Patent Publication Number: US-2022220968-A1

Title: Fan assembly of clothes treatment device and clothes treatment device

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present disclosure is a national phase application of International Application No. PCT/CN2019/121723, filed on Nov. 28, 2019, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application Serial No. 201921828964.X and 201911033525.4, filed on Oct. 28, 2019, the entireties of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present relates to the field of clothes treatment apparatus technologies, and more particular, to a fan assembly for a clothes treatment device and a clothes treatment device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Air passage assemblies for drying clothes of clothes treatment devices in related art have limited space, and therefore, their motors mostly employ single-phase asynchronous external rotor motors. This may be conducive to timely heat dissipation of the motor, and ensure system&#39;s normal operation. However, this type of motors has complicated fabrication processes, making costs of the air passage assemblies assembled with these motors high. 
     SUMMARY 
     Since an air passage housing has small installation space for a motor, the motor has poor heat dissipation effect. Hence, in related art, an internal rotor motor generally will not be employed to drive. The patent applicant found that, space of the air passage housing in an up-down direction is available. Thus, the present application proposes a fan assembly for a clothes treatment device, which has low costs and simple production process. 
     The present application also proposes a clothes treatment device having the above fan assembly for the clothes treatment device. 
     The fan assembly for the clothes treatment device according to embodiments of the present application includes: an air passage housing defining an installation cavity; an impeller rotatably provided in the installation cavity; and a motor provided in the air passage housing and including a stator and a rotor, the stator being fitted over an outside of the rotor, and the rotor being configured to drive the impeller. The motor extends towards an upper cover of the clothes treatment device and/or an inner wall of the air passage housing; a distance between an upper end of the motor and the upper cover of the clothes treatment device is h1, and the h1 is greater than or equal to 5 mm; and a distance between a lower end of the motor and the inner wall of the air passage housing in a vertical direction is h2, and the h2 is greater than or equal to 0.5 mm. 
     In the fan assembly for the clothes treatment device according to embodiments of the present application, an external rotor motor in related art is changed to the internal rotor motor, the motor is arranged to extend towards an upper cover of the clothes treatment device and/or an inner wall of the air passage housing, to increase a size of the motor in the up-down direction. The increased size of the motor increases its heat dissipation area, to greatly promote heat dissipation efficiency of the motor. Furthermore, the h1 is set to be greater than or equal to 5 mm and the h2 is greater than or equal to 0.5 mm, this prevents the motor from interfering with other components while ensuring the heat dissipation efficiency, which is conducive to ensuring normal operation of the fan assembly. Therefore, the fan assembly for the clothes treatment device according to embodiments of the present application can significantly reduce costs, facilitate power output and coupling with an external impeller, and simplify production process, on basis of ensuring the heat dissipation efficiency of the motor. 
     According to some embodiments of the present application, the motor at least partially extends beyond the installation cavity, a distance that the lower end of the motor extends downwards beyond a lower outer surface of the installation cavity is h3, and a distance that the upper end of the motor extends upwards beyond an upper outer surface of the installation cavity is h4, and the h3 is greater than or equal to the h4. 
     Since the fan assembly is mostly assembled to a tub assembly of the clothes treatment device (that is, the fan assembly is movable with the tub assembly), an excessive size of the motor extending upwards will greatly increase possibility of its interference with the upper cover of the clothes treatment device. Meanwhile, since relative movement (e. g., large amplitude vibration) between the motor and the air passage housing is relatively small, the present application sets the motor to extend downwards to a relatively large size, and reduces the possibility of interference between the motor and the upper cover of the clothes treatment device in case of ensuring the size of the motor. 
     In some embodiments, the h3 is greater than or equal to 5 mm. 
     According to some embodiments of the present application, the h1 is greater than or equal to 10 mm. 
     According to some embodiments of the present application, the h2 is greater than or equal to 2 mm. 
     In some embodiments, the motor further includes a motor shaft coupled to the rotor, and the impeller is installed to the motor shaft; and a lower end of the motor shaft extends downwards beyond the installation cavity, and a distance between the lower end of the motor shaft and the inner wall of the air passage housing in the vertical direction is the h2. Since airflow is driven to move along an axial direction of the motor shaft, increased axial size of the motor has small influence on the airflow, to make it possible to use the internal rotor motor, and further reduce costs of the fan assembly. 
     In some examples, the impeller is coupled to the motor shaft by a coupling frame, an outer surface of the coupling frame forms an arc transition region, and at least a part of the arc transition region is formed and an absolute value of slope increases gradually from bottom to top. 
     Since at least a part of the arc transition region is formed and an absolute value of slope increases gradually from bottom to top, the outer surface of the coupling frame is protruded outwards. Thus, it is conducive to extending and lengthening the stator downwards in the axial direction, and the heat dissipation effect may be better, to effectively solve the heat dissipation problem. 
     According to some embodiments of the present application, the air passage housing defines an accommodating recess with an upward opening, the accommodating recess is adapted to at least partially extend into the installation cavity, and the motor is located in the accommodating recess. 
     In some embodiments, the air passage housing includes: a first air passage body, the installation cavity being defined in the first air passage body; and a second air passage body in communication with the first air passage body through the installation cavity, a cover plate being provided above the installation cavity, at least a part of the cover plate being recessed downwards to form the accommodating recess. 
     The clothes treatment device according to embodiments of the present application includes a fan assembly for a clothes treatment device of the above-described embodiments, and the clothes treatment device has drying function. 
     Embodiments of the present application will be given in part in the following descriptions, become apparent in part from the following descriptions, or be learned from the practice of the present application. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of the present application will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following descriptions made with reference to the drawings, in which: 
       These and other embodiments of the present application will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following descriptions made with reference to the drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a fan assembly for a clothes treatment device according to an embodiment of the present application; 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of a fan assembly for a clothes treatment device according to an embodiment of the present application in a direction; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a fan assembly for a clothes treatment device according to an embodiment of the present application in another direction; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded view of a fan assembly for a clothes treatment device according to an embodiment of the present application; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a clothes treatment device according to an embodiment of the present application in a direction; and 
         FIG. 6  is a partially exploded view of a clothes treatment device according to an embodiment of the present application. 
     
    
    
     REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
         
           
             fan assembly  100 , 
             air passage housing  10 , installation cavity  101 , accommodating recess  102 , 
             first air passage body  11 , base  111 , cover body  112 , cover plate  113 , second air 
             passage body  12 , 
             impeller  21 , coupling frame  22 , limit member  23 , 
             motor  30 , stator  31 , rotor  32 , motor shaft  33 , motor casing  34 , motor cover  35 , bearing  36 , first seal member  371 , second seal member  372 , 
             heating member  40 , 
             clothes treatment device  200 , upper cover  201 . 
           
         
       
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are illustrated in the drawings, in which the same or similar elements and the elements having same or similar functions are denoted by like reference numerals throughout the descriptions. The embodiments described herein with reference to drawings are explanatory, used to generally explain the present application, and should not be construed as limitation to the present application. 
     A fan assembly  100  for a clothes treatment device according to embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 6 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 , the fan assembly  100  for the clothes treatment device according to embodiments of the present application includes an air passage housing  10 , an impeller  21  and a motor  30 . The air passage housing  10  has an installation cavity  101 , the impeller  21  is rotatably provided in the installation cavity  101 , and the motor  30  is provided to the air passage housing  10  and configured to drive the impeller  21  to rotate, to produce airflow. 
     The motor  30  includes a stator  31  and a rotor  32 , and the stator  31  is fitted over an outside of the rotor  32 . That is to say, the motor  30  is an internal rotor motor. For example, the motor  30  may be a single-phase asynchronous internal rotor motor. The rotor  32  may be directly coupled to the impeller  21 , and may also be indirectly coupled to the impeller  21 , to drive the impeller  21  to rotate. 
     Since the air passage housing has small installation space for the motor, the motor has poor heat dissipation effect. Hence, in related art, an internal rotor motor generally will not be employed to drive the impeller. However, inventors of the present application found that, space of the air passage housing in an up-down direction is available. Hence, in the present application, the motor  30  is arranged to extend towards an upper cover  201  of the clothes treatment device  200  and/or an inner wall of the air passage housing  10 , to increase a size of the motor  30  in the up-down direction. The increased size of the motor  30  increases its heat dissipation area, to greatly promote heat dissipation efficiency of the motor  30 . 
     Further, a distance between an upper end of motor  30  (i. e., a surface of the motor  30  located at the highest position in a vertical direction) and the upper cover  201  of the clothes treatment device  200  in the vertical direction is h1, and the h1 is greater than or equal to 5 mm, which not only prevents the motor  30  in operation from producing noises due to collision with the upper cover  201  of the clothes treatment device  200 , but also facilitates passage of the airflow and heat dissipation of the motor  30 . A distance between an lower end of the motor  30  (i. e., a surface of the motor  30  located at the lowest position in the vertical direction) and the inner wall of the air passage housing  10  in the vertical direction is h2, and the h2 is greater than or equal to 0.5 mm, which may prevents the motor  30  from interfering with the inner wall of the air passage housing  10  when the motor  30  is in operation. That is, the motor  30  is prevented from interfering with other components while ensuring the heat dissipation efficiency, which is conducive to ensuring normal operation of the fan assembly  100 . 
     Therefore, the fan assembly  100  for the clothes treatment device according to embodiments of the present application, by changing an external rotor motor in related art to the internal rotor motor, can significantly reduce costs, facilitate power output and coupling with an external impeller  21 , and simplify production process, on basis of ensuring the heat dissipation efficiency of the motor  30 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in order to better reduce possibility of collision between the motor  30  and the upper cover  201  of the clothes treatment device  200  when in operation, and ensure heat dissipation effect of the motor  30 , in some embodiments, the h1 is set to be greater than or equal to 10 mm. For example, the h1 may be 10 mm, 11 mm, 12 mm, 13 mm, 14 mm, 15 mm, 20 mm, etc. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2 , in order to better reduce possibility of interference between the motor  30  and the inner wall of the air passage housing  10  when in operation, and ensure heat dissipation effect of the motor  30 , in some embodiments, the h2 is set to be greater than or equal to 2 mm. For example, the h2 may be 2 mm, 2.1 mm, 2.2 mm, 2.3 mm, 2.4 mm, 2.5 mm, 3 mm, etc. 
     Thus, by limiting the distance between the upper end of the motor  30  and the upper cover  201  of the clothes treatment device  200  and the distance between the lower end of the motor  30  and the inner wall of the air passage housing  10  in the vertical direction as described above, the purpose of facilitating circulation of the airflow is achieved, an axial length of the stator  31  can be increased, and heat dissipation effect of the motor  30  can be improved and optimized significantly. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , according to some embodiments of the present application, the motor  30  at least partially extends beyond the installation cavity  101 . A distance that the lower end of the motor  30  (i. e., a lower surface of the motor  30 ) extends downwards beyond a lower outer surface of the installation cavity  101  is h3, a distance that the upper end of the motor  30  (i. e., an upper surface of the motor  30 ) extends upwards beyond an upper outer surface of the installation cavity  101  is h4, and h3 is greater than or equal to h4. That is, the upper end of the motor  30  is protruded upwards beyond an upper surface of a cover plate  113  described below, and the lower end of the motor  30  is protruded downwards beyond a lower surface of a base  111  described below. 
     Since the fan assembly is mostly assembled to a tub assembly of the clothes treatment device (that is, the fan assembly is movable with the tub assembly), an excessive size of the motor extending upwards will greatly increase possibility of its interference with the upper cover of the clothes treatment device. Meanwhile, since relative movement (e. g., large amplitude vibration) between the motor and the air passage housing is small, the present application sets the motor  30  to extend downwards to a relatively large size, and reduces the possibility of interference between the motor  30  and the upper cover  201  of the clothes treatment device  200  in case of ensuring the size of the motor  30 . 
     In some embodiments, the h3 is greater than or equal to 5 mm. For example, the h3 may be 5 mm, 6 mm, 7 mm, 8 mm, 9 mm, 10 mm, etc. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , according to some embodiments of the present application, an axial (an up-down direction as illustrated in  FIG. 3 ) length of the stator  31  of the motor  30  is L1, and the L1 is 15-40 mm. By increasing axial size of the stator  31  in the motor  30 , heat dissipation of the motor  30  is faster and more effective. 
     In some embodiments, the axial length L1 of the stator  31  of the motor  30  is 15-30 mm. In one embodiment, the L1 may be 15 mm, 20 mm, 25 mm, or 30 mm, etc. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , according to some embodiments of the present application, an axial length of the motor  30  is L2, and the L2 is 50-100 mm. By limiting an axial size of the motor  30 , heat dissipation problem of the internal rotor motor is improved and optimized. 
     In some embodiments, an axial length L2 of the motor  30  is 50-80 mm. In one embodiment, the L2 may be 50 mm, 60 mm, 70 mm or 80 mm, etc. 
     In some examples, the axial length L2 of the motor  30  is 86 mm, and the axial length L1 of the stator  31  of the motor  30  is 26 mm. 
     In further examples, the axial length L2 of the motor  30  is 50 mm, and the axial length L1 of the stator  31  of the motor  30  is 15 mm. 
     In other examples, the axial length L2 of the motor  30  is 100 mm, and the axial length L1 of the stator  31  of the motor  30  is 40 mm. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3 , according to some embodiments of the present application, the motor  30  also includes a motor shaft  33 , the motor shaft  33  is coupled to the rotor  32 , and the impeller  21  is installed to the motor shaft  33 . 
     The lower end of the motor shaft  33  extends downwards beyond the installation cavity  101 , and a distance between the lower end of the motor shaft  33  and the inner wall of the air passage housing  10  in the vertical direction is h2. That is, the distance between the lower end of the motor shaft  33  and the inner wall of the air passage housing  10  in the vertical direction is greater than or equal to 0.5 mm, which not only facilitates coupling between the motor shaft  33  and the impeller  21  to drive rotation of the impeller  21  by the motor shaft  33 , but also reduces possibility of interference between the motor  30  and the upper cover  201  in case of ensuring the size of the motor  30 . 
     In some embodiments, the impeller  21  is coupled to the motor shaft  33  by the coupling frame  22 , an outer surface of the coupling frame  22  forms an arc transition region, and at least a part of the arc transition region is formed and an absolute value of slope increases gradually from bottom to top. 
     Thus, by forming the outer surface of the coupling frame  22  into the arc transition region, the impeller  21  can be installed on a position of the motor shaft  33  extending downwards beyond the installation cavity  101 , that is, on basis of having no influence on installation of the impeller  21 , the axial size of the stator  31  is increased, to increase the axial size of the motor  30  and ensure heat dissipation effect of the motor  30 ; furthermore, space of the fan assembly  100  in a horizontal direction can be increased to some extent, to further promote heat dissipation effect of the motor  30 . 
     According to some embodiments of the present application, the air passage housing  10  defines an accommodating recess  102  with an upward opening, the accommodating recess  102  is adapted to extend at least partially into the installation cavity  101 , and the motor  30  is located in the accommodating recess  102 . In one embodiment, the motor  30  may be fixed in the accommodating recess  102  by a fastener such as a screw. By defining the accommodating recess  102  in the outer surface of the air passage housing  10 , not only positioning of the motor  30  is facilitated, but also space outside the air passage housing  10  occupied by the motor  30  is reduced. 
     In some embodiments, the motor  30  also includes a motor shaft  33 , the motor shaft  33  is coupled to the rotor  32 , the lower end of the motor shaft  33  passes through a bottom wall of the accommodating recess  102 , and the lower end of the motor shaft  33  is coupled to the impeller  21 , to drive the impeller  21  to rotate. The lower end of the motor shaft  33  may be directly coupled to the impeller  21 , and may also be indirectly coupled to the impeller  21 . 
     In some examples, the impeller  21  is coupled to the motor shaft  33  the by the coupling frame  22 . The coupling frame  22  has a shape matching a shape of the accommodating recess  102 . For example, the outer surface of the coupling frame  22  forms an arc transition region, at least a part of the arc transition region is formed and an absolute value of slope increases gradually from bottom to top, and a gap is retained between the coupling frame  22  and the accommodating recess  102 , to avoid interference between them. 
     In some embodiments, the air passage housing  10  includes a first air passage body  11  and a second air passage body  12 . The installation cavity  101  is defined in the first air passage body  11 , and the second air passage body  12  is in communication with the first air passage body  11  through the installation cavity  101 . The cover plate  113  is provided above the installation cavity  101 , and at least a part of the cover plate  113  is recessed downwards to form the accommodating recess  102 . 
     In one embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the first air passage body  11  includes a base  111 , a cover body  112  and a cover plate  113 . The cover body  112  and the cover plate  113  overlay different positions of the base  111 , respectively. The base  111  and the cover body  113  cooperatively define a first air passage, the base  111  and the cover plate  113  cooperatively define the installation cavity  101 , the second air passage body  12  defines a second air passage, and the first air passage is in communication with the second air passage through the installation cavity  101 . 
     In some examples, the upper end of the motor  30  is protruded beyond an upper outer surface of the air passage housing  10  (i. e., an upper surface of the cover plate  113 ), and the lower end of the motor  30  is protruded beyond a lower surface of the impeller  21 . 
     In other examples, the upper end of the motor  30  is not protruded beyond the upper outer surface of the air passage housing  10  (i. e., the upper surface of the cover plate  113 ), and the lower end of the motor  30  is protruded beyond the lower surface of the impeller  21 . 
     In further examples, the upper end of the motor  30  is protruded beyond the upper outer surface of the air passage housing  10  (i. e., the upper surface of the cover plate  113 ), and the lower end of the motor  30  is not protruded beyond the lower surface of the impeller  21 . 
     In yet further examples, the upper end of the motor  30  is not protruded beyond the upper outer surface of the air passage housing  10  (i. e., the upper surface of the cover plate  113 ), and the lower end of the motor  30  is not protruded beyond the lower surface of the impeller  21 . 
     In order to ensure sealing between the base  111  and the cover plate  113 , a first seal member  371  is provided between the base  111  and the cover plate  113 . In order to ensure sealing between the first air passage body  11  and the second air passage body  12 , a second seal member  372  is provided between the first air passage body  11  and the second air passage body  12 . That is, the second seal member  372  is provided between the base  111  and the second air passage body  12 . The first air passage body  11  may be made from metal material, and the second air passage body  12  may be made from plastic. 
     A specific embodiment of a fan assembly  100  for a clothes treatment device according to the present application will be described in detail below with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 6 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 1 to 4 , the fan assembly  100  for the clothes treatment device includes an air passage housing  10 , an impeller  21  and a motor  30 . 
     The air passage housing  10  includes a first air passage body  11  and a second air passage body  12 . 
     The first air passage body  11  includes a base  111 , a cover body  112  and a cover plate  113 . The cover body  112  and the cover plate  113  overlay different positions of the base  111  respectively. The base  111  and the cover  113  cooperatively define a first air passage, and the base  111  and the cover plate  113  cooperatively defines an installation cavity  101 . An upper portion of the base  111  defines a first installation groove, a first seal member  371  is provided in the first installation groove, and the cover plate  113  has a protrusion pressing on the first seal member  371 , to couple the cover plate  113  and the upper portion of the base  111  with a seal. A middle portion of the cover plate  113  is arranged to recess downwards, to define an accommodating recess  102  with an upward opening in an outer surface of the middle portion of the cover plate  113 , and a bottom wall of the accommodating recess  102  defines a through hole. 
     The second air passage body  12  is provided below the base  111 , and the second air passage body  12  defines a second air passage. A lower portion of the base  111  defines a second installation groove, a second seal member  372  is provided in the second installation groove, and the second air passage body  12  has a flanging pressing on the second seal member  372 , to couple the second air passage body  12  and the lower portion of the base  111  with a seal. The first air passage is in communication with the second air passage through the installation cavity  101 . 
     The motor  30  is provided in the accommodating recess  102 . The motor  30  includes a stator  31 , a rotor  32 , a motor shaft  33 , a motor casing  34 , a motor cover  35 , and a bearing  36 . The motor cover  35  is provided at a top of the motor casing  34 , the accommodating cavity is defined between the motor cover  35  and the motor casing  34 , bearings  36  are respectively provided at mutually opposite positions of the motor casing  34  and the motor cover  35 , and two ends of the motor shaft  33  are respectively rotatably supported on the bearings  36  at corresponding positions. The stator  31  and the rotor  32  are both provided in the accommodating cavity, the stator  31  is fitted over an outside of the rotor  32 , and the rotor  32  is fitted over an outside of the motor shaft  33  and coupled to the motor shaft  33 , to drive the motor shaft  33  to rotate together. The motor shaft  33  extends in an up-down direction, and the lower end of the motor shaft  33  passes the through hole, to extend downwards beyond the installation cavity  101 . 
     The impeller  21  is installed to the lower end of the motor shaft  33  by a coupling frame  22 , and the lower end of the motor shaft  33  is also provided with a limit member  23 , to have a limiting effect, and prevent the coupling frame  22  from separating from the lower end of the motor shaft  33 . 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 5 , a distance between an upper end of the motor  30  and an upper cover  201  of the clothes treatment device  200  in a vertical direction is h1, and the h1 is greater than or equal to 5 mm. A distance between a lower end of the motor  30  (i. e., a lower end of the motor shaft  33 ) and an inner wall of the air passage housing  10  in the vertical direction is h2, and the h2 is greater than or equal to 0.5 mm. The lower end of the motor  30  extends downwards beyond a lower surface of the base  111 , a distance between the lower end of the motor  30  and the lower surface of the base  111  is h3, and the h3 is greater than or equal to 5 mm. The upper end of the motor  30  extends upwards beyond an upper surface of the cover plate  113 , a distance between the upper end of the motor  30  and the upper surface of the cover plate  113  is h4, and the h4 is less than or equal to the h3. An axial length of the stator  31  of the motor  30  is L1, and the L1 is 15-40 mm. An axial length of the motor  30  is L2, and the L2 is 50-100 mm. 
     It should be noted that, the motor  30  of the present application is an internal rotor motor, at the same power, the axial length of the motor of the present application is less than an axial length of an external rotor motor in related art. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a clothes treatment device  200  according to embodiments of the present application includes a fan assembly  100  for the clothes treatment device of the above embodiments, and the clothes treatment device has a drying function. For example, this clothes treatment device may be a dryer, or a washer/dryer combo. 
     In one embodiment, the clothes treatment device  200  includes a cabinet, a tub assembly and the fan assembly  100 . The tub assembly is provided in the cabinet, the fan assembly  100  is provided at a top of the tub assembly, and the fan assembly  100  is located between the tub assembly and an upper cover  201  of the cabinet. 
     Since the fan assembly  100  for the clothes treatment device according to embodiments of the present application has the above-described effects, the clothes treatment device  200  according to embodiments of the present application also has the above-described effects. That is, the clothes treatment device  200  of embodiments of the present application has low costs, simple production process, and good heat dissipation effect. 
     In the description of the present application, it is to be understood that terms such as “central,” “length,” “width,” “thickness,” “upper,” “lower,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “top,” “bottom,” “inner,” “outer,” “axial,” “radial,” and “circumferential” should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawings under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description of the present application and simplification of the description, and do not indicate or suggest that the referred device or element must have a particular orientation, and be constructed or operated in a particular orientation. Therefore, they cannot be construed as limitations to the present application. 
     Other constitutions and operations of the clothes treatment device  200  according to embodiments of the present application will not be elaborated herein. 
     Reference throughout this specification to “an embodiment,” “some embodiments,” “schematic embodiment”, “an example,” “a specific example,” or “some examples,” means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present application. Thus, the schematic representations of the above phrases in this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.