Patent Publication Number: US-2022218044-A1

Title: Garment with configurable shoulder sections

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/030,362, filed Sep. 23, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/392,512, filed Apr. 23, 2019, now abandoned, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     COPYRIGHT NOTICE 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to garments, and, more particularly to garments with configurable shoulder sections. The shoulder sections may generally be configured in at least an open configuration and a closed configuration. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Garments such as pull-over shirts may sometimes be difficult to place onto a human body. The garments may first need to be pulled over one&#39;s head, and then the person may need to manipulate his/her arms into and through the sleeves. If the sleeves are somewhat tight or otherwise positioned close to the body of the garment, this may be uncomfortable and sometimes even harmful. 
     In one particular example, garments designed specifically for infants, while very important to keep the baby warm and safe, are often times difficult to place onto the baby&#39;s body without having to bend or otherwise manipulate the baby&#39;s head, shoulders and arms to fit within the collar and the sleeves of the garment. Knowing that a baby&#39;s body may be extremely fragile and delicate, this may cause discomfort to the baby and sometimes even damage to their body. 
     For example, placing a shirt or a onesie onto a baby may require the shirt or onesie to first be pulled over the baby&#39;s head. The neck of a baby may be very delicate and fragile such that this action must be done with great care to avoid hurting the baby. Then, when the garment is generally around the baby&#39;s neck, the baby&#39;s arms must be bent, twisted and manipulated to pull them through the sleeves of the garment. This action may be very unpleasant for the baby and may even cause damage to the baby&#39;s arms, joints and internal ligaments. It can also be seen that this same potentially harmful scenario may also be true for any type of person, not just an infant. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a garment that may be placed onto a person&#39;s body in such a way that avoids the need to bend, twist or otherwise manipulate the person&#39;s body. 
     It is desirable, and an object of this invention, to provide a garment that may be placed onto a person in a safe and comfortable way that eliminates the need to manipulate the person&#39;s body during the process. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein: 
         FIGS. 1-3  show a garment with upper and lower flaps; and 
         FIGS. 4 and 5  show a baby placed into a garment with upper and lower flaps. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS 
     As used herein, unless used otherwise, the following term has the following meaning: 
     A “mechanism” refers to any device(s), process(es), routine(s), service(s), or combination thereof. A mechanism may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, using a special-purpose device, or any combination thereof. A mechanism may be integrated into a single device or it may be distributed over multiple devices. The various components of a mechanism may be co-located or distributed. The mechanism may be formed from other mechanisms. In general, as used herein, the term “mechanism” may thus be considered to be shorthand for the term device(s) and/or process(es) and/or service(s). 
     The following detailed description is not intended to limit the current invention. Alternate embodiments and variations of the subject matter described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. 
     Garment  10  according to exemplary embodiments hereof is described with reference to  FIGS. 1-5 . 
     As depicted in  FIG. 1 , garment  10  may include an upper portion  100 , a lower portion  102 , a body  104 , an upper opening  106 , a lower opening  108 , a top left shoulder portion  110 , a top right shoulder portion  112 , a front side  114  and a back side  116 . Garment  10  may also include an inside area  117  that may be formed as the region between the front side  114  and the back side  116 . In addition, garment  10  may also include a collar  118  that may be formed as an upper portion of top opening  106 . The upper left shoulder portion  110  and the upper right shoulder portion  112  may also each include at least one upper flap  120  and at least one lower flap  122 . That is, the upper left shoulder portion  110  may include at least one upper flap  120  and at least one lower flap  122 , and the upper right shoulder portion may also include at least one upper flap  120  and at least one lower flap  122 . It should be noted that in this specification, a single upper flap  120  and a single lower flap  122  on each of the left and right sides of the garment  10  may be used as a main example. However, it should be noted that any number of upper and lower flaps  120 ,  122  may be used on either the left or right shoulder portions  110 ,  112  of the garment  10 . 
     Note that the left and right upper tabs  120  may generally be mirror images of each other, and that the left and right lower tabs  122  may generally be mirror images of each other. However, it should be noted that the left and right upper tabs  120  may not generally be mirror images of each other, and that the left and right lower tabs  122  may not generally be mirror images of each other, and that the tabs  120 ,  122  may be formed of any type of different shapes and sizes. 
     Note that in the configuration depicted in  FIG. 1 , top flap  120  may generally be an upper extension of the back  116  of the garment  10 . The flap  120  may be formed of the same material as the back  116  section of the garment  10  such that the top flap  120  may simply extend up from the back  116  on the left and right upper sides. Alternatively, the top flaps  120  may be sewn or otherwise attached to the top of the back section  116  on the upper left and right portions of the garment  10 . In this way, it can be seen that the top flaps  120  and the back portion of the collar  118  may generally form the top of the back  116  of the garment  10 . Other configurations of top flaps  120  with respect to the back  116  of the garment may also be used. 
     In addition, the lower flap  122  may generally be an upper extension of the front  114  of the garment  10 . The flap  122  may be formed of the same material as the front  114  section of the garment  10  such that the lower flap  122  may simply extend up from the front  114  on the left and right upper sides. Alternatively, the lower flaps  122  may be sewn or otherwise attached to the top of the front section  114  on the upper left and right portions of the garment  10 . In this way, it can be seen that the lower flaps  122  and the front portion of the collar  118  may generally form the top of the front  116  of the garment  10 . Other configurations of the lower flaps  122  with respect to the front  114  of the garment may also be used. 
     The top opening  106  of the garment  10  may be generally formed as the in-between space between the top flaps  120  and the back portion of the collar  118 , and the lower flaps  122  and the front portion of the collar  118 . That is, the left and right top flaps  120  combined with the back portion of the collar  118  may generally define and form the back side of the opening  116 , and the left and right lower flaps  122  combined with the front portion of the collar  118  may generally define and form the front side of the opening  116 . 
     It should be pointed out that the upper shoulder portions of the garment  10  may also be referred to as the yoke of the garment  10  and that in this scenario, the yoke may include the top flaps  120  and the lower flaps  122 , individually or in combination (as will be described below). 
     In the example depicted in  FIG. 1 , top flap  120  may generally have two main positions, an upper position T and a lower position L. Note that in  FIG. 1 , the right upper flap  120  is generally in an upper position T and the left upper flat  120  is generally in a lower position L. In this way, the top left shoulder portion  110  and the top right shoulder portion  112  may be generally configured in at least an open configuration (e.g. when upper flaps  120  are in the upper position T) and in a closed configuration (e.g. when upper flaps  120  are in the lower position L). 
     With top flap  120  generally in an upper position T, top flap  120  may fold forward in the direction of arrow A to transition from an upper position T to a lower position L. In addition, when generally in a lower position L, top flap  120  may fold upward in the direction of arrow B to transition from a lower position L to an upper position T. 
     It should be noted that when upper flap  120  may be placed in a generally lower position L, a portion of the upper flap  120  may come into physical contact with a portion of the lower flap  122 . This is depicted in  FIG. 1  where the left upper flap  122  is in the lower position L and is generally laying over a portion of lower flap  122 . In this configuration, a portion of the inner surface  124  of upper flap  120  may generally overlay a portion of the outer surface  126  of lower flap  122 . 
     With top flap  120  and lower flap  122  in physical contact as describe above, the top flap  120  and the bottom flap  122  may generally be attached or joined to one another in the area of their physical contact using one or more attachment mechanisms  127 . In this way, the combined upper flap  120  and lower flap  122  may generally form the upper shoulder portions  110 ,  112 . The left upper flap  120  combined and joined with the left lower flap  122  may generally form upper left shoulder portion  110 , and the right upper flap  120  combined and joined with the right lower flap  122  may generally form upper right shoulder portion  112 . 
     The top flap  120  and the lower flap  122  combinations (left and right) may include attachment mechanisms  127  such as hook and loop material, snaps, buttons, ties, zippers, magnets or other types or combinations of types of attachment mechanisms  127  that may be used to attach and join the top flap  120  with the lower flap  122  for each combination. In this way, the top flap  120  may be attached and joined to the lower flap  122  when it is folded downward into its lower position L. 
     In one example as depicted in  FIG. 1 , the right top flap  120  and right lower flap  122  may each include one or more attachment mechanisms  127  that may include at least one hook and loop section. For example, top flap  122  may include a hook and loop section  128  and lower flap  122  may include hook and loop section  130 . It may be preferable that if hook and loop section  128  is hook material, that hook and loop section  130  be loop material so that the two sections  128 ,  130  may mate and generally attach to one another. Also, it may be preferable that if hook and loop section  128  is loop material, that hook and loop section  130  be hook material so that the two sections  128 ,  130  may mate and generally attach and be joined to one another. It may also be preferable that with top tab  120  in the lower position L overlaying lower tab  122 , that at least a portion of hook and loop material section  128  may overlay at least a portion of hook and loop material section  130  so that the at least overlapping portions of sections  128  and  130  may attach and adhere to one another. 
     Note that in one preferable configuration, upper flap  120  may fold forward along an axis that may be generally represented by line C in  FIG. 1 . In addition, it may be preferable that the top edge of lower flap  122  generally follow line C as well so that the upper flap  120  may generally fold forward and down across the top edge of flap  122 . Note that the top edge of lower flap  122  may be generally linear so that as upper flap  120  may fold across it, the fold in top flap  120  may also be generally linear such that upper flap  120  may fold uniformly downward over lower flap  122 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , hook and loop section  128  and hook and loop section  130  may generally be positioned in locations that may be mirrored with each other about line C. In this way, when upper flap  120  may fold forward along line C, its hook and loop section  128  may rotate downward into a position that may generally coincide with the position of hook and loop section  130  that may be configured with lower flap  122 . This is depicted as dashed lines in upper left shoulder section of  110  of garment  10  in  FIG. 1 . In this configuration, it may be preferable that the majority of top section  128  may overlap with the majority of lower section  130 , and that the respective sections  128 ,  130  may then be pressed together in order for the hook and material of each section to mate and adhere to one another. In this way, top flap  120  may be securely attached to lower flap  122  when in its lower position L. Note that the upper flap  120  and the lower flap  122  may each also include more than one hook and loop section  128 ,  130 , and that the sections  128 ,  130  may be configured in different positions, locations and configurations. 
     It should be noted and appreciated that other types and numbers of attachment mechanisms  127  may also be used to attach upper flap  120  to lower flap  122  in a similar manner as described above. For example, upper flap  120  and lower flap  122  may be attached to one another using one or more snaps, with at least one side of the snap (e.g. the male side and/or female side) configured with the inner surface of upper flap  120 , and at least one of the other side of the snap (e.g. the female and/or male side) configured with the outer surface of the lower flap  122 . As with the example above regarding using hook and loop material sections  128 ,  130  as the attachment mechanism, each side of the snap on the upper flap  120  and lower flap  122  respectively may be configured to generally come into physical contact and mate with one another when the upper flap  120  may be folded forward into lower position L and the snap sections are pressed together. 
     In another exemplary embodiment hereof, one or more magnets  129  may be used to attach upper flap  120  to lower flap  122  in a similar manner as described above. For example, upper flap  120  and lower flap  122  may be attached to one another using one or more magnets  129 , with at least one magnet  129  configured with the inner surface of upper flap  120  (e.g., sewn into a fold of the material), and at least one magnet  129  configured with the outer surface of the lower flap  122  (e.g., sewn into a fold of the material). As with the example above regarding using hook and loop material sections  128 ,  130  as the attachment mechanisms  127 , each magnet  129  on the upper flap  120  and lower flap  122  respectively may be configured to generally come into physical contact and mate with one another when the upper flap  120  may be folded forward into lower position L and the snap sections are pressed together. Note that it may be preferable that the magnetic poles of each magnet  129  be arranged such that the magnets  129  may attract one another when in physical contact with one another as described. In this way, the magnets  129  may adhere to or otherwise hold one another thus attaching the upper flap  120  and the lower flap  122  together as desired. 
     Note that the descriptions above and the examples provided are meant for demonstration purposes to benefit this description, and do not limit the current invention in any way. In addition, those of ordinary skill in the art will realize and appreciate, upon reading this description, that other configurations of upper flap  120  and lower flap  122  may also be used and configured with other numbers and types of attachment members  127 . For example, other attachment mechanisms  127  may include one or more latches, hooks, zippers, buttons, and other types or combinations of types of attachment mechanisms  127 . In addition, the attachment mechanisms  127  may be configured in different positions and/or in other combinations of positions as compared to the positions described in the examples above or below. It is understood that the scope of the garment  10  is not limited in any way by the type, types or combinations of types of attachment mechanisms  127  that may be used. 
     It should also be noted that upper flap  120  may be folded downward along other fold lines that may be different than fold line C in  FIG. 1 . For example, upper flap  120  may be folded downward along a fold line that may be generally parallel to the x-axis as depicted in  FIG. 1 . In general, it should be appreciated that upper flap  120  may be folded downward along any position or fold line that may be in any direction with respect to the x-axis and y-axis of the figure. 
     As an alternative to the example depicted in  FIG. 1 , it can be seen that the left and right upper flaps  120  may be formed as upper extensions of the front  114  of the garment  10  instead of the back  116 , and that the left and right lower flaps  122  may be formed as upper extensions of the back  116  of the garment instead of the front  114 . In this example, the top flaps  120 , being formed in the front  114  of the garment  10  may fold backwards and downwards instead of forward and downwards as described in the example above. The lower flaps  122  may reside on the back  116  of the garments and may receive the top flaps  120  as they are folded backwards and downwards. In addition, all or at least some of the characteristics of upper and lower flaps  120 ,  122  described with respect to the other examples in this specification also apply to this example. 
     In yet another example, lower flaps  122  may extend upward such that the flaps  122  may be joined and attached to top flaps  120  towards the top of left and right upper shoulder portions  110 ,  112  without the need for top flaps  120  to be folded downward. In this example, top flaps  120  and lower flaps  122  may generally extend to the same height and attach to one another at the top. 
     Note that none of the examples described above or in any other sections of this specification limit the scope of the invention in any manner and that other configurations, and combinations of configurations, of upper flap  120  and lower flap  122  with respect to the front  114  and back  116  are also within the scope of the current invention. In general, 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , with the left top flap  120  configured with the left lower flap  122  as described, left side opening  132  may be formed. Left side opening  132  may be generally formed by the top flap  120  and the lower flap  122  combination and may extend from outside the garment on the left side of the upper left shoulder portion  110  to the inside  117  of the garment  10 . In this way, left side opening  132  may form the opening of the left sleeve  134 . It may be preferable that left side opening  132  be large enough to easily and comfortably accommodate the arm of the infant that may be placed into the garment  10 . 
     Moving now to  FIG. 2 , the garment  10  with both the left and right upper flaps  120  configured with their respective lower flaps  122  is depicted. As shown, the left combination of left upper flap  120  and the left lower flap  122  may form the left opening  132  and the left sleeve  134 , and the right combination of the right upper flap  120  and the right lower flap  122  may form the right opening  136  and right sleeve  138 . Note that while left and right sleeves  134 ,  138  may appear to be short such that they may not extend out far past the left and right sides of the garment  10 , sleeves  134 ,  138  may be longer and may extend well past the left and right sides of the garment respectively. In this way, the sleeves  134 ,  138  may be formed into what may referred to as “short sleeves”  134 ,  138  (i.e. sleeves that may extend a few inches past the left and right sides of the garment  10 ), “three quarter sleeves”  134 ,  138  (i.e. sleeves that may extend to just past the elbow region of a person&#39;s arm who may be wearing the garment  100 , “long sleeves”  134 ,  138  (i.e. sleeves that may generally extend to the wrist region of the person&#39;s arm who may be wearing the garment), as well as other types of sleeves  134 ,  138 . 
     It should be noted that sleeves  134 ,  138  may be of any length, shape, size or style, and may utilize the left and right upper flap  120 /lower flap  122  combinations accordingly. It may be preferable that versions of longer sleeved garment  10  primarily include the upper and lower flaps  120 ,  122  in the top left shoulder portion  110  and the top right shoulder portion  112  of the garment  10 . That is, the upper and lower flaps  120 ,  122  may not necessarily extend the full length of the longer sleeves  134 ,  138  but may instead be generally located in the shoulder regions  110 ,  112  where the arms of the person wearing the garment  10  may be most difficult to manipulate into the sleeves  134 ,  138 . In this case, the portion of the sleeves  134 ,  138  in the areas that may extend out beyond the upper shoulder regions  110 ,  112  may generally include what may be viewed as typical sleeves (with an opening into the top of sleeve  134 ,  138  just beyond the upper and lower flaps  120 ,  122  and a lower opening that may coincide with the wrist region of the person&#39;s arm who may be wearing the garment  10 ). In this way, the upper and lower flaps  120 ,  122  may perform as described in this specification in the areas that may be most difficult to manipulate the user&#39;s arm/shoulders into the garment  10 , and in the areas beyond this area, the person&#39;s arm may be more easily inserted into the outer areas of the sleeve through the top opening and out the lower opening. Note however that upper and lower tabs  120 ,  122  may indeed extend a portion or the entire length of the sleeves  134 ,  138  (of any length) as necessary. 
     In Operation 
     Turning to  FIGS. 3-5 , the use and general operation of the garment  10  will now be described by detailed descriptions and by means of example. In this particular example, the garment  10  may include a onesie garment generally used for babies or infants. However, it will be appreciated that this example is only meant for demonstration purposes and does not limit the scope of the garment  10  in any way. It will also be appreciated that the garment  10  may include other types of garments such as shirts, jumpers, one-piece suits, shirts attached to leggings, and other types of garments. It is also noted that the garment  10  may be used with any type of person including infants, toddlers, children, teenagers, young adults, adults, middle aged persons, senior citizens as well as any other type of person. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , garment  10  may have a front  114 , a back  116 , an upper opening  106 , a lower opening  108 , an inside  117 , upper flaps  120  and lower flaps  122 . Note that the lower flaps  122  may be folded downwards in this drawing but this may not be required. It should be appreciated that the upper opening  106  and the lower opening  108  may pass into the inside  117  such that the inner cavity  117  of the garment  10  may pass continuously from the upper opening  106  to the lower opening  108 . In this way, the garment  10  may be placed on the body of a person (e.g. an infant  200  or any other type of person) and the portion of the infant&#39;s body that is meant to be covered by the garment  10  (e.g. the torso of the infant  200 ) may generally be configured within the inside  117  of the garment  10 . This is depicted in  FIG. 4 . Note that the infant&#39;s left and right arms may be positioned generally above the lower flaps  122  and generally below the upper flaps  120 . In this way, the left and right arms may be generally positioned in the area that will form left side opening  132  and right side opening respectively. 
     It is important to note that the garment  10  may be placed on the infant  200  (or other person) by placing the feet of the infant  200  through the top opening  106  of the garment  10  and then pulling the garment  10  up and around the baby&#39;s torso area as desired (for this particular type of garment). This may allow the avoidance of having to place the garment  10  over the baby&#39;s head area which may be preferable in order to avoid handling the baby&#39;s fragile neck, shoulders and head. However, given that the top and bottom openings  106 ,  108  may be large enough to easily accommodate the baby&#39;s head and shoulders, it may be safe to place the lower opening  108  over the baby&#39;s head and pull the garment  10  downward over the torso of the baby  200  as desired. 
     Once the infant  200  is placed within garment  10  as depicted in  FIG. 4 , the lower tabs  122  may be folded upward in the direction of arrow D, and the upper tabs  120  may be folded forward and downward in the direction of arrow A. In this way, the upper and lower flaps  120 ,  122  may overlay the baby&#39;s left and right shoulder and upper arm region as depicted in  FIG. 5 . The upper flaps  120  and the lower flaps  122  may be secured together utilizing attachment mechanisms  128 ,  130  (e.g. hook and loop material sections or other attachment mechanisms) such that the left and right upper flap  120  and lower flap  122  combinations may form the left and right sleeves  134 ,  138  respectively. Note also that the left and right upper flap  120  and lower flap  122  combinations may form the left and right openings  132 ,  136  respectively that may form the inner openings of the sleeves  134 ,  138 . It may be preferable that the upper and lower flaps  120 ,  122  be configured in such a way that left and right openings  132 ,  136  and left and right sleeves  134 ,  138  be of a size and shape that may easily and comfortably receive and cover the baby&#39;s left and right shoulder and upper arm regions. 
     It is important to note that at no time during the placement of the garment  10  onto the baby&#39;s body was there a need to bend, twist, handle or otherwise manipulate the baby&#39;s left and right arms into the left and right sleeves  134 ,  138  since the upper and lower flaps  120 ,  122  were configured around the baby&#39;s left and right arms to form the sleeves  134 ,  138  without any movement required of the baby&#39;s arms. In this way, the delicate and fragile arms of the baby are safe from uncomfortable and potentially damaging manipulations into the sleeves  134 ,  138 . 
     To remove the garment  10  from the person&#39;s body, the reverse procedure may be followed. The upper and lower flaps  120 ,  122  may be disconnected from one another in order to open up the top of the garment  10 . The garment may then be easily removed, again, without having to bend, twist or otherwise manipulate the person&#39;s arms, shoulders or neck. 
     Note that in this example of a onesie that may be used with a baby or infant, the garment  10  may also include a lower center front flap  140  and a lower center rear flap  146  that may be configured to generally close the lower opening  108  of the garment  10  around the baby&#39;s leg and groin areas. The lower center front flap  140  and lower center rear flap  142  may each include attachment mechanisms  144   146  similar to the attachment mechanisms used in relation to upper and lower flaps  120 ,  122  (e.g. hook and loop material) to be secured to one another. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5 , the lower center front flap  140  may be folded downward and the lower center rear flap  142  may be folded forward to be joined together in the area between the baby&#39;s left and right legs. In this way, the lower portion of the garment  10  may be generally closed such that the garment is secured to the baby&#39;s body. To open the bottom portion of the garment  10  in order to remove it from the baby&#39;s body, the lower center front flap  142  may be disconnected from the lower center rear flap  142  and the bottom opening  108  may be opened wide for the removal of the baby. 
     It is understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that any and/or all of the aspects of any of the above described embodiments may be combined in any way, and that the system  10  is not limited in any way by any combination of the aspects of any exemplary embodiments. 
     While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the appended claims. 
     Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate and understand, upon reading this description, that embodiments hereof may provide different and/or additional advantages, and that not all embodiments or implementations need have all advantages. 
     A person of ordinary skill in the art will understand, that any method described above or below and/or claimed and described as a sequence of steps is not restrictive in the sense of the order of steps. 
     Where a process is described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the process may operate without any user intervention. In another embodiment, the process includes some human intervention (e.g., a step is performed by or with the assistance of a human). 
     As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “at least some” means “one or more,” and includes the case of only one. Thus, e.g., the phrase “at least some ABCs” means “one or more ABCs”, and includes the case of only one ABC. 
     As used herein, including in the claims, term “at least one” should be understood as meaning “one or more”, and therefore includes both embodiments that include one or multiple components. Furthermore, dependent claims that refer to independent claims that describe features with “at least one” have the same meaning, both when the feature is referred to as “the” and “the at least one”. 
     As used in this description, the term “portion” means some or all. So, for example, “A portion of X” may include some of “X” or all of “X”. In the context of a conversation, the term “portion” means some or all of the conversation. 
     As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “using” means “using at least,” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “using X” means “using at least X.” Unless specifically stated by use of the word “only”, the phrase “using X” does not mean “using only X.” 
     As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “based on” means “based in part on” or “based, at least in part, on,” and is not exclusive. Thus, e.g., the phrase “based on factor X” means “based in part on factor X” or “based, at least in part, on factor X.” Unless specifically stated by use of the word “only”, the phrase “based on X” does not mean “based only on X.” 
     In general, as used herein, including in the claims, unless the word “only” is specifically used in a phrase, it should not be read into that phrase. 
     As used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “distinct” means “at least partially distinct.” Unless specifically stated, distinct does not mean fully distinct. Thus, e.g., the phrase, “X is distinct from Y” means that “X is at least partially distinct from Y,” and does not mean that “X is fully distinct from Y.” Thus, as used herein, including in the claims, the phrase “X is distinct from Y” means that X differs from Y in at least some way. 
     It should be appreciated that the words “first,” “second,” and so on, in the description and claims, are used to distinguish or identify, and not to show a serial or numerical limitation. Similarly, letter labels (e.g., “(A)”, “(B)”, “(C)”, and so on, or “(a)”, “(b)”, and so on) and/or numbers (e.g., “(i)”, “(ii)”, and so on) are used to assist in readability and to help distinguish and/or identify, and are not intended to be otherwise limiting or to impose or imply any serial or numerical limitations or orderings. Similarly, words such as “particular,” “specific,” “certain,” and “given,” in the description and claims, if used, are to distinguish or identify, and are not intended to be otherwise limiting. 
     As used herein, including in the claims, the terms “multiple” and “plurality” mean “two or more,” and include the case of “two.” Thus, e.g., the phrase “multiple ABCs,” means “two or more ABCs,” and includes “two ABCs.” Similarly, e.g., the phrase “multiple PQRs,” means “two or more PQRs,” and includes “two PQRs.” 
     The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values and ranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. are used in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally, substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” or “approximately 3” shall also cover exactly 3 or “substantially constant” shall also cover exactly constant). 
     As used herein, including in the claims, singular forms of terms are to be construed as also including the plural form and vice versa, unless the context indicates otherwise. Thus, it should be noted that as used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. 
     Throughout the description and claims, the terms “comprise”, “including”, “having”, and “contain” and their variations should be understood as meaning “including but not limited to”, and are not intended to exclude other components unless specifically so stated. 
     It will be appreciated that variations to the embodiments of the invention can be made while still falling within the scope of the invention. Alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose can replace features disclosed in the specification, unless stated otherwise. Thus, unless stated otherwise, each feature disclosed represents one example of a generic series of equivalent or similar features. 
     The present invention also covers the exact terms, features, values and ranges, etc. in case these terms, features, values and ranges etc. are used in conjunction with terms such as about, around, generally, substantially, essentially, at least etc. (i.e., “about 3” shall also cover exactly 3 or “substantially constant” shall also cover exactly constant). 
     Use of exemplary language, such as “for instance”, “such as”, “for example” (“e.g.,”) and the like, is merely intended to better illustrate the invention and does not indicate a limitation on the scope of the invention unless specifically so claimed. 
     While the invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 
     Although certain presently preferred embodiments of the invention have been described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains that variations and modifications of the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.