Patent Publication Number: US-2009240763-A1

Title: Messaging device and system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is directed generally to messaging systems and display devices configured to display information contained in messages received from a remote user over a network. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     According to the theory of persistence of vision, the perceptual processes of the retina of the human eye retain an image for a brief moment. Persistence of vision is believed to cause the perception of motion when viewing a series of film images displayed in quick succession, instead of the perception of a series of discrete images. Persistence of vision also causes many flashing light sources (such as fluorescent light bulbs) to appear as continuous light sources. 
     Persistence of vision has been recognized for over 350 years. Today, it is understood that when light strikes the retina, photosensitive chemicals present in the retina detect, process, and transmit a neural signal to the brain. The retained persistent image is caused at least in part by an amount of time required for the production and decay of those photosensitive chemicals. 
     The phenomenon of persistence of vision is used by several devices, including popular toys, household appliances, and the like to display information. Examples of devices that use persistence of vision to display information (“persistence of vision displays”) include a XP3 clock manufactured by Fascinations Toys and Gifts of Seattle, Wash. The XP3 clock has a one-dimensional array of eight light emitting diodes (“LEDs”) arranged along the outside surface of a wand near its tip. The wand is oscillated at a rate of 16 oscillations per second and each LED remains lit for only 0.185 milliseconds. The XP3 clock includes a processor coupled to a memory configured to store computer-readable instructions for instructing the processor when to turn selected LEDs on and off as the wand oscillates for the purposes of displaying a message. The XP3 clock may be programmed locally using an on-board user interface to display short messages (e.g., up to 12 characters). However, the XP3 clock, like many other prior art persistence of vision displays, is a stand-alone device that must be programmed locally by its owner. As a result, a message cannot be sent to a persistence of vision display over a network, such as the Internet. 
     Information sent over networks, such as the Internet, is typically displayed using a two-dimension display device, such as a computer monitor, personal data assistance screen, pager display, cellular telephone screen, and the like. However, such displays are commonplace and not well suited to attracting the user&#39;s attention. On the other hand, persistence of vision displays are eye catching by their very nature and draw attention based on the novelty of the display mechanism and the seeming impossibility of the message display means. 
     Further, many devices that display information received from a remote user over a network (e.g., the internet, a cellular network, and the like) require the user to configure the device or an account before the user can receive and display messages. Configuring such devices for use wastes the user&#39;s time and can be intimidating to some users. Users are sometimes frustrated by lengthy or complicated configuration processes. Additionally, users are often frustrated by unclear configuration instructions or processes that require the input of configuration parameters that are unknown to the user or are not easily obtained by the user. Further, if the device is moved to a different location in the network, the user may need to repeat the configuration process. In addition to configuring the device, users are typically required to configure a message account used to store and send messages to the device for display. For example, if a user wishes to receive email messages on his/her computer, the user typically sets up an email account, including picking an email address, with a provider of email services. This process typically includes contacting the service provider. 
     Presently, a need exists for a device capable of displaying a message sent over a network in a manner that is more likely to attract attention, such as by using a persistence of vision display. A need also exists for a persistence of vision display that can receive messages sent over a network and display them to a user. Additionally, a need exists for a display device capable of receiving messages over a network that does not require configuration by the user. A message account that does not require configuration by the user is also desirable. The present application provides these and other advantages as will be apparent from the following detailed description and accompanying figures. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         FIG. 1  is an illustration of a communication system including a display device configured to receive messages over a network. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a memory of the display device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an illustration of an exemplary user interface for the display device of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram of a network interface of the display device of  FIG. 1   
         FIG. 5  is a diagram of a hardware environment and an operating environment in which a remote computing device and a client computing device of the communication system of  FIG. 1  may be implemented. 
         FIG. 6  is a block diagram of other programming modules stored in a memory of the remote computing device of the communication system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is an interaction diagram illustrating exemplary interacts between the display device, the remote computing device, and the client computing device of the communication system of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 8  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method performed by the display device of  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , aspects of the present invention relate to a display device  10 , such as a persistence of vision display, panel of light emitting diodes (“LEDs”), and the like, configured to receive messages from a remote computing device  12  over a network  14  and use those messages to display information to a user. The messages received may include the information to be displayed, a program or instructions instructing the display device  10  to display the information, a combination thereof, and the like. The remote computing device  12  may function as a message server configured to receive messages for the display device  10  from other remote computing devices (e.g., a remote client computing device  16 ) coupled to the network  14 . 
     In addition to displaying information related to a message received by the display device  10  over the network  14 , some embodiments of the display device  10  may be programmed locally by their users. Therefore, the display device  10  will be described as being capable of displaying information related to received messages (i.e., messages received by the display device  10  over the network  14 ) and local messages (i.e., messages programmed into the display device  10  locally by a user). However, as is apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, the user may send messages to the display device  10  over the network  14 . Therefore, it is not necessary to configure the display device  10  for local programming by the user. 
     For ease of illustration, the display device  10  is depicted in the drawings and described hereafter is a persistence of vision display. However, those of ordinary skill in the art appreciate that other visual displays may be adapted for use with the present technology. For example, through the application of ordinary skill in the art to the present teachings, a panel of LEDs may be adapted to receive messages from the remote user and display them to the user. 
     The display device  10  includes an array of one or more discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H, which are selectively illuminated to display a message. In the display device  10  depicted in the drawings, the one or more discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H (e.g., LEDs) are moved quickly enough such that their illumination persists on the retina and appears to an observer as more than the one or more discrete light sources actually present. For example, the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H may be arranged in a one-dimensional array  19  moving side-to-side quickly enough such that their illumination persists on the retina and appears to an observer as a two-dimensional array  20  of discrete light sources. 
     By way of example, the one-dimensional array  19  of discrete light sources may be a linear array arranged axially along the outside surface of a wand  22 . The wand  22  includes a tethered end portion  24  and a free end portion  26  opposite the tethered end portion  24 . The wand  22  pivots about its tethered end portion  24 , oscillating side-to-side; in a plane that is typically approximately orthogonal to an observer&#39;s line of vision. By way of example, the wand  22  may oscillate back and forth in directions indicated by double-ended arrow “A” at a rate of approximately 16 oscillations per second. The wand  22  may be oscillated back and forth manually or by an electric motor. 
     In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 , the display device  10  includes a motor  28  mounted to a base  30 . The motor  28  has a drive axle  32  coupled to the tethered end portion  24  of the wand  22 . The motor  28  is configured to cause the drive axle  32  to oscillate and thereby cause the wand  22  to oscillate in directions indicated by double-ended arrow “A.” As the wand  22  oscillates, selected discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H may be illuminated at selected times for a predetermined period of time (e.g., 0.185 milliseconds) and then turned off. The information to be displayed by the wand  22  using the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H determines which particular light sources are illuminated and when they are illuminated. In other words, the information (in this case, the time “3:08”) viewed by the observer is the result of the careful timing of the illumination of selected discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H as the wand  22  oscillates. 
     Because the light provided by a discrete light source (e.g., the discrete light source  18 A) persists on the retina for a period of time, the retina may perceive all of the illuminations of the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H occurring during a single oscillation as if they occurred simultaneously even though the light sources may have been illuminated at different times and different wand locations. In this manner, the observer will view the information (e.g., the time “3:08”) as though the information was provided by the two-dimensional array  20 , even though the information was provided by the one-dimensional array  19  one wand position at a time. In essence, the two-dimensional array  20  includes the current and past positions of the wand  22  as it oscillates. 
     In alternate embodiments of the display device  10 , instead of producing the two-dimensional array  20  by moving the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H (e.g., oscillating the wand  22 ), the two-dimensional array  20  may be constructed using a static array of stationary discrete light sources. The discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H may be arranged in any shape, including square, rectangular, arbitrary, round, oval, hexagonal, octagonal, triangular, and the like, to form the array. 
     The two-dimensional array  20  depicted in the drawings has an arc-like shape including a predetermined number of rows  34  and columns  35  of discrete light sources positions based upon the times the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H are illuminated as the wand  22  oscillates. The maximum number of rows is equal to the number of discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H in the one-dimensional array  19 . The maximum number of columns of the two-dimensional array  20  is determined by dividing the length of travel of the wand  22  along a single direction (indicated by one of the ends of the double-ended arrow “A”) by the product of the period of time during which a light source is illuminated and the speed at which the wand  22  is traveling. The number of characters that may be displayed may be a function of the number of columns used to provide space between successive characters, the maximum number of columns, and the minimum number of columns required to display a single character. 
     The display device  10  includes a processor  40  coupled to a memory  44  by a bus  46 . Optionally, the processor  40  may be coupled to the motor  28  by a bus  47  and used to provide control instructions to the motor  28 . The processor  40  may be implemented using any known technology, such as a microprocessor, microcontroller, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP), and the like. A suitable processor  40  for use with the display device  10  includes any processor suitable for use with the XP3 clock. 
     The processor  40  may be integrated into an electrical circuit, such as a conventional circuit board, that supplies power to the processor  40 . Additional electrical components such as a clock, memory, etc. may be connected to the circuit board allowing electrical communication between the processor  40  and the additional electrical components. However, as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, much of the functionality of the additional electrical components could be incorporated into and performed by the processor  40  and such embodiments are within the scope of the present invention. 
     The processor  40  may include internal memory  44  or memory may be coupled thereto. The memory  44  may comprise random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). Optionally, the memory  44  may include external or removable memory devices such as floppy disk drives and optical storage devices (e.g., CD-ROM, R/W CD-ROM, DVD, and the like). The electrical circuit may also include one or more I/O interfaces such as a serial interface (e.g., RS-232, RS-432, and the like), an IEEE-488 interface, a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a parallel interface, and the like, for the communication with removable memory devices such as flash memory drives, external floppy disk drives, and the like. The buses  46  and  47  may include a data bus, control bus, power bus, I/O bus, and the like. The present invention is not limited by the specific hardware component(s) used to implement the processor  40 , the memory  44 , the bus  46 , or the bus  47 . 
     The memory  44  contains instructions and data that control the operation of the processor  40 . The memory  44  may also include a basic input/output system (BIOS), which contains the basic routines that help transfer information between elements within the processor  40 . As may best be viewed in  FIG. 2 , the memory  44  includes machine-executable instructions  48  configured for execution by the processor  40 . Generally, program modules include function calls, routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The modules stored in the memory  44  of the display device  10  may include display instructions  50 , a message management module  52 , and an optional clock module  54 . The memory  44  also includes a data structure, such as a local message queue  55  that stores a record for each local message programmed into the memory  44  by the user. 
     The memory  44  may store registration information  53  such as a device identifier, secret code, and the like. The registration information  53  may be programmed into the memory  44  by the manufacturer of the display device  10 . The registration information  53  may be sent to the remote computer  12  by the display device  10 . The remote computer  12  may use the registration information  53  to identify the display device  10 . Further, the remote computer  12  may use the registration information  53  to determine whether the display device  10  is authorized to download messages from the remote computer  12 . In other words, the registration information  53  may be used to determine whether the device identifier included therein is valid. 
     The memory  44  also includes a data structure, such as a received message queue  56  that stores a record for each message received from a remote computing device  12  over the network  14 . Each record in the received message queue  56  includes the information to be displayed by the display device  10 . Optionally, the record may include a received timestamp, indicating when the message was received. Each record in the received message queue  56  may include a “New Message” indicator that may be a Boolean value set to “TRUE” when the record is first created. After the information in the message has been manually scrolled through the display of the display device  10 , the “New Message” indicator may be set to “FALSE” by the message management module  52  to indicate the message has been read. 
     Each of the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H is coupled to the processor  40 , which is operable to power each of the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H selectively based on the display instructions  50  stored in the memory  44 . During operation of the display device  10 , the processor  40  executes commands directing it to recall and execute the display instructions  50 , which instruct the processor  40  to turn the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H on and off in a predetermined pattern at predetermined times. 
     The predetermined pattern may be determined by the one or more local messages stored in the local message queue  55  and/or one or more received messages stored in the received message queue  56 . As explained above, each of the local messages and received messages includes information for display by the display device  10 . The predetermined pattern is determined as a function of the information in a selected local or received message. 
     In embodiments in which the display device  10  is a persistence of vision display, the display instructions  50  may include motor control instructions instructing the processor  40  to turn the motor  28  on and off. The motor control instructions may instruct the processor  40  to modify one or more functional parameters of the motor  28 , such as the speed at which the motor  28  oscillates the wand  22 , the position of the wand  22  at a particular time, and the like. The display instructions  50  may include position instructions for determining the current position of the wand  22 . The current position of the wand  22  may be used to time the illumination of the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H for the purposes of displaying information to the user. 
     The message management module  52  manages the local message queue  55  and the received message queue  56 . The message management module  52  is configured to receive local programming instructions from the user and use those instructions to configure the information in a local message for display by the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H. The message management module  52  is configured to receive messages from the remote computing device  12  and add those messages to the received message queue  56 . 
     The message management module  52  may be configured to determine when the display device  10  has received a maximum number of messages that can be stored in a message queue on the remote computing device  12 . Further, the message management module  52  may be configured to calculate an amount of available capacity on the display device  10  to receive additional messages. The amount of available capacity, a full indicator (indicating the message queue on the remote computing device  12  is storing the maximum number of messages it can store), and the like may be communicated by the message management module  52  to the remote computing device  12 . The remote computing device  12  may use this information to determine whether to download messages to the display device  10 , how many messages to download to the display device  10 , which messages to download to the display device  10 , and the like. When the message queue on the remote computing device  12  is storing the maximum number of messages the message queue can store, the remote computing device  12  may stop receiving new messages for the display device  10 . 
     After the information in a received message has been manually scrolled through the display of the display device  10  for the first time, the message management module  52  may set the “New Message” indicator to “FALSE” in the record corresponding to the message in the received message queue  56 . While not a requirement, the records in the received message queue  56  may be ordered according to the order in which messages are received. In some embodiments, the message management module  52  is configured to use user preferences, if any, specified by the user to configure the information in a local or received message for display by the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H. 
     The message management module  52  may instruct the display instructions  50  to display the information in the messages in the local message queue  55 , the received message queue  56 , and a combination thereof. By way of example, the message management module  52  may instruct the display instructions  50  to display information in each of the messages in the received message queue  56  in the order in which the messages were received. In some embodiments, the message management module  52  instructs the display instructions  50  to display the oldest message first (i.e., the message received longest ago). Alternatively, the display device  10  may display most recently received message first. 
     In alternate embodiments, the message management module  52  instructs the display instructions  50  to display a single message selected from one of the local message queue  55  and the received message queue  56  until the user selects a different message for display. In further embodiments, the user may specify a display date and/or time for one or more of the messages in either queue  55  or  56 . When the specified date and/or time occurs, the message corresponding thereto is displayed. 
     If the display device  10  is configured to display the time, the memory  44  includes the clock module  54 , which is operable to determine a time value. Methods of implementing clocks are well known in the art and will not be described in detail. The display instructions  50  may access the clock module  54  to receive the time value therefrom. Then, the display instructions  50  may display the time value to the user using the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H of the display device  10 . The display device  10  may be configured to display the information in the message(s) and the time in an alternating or similar manner. 
     In some embodiments, the display device  10  may be configured to automatically adjust its time to the local time by checking with a time server through Internet. 
     In further embodiments, the message management module  52  instructs the display instructions  50  to display the most recently received message in the received message queue  56 . In such embodiments, after a message is received by the display device  10 , it is immediately displayed without the need for any intervention by the user. Optionally, such embodiments may allow the user to select one or more messages for display by the display device  10  that supersede newly downloaded messages. In this manner, the display device  10  may be configured to automatically display new messages as they are received or alternatively, one or more messages selected by the user for display. In either case, the display device  10  may be configured to display the information in the message(s) and the time in an alternating or similar manner. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the display device  10  includes a user interface  60  coupled to the processor  40  by the memory  44  and a bus  61 . The bus  61  may be constructed using any bus discussed above as suitable for constructing bus  46 . Optionally, the user interface  60  may include basic control buttons such as an “on/off” button (not shown) that allows the user to turn the display device  10  on and off (e.g., power up and power down the processor  40  and/or the motor  28 ). The user interface  60  may be used to provide programmable parameter values to existing programs (e.g., if the display device  10  includes a clock, the user interface  60  may be used to set the clock to the correct local time), to modify the computer-executable instructions  48  stored in the memory  44 , to add new computer-executable instructions to the memory  44  (e.g., program the display device  10  to display new information), to add a new local message to the local message queue  55 , to delete a local message from the local message queue  55 , to modify a local message stored in the local message queue  55 , to delete a received message from the received message queue  56 , to modify a received message in the received message queue  56 , and the like. 
     The user interface  60  may interact with the instructions included in the message management module  52  and provide user specified values thereto. As explained above, some embodiments of the display device  10  are configured to display locally programmed messages as well as messages received over the network  14 . Therefore, as may best be viewed in  FIG. 3 , the user interface  60  may include a local message user interface  62  and a separate received message interface  64 . Each of the user interfaces  62  and  64  may be used to manage the local message queue  55  and the received message queue  56  (see  FIG. 2 ), respectively. 
     However, as is apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, a single interface may be used with respect to local and received messages and such embodiments are within the scope of the present invention. By way of a non-limiting example, the user interface  60  may include a “SELECT/MODE” button (e.g., one of a “SELECT” button  70  and a “MODE” button  88 ) that may be pressed to selectively place the display device  10  in a local/clock mode and a remote message mode. By way of a non-limiting example, the display device  10  may be toggled between local/clock mode and remote message mode by pressing and holding the “SELECT/MODE” button down for more than a predetermined number of seconds (e.g., 3 seconds). The “SELECT/MODE” button may also act as a “SELECT” button allowing users to indicate or confirm a selection in the local/time clock mode. For example, the “SELECT/MODE” button may act as a SELECT button when pressed for fewer than the predetermined number of seconds. The functionality of the other buttons (described below) of the user interface  60  may depend upon the mode of the display device  10 . 
     Local Message User Interface  62   
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , local messages may be programmed into the display device  10  locally using the local message user interface  62 . The local message user interface  62  may include any suitable interface known in the art, including the user interface incorporated into the XP3 clock. By way of non-limiting example, the local message user interface  62  may include five buttons: a “SELECT” button  70 , an “UP” button  72 , a “DOWN” button  74 , a “RIGHT” button  76 , and a “LEFT” button  78 . The center or “SELECT” button  70  may be pressed to indicate the user would like to program a message and the other buttons may be used to provide a value for each of the various parameters of the message. 
     For example, the “SELECT” button  70  may be pressed a predetermined number of times (e.g., six) to indicate the user would like to access a message programming menu. The discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H may be used to generate a display indicating the user&#39;s selection(s) while the local message is programmed. The “RIGHT” button may be pressed to select a first message, identified by the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H as “MSG  1 .” Optionally, the “UP” button  72  and the “DOWN” button  74  may be used to select other messages (e.g., a second message identified by the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H as “MSG  2 ”). 
     After a message is selected, the “SELECT” button  70  may be pressed to indicate the user would like to enter information into the message. The “UP” and “DOWN” buttons  72  and  74  may be used to select characters (i.e., to scroll through the alphabet, numbers, and symbols available) to insert into the message. The “RIGHT” and “LEFT” buttons  76  and  78  may be used to move between characters. For example, the “RIGHT” button may be used to advance to the next character or empty space to the right of the present location. As mentioned above, the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H may display a predetermined maximum number of characters (e.g., 12 characters). A predetermined symbol, such as the carriage return or enter key, may be used to instruct the display device  10  where to break messages longer than the predetermined maximum number of characters. 
     The local message user interface  62  may be used to specify display parameters. By way of non-limiting example, when the user is accessing the message programming menu, the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H may display the following information “MESSAGES BRD” indicating the manner in which information is displayed may be selected. When “MESSAGES BRD” is displayed, the “UP” button  72  may be pressed to instruct the display device  10  to display the information in a continuously scrolling reader-board fashion (“MESSAGES SCR”). The “UP” button  72  may be pressed a second time to instruct the display device  10  to display the information in another manner (e.g., “MESSAGES BRD”). The “DOWN” button  74  may be pressed to turn the information display off. When this occurs, the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H may display a message such as “MESSAGES OFF.” In embodiments in which the display device  10  is a clock, turning the information display off does not necessarily affect displaying the time. 
     One of the buttons (e.g., the “RIGHT” button  76 ) may be used to select one of the local messages stored in the local message queue  55  (see  FIG. 2 ) as a daily message to be displayed everyday. Another button (e.g., the “UP” button  72 ) may be used to select a particular date on which to display the information in a selected local message. The “LEFT” button  78  may be pressed to exit the message programming menu. 
     The completion of the programming may be communicated to the display device  10  by pressing the SELECT button  70 . Optionally, the display device  10  may display a message, such as “EXIT,” indicating programming has been completed. The local message user interface  62  may also be used to provide the current local time to the clock module  54  in much the same way the time displayed by a digital watch is set. 
     Received Message User Interface  64   
     The display device  10  includes a received message user interface  64 , which may best be viewed in  FIG. 3 . The received message user interface  64  may interact with the instructions included in the message management module  52  and provide user specified values thereto. The received message user interface  64  may communicate with the received message queue  56  via the message management module  52 . The received message user interface  64  may be used to communicate user selections to the message management module  52  for the purposes of navigating the received message queue  56  and selecting a message stored therein for display by the display device  10 . 
     By way of non-limiting example, the received message user interface  64  may include five buttons: a “NEXT” button  80 , a “PREVIOUS” button  82 , a “SAVE” button  84 , a “DELETE” button  86 , and a “MODE” button  88 . The user may press the “NEXT” button  80  to select the next message in the received message queue  56  for display by the display device  10 . The user may press the “PREVIOUS” button  82  to select the previous message in the received message queue  56  for display by the display device  10 . If the user selects a message that is not available in the received message queue  56 , the display device  10  will contact the remote computing device  12  to download the message. The “DELETE” button  86  deletes the record in the received message queue  56  storing the information being displayed by the display device  10 . In some embodiments, all of the records in the received message queue  56  may be deleted by depressing the “delete” button for at least a predetermined period of time (e.g., 3 seconds). After a message is deleted from the received message queue  56 , the display device  10  sends a delete message to the remote computing device  12  instructing it to also delete the message from the message queue on the remote computing device  12 . 
     The “SAVE” button  84  adds a new record to the local message queue  55  (see  FIG. 2 ) by storing therein the information currently being displayed. In other words, the “SAVE” button  84  copies the message currently being displayed from the received message queue  56  to the local message queue  55 . 
     As mentioned above, the “MODE” button  88  allows the user to select a mode of operation for the display device  10 . For example, the display device  10  may have two modes of operation. The first mode may be the “clock/local” mode. In this mode, the display device  10  may display the time and a local message stored in the local message queue  55 . The local messages may have been programmed locally by the user using the local message user interface  62  (or the like) or selected from the messages received by the display device  10  from the remote computing device  12  over the network  14 . 
     The second mode of operation may include the “remote message” mode. In this mode, the display device  10  displays messages received from the remote computing device  12  over the network  14  (i.e., one or more of the messages stored in the received message queue  56 ). 
     As mentioned above, the display device  10  may include a single user interface and the functionality of the buttons other than the MODE button  88  may depend upon the mode of the display device  10 . Because the embodiment of the user interface  60  depicted in the figures includes both the local message user interface  62  and the separate received message interface  64 , the user interface  60  includes both the SELECT button  70  and the MODE button  88 , respectively. However, in alternate embodiments, the user interface  60  may include a single “SELECT/MODE” button. 
     For the purposes of describing a single user interface  60  embodiment, it will be assumed only the buttons of the received message interface  64  have been included in the user interface  60 . Therefore, only the MODE button  88  is present. When the display device  10  is in the remote message mode, the buttons  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86 , and  88  are associated with the functions described above with respect to the received message interface  64 . However, when the display device  10  is in the clock/local mode, the buttons  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86 , and  88  are associated with the functions described above with respect to the buttons  74 ,  72 ,  78 ,  76 , and  70 , respectively. While the aforementioned mapping of the buttons  80 ,  82 ,  84 ,  86 , and  88  to the buttons  70 ,  72 ,  74 ,  76 , and  78  has been provided for illustrative purposes, those of ordinary skill in the art appreciate that alternate mappings are possible and within the scope of the present teachings. 
     Optionally, the received message user interface  64  may include status indicators. For example, the received message user interface  64  may include a “FULL” indicator  90  that indicates the message queue on the remote computing device  12  configured to receive and store messages for the display device  10  is storing a maximum number of messages permitted. This maximum number may be determined by an administrator of the remote computing device  12 . 
     By way of another non-limiting example, the received message user interface  64  may include an “NEW MESSAGE” indicator  92  that indicates a message has been received that has not yet been manually scrolled through the display of the display device  10 . When the “NEW MESSAGE” indicator  92  indicates a message has been received that has not yet been manually scrolled through the display of the display device  10 , the user may select the new message for display by pressing the “NEXT” button  80  until the message is selected and displayed. 
     Optionally, the user interface  60  may include an “ONLINE” indicator  94  that indicates when a connection exists between the display device  10  and the Internet. 
     Network Interface 
     Returning to  FIG. 1 , the display device  10  includes a network interface  100  configured to communicate with the remote computing device  12  over the network  14  such as the Internet. Referring now to  FIG. 4 , the network interface  100  may include any suitable interface known in the art for coupling a device, such as the display device  10 , to the Internet. By way of a non-limiting example, the network interface  100  may include a short message service (“SMS”) card  102 . SMS cards are well known in the art; therefore, SMS card  102  will not be described in detail. 
     As is appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art, the exemplary SMS card  102  depicted in the drawings includes a processor  104  coupled to a memory  106  and a communication port  108 , such as an Ethernet port, wireless connection port (e.g., an antenna), and the like. The memory  106  may store the registration information  53 , such as a serial number, secret code, and the like, which may be used by the remote computer  12  to identify the display device  10 . The registration information  53  may be copied to the memory  106  from the memory  44  by the processor  104 . Alternatively, the processor  40  may store the registration information  53  in the memory  106 . By way of another example, the registration information  53  may be stored in the memory  106  by the manufacturer of the display device  10  or the manufacturer of the SMS card  102 . As is apparent to those of ordinary skill, the communication port  108  may be coupled to the network  14  via a modem (which may be substantially similar to a modem  154  described below). The components of the SMS card  102  may be coupled together by buses  110  and  112 . Each of the buses  110  and  112  may include a data bus, control bus, power bus, I/O bus, and the like. 
     By way of a non-limiting example, the SMS card  102  may include a microcontroller that integrates an Ethernet interface with a TCP/IP stack. The memory  106  coupled to the microcontroller may include 64 kilobytes of ROM, 1 Megabyte of RAM, and 1 Megabyte of flash memory. The 64 kilobytes of ROM may store firmware  114  that connects to the network via the Ethernet interface using Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (“DHCP”) and Trivial File Transfer Protocol (“TFTP”). Alternatively, other file transfer protocols such as File Transfer Protocol (“FTP”), and the like may be used. The firmware may also support User Datagram Protocol (“UDP”), Transmission Control Protocol (“TCP”), Internet Control Message Protocol (“ICMP”), and Internet Group Management Protocol (“IGMP”). 
     The memory  106  includes instructions for sending and receiving messages over the network  14  via the communication port  108 . The received messages may be stored in the memory  106  and subsequently transferred to memory  44 . Returning to  FIG. 1 , the processor  40  is coupled to the network interface  100  (e.g., SMS card  102 ) via the memory  44  and a bus  116  and is operable to access the memory  106  for the purposes of retrieving the messages stored therein. In alternate embodiments, the processor  104  of the SMS card  102  may transmit the received messages directly to the memory  44  for access by the processor  40  via the bus  46 . 
     The registration information  53  may act as a device identifier (e.g., a serial number) for the display device  10 . The display device  10  uses the network interface  100  to send a request message to the remote computing device  12  including the registration information  53  identifying the display device  10  and thereby the user associated therewith. The display device  10  may send the request message each time the display device  10  connects to the network  14 . In some embodiments, the display device  10  sends the request message occasionally, such as periodically (e.g., about every 3 minutes), at random intervals, and the like. 
     The following approach may help reduce the number of request messages sent by the display device  10  to the remote computing device  12 . In the received message queue  56 , the “NEW MESSAGE” indicator of the record associated with a new message is set to “TRUE” until the message is scrolled through the display of the display device. If there are new messages in the received message queue  56 , the “NEW MESSAGE” indicator  92  will indicate new messages have been received and the display device will stop sending request messages. On the other hand, if there are no new messages in the received message queue  56 , the device will send the request message occasionally, as described above. If the remote computing device  12  receives a new message for the display device, the display device will download the new message, use the “NEW MESSAGE” indicator  92  to indicate a new message has been downloaded, and will stop sending request messages to the remote computing device  12 . As mentioned above, the display device  10  may also automatically display the new message after downloading it from the remote computing device  12 . 
     Messages are downloaded in a batch into the received message queue  56  of the display device  10 . When the user requests a message that is not available in the received message queue  56  (read or unread), the display device  10  connects to the Internet and downloads a number of messages based on the number of empty spots in the received message queue  56 . New message(s) may be downloaded first. 
     The memory  106  of the SMS card  102  may be preprogrammed before sale of the display device  10  to the user with sufficient information (e.g., IP address, domain name, telephone number, and the like) to locate the remote computing device  12  on the network  14 . In this manner, when the display device  10  is coupled to the network  14  by the user, the display device  10  may immediately begin receiving messages. 
     The memory  106  of the SMS card  102  includes query instructions  118  for instructing the processor  104  to periodically (e.g., about every 3 minutes) send the request message to the remote computing device  12  thereby querying the remote computer for messages, and if messages are found, download them to the memory  106 . 
     While the network interface  100  has been described as including the SMS card  102  having discrete components, it is apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the functionality of the components described in relationship to the network interface  100  may be incorporated into other components of the display device  10  and such embodiment are within the scope of the present teachings. For example, the same processor may be used for both the network interface  100  and to illuminate the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H. 
     In an alternate embodiment, instead of the SMS card  102 , the network interface  100  may include an external SMS kit (not shown) configured to connect to the display device to the Internet using a RJ11 cable (phone cable). 
     The message management module  52  may use the network interface  100  to communicate status information related to the display device  10  to the remote computing device  12 . For example, the message management module  52  may send a message to the remote computing device  12  including a capacity indicator indicating the capacity of the display device  10  to receive new messages, a full indicator, and the like. 
     Computing Devices 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the remote computing device  12  and client computing device  16  may each be implemented on a computing device  120 . The description of  FIG. 5  is intended to provide a brief, general description of suitable computer hardware and a suitable computing environment in which implementations may be practiced. Although not required, implementations are described in the general context of computer-executable instructions, such as program modules, being executed by a computer, such as a personal computer. Generally, program modules include function calls, routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. 
     Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciate that implementations may be practiced with other computer system configurations, including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Implementations may also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. 
     The exemplary hardware and operating environment of  FIG. 5  includes the computing device  120 , which may be a general-purpose computing device of any type known in the art, including a processing unit  121 , a system memory  122 , and a system bus  123  that operatively couples various system components, including the system memory  122 , to the processing unit  121 . There may be only one or there may be more than one processing unit  121 , such that the processor of computing device  120  comprises a single central-processing unit (CPU), or a plurality of processing units, commonly referred to as a parallel processing environment. The computing device  120  may be a conventional computer, a distributed computer, or any other type of computer. 
     The system bus  123  may include any bus structure including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. The system memory  122  may also be referred to as simply the memory, and includes read only memory (ROM)  124  and random access memory (RAM)  125 . A basic input/output system (BIOS)  126 , containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the computing device  120 , such as during start-up, is stored in ROM  124 . The computing device  120  further includes a hard disk drive  127  for reading from and writing to a hard disk, not shown, a magnetic disk drive  128  for reading from or writing to a removable magnetic disk  129 , and an optical disk drive  130  for reading from or writing to a removable optical disk  131  such as a CD ROM or other optical media. 
     The hard disk drive  127 , magnetic disk drive  128 , and optical disk drive  130  are connected to the system bus  123  by a hard disk drive interface  132 , a magnetic disk drive interface  133 , and an optical disk drive interface  134 , respectively. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for the computing device  120 . It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that any type of computer-readable media, which can store data that is accessible by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, random access memories (RAMs), read only memories (ROMs), and the like, may be used in the exemplary operating environment. 
     A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk drive  127 , magnetic disk  129 , optical disk  131 , ROM  124 , or RAM  125 , including an operating system  135 , one or more application programs  136 , other program modules  137 , and program data  138 . A user may enter commands and information into the personal computing device  120  through input devices such as a keyboard  140  and pointing device  142 . Other input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit  121  through a serial port interface  146  that is coupled to the system bus  123 , but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, game port, or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor  147  or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus  123  via an interface, such as a video adapter  148 . In addition to the monitor, computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers. 
     The computing device  120  may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as remote computer  149 . These logical connections are achieved by a communication device coupled to or a part of the computing device  120  (as the local computer). Implementations are not limited to a particular type of communications device. The remote computer  149  may be another computing device substantially similar to computing device  120 , a server, a router, a network PC, a client, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the computing device  120 , although only a memory storage device  150  has been illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The logical connections depicted in  FIG. 5  include a local-area network (LAN)  151  and a wide-area network (WAN)  152 . Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet. The network  14  (see  FIG. 1 ) may include any of these networking environments. 
     When used in a LAN-networking environment, the computing device  120  is connected to the local network  151  through a network interface or adapter  153 , which is one type of communications device. When used in a WAN-networking environment, the computing device  120  typically includes a modem  154 , or any other type of communications device for establishing communications over the wide area network  152 , such as the Internet. The modem  154 , which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus  123  via the serial port interface  146 . In a networked environment, program modules depicted relative to the personal computing device  120 , or portions thereof, may be stored in a remote memory storage device. It is appreciated that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of and communications devices for establishing a communications link between the computers may be used. 
     The computing device  120  and related components have been presented herein by way of particular example and also by abstraction in order to facilitate a high-level view of concepts involved. The actual technical design and implementation may vary based on particular implementation while maintaining the overall nature of concepts disclosed. 
     Communication System 
     In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 , the remote computing device  12  may function as a message server that receives messages from one or more other remote computing devices (e.g., the client computing device  16 ) coupled to the network  14 . Together the display device  10 , the remote computing device  12 , the network  14 , the client computing device  16  form a communication system  158 . While for ease of illustration, the drawings depict the single client computing device  16 , it is appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the communication system  158  is not limited to the single client computing device  16  depicted and any number of client computing devices may be coupled to the remote computing device  12  via the network  14  and used to send messages to the remote computing device  12  for the display device  10 . 
     When the display device  10  is coupled to the network  14  for the first time, the display device sends a first message request to the remote computer  12 . The message request includes the registration information  53  (see  FIGS. 2 and 4 ). After the first message request, as mentioned above, the display device  10  continues to send a request message occasionally, such as periodically, at random intervals, and the like. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , in such embodiments, the other program modules  137  stored in memory  122  of the remote computing device  12  include a message server module  160 , and network based software  162 , such as a web based software components for communicating with the client computing device  16  over the network  14 . In some embodiments, the network based software  162  is configured to generate a web interface accessible by the client computing device  16 . The web interface allows the user to enter a message for the display device  10 . In such embodiments, the message server module  160  may be configured to create user accounts. To send a message for display on a particular recipient display device  10 , a user may be required to have an account with the message server module  160 . However, in alternate embodiments, this is not a requirement. 
     In some embodiments, the client computing device  16  may access the message server module  160  of the remote computing device  12  using a web browser program, an email program, and the like. In such embodiments, the memory  122  of the client computing device  16  need not include specialized software modules. 
     The message server module  160  receives messages for download to the display device  10  in a device account associated the display device  10 . The device account may be created automatically by the message server module  160  after it receives the first request message from the display device  10 . The message server module  160  uses the registration information  53  in the first request message to identify the display device  10  and determine that it is authorized to receive messages received by the remote computer  12 . 
     To receive messages on the display device  10 , the user (or owner) sets up a user account with the message server module  160 . To create the user account, the user supplies a unique user account name to the message server module  160 . As is apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, because the remote computer  12  is used by a plurality of users, the user account name associate with each user should be unique. The message server module  160  may include an interface that helps the user select an account name that is unique to the user. For example, the user may be asked to provide a candidate user account name that message server module  160  verifies is not associated with another user account. If candidate user account name is associated with another user account, the message server module  160  may require the user to enter another candidate account identifier until the user provides a unique candidate account identifier. After selecting a user account name, the user selects a password to provide secure access to his/her user account. 
     The message server module  160  may be configured to allow the owner of the display device  10  to access his/her user account. For example, the user may access his/her account by providing the user account name and password to the message server module  160 . 
     After the user account is setup, the user accesses his/her user account and registers the display device  10  with the user&#39;s user account, which associates the device account automatically created by the remote computing device  12  with the user&#39;s user account. To register the display device  10 , the user enters a device identifier (e.g., serial number) associated with the display device (e.g., provided with the device by its manufacturer). The device identifier may be identical to a corresponding device identifier included in the registration information  53  included in the first request message, although this is not a requirement. The user may provide the device identifier by typing it into a web-based interface generated by the network-based software  162 . 
     The user may provide the device identifier by typing it into a web-based interface generated by the network-based software  162 . The message server module  160  allows the user to register multiple display devices under the user&#39;s account using different device names thereby associating the automatically created device accounts with the appropriate user account. 
     The user account name and device name are each used as part of a device address. The device address may have the following format: [user account name].[device name]. For example, if user “Bill Hones” creates a user account having the user account name “BillH” and registers four display devices  10  named “Seattle,” HongKong,” “China,” and “Vietnam” under his user account, those display devices may have the following device addresses “BillH.Seattle,” “BillH.HongKong,” “BillH.China,” and “BillH.Vietnam,” respectively. A message can be sent from a sender via the Internet to any of these devices or to all of them. However, the sender does not necessarily need to remember the device name as he/she may select it from the list of device names available to receive messages provided under the user account. 
     The message server module  160  is configured to allow the user to change the password associated with the user&#39;s user account, register new display devices, un-register (or remove) display devices, change the device name associated with a device account, and the like. The message server module  160  may allow the user to enable or disable a particular display device  10 . 
     The user of the display device  10  may provide the device address to his/her friends, family, and the like, who may in turn use the device address to send messages to the display device  10 . The network-based software  162  generates a web interface that allows anyone who knows the device address of the display device  10  to enter a message for the display device  10 . The sender may identify a recipient display device for the message by entering its device address. In this manner, the sender need not know the device identifier (e.g., serial number) associated with the display device  10 . 
     The message server module  160  may allow users to view a list of display devices registered with a particular user account. For example, the message server module  160  may include a lookup function that allows a sender to enter a user account name. The message server module  160  uses the user account name to display a list of names of display devices associated with the particular user. A disabled display device will not appear in the list of display devices associated with the user account. The list may provide a checkbox next to the device names that allows the sender to indicate to which device names the message is to be sent. The web interface may include a “Check All” button that allows the sender to send the message to all of the device names registered with the user account name that are enabled. 
     If the display device  10  begins receiving unwanted messages from a sender, the owner of the display device may simply access his/her account, change the device name, and provide the new device address to parties from whom the owner would like to receive messages. 
     The web based interface allows the owner of the display device  10  to view messages stored in the device accounts associated with his/her user account. The user may delete messages stored in the device accounts associated with his/her user account. Messages are stored in the device accounts until they are deleted by the user. A message may be deleted in one of two ways. First, the user may use the web based interface to delete the message. Second, the user may delete the message using the “DELETE” button  86  of the received message user interface  64  of the display device  10  (see  FIG. 3 ). After the user presses the “DELETE” button  86 , the display device  10  sends a delete message to the remote computing device  12  instructing it to delete the message from the device account associated with the display device. 
     The message server module  160  may assist the sender prepare information for display by the display device  10 . For example, the message server module  160  may alert the sender if a message is too long for display by the display device  10 . Similarly, the message server module  160  may allow the sender to specify how a message that is too long should be broken up for display. The message server module  160  may also notify the sender that the display device  10  has received the maximum number of messages and cannot receive more. The sender may then contact the owner of the display device  10  and request that he/she delete one or more messages so that the sender may send a new message to the display device  10 . 
       FIG. 7  provides an interaction diagram illustrating exemplary interactions between the display device  10 , the remote computing device  12 , and the exemplary client computing device  16 . In this diagram, the user of the client computing device  16  is identified as the “sender”  200  of a message  202 A. The sender  200  uses web based software  210  (e.g., a web browser, email client, and the like) to send the message  202 B (communicating the sender&#39;s message  202 A) to the message server module  160  of the remote computing device  12 . The message server module  160  receives and stores a message  202 C (including the sender&#39;s message  202 A). 
     In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 7 , the query instructions  118  (see  FIG. 4 ) of the network interface  100  instruct the processor  104  to query the remote computing device  12  for messages for the user. The processor  104  formulates a query or request message  204  and sends it to the message server module  160  of the remote computing device  12 . In response to receiving the request message  204 , the message server module  160  determines whether it is storing a message for delivery for the display device  10 . In this example, the message server module  160  determines it is storing the message  202 C, which the message server module  160  forwards to the memory  106  of the network interface  100  in response to having received the request message  204  therefrom. Alternatively, the message server module  160  may send a reply (not shown) to the network interface  100  indicating the message server module has the message  202 C for delivery to the display device  10 . After receiving this reply, the processor  104  may request the message  202 C or may otherwise receive the message  202 C from the message server module  160 . 
     The message  202 C is received into the memory  106  of the network interface  100  as a message  202 D (including the sender&#39;s message  202 A). As explained above, the message  202 D is added to the received message queue  56  (see  FIG. 2 ) by the message management module  52 . After this occurs, the information contained in the message  202 D may be displayed by the display device  10  by the processor  40  executing the display instructions  50 . 
     Because the display device  10  requests messages from the remote computing device  12  directly, the user need not manually download messages to the display or program the display device  10  locally. Also, because the display device  10  requests messages from the remote computing device  12 , a firewall or similar security measure may not block the downloaded messages reaching the display device  10 , which could be the case if the remote computing device  12  sent the messages to the display device without first receiving a request message therefrom. Further, an operator of the remote computing device  12  may send messages, such as announcements and advertisements, to the display device  10  which will display them in an eye-catching manner which may be more likely to be noticed than a communication displayed on a common computer monitor. 
     The display device  10  may be moved to a different location in the network without any need for the user to configured the device. The user also does not need to know the IP address of the new location and the IP address of the new location does not have to be a static IP address. 
     Unlike email, which requires action on the part of the user to view the information in a message (such as connecting to the internet, executing the email client software, downloading messages from the email server, selecting messages to read, and the like), the display device  10  may display the information in a message automatically immediately after it is received without any intervention from the user (or owner) in a manner likely to get the attention of the user. Further, unlike an email message or a page, which both require that the recipient of a message be positioned near a monitor or similar display, the display device  10  may be viewed at a distance from many locations in a room or similar space. The user may notice immediately upon entering a room in which the display device  10  is located that he/she has received a new message. Messages of a surprising nature, such as “Happy Birthday,” may be delivered to surprise the user. Emergency or otherwise important messages, such as “Call Jane,” may be delivered quickly and in a manner less likely to be ignored and without requiring any action on the part of the user other than looking at the display device  10 . Further, the display device  10  can be setup to deliver personal and surprising messages when connected to the Internet for the first time. 
       FIG. 8  provides a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method  300  performed by the display device  10 . In block  310 , the processor  104  of the network interface  100  executes instructions stored in the memory  106  (e.g., in firmware  114 ) initiating the establishment of a connection with the network  14 . In block  315 , a connection with the network  14  is established. 
     In decision block  320 , the processor  104  monitors the network connection to determine whether it is active. If the network connection is active (i.e., the decision is “YES”), in subsequent decision block  325 , the query instructions  118  instruct the processor  104  to check or query for messages on the remote computing device  12 . If the network connection is not active (i.e., the decision is “NO”), the method  300  returns to before block  315  and attempts to establish a connection with the network  14 . The monitoring occurring in decision block  320  may be performed continuously by the display device  10 . 
     In subsequent decision block  325 , the query instructions  118  instruct the processor  104  to check or query for messages on the remote computing device  12  by sending a request message thereto. Like the monitoring occurring in decision block  320 , sending request messages may be conducted continuously so long as the network connection is active. If the decision in decision block  325  is “YES,” messages are present on the remote computing device  12  for the display device  10 . In block  330 , those messages are downloaded from the remote computing device  12 . Then, in block  335 , the messages downloaded from the remote computing device  12  are displayed using the discrete light sources  18 A- 18 H of the display device  10 . If the decision in decision block  325  is “NO,” messages are not present on the remote computing device  12 , and the display device  10  takes no action but continues monitoring the connection in decision block  320  and sending request messages requesting new messages in decision block  325 . 
     The foregoing described embodiments depict different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely exemplary, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively “associated” such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as “associated with” each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being “operably connected,” or “operably coupled,” to each other to achieve the desired functionality. 
     While particular embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from this invention and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of this invention. Furthermore, it is to be understood that the invention is solely defined by the appended claims. It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). 
     Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.