.g., a smartphone) connected to the USB device  200  through a data communication line included in the USB cable based on a result of determining the USB connector type may be further performed. 
     In an embodiment, the in-vehicle infotainment system may further include a current sensor  170 , and before the step of determining the USB connector type of the USB device  200 , a step of sensing a current value, by the current sensor  170 , a current value flowing in the USB cable  50  in a state in which the connector  180  of the infotainment system  100  and the connector  210  of the USB device  200  are connected by the USB cable  50  to the MCU  160  and a step of diagnosing, by the MCU, a connector connection state between the connector  180  of the infotainment system  100  and the connector  210  of the USB device  200  based on the current value may be further performed. 
     In an embodiment, a step of transferring, by the MCU  160 , information indicating the connector connection state to the CPU  110  and converting, by the CPU  110 , the information indicating the connector connection state into visual information and displaying the visual information on a display device (not shown) included in the in-vehicle infotainment system  100  may be further performed. 
     According to the present invention, an in-vehicle infotainment system may freely perform low-speed or high-speed charging desired by a user for an external device (e.g., a smartphone) connected to different types of USB devices, regardless of a connector type (or charging type) of the different types of USB devices. 
     The method described above may be implemented as a hardware module executed by a processor, a software module, or a combination thereof. Here, the processor may include at least one GPU or at least one CPU. 
     A software module may reside in a storage medium (i.e., memory and/or storage) such as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM. 
     A storage medium may be, for example, connected to a processor, and the processor may read information from the storage medium and write information to the storage medium. Alternatively, the storage medium may be integral with the processor. 
     The processor and storage medium may reside within an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The ASIC may reside within a vehicle. 
     Example methods of the present disclosure are expressed as a series of operations for clarity of description but not intended to limit the order in which the steps are performed, and if necessary, each step may be performed simultaneously or in a different order. 
     The exemplary embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in an illustrative aspect rather than a restrictive aspect. The scope of the present invention is shown in the claims rather than the foregoing description, and all differences within the equivalent range should be interpreted as being included in the present invention.