Patent Publication Number: US-2010127882-A1

Title: Garage Door Closing Confirmation Systems and Methods

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention generally relates to openers for garage doors and, more specifically, to systems and methods for obtaining garage door closure confirmation. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Garage doors are often equipped with systems which permit the garage door to be opened and closed remotely, such as from within a vehicle or a building. Such systems generally comprise a remote control unit and an opener operatively coupled to the garage door. The remote control unit may utilize radio frequency (RF) signals to actuate the opener and thereby open or close the garage door. For example, when the remote control unit is located in a vehicle, a user exiting the garage in the vehicle may utilize the remote control unit from the vehicle to activate the opener thereby closing the garage door from within the vehicle to close the garage door. 
     Generally, a user is able to visually confirm whether the garage door has closed before leaving the vicinity of the garage door. However, under certain circumstances, visual confirmation of the garage door status (e.g., open or closed) may not be obtainable. For example, visual confirmation of the garage door status may be difficult to obtain where a driveway curves away from the garage door or where obstructions visually impede a direct line of sight to the garage door. Similarly, a user may not be able to visually ascertain the status of the garage door for a side-entry garage. In still other circumstances, visual confirmation of the status of the garage door may not be feasible, such as when a garage door opens directly onto a busy street and a user may be unable to both monitor traffic as well as the status of the garage. 
     Accordingly, a need exists for alternative systems and methods for use in conjunction with garage door openers for obtaining garage door status information confirmation. 
     SUMMARY 
     In one embodiment, a method for determining the status of a garage door with a garage door opener system comprising a remote control unit and an opener unit includes transmitting a request signal from the remote control unit to the opener unit thereby activating an actuator mechanically coupled to the garage door. After the actuator has been activated, the status of the garage door is determined in response to the request signal received by the opener unit. A confirmation signal indicative of the status of the garage door is then transmitted from the opener unit to the remote control unit. The remote control unit provides an indication to the user indicative of the status of the garage door based on the received confirmation signal, wherein the status of the garage door is one of closed, not closed or unknown. 
     In another embodiment, a garage door opener system for indicating a status of a garage door to a user includes a remote control unit and an opener unit. The opener unit is operable may be operable to receive a request signal from the remote control unit. After the opener unit receives the request signal, the opener unit may be operable to activate an actuator coupled to the garage door when the request signal is received from the remote control unit thereby opening or closing the garage door. After the actuator has been activated, the opener unit determines the status of the garage door (e.g., closed, not closed or indeterminate). The opener unit is also operable to transmit a confirmation signal to the remote control unit indicative of the status of the garage door in response to the request signal and after the actuator has been activated. The remote control unit may be operable to transmit a request signal to the opener unit as well as receive a confirmation signal from the opener unit. When the remote control unit receives a confirmation signal from the opener unit, the opener unit may provide an indication to a user of the remote control unit indicative of the status of the garage door based on the received confirmation signal. 
     In yet another embodiment, a vehicle includes a remote control unit for determining a status of a garage door mechanically coupled to a garage door opener unit. The remote control unit includes an input device, a warning indicator, a transceiver and a programmable logic controller. The input device may be electrically coupled to the programmable logic controller and is operable to provide user input into the remote control unit. The transceiver may be electrically coupled to the programmable logic controller and may be operable to transmit request signals from the programmable logic controller to the opener unit and receive confirmation signals indicative of the status of the garage door from the opener unit and relay the confirmation signals to the programmable logic controller, wherein the status of the garage door is closed, not closed or unknown. The warning indicator may be electrically coupled to the programmable logic controller and may be operable to provide an indication of the status of the garage door when the remote control unit receives the confirmation signal from the opener unit. The programmable logic controller may be operable to cause the warning indicator to provide an indication of the status of the garage door based on confirmation signals received from the opener unit through the transceiver and cause the transceiver to transmit request signals to the opener unit based on input received from the input device, thereby causing the opener unit to open or close the garage door. 
     These and additional features provided by the embodiments of the present invention will be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the inventions defined by the claims. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which: 
         FIG. 1  depicts a block diagram of a garage door opener system for providing the status of a garage door according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; and 
         FIG. 2  depicts a flow diagram of a method of obtaining the status of a garage door according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  generally depicts one embodiment of a garage door opener system which may be utilized to obtain the status (e.g., open, closed or unknown) of a garage door. The garage door opener system generally comprises an opener and a remote control unit. The opener may comprise an actuator, a programmable control unit, a sensor and a transceiver. The remote control unit may generally comprise a programmable control unit, an input device, a warning indicator and a transceiver. Each of these components and their interconnectivity will be described in more detail below. Further, it should be understood that, while the solid arrows shown in  FIG. 1  generally indicate the interconnectivity between various component parts of the garage door opener system, it should also be understood that these arrows are also indicative of electrical signals passed between the various component parts of the system. Further, it should also be understood that the dashed arrows shown in  FIG. 1  are indicative of an electromagnetic signal propagated between various components of the system. In addition to the components of the garage door opener system, the operation of the garage door opener system and methods of determining the status of a garage door will also be described in further detail herein. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , a garage door opener system  100  is shown according to one embodiment shown and described herein. The garage door opener system  100  may generally comprise an opener unit  102  and a remote control unit  104 . The opener unit  102  generally comprises an actuator  112  which may be attached to a garage door (not shown) or a gate (not shown). When attached to a garage door or gate, the actuator  112  is operable to impart movement to the garage door or gate thereby opening and/or closing the garage door or gate. For example, when the garage door opener system  100  is used in conjunction with a typical garage door (e.g., a garage door which may be vertically raised or lowered to facilitate opening and closing the garage door), the actuator  112  may be an electric motor (not shown) having a rotating armature. The garage door may be mechanically coupled to a carriage which may be slidably positioned on a track coupled to the garage door opener system  100 . A belt or chain (not shown) mechanically couples the carriage to the armature of the electric motor. When the garage door opener system  100  is activated, the armature of the electric motor is rotated which, in turn, causes the carriage to be displaced along the track, thereby raising or lowering the garage door depending on the direction of rotation of the armature. 
     To facilitate control of the actuator  112 , the opener unit  102  may also comprise an opener programmable logic controller (PLC)  110  electrically coupled to the actuator  112 . In one embodiment, the opener PLC  110  supplies control signals to the actuator  112  which switch the actuator  112  on or off and control the direction of motion of the actuator  112 . For example, when the actuator  112  is an electric motor, as discussed above, the opener PLC  110  is operable to switch the electric motor on and off and control the direction of rotation of the armature of the electric motor. 
     The opener unit  102  may also comprise a transceiver, such as the opener radio frequency (RF) transceiver  108 . The opener RF transceiver  108  is operable to receive radio frequency signals from the remote control unit  104  and send radio frequency signals to the remote control unit  104 , as will be discussed in more detail herein. The opener RF transceiver  108  is electrically coupled to the opener PLC  110  such that RF signals received by the opener RF transceiver  108  from the remote control unit  104  may be converted by the opener RF transceiver  108  to electrical signals and passed to the opener PLC  110 . Similarly, the opener RF transceiver  108  may receive electrical signals from the opener PLC  110  and convert the electrical signals to RF signals which are transmitted by the opener RF transceiver  108  to the remote control unit  104 . 
     The opener unit  102  may also comprise a close sensor  106  electrically coupled to the PLC  110 . In one embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1 , the close sensor  106  is a photo sensor positioned proximate the garage door. The close sensor  106  may be positioned relative to the garage door such that the close sensor  106  is operable to detect whether the garage door is open or closed. For example, when the garage door is closed, the close sensor  106  may provide an electrical signal to the opener PLC  110  indicating that the garage door is closed. Similarly, when the garage door is open, the close sensor  106  may provide an electrical signal (or no signal at all) to the opener PLC  110  thereby indicating that the garage door is open. 
     In another embodiment, the opener unit  102  may additionally comprise a second sensor. The second sensor may be an open sensor  107  electrically coupled to the opener PLC  110 . Both the close sensor  106  and the open second sensor  107  may comprise photo detectors as described hereinabove. In this embodiment, close sensor  106  may be positioned proximate the garage door such that sensor  106  provides a signal to the opener PLC  110  when the garage door is closed. The open sensor  107  may be positioned proximate the garage door such that the second sensor provides a signal to the opener PLC  110  when the garage door is open. Accordingly, when the garage door is open, the open sensor  107  provides a signal to the opener PLC  110  and the close sensor  106  does not provide a signal to the opener PLC  110  thus indicating that the garage door is open. Similarly, when the garage door is closed, close sensor  106  provides a signal to the opener PLC  110  and the open sensor  107  does not provide a signal to the opener PLC  110  thus indicating that the garage door is closed. When neither the close sensor  106  nor open sensor  107  provides a signal to the opener PLC  110  thus indicating that the garage door is in an indeterminate state (e.g., neither open nor closed). Accordingly, when the opener unit  102  comprises multiple sensors, it may be possible to determine when a garage door coupled to the unit is opened, closed or at an indeterminate state (e.g., neither open nor closed). 
     Alternatively or additionally, the opener unit  102  may comprise one or more sensors operatively coupled to the actuator  112  and operable to determine if the garage door coupled to the opener unit  102  is open or closed based on the status of the actuator  112 . For example, when the actuator  112  is an electric motor coupled to the garage door with a chain or belt, the electric motor may comprise a shaft encoder or similar sensor operatively coupled to the armature of the motor and electrically coupled to the opener PLC  110 . The shaft encoder may be operable to provide a signal to the opener PLC  110  indicating whether the garage door is open, closed or at an intermediate state based on the rotation of the armature. In this embodiment, the shaft encoder may perform the function of both the close sensor  106  and the open sensor  107 . 
     While specific reference has been made herein to the sensors  106 ,  107  comprising photo detectors, it should be understood that sensors  106 ,  107  may comprise any sensor suitable for detecting the position of an object including, without limitation, mechanical limit switches, inductive sensors, piezo-electric sensors, magnetic field sensors and the like. Accordingly, it should be understood that the sensors  106 ,  107  may be optical sensors, mechanical sensors, electro-mechanical sensors, electro-magnetic sensors, and the like. 
     Still referring to  FIG. 1 , the remote control unit  104  of the garage door opener system  100  may comprise a programmable logic controller such as the remote programmable logic controller (PLC)  120 . The remote PLC  120  may be electrically coupled to a transceiver, such as the remote radio frequency (RF) transceiver  122 . The remote RF transceiver  122  is operable to receive radio frequency signals from the opener unit  102  and send radio frequency signals to the opener unit  102 , as will be discussed in more detail herein. RF signals received by the remote RF transceiver  122  from the opener unit  102  may be converted by the remote RF transceiver  122  to electrical signals and passed to the remote PLC  120 . Similarly, the remote RF transceiver  122  may receive electrical signals from the remote PLC  120  and convert the electrical signals to RF signals which are transmitted by the remote RF transceiver  122  to the opener unit  102 . 
     The remote control unit  104  may also comprise an input device  126  electrically coupled to the remote PLC  120 . In one embodiment, the input device  126  comprises a push button electrically coupled to the remote PLC  120 . When the push button is actuated, an electrical signal may be sent to the remote PLC  120 . In another embodiment, the input device  126  may comprise a microphone electrically coupled to the remote PLC  120 . In this embodiment, the PLC  120  may be programmed with voice recognition software such that input received from the microphone may be used to cause the remote PLC  120  to execute one or more computer executable instruction sets contained on the remote PLC  120 . 
     While specific reference has been made herein to the input device  126  comprising a push button or a microphone, it should be understood that the input device  126  may comprise any input device suitable for providing an electrical signal to a programmable logic controller. Accordingly, it should be understood that the input device  126  may comprise various switches, detectors, piezo-electric devices, touch screens and the like. Moreover, it should also be understood that the remote control unit  104  may comprise a plurality of input devices and each input device may be electrically coupled to the remote PLC  120 . 
     The remote control unit  104  may also comprise a warning indicator  124  electrically coupled to the remote PLC  120 . In one embodiment, the warning indicator  124  may comprise a visual indicator, such as one or more LED lights. For example, where the warning indicator  124  comprises a single LED light, the LED light may be operable to illuminate in several different colors (e.g., green, yellow and red) thereby providing different visual indicators to a user. Similarly, where the warning indicator  124  comprises multiple LED lights, each LED may illuminate in a different color (e.g., green, yellow, red) thereby providing various visual indicators to a user. Alternatively, the warning indicator  124  may comprise an active display operable to display text and/or graphics to a user. The text and/or graphics may be indicative of the status of the garage door (e.g., open, closed, indeterminate or unknown). 
     In another embodiment, the warning indicator  124  may comprise an audible indicator, such as a beeper, buzzer, speaker or the like. Where the audible indicator is a speaker, the remote PLC  120  may be operable to play one or more pre-configured audio files through the speaker. In yet another embodiment, the warning indicator  124  comprises both a visual indicator and an audible indicator. 
     In one embodiment, the remote control unit  104  of the garage door opener system  100  may be a portable, self-contained unit. In another embodiment, the remote control unit  104  of the garage door opener system  100  is integrated into the interior of a vehicle. For example, the remote control unit  104  may be integrated into an instrument panel located on the dashboard of the vehicle, in a sun visor, or in the bezel surrounding the rear-view mirror. 
     The operation of the garage door opener system  100  and methods for using the garage door opener system  100  will now be described with specific reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . 
       FIG. 2  depicts a flow diagram of one embodiment of a method  200  for determining the status of a garage door. According to one embodiment described herein, the status of the garage door may be either closed or open (e.g., not closed). In another embodiment, the status of the garage door may be closed, not open (e.g., not closed) or indeterminate. Each embodiment will be described with respect to the garage door opener system depicted in  FIG. 1  and the flow diagram of  FIG. 2 . 
     The method  200  of determining the status of a garage door begins at step  202  when a user actuates the input device  126  of the remote control unit  104  of the garage door opener system  100  thereby generating a request to either open or close the garage door coupled to the opener unit  102  of the garage door opener system  100 . For example, when the input device  126  is a push button, the input device  126  may be actuated when the user presses and releases the push button. Alternatively, when the input device  126  is voice actuated, such as when the input device  126  is a microphone coupled to the remote PLC unit  120 , the input device  126  may be actuated by an audible command verbalized by the user and recognized by the remote control unit  104  with voice command recognition software installed in the remote PLC  120 . 
     In a next step  204 , actuation of the input device  126  causes the remote PLC  120  to generate an open or close request to the opener unit  110 . More specifically, the remote PLC  120  is programmed such that, when the input device  126  is actuated, the remote PLC  120  generates an open or close request in the form of an electrical signal. The electrical signal is passed from the remote PLC  120  to the remote RF transceiver  122  which converts and transmits the electrical signal as an RF signal (the “RF request signal”). After the remote control unit  104  transmits the RF request signal to the opener unit  102 , the remote control unit  104  enters a stand-by mode and waits for an RF confirmation signal from the opener unit  102 . In one embodiment, the stand-by mode is timed such that, if the remote control unit  104  does not receive a confirmation signal from the opener unit  102  within a specified time interval, the remote PLC  120  exits the stand-by mode and sets the status of the garage door as indeterminate or unknown, as will be discussed further herein. 
     In a next step  206 , when the remote control unit  102  is in range of opener unit  104 , the opener unit  102  and, more specifically, the opener RF transceiver  108  of the opener unit  102 , receives the RF request signal transmitted from the remote control unit  104 . The RF transceiver  108  converts the received RF request signal to an electrical signal which is relayed to the opener PLC  110 . 
     In a next step  208 , upon receiving the converted RF request signal, the opener PLC  110  may be programmed to send an electrical control signal to the actuator  112 . The electrical control signal sent to the actuator  112  may be operable to stop the actuator (such as when the actuator is in the process of opening or closing the attached garage door), cause the actuator to open the garage door, or cause the actuator to close the garage door. 
     In one embodiment, after receiving an electrical control signal from the opener PLC  110 , the actuator  112  may be operable to provide the opener PLC  110  with an actuator stop signal. For example, when the electrical control signal from the opener PLC  110  causes the actuator  112  to stop, the actuator  112  may provide the opener PLC  120  with an actuator stop signal indicating that the actuator has stopped. Similarly, when the electrical control signal from the opener PLC  110  causes the actuator to open or close the garage door, the actuator  112  may provide the PLC  110  with an actuator stop signal once the opening or closing operation has been completed (e.g., when the actuator  112  has stopped). 
     In a next step  212 , after receiving the actuator stop signal from the actuator  112 , the opener PLC  110  ascertains the status of the garage door based on signal(s) received (or not received) by the sensor  106  or sensors  106 ,  107  electrically coupled to the opener PLC  110 . For example, in one embodiment, where the opener unit  102  comprises a single sensor  106  operable to relay a signal to the opener PLC  110  when the garage door is closed, the opener PLC  110  determines if the sensor  106  has provided a signal indicating that the garage door is closed. If the sensor  106  has provided a signal indicating that the garage door is closed, the opener PLC  110  sets the status of the garage door as “closed.” If the sensor  106  has not provided a signal to the opener PLC  110  indicating the garage door is closed, the opener PLC  110  sets the garage door status as “indeterminate” or “unknown” (e.g., the garage door may be fully or partially open). 
     In another embodiment, when the opener unit  102  comprises multiple sensors  106 ,  107 , the opener PLC  110  determines the status of the garage door based on signals received (or not received) from both sensors  106 . For example, when the close sensor  106  provides a signal to the opener PLC  110  indicating that the garage door is closed, and the open sensor  107  has not provided a signal to the opener PLC  110  (or, alternatively, provided a signal to the opener PLC  110  that the garage door is not open), the opener PLC  110  sets the status of the garage door as “closed.” Similarly, when the open sensor  107  provides a signal to the opener PLC  110  indicating that the garage door is open, and the closed sensor  106  has not provided a signal to the opener PLC  110  (or, alternatively, provided a signal to the opener PLC  110  that the garage door is not closed), the opener PLC  110  sets the status of the garage door as “open.” When neither the open sensor  107  nor the closed sensor  106  has provided the opener PLC  110  with a signal (or, alternatively, when the open sensor  107  has provided a signal indicating that the garage door is not open and the closed sensor has provided a signal indicating that the garage door is not closed), the opener PLC  110  sets the status of the garage door as “indeterminate” or “unknown.” 
     When the status of the garage door is closed, the opener unit  102  transmits an RF confirmation signal to the remote control unit indicating that the garage door is closed in step  214 . More specifically, after the opener PLC has set the status of the garage door to “closed,” the opener PLC  110  sends an electrical signal to the opener RF transceiver  108  indicating that the garage door is closed. This electrical signal is converted by the RF transceiver to an RF confirmation signal, specifically an RF closed confirmation signal, which is transmitted to the remote control unit  104 . 
     In step  216  the remote control unit  104 , specifically the remote RF receiver  122 , receives the RF closed confirmation signal and coverts the RF closed confirmation signal to a closed confirmation electrical signal which is passed to the remote PLC  120 . When the remote control unit  104  receives the RF closed confirmation signal from the opener unit  102 , the remote control unit  104  exits the stand-by mode and processes the RF closed confirmation signal. Upon receiving the closed confirmation electrical signal, the remote PLC  120  may be programmed to provide a user with a visual and/or audible indication that the garage door is closed via the warning indicator  124 . For example, in one embodiment, when the warning indicator  124  comprises one LED that is capable of being illuminated in different colors, the remote PLC  120  may cause the LED to be illuminate as green when the garage door is closed. In another embodiment, when the warning indicator  124  comprises multiple LEDs of different colors, the remote PLC  120  may be programmed to illuminate a green LED thereby indicating to the user that the garage door is closed. 
     In yet another embodiment, when the warning indicator is an audible indicator, the remote PLC  120  may be programmed to cause the audible indicator to play a specific tone or message thereby indicating to the user that the garage is closed. In yet another embodiment, when the warning indicator is operable to provide both a visual and audible indicator, the remote PLC may be programmed to activate both the visual and audible indicators to provide both visual and audible indications to the user that the garage door is closed. 
     Alternatively, when the opener PLC  110  has set the status of the garage door to “open” or “indeterminate,” the opener unit  102  transmits an RF confirmation signal to the remote control unit indicating that the garage door is open (e.g., not closed) in step  218 . More specifically, after the opener PLC has set the status of the garage door to “open” or “indeterminate, “the opener PLC  110  sends an electrical signal to the opener RF transceiver  108  indicating that the garage door is not closed. This electrical signal is converted by the RF transceiver to an RF confirmation signal, specifically an RF open confirmation signal, which is transmitted to the remote control unit  104 . 
     In step  220  the remote control unit  104 , specifically the remote RF receiver  122 , receives the RF open confirmation signal and coverts the RF open confirmation signal to a open confirmation electrical signal which is passed to the remote PLC  120 . When the remote control unit  104  receives the RF open confirmation signal from the opener unit  102 , the remote control unit  104  exits the stand-by mode and processes the RF open confirmation signal. Upon receiving the open confirmation electrical signal, the remote PLC  120  may be programmed to provide a user with a visual and/or audible indication that the garage door is open via the warning indicator  124 . For example, in one embodiment, when the warning indicator  124  comprises one LED that is capable of being illuminated in different colors, the remote PLC  120  may cause the LED to be illuminate as red when the garage door is open thereby indicating to the user that the garage door is open. In another embodiment, when the warning indicator  124  comprises multiple LEDs of different colors, the remote PLC  120  may be programmed to illuminate a red LED thereby indicating to the user that the garage door is open. 
     In yet another embodiment, when the warning indicator is an audible indicator, the remote PLC  120  may be programmed to cause the audible indicator to play a specific tone or message thereby indicating to the user that the garage is open. In yet another embodiment, when the warning indicator is operable to provide both a visual and audible indicator, the remote PLC may be programmed to activate both the visual and audible indicators to provide both visual and audible indications to the user that the garage door is open. 
     As discussed hereinabove with respect to step  204 , the remote control unit  104  may enter a stand-by mode after transmitting the RF request signal to the opener unit. If the remote control unit  104  does not receive an RF confirmation signal from the opener unit within a predetermined time period (such as when the remote control unit  104  is out of range of the opener unit  102 , the opener unit  102  fails to send an RF confirmation signal, etc.), the remote control unit  104  may exit the stand-by mode in step  222 . Under these conditions, the remote PLC  120  is programmed to set the status of the garage door as unknown and provide the user with an indication that the status of the garage door is unknown via the warning indicator  124 . For example, in one embodiment, when the warning indicator  124  comprises one LED that is capable of being illuminated in different colors, the remote PLC  120  may cause the LED to be illuminate as yellow when the status of the garage door is unknown thereby indicating to the user that the status of the garage door is unknown. In another embodiment, when the warning indicator  124  comprises multiple LEDs of different colors, the remote PLC  120  may be programmed to illuminate a yellow LED thereby indicating to the user that the status of the garage door is unknown. 
     In yet another embodiment, when the warning indicator is an audible indicator, the remote PLC  120  may be programmed to cause the audible indicator to play a specific tone or message thereby indicating to the user that the status of the garage is unknown. In yet another embodiment, when the warning indicator is operable to provide both a visual and audible indicator, the remote PLC may be programmed to activate both the visual and audible indicators to provide both visual and audible indications to the user that the status of the garage door is unknown. 
     Accordingly, it should now be understood that the garage door opener system  100  and method  200  for confirming the status of a garage door described may be used to provide a user with visual and/or audible indications as to the status (e.g., open, closed or unknown) of a garage door mechanically coupled to the garage door opener system  100 . It should also be understood that, as described herein, the garage door opener system  100  and, more specifically, the opener unit  102  of the garage door opener system  100  sends RF confirmation signals related to the status of the garage door only after an RF request signal has been received from the remote control unit  104  and the actuator  112  has been activated and brought to a stop. In this manner, the status of the garage door is relayed to the remote control unit only after a requested operation (e.g., open garage door, close garage door, stop garage door between open and closed) has been performed. 
     Further, it should also be understood that, while specific reference has been made herein to using the garage door opener system  100  and method  200  to confirm the status of a typical garage door, such as a garage door that is lowered and raised vertically, the garage door opener system  100  and method  200  may also be used in conjunction with garage doors and/or gates of various other configurations, such as garage doors or gates that open and close horizontally or garage doors or gates that pivot about a vertical axis. 
     While particular embodiments and aspects of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, various other changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Moreover, although various inventive aspects have been described herein, such aspects need not be utilized in combination. It is therefore intended that the appended claims cover all such changes and modifications that are within the scope of this invention.